News
M&A, IPOs & Exits
Coatue, expected to put up to US$1b ($1.43b) into Firmusâs ASX float, allocated under US$100m and proposed a reworked structure, the AFR reports - a key reason the IPO collapsed (AFR)
Fremantle Seaweed, the grower of methane-cutting Asparagopsis for cattle feed, has bought FutureFeedâs onshore nursery and production technology, adding tank cultivation to its ocean farms and targeting first commercial sales in 2027 (StartUp ScaleUp)
AirTrunk has postponed the $S4b ($4.4b) Singapore REIT float it planned for October after fund managers demanded a 7% yield against the 5.5% offered, as rising bond yields hit data centre deals (AFR)
Austco Healthcare, the ASX-listed nurse call and clinical communications company, has agreed to acquire RTM, a cloud monitoring software business, and CareTech, a nurse call hardware designer, for $12.44m cash, rising to $19.3m with earn-outs (BNA)
Morse Micro, the chipmaker behind long-range, low-power Wi-Fi HaLow chips, has converted to a public company and hired Sodali & Co, ASIC filings show - the steps that precede an ASX float (Capital Brief)
Neara, the digital twin software company that models power networks for utilities, has acquired Zepben, an electrical network modelling software company, for undisclosed consideration in cash and stock (The Australian)
Thoma Bravo is targeting a valuation above US$4b ($5.75b) for aerial imaging company Nearmapâs ASX relisting, more than five times the $1.06b it paid in 2022 - the biggest float candidate left after Firmus (AFR)
Capital Markets
IREN, the Nasdaq-listed Australian neocloud, plans a 900MW, $10b-plus AI data centre campus near Wagga Wagga, targeting grid connection from 2029 - its second Australian campus after the 800MW Bundey site; power is not yet secured (Data Center Dynamics)
ASIC has closed its investigation into WiseTech founder Richard Whiteâs $200m of share sales during a blackout period, issuing no-action letters to him, two employees and the company; a non-employee remains under investigation (The Age)
Partnerships & Deals
Anthropic is the undisclosed tenant behind DigiCoâs 15-year SYD1 lease, Street Talk reports; DigiCo now expects to reach 88MW well ahead of plan and SHAPE Australia has won an $800m contract to build it (AFR)
Zip has hired Quantium to design and build the operating model for its US âAI-native product factoryâ on Google Cloud, where AI agents write the software and Zipâs teams direct and review it (LinkedIn)
Product Launches, Milestones and Expansion
Atlassian has launched AMP, an âagentic multiplayer protocolâ for people and agents working together, a Rovo desktop app and Loomâs Record for agent, which turns a narrated screen recording into an agent prompt (LinkedIn)
Pure Battery Technologies, the battery materials refiner that paused its Australian operations after losing a $120m federal grant, has had its German refinery expansion named a strategic project under the EUâs Critical Raw Materials Act (InnovationAus)
Hims & Hers has retired Juniper, the weight-loss brand Eucalyptus launched in 2021, and brought its Hers brand to Australia with menopause and hair-loss programs, completing the rebrand after its $1.6b Eucalyptus takeover (The Age)
Venture Capital & Other Funding
Scale Investors, the VC that backs women-founded startups, is seeking $50m in fresh funds after a $35m first fund cornerstoned by the Zampatti family, Minderoo and Innovation Victoria (AFR)
All Roads Wholesale Fund, an Australian fund with mortgage, advice and accounting interests, has taken 25% of New Zealand open banking fintech Qippay for NZ$5m ($4m); the company is eyeing an Australian expansion (Startup Daily)
Stacked Farm, the automated vertical farming company, has launched a $45m raise as it prepares to open a $150m Melbourne facility before year-end and build a US$126m ($181m) farm in California (BNA)
ARENA has awarded up to $31.1m in Solar Sunshot grants to the Australian arms of US robotics companies Luminous and Built Robotics to manufacture panel-installing and piling robots for solar farm construction here (InnovationAus)
Main Sequence, Hostplus and NGS Super have joined UK trapped-ion quantum computer developer Universal Quantumâs US$100m-plus ($143m) Series A, co-led by DCVC and Firgun Ventures (LinkedIn)
BHP Ventures and Twynam, the Kahlbetzer family office, have backed Giraffe Bioâs US$6.4m ($9.2m) seed round; the mining biotech, operating in Chile and Argentina, brews reagents that lift copper recovery (LinkedIn)
Eudaemon Technologies, the developer of a hydrogel condom that feels like tissue, has mandated 115 Capital for a $10m raise to start manufacturing next year ahead of a 2028 commercial launch (AFR)
Government, Policy & Regulation
Parliamentâs AI committee has urged Albanese to make frontier labs report rogue-AI incidents, give security agencies early model access and fund public-interest compute; Industry Minister Tim Ayres flags more AI Safety Institute funding (AFR)
Anthropic is open to reserving some of its Australian compute for government priorities such as healthcare to win community support, envoy Jeff Bleich says, after the AI committee called for national-interest capacity (AFR)
Ecosystem & Hubs
Swinburneâs Elevate program has named its 2026 cohort - Hashtag.AI, IniDeck, Poly-Motion, InterSession and SeizureSafe, spanning health tech, robotics and AI - which pitch at Venture Cup on 27th October (LinkedIn)
People Moves & Spotlights
Main Sequence, the CSIRO-founded deep tech VC, has promoted Elaine Stead to partner to lead its healthcare investing as it raises Fund 4, targeting a first close by the end of the year (BNA)
Reports & Data
Cut Through Venture puts Q3 startup funding at a record $4.2b across 92 rounds, but Firmus was 69% of it and the top ten deals 93%; excluding Firmus, funding was flat at $1.3b (LinkedIn)
Funding Rounds
Archa, a FinTech corporate card and spend platform that issues cards without personal guarantees for businesses to automate expense reporting, has raised $11m from The Fintech Fund and Angel Investors (The Australian | Startup Daily)
RedOwl, a FinTech AI platform that detects and prevents margin leakage for CFOs at mid-market and enterprise firms to recover lost revenue, has raised $5.3m in a Seed round from Tidal Ventures and CP Ventures (AFR | LinkedIn)
Memobottle, a slim reusable water bottle that fits into bags and binders for commuters and office workers to reduce single-use plastic waste, has raised $2m from Angel Investors (AFR | SmartCompany)
GutGutGoose, a biotech that uses at-home stool tests and AI to make personalised probiotics for people with gut symptoms to improve digestion, has raised an Undisