News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Boston-based digital safety app Aura prepares to list on the ASX via backdoor merger with Qoria, completing a deal that valued the combined group at $3b when announced in February - Qoria stock has since halved (Capital Brief)

• EQT, the Swedish private equity firm, has acquired Orikan, a Melbourne-based smart parking software provider, from Five V Capital for $475m in cash - at least a threefold return for Five V’s investors (AFR)

• Brandon Capital and super fund backers Hostplus, HESTA and Aware Super pocket over $300m as Novartis agrees to pay over $2b ($US1.1b upfront cash) for London biotech Myricx’s cancer therapy pipeline (AFR)

• Open Point, an Australian community engagement platform, has acquired Converlens, an AI-powered public-sector analytics firm, for undisclosed consideration (Startup Researcher)

• Stakk, the ASX-listed fintech, has acquired ParaScript, a Colorado-based AI document-fraud detection firm, for $91m in a mixed cash-and-stock deal ($25m cash, $19m Stakk shares, $19m deferred) (BNA)

Capital Markets

• Identitii, an ASX-listed maker of the BNDRY anti-money laundering compliance platform, signs a $20m convertible note facility with Blackstone Mercantile (BNA)

• NextDC expands senior debt facilities by $500m to $2.3b, taking total available debt to $8.7b, to fund its Western Sydney S4 data centre and other capex (ARN)

• WiseTech founder Richard White steps down as chairman, replaced by Raelene Murphy, as AFP and ASIC investigate his conduct; stock jumps 8.9%, adding $1.2b in value (The Age)

Partnerships & Deals

• Anthropic seeks 1.4GW of Australian data centre capacity in a tender worth up to $21.6b ($US15b); Infratil’s CDC tipped for the largest share at 500MW (AFR)

• Port Kembla green hydrogen startup Hysata signs its first export customer for a large-scale electrolyser, with delivery expected in H1 2027 (Startup Daily)

Product Launches, Milestones and Expansion

• Bound, a Sydney company making resealable closures for food packaging, wins a 2026 Red Dot Design Award for Looplock, a polymer band that airtight-seals opened packaging and resets in hot water for reuse (SmartCompany)

• Sydney dronemaker Carbonix secures Australia’s first SAIL III certification, unlocking beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights across Queensland’s Surat Basin for gas infrastructure inspection (BNA)

• CipherStash launches a searchable-encryption integration for Supabase, letting the 10m-developer platform run encrypted database queries with under 10ms overhead (LinkedIn)

• Sydney quantum startup Diraq proves its silicon qubit chip design can scale four times larger with no performance loss, per new Nature Communications research (InnovationAus)

• Kindling, a go-to-market platform pairing software with a dedicated strategist to help B2B founders build trust with target customers, opens its public beta with 10 spots for post-PMF companies in the US and Australia (LinkedIn)

• Stripe quietly trials its Treasury banking product with Australian startup founders ahead of a wider launch to rival Airwallex and Wise (Capital Brief)

• Xero launches Ultra, a new ERP-tier plan powered by its Claude-based JAX AI agent, aimed at keeping growing businesses from migrating to Oracle or SAP (SmartCompany)

Venture Capital & Other Funding

• Canberra’s Electro Optic Systems wins a $5.7m government contract under ASCA’s Mission Syracuse to develop its R400 Slinger counter-drone weapon system (InnovationAus)

• AI compute firm Firmus Technologies calls a 31 July shareholder vote on a proposed $2.9b ($US2b) equity raise that would lift its valuation to $15.5b ahead of a delayed ASX IPO (AFR)

• Gilmour Space targets at least $290m ($US200m) in a pre-IPO raise led by Citi, capitalising on investor appetite from SpaceX’s $3 trillion listing ahead of its own US float (AFR)

• Nvidia agrees to take about $721m ($US500m) of preference shares in Firmus’s proposed $2.9b equity raise, as the neocloud preps a 50-for-1 share split ahead of its ASX float (AFR)

• Data centre generator-enclosure maker Parratech, now above $300m in annual revenue, hires Luminis Partners to find a private capital backer for its US expansion (AFR)

• Atlassian Ventures makes a strategic investment in Rocketlane, an agentic professional-services platform that raised a $60m Series C led by Insight Partners this year (Rocketlane)

• Canberra biotech Samsara Eco launches a $100m Series B to extract rare earth metals from batteries and magnets using its enzyme-recycling AI platform (Forbes)

