🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #159, 3rd May 2026
$90.96m raised across 6 rounds, Atlassian shares up 27%, Side Stage Ventures secures $40m for its second early-stage fund, Airwallex launches Latitude 37, Anthropic hires Theo Hourmouzis as ANZ GM
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 upgraded revenue outlook and AI-driven cloud growth ease investor concerns over its 1600 job cuts (Capital Brief)
ASX-listed FortifAI, formerly Mighty Kingdom, raises $15m in a public-market placement to scale Nol8, its AI infrastructure technology (The Australian)
ASX-listed medtech Imricor launches $60m public-market raise to fund sales, product development and US clinical milestones for its MRI-compatible cardiac ablation devices (AFR)
Nasdaq-listed Sharon AI raises $US350m in public-market convertible notes backed by Oaktree, with a $US200m-plus ASX listing raise under consideration (AFR)
ASX-listed biotech Syntara raises $10m to fund 2026 clinical readouts and prepare a Phase 2b trial of its myelofibrosis drug amsulostat after positive FDA feedback (BNA)
ASX-listed fintech lender Wisr passes $1b loan book milestone after record Q3 originations, upgrading FY26 growth guidance while targeting cash profitability in H2 (Australian FinTech)
Partnership & Deals
Airwallex launches massive UK ad campaign with Arsenal FC, directed by Spike Lee (Australian FinTech)
Australian data room platform Ansarada partners with Harvey AI to let law firms move deal documents directly into AI drafting and analysis tools for faster due diligence (Capital Brief)
Canberra defence technology company HighCom wins first major counter-drone order with $9.8m Defence contract, weeks after the federal government earmarked up to $7b for counter-drone investment (BNA)
Megaport subsidiary Latitude.sh locks in US$25m compute contract as AI demand accelerates (BNA)
Canberra modular data centre builder Datapod lands $2.3b six-year Oracle deal, becoming a major local supplier for the cloud giant’s AI infrastructure expansion (AFR)
OwnHome partners with NextGen to expand through mortgage brokers, using ApplyOnline and verified open banking data to power faster AI credit decisions for no-deposit home loans (Australian FinTech)
SpacePort Australia and Aexa Aerospace launch joint venture to build medical AI for space crews (BNA)
Product Launches, Milestones and Expansion
Melbourne robotics startup Andromeda scales Abi into 22 aged care homes, positioning its empathetic humanoid companion as the first step toward a broader social operating system for robots (The Age)
Blinq rebrands from digital business card app to AI contacts platform, positioning its 4 million-user product as an operating system for in-person relationships (LinkedIn)
Former Startmate CEO Michael Batko launches Hourglass AI to build fixed-fee AI systems for Australian businesses, targeting the gap between AI strategy decks and working tools in production (Startup Daily)
Q-CTRL named one of TIME’s 10 most influential New Frontiers companies for quantum software that powers its 100x better GPS-free navigation system and enterprise quantum computing tools (Direct)
Venture Capital & Other Funding
Future Secure, an Australian-founded enterprise AI startup now expanding its US presence, is seeking to raise $210m ahead of a potential 2027 IPO as ARR reportedly jumps to $US76m (AFR)
Atlassian backs Swedish legal AI startup Legora in $70m Series D extension, linking the Australian software giant to Legora’s $5.6bn valuation and rapid growth with major Australian law firms (The Australian)
Side Stage Ventures secures $40m for its second early-stage fund, backed by Leonardo AI founders reinvesting Canva exit proceeds after Side Stage’s early bets on Leonardo AI and MagicBrief paid off (AFR)
Geelong fabric tech startup Xefco wins $5m federal grant to scale Ausora, its water-free dyeing system, ahead of first commercial deployment with an Indonesian textile partner (SmartCompany)
Sydney-born energy market infrastructure company Xpansiv seeks up to $US150m to fund growth and a potential acquisition as it pivots from carbon trading to electricity markets (AFR)
Government, Policy & Regulation
