🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #130, 21st September 2025

$338.8 raised across 6 rounds, Atlassian acquires US developer platform DX for $1.5 billion, Blackbird’s investments surge to $10b valuation, Canva rules out Australia listing

A day late with the week’s newsletter - we drove down to Melbourne up from Sydney over the weekend which is why I didn’t get a chance to send it out till now.

If we’ve spoken before, you probably know my wife Sharin Ahmed is the founder of Jummah, a lifestyle wear brand created to inspire change through culture, identity and clothing. Prior to this she worked as a commercial lawyer for a decade mostly across financial services and tech - collecting logos like Checkout.com, eBay, NBCUniversal and ASIC on her resume.

Jummah's stall at the Unity Markets in Melbourne

This weekend she launched her new range and exhibited in a market here in Melbourne. It would be remiss of me not to tell you all about it even if it’s not a tech startup.

Rumaan Jacket and Pants Set - a bold reinterpretation of the classic bomber jacket look made from 100% brushed French Terry Cotton.

In her own words

The beauty of this set lies in its detail, most notably, the embroidered rumaan (pomegranate, anaar) motif, a timeless symbol of identity, vitality, and abundance.

Much like the pomegranate, which originated in South Asia and journeyed across continents, westward to the Mediterranean, eastward along the Silk Road, diaspora communities have carried their cultures across the globe, planting new roots and creating vibrant hybrid identities. This motif pays tribute to that shared story of movement, resilience, and cultural flourishing.

If you’re interested in connecting with her or following her journey, check out the links below;

• Rumaan Jacket and Pants Set - Men’s | Women’s

• Sharin - LinkedIn

• Jummah - Website | Instagram

Top News

• IG Group acquires Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve for A$178 million (Australian FinTech)

• Atlassian acquires US developer platform DX for $1.5 billion (SmartCompany)

• Fintech veteran Ezypay acquired by US payments firm Xplor (Startup Daily)

• New Strongroom AI owner offloads Member Benefits Australia (BNA)

• Women in tech: Why reports won’t fix a broken system (SmartCompany)

• ‘Vague and embarrassing’: Employment Hero hits out at Seek legal claims (AFR)

• AI-powered fintech InDebted eyes Gulf region growth through partnership with UAE platform Meedaf (BNA)

• Build Club says Lendi pilot saved 10k hours, shows promise of ‘an AI-native workforce’ (Startup Daily)

• CommBank’s x15ventures partners with fintech fund Triple Bubble (Capital Brief)

• The highest paid tech salaries in Australia revealed (SmartCompany)

• UNSW inks enterprise deal with OpenAI (InnovationAus)

• Blackbird’s start-up investments surge to $10b valuation (AFR)

• Fintech is now worth $22 billion to the Australian economy (Startup Daily)

• Rokt president quits Coles board to focus on initial public offering (AFR)

• Stripe to launch business financing solution for SMBs in Australia (ARN)

• Sydney’s Tech Central gets a shiny new strategy and $5 million (Startup Daily)

• Venture capital is not the answer for women founders – they need funding that fits (Startup Daily)

• Chris Minns: Unlock superannuation for VC investment (InnovationAus)

• The ASX live-pitched SafetyCulture's Luke Anear on an IPO. He said 'not yet'. (Capital Brief)

• Two Victorian circular farming startups harvest $35,000 from LaunchVic (Startup Daily)

• Canva rules out Australia listing; Nasdaq move will have to wait (AFR)

• StrongRoom AI director pushes back on EVP claims over $7.5m deal (Capital Brief)

Funding Rounds

• Firmus Technologies, who builds renewable-powered, liquid-cooled “AI factories” to deliver efficient and sovereign AI compute across Australia and Southeast Asia., has raised $330m from Nvidia and Ellerston Capital (AFR | SmartCompany | ARN)

• H3D, a cutting-edge tech company that is reinventing custom-fit devices using AI and automation, has raised $5.8m in a Series A round from Significant Ventures, Swinburne University of Technology and Co:Act Capital (SmartCompany | BNA)

• Isaacus, a foundational legal AI research and development company, has raised $700k in a Pre-Seed round from Aura Ventures and Galileo Ventures (BNA | Capital Brief)

• Cadmus, an EdTech that provides a secure platform for managing university assessments, has raised an undisclosed amount from SEEK and Glitch Capital (BNA)

• Puralink, an autonomous robotics platform for pipe inspection, mapping, and repair, has raised $2.3m in a Seed round from Peak XV Partners, Side Stage Ventures, Startmate, NZVC, Wollemi Capital, Angel Investors (SmartCompany)

• FiberSense, an AI-powered platform specialising in digital infrastructure and smart sensing technology, has raised an undisclosed amount from M&G Investments (DSA)