• Sydney’s SCX.ai, led by ex-Bigtincan CEO David Keane, seeks to raise $40m for an ASX debut valuing the AI infrastructure business at $75m (AFR)

Government, Policy & Regulation

• Labor drafts policy to make AI labelling of music, art and cultural works legally mandatory - with new protections for Indigenous artworks - ahead of this month’s national conference (AFR)

• Anthropic and OpenAI’s proposal to fund creatives in exchange for a copyright exemption is rejected by News Corp and the Copyright Agency, deepening the AI training law stalemate (AFR)

• WA government backs its space sector with $6.5m over four years for AROSE and Curtin University’s Binar Space Program - about a third of South Australia’s rival $20m manufacturing investment (Startup News)

• 17 industry groups including AusBiotech urge Treasurer Chalmers to consult on RDTI changes that would limit refundable tax offsets to companies under 10 years old (SmartCompany)

• Former Chief Scientist Cathy Foley calls for permanent, secure funding of Australia’s $5.5b NCRIS research infrastructure network as it marks 20 years (InnovationAus)

• NSW data centre inquiry exposes rift between sovereign-infrastructure advocates like Sydney’s Emergence Quantum and water/energy justice groups over unchecked sector growth (ARN)

Ecosystem & Hubs

• Adelaide University’s Venture Catalyst Space accelerator names 8-startup 2026 cohort, with women founders leading nearly half the group (Startup Daily)

• Design studio Edition reopens its $15k Female Founder Grant for AU/NZ women founders, with applications closing 27th July (Startup Daily)

People Moves & Spotlights

• Marianna O’Gorman becomes first woman to chair the Australian Renewable Energy Agency in its 14-year history (InnovationAus)

• Global payments startup Hello Clever hires ex-Bolt executive Justin Grooms, who helped scale Bolt from 5m to 85m users, as president to lead its North American expansion (LinkedIn)

Reports & Data

• Australia ranks first globally for Claude usage per capita - six times its population share - per Anthropic’s latest Economic Index (SmartCompany)

Other News & Updates

• Airwallex hires cybersecurity firm Coalfire and law firm Sullivan & Cromwell to rebut US claims of Chinese Communist Party ties, as founder Jack Zhang says he’s not worried by Senator Tom Cotton’s criticism (AFR)

• Melbourne biotech Cynata Therapeutics lays off all six staff, including CEO Kilian Kelly, after its stem cell therapy trial fails to beat placebo (InnovationAus)

• Insect-farming waste startup Goterra enters liquidation after 22 parties passed on a sale or recapitalisation, leaving $11.2m owed to creditors (SmartCompany)

Funding Rounds

• Wildfire Energy, a cleantech process that converts household waste into sustainable jet fuel for airlines to cut aviation emissions, has raised $2m from Qantas, Airbus and Climate Tech Partners (Startup Daily | The Australian)

• LendUs, a mortgage fintech platform that embeds white-label home-loan broking into partner apps for brands to offer fast lender matches, has raised $5m in a Seed round from Carthona Capital and Angel Investors (AFR | BNA)

• Gridcog, a clean energy software platform that models grid flexibility for utilities and planners to optimise dispatch and investment decisions, has raised $12,5m in a Series A round from ABB Electrification Ventures, AXPO Ventures, DNV Venture and VERBUND X Ventures (DNV | SmartCompany)

• Just Meat Protein, a food-tech ingredient maker that converts chicken into powdered protein for sports and specialised nutrition to boost protein in products, has raised $1.05m in a Seed round from Inghams Group (Food & Beverage)

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Capital Markets

• ASX-listed Echo IQ has secured a $110m placement to expand its cardiovascular AI diagnostics platform across the US (BNA)

• IREN has approved a four-year equity compensation package for co-founders and co-CEOs Will and Dan Roberts worth about A$1.14b combined (Forbes)

Partnerships & Deals

• Esper Satellites has partnered with Neo Space Group’s NSG UP42 platform to distribute its hyperspectral satellite imagery to Saudi Arabia’s mining and mineral exploration sector (LinkedIn)

Product Launches, Milestones and Expansion

• Advanced Navigation is opening its first US manufacturing hub in Alabama, funded by its $158m Series C, as it expands international production and considers acquisitions in the US and Europe (Forbes)

• Sydney startup Build Club has launched V2 f Solaris, an enterprise AI adoption platform that helps companies move from AI access to measurable workplace behaviour change (LinkedIn)

• Deputy has launched Deputy AI, an in-app AI teammate that helps frontline managers handle rostering, timekeeping and people management tasks from mobile devices (Deputy)