Australian banks push for tighter rules and tax scrutiny on big tech and payments rivals, claiming foreign platforms offer bank-like services without matching banks’ $16b tax contribution (Capital Brief)
CSIRO scraps Data61 as a standalone digital research unit, merging it with manufacturing after cutting more than 100 staff amid financial pressure (InnovationAus)
Google, Meta and AWS send more than $14b from Australian customers offshore while paying $212m in local income tax, intensifying scrutiny ahead of Labor’s news bargaining and AI regulation push (The Age)
Meta is expected to block Australian news rather than pay Labor’s proposed 2.25% revenue charge, even as major media outlets back the News Bargaining Incentive as a critical step for journalism (The Age)
Ecosystem & Hubs
Airwallex founder Jack Zhang launches Latitude 37 to give 10+ young Australian AI founders $100,000 in equity-free capital, global network access and SF/Singapore immersion each year (LinkedIn)
Curtin Accelerate’s 2026 cohort launches products and lands early traction, with two startups securing investment during the 12-week program (BNA)
NSW opens $4m Diversity Pre-Accelerator Program for women founders after months of delays, replacing Techstars-style support with university-led startup training and mentoring (SmartCompany)
Sydney startups Adiona and X-Centric selected for PepsiCo’s Greenhouse Impact program to scale emissions-cutting logistics and soil analytics tools across the food giant’s APAC supply chain (Startup Daily)
People Moves & Spotlights
Anthropic hires former Snowflake ANZ and ASEAN SVP Theo Hourmouzis as its first ANZ GM as it opens a Sydney office (The Age)
Atlassian creates new AI enablement role for chief people officer Avani Prabhakar as it restructures its technology team weeks after cutting 1600 jobs (AFR)
Canva CTO Brendan Humphreys steps down after 12 years, with former Google and Uber leader Simon Newton taking over technology operations as Canva accelerates its AI platform push and 2027 IPO plans (SmartCompany)
InDebted founder Josh Foreman begins search for Sydney-based CEO as he shifts back into hands-on AI product building, after the debt recovery platform reaches an $80m run rate and profitability (LinkedIn)
Reports & Data
Cut Through Venture releases Cut Through Quarterly Q1 2026 Australian Startup Funding Report - $1.8b in Q1 (Direct)
Other News & Updates
Airwallex’s Australian loss widens to $17.2m despite revenue rising 30% to $105.6m, as it invests for growth while facing AUSTRAC scrutiny (AFR)
Equity crowdfunding platform VentureCrowd says operations are unaffected as parent company enters administration with $7.3m in creditor claims (SmartCompany)
Funding Rounds
Marloo, a FinTech AI assistant that turns meetings and calls into advice notes, tasks and forms for financial advisers to cut admin time, has raised $13.92m ($10m USD) in a Seed round from Blackbird Ventures and Icehouse Ventures (Capital Brief | The Australian)
Liquid Instruments, a test-and-measurement platform for chipmakers and advanced hardware teams to speed prototyping and validation, has raised $70m in a Series C round from National Reconstruction Fund, Keysight Technologies, Breakthrough Victoria, Acorn Capital, Significant Capital Ventures and Tribeca (AFR | Capital Brief | SmartCompany)
Aigentsphere, an enterprise AI governance platform for organisations to manage autonomous agents to provide compliance reporting, has raised $4m in a Seed round from Main Sequence (Startup Daily)
Manifest, a platform for ad agencies to replace manual timesheets with automated time tracking and billing for faster invoicing, has raised $2m in a Pre-Seed round from Antler Australia, Icehouse Ventures, Brand Fund, Techstars, Huljich & Bhatnagar Family Offices and Angel Investors (SmartCompany)
Smart AI Connect, a platform for organisations operating CCTV and smart city camera networks to manage edge AI models for regulatory compliance, has raised $1m in a Seed round from UniQuest, Admiralty Capital Group, Torus Capital and Pipeline Capital (Fusion Venture Labs | Direct)
Selvax, a biotech developing intratumoural immunotherapy that turns tumours into vaccines for cancer patients to eradicate solid tumours, has raised $75.67k ($50k USD) in a Undisclosed round from Gufic Biosciences (ScanX)