🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #113, 27th April 2025
Top News
Australian data centre market world’s second hottest (The Australian)
Australian fintech Demyst acquired by Feedzai for $157m (AFR)
Australian startups Endua and Calyx.eco make PepsiCo’s greenhouse accelerator (Startup Daily)
Fintech industry accuses both major parties of stifling innovation (Capital Brief)
Three new Cooperative Research Centres will launch with $158m in federal co-funding (InnovationAus)
Meet the 24-year-old Australian behind a $300m US start-up (AFR)
Linktree announced a new range of tools to help creators monetise their audience directly on their Linktree (Alex Zaccaria)
Optus turns to Google and Anthropic to power its AI strategy (Capital Brief)
The Queensland government has startup grants worth up to $200,000 up for grabs (Startup Daily)
UQ Ventures harnesses QIC funding to combine early and later-stage accelerators ilab and Momentum (BNA)
Cleaning products startup Zero Co is shutting down (Startup Daily)
Iress offloads another asset with deal to sell QuantHouse for $31m (BNA)
OneVentures preps new healthcare fund as government, LPs face losses (AFR)
Strongroom AI nears sale with debts transferred to entrepreneur (AFR)
The SA government and Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) are launching a program to help local SportsTech startups expand into the US market (Startup Daily)
Funding Rounds
WeMoney, a FinTech that helps people improve their financial wellbeing through financial literacy, open banking, and AI-driven behavioral insights, has raised $12m in a Series A round from Lance East Office, Betterlabs, Dorado Capital, Eastcourt Capital and Mastercard
Eugene (helps Australians make informed health decisions in areas such as carrier screening for pregnancies or assessing genetic risk factors in cancer or cardiovascular areas) , Vively (a continuous glucose monitoring program and app that helps people understand how diet and lifestyle affects their health) and Umps (works with home care providers, allied health professionals and retirement village operators to provide remote monitoring and personal alarms) will share ~$2.2m of investment from Bupa who announced its first round of early-stage investments through its Ventures Fund (Direct)