• Eucalyptus alumni Dan Cable and Alex Debney have launched Early Bird and are seeking $1.5m to develop a hangover remedy with Queensland University of Technology (AFR)

• Gega Elements says it has produced its first gallium from a very low-grade resource, marking an early technical milestone as it looks to scale its refining process (LinkedIn)

• Heidi has launched Heidi Dictate, a cursor-level medical dictation product that lets clinicians dictate into any app using its own medical transcription model (LinkedIn)

• Vow has helped PARIMA produce cultivated duck at multi-tonne scale using its 22,000-litre Sydney facility, highlighting Australia’s role in lower-cost cultivated meat production (LinkedIn)

• Sitemate says its Storm 1.0 AI product for Dashpivot workflows has seen early customer adoption after its first month, with Storm 1.1 and 1.2 updates planned for July and August (LinkedIn)

• Tax Nuggets has launched the private beta of Ask Nugget, an AI tax research assistant for Australian accountants with human review escalation (LinkedIn)

Venture Capital & Other Funding

• Melbourne biotech Atisama Therapeutics and Monash University have been awarded more than $15m in MRFF grant funding to advance a Phase 1 COPD therapy trial (Direct)

• Medical Angels has appointed Hourglass AI founder and former Startmate boss Michael Batko as part-time venture partner for its new $40m Medical Angels Venture Fund I (Startup Daily)

• National Reconstruction Fund Corporation invests $10 million of venture debt in CSIRO spin-out Emesent to build robotics and spatial computing capabilities (Direct)

• OncoRes Medical has started a government-backed project to test its QME cancer surgery technology in prostate cancer, expanding beyond its breast surgery beachhead (LinkedIn)

• QIC Ventures has published a quarterly update covering new Queensland startup investments, its appointment to manage a $30m agtech fund, and milestones across the state’s quantum sector (LinkedIn)

• Sicona Battery Technologies secures $45m ARENA grant to build its first commercial-scale silicon-carbon anode plant at Port Kembla, targeting 230 tonnes a year (BNA)

Government, Policy & Regulation

• Australian government opens myID Digital ID to the private sector; businesses to pay to verify customers from 2027 under a cost-recovery model, individuals stay free (SmartCompany)

• Australia will double fines for social media platforms breaching the under-16s ban, but critics say a digital duty of care is still needed (Startup Daily)

• Australia has passed a ban on subscription traps and drip pricing, forcing businesses to make cancellation and online fees clearer (SmartCompany)

Ecosystem & Hubs

• Cicada Innovations has named 23 deep tech ventures for its Tech23 showcase as applications rise 57% year on year (Capital Brief)

• Innovation Victoria has formally launched, combining Breakthrough Victoria and LaunchVic into a single organisation for startup support, research commercialisation and investment in Victoria (Innovation Victoria)

• Western Australia has committed A$150,000 to Perth Landing Pad to attract international tech startups and expand global partnerships (Startup Researcher)

Reports & Data

• A Project F and Tech Council report warns Australia risks missing its 1.2m tech worker target if experienced women keep leaving technical roles (SmartCompany)

Funding Rounds

• DryFlow Magnetics, a mining technology that uses dry magnetic separation to process iron ore for miners and steelmakers to produce high-purity iron, has raised $2.5m in a Seed round from Significant Ventures

• Southern Launch, a startup that provides comprehensive launch and re-entry services for space missions with two spaceports in South Australia, has raised $25m in a Series A round from Brindabella and Company, National Reconstruction Fund, Angel Investors

• MAKO, an aerospace company that makes Flightfilm riblet surface coatings for airlines to cut aircraft drag and lower fuel burn by up to 4%, has raised $28m ($20m USD) in a Series A round from Virescent Ventures, IAGi Ventures, Grok Ventures, Skip Capital, IP Group, Zero Infinity Partners, TreeArc Investment Group

• Zitcha, a retail media platform for retailers to monetise first-party data to sell targeted ads across digital channels, has raised an undisclosed amount from Iona Star

• Fluent, a neurotech neural interface that translates intended speech to text for people who cannot speak to restore communication, has raised $2m in a Pre-Seed round from University of Melbourne Genesis Pre-Seed Fund, Pacific Channel, Galileo Ventures, Multiple Sclerosis Western Australia, Angel Investors, Jumpspace Ventures, Founders Factory

• Emesent, a spatial-computing platform that maps underground sites with autonomous drones for miners and surveyors to de-risk surveys, has raised $15m from Main Sequence, QIC, NGS Super, HostPlus, Orion Resource Partners

• EchoYield, a DeFi staking platform and API suite for crypto holders and protocols to stake assets across chains for yield, has raised $3.19m ($2.2m USD) in a Series A round

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Acorn, a skills and development platform, has acquired B Online Learning, an Australia and New Zealand eLearning provider, for an undisclosed amount to add content creation and training services to its workforce readiness platform (Startup Re…

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Spot something a little different? Welcome to the new look Haris’s Newsletter and This Week in Australian Startups.

Today makes it 166 editions and counting - when I first started I was writing regular essays and deep dives each week. As time went on and the responsibilities and realities life caught up with me, whether that’s been a new and demanding j…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Fresho, a Melbourne-based food-wholesale ordering platform, has acquired Nation Wilcox, a UK ERP provider for food suppliers, for an undisclosed amount to expand in Britain and accelerate its AI product roadmap (BNA)

• Vinyl Group, an ASX-listed…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• 4DMedical has signed a US radiology deal with SimonMed, agreed to acquire Vienna AI imaging startup Contextflow and launched a US$2m pulmonary embolism program with Mass General Brigham (BNA)

• Airwallex has acquired Leapfin to expand from payme…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Firmus’ planned ASX float appears to be slipping beyond earlier June and September timelines as investors await formal IPO dates for the AI factory company (Capital Brief)

Capital Markets

• DroneShield shareholders have delivered a first strike a…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja says Canva does not need an IPO as the $84b design software company shifts deeper into AI and continues scaling in private markets (AFR)

• Codan, an ASX-listed Australian defence technology company, has acquire…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Humankind, a Wellington HR consultancy, has acquired The Mintable, a management training startup backed by Blackbird, for an undisclosed sum. (Startup Daily)

• NAB has acquired Banked, a London-founded account-to-account payments company, for an…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Canva’s local filings show revenue surged past $4.1b and the Australian business swung to profit as the design giant prepares for an AI-era IPO (AFR)

• Catch co-founders Gabby and Hezi Leibovich have acquired collapsed online sales platform Clic…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Hipages, an ASX-listed tradie marketplace, has acquired a 51% stake in VIZ Insurance, a digital insurance platform for tradespeople, for $1.4m as it expands into insurance distribution (BNA)

Capital Markets

• Atlassian shares surge 27% after upgr…

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A day late due to a scheduling issue on my side, apologies for anyone who missed their Sunday morning read!

News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• AirTrunk has acquired Lumina CloudInfra, an Indian data centre operator, for an undisclosed amount as part of a $7b push into India’s A…

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A longer wrap up than usual and later send this week - needing a bit of extra time to curate the last 2 weeks worth of news and funding rounds in Australia.

News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• CleanPeak Energy buys Sustainable Energy Infrastructure for an undisclosed amount, add…

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I’m heading to SF this week, which will mean there will be no newsletter next week - I’ll do a full roundup for two weeks on 19 April.

News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Australia Post has acquired Rendr, a last-mile delivery orchestration platform, for an undisclosed amount (L…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Canva acquired Doohly for $30m for Doohly, a Melbourne startup whose software manages the ad screens inside Rebel Sport, Mitre 10 and airports - giving Canva a path from design tool to physical display (Capital Brief)

Capital Markets

• Convicted …

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Canva plans to IPO next year: The Information (Capital Brief)

• Nick Curtis seeks to sell $100m of Firmus shares ahead of IPO (AFR)

• Flyttr, a biosecurity platform, has acquired RapidAIM, an Australian agtech startup building real-time pest monito…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Pay.com.au, a business payments and rewards platform that lets companies earn frequent flyer points on expenses, has launched its ASX float seeking to raise $85m in new growth capital at an $850m valuation - with shares priced at $193 and an …

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Hoyts to sell Val Morgan unit to Richard White-backed Vinyl Group (AFR)

• IPscape, an Australian cloud contact centre platform, acquires agentic AI voice startup VoxHero to accelerate its AI agent deployment capabilities (Startup Researcher)

Part…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Canva acquires Cavalry, a UK motion and animation design platform, and MangoAI, a US algorithms company that optimises creative content using learning loops, building on its Affinity and MagicBrief acquisition to power the entire marketing an…

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News

M&A, IPOs & Exits

• Eucalyptus founder Tim Doyle shares they have signed an agreement to be acquires by hims & hers, an NYSE-listed consumer health platform, for up to $1.6b, with ~$330m cash upfront and the rest as deferred/earnout payable in cash or stock (Lin…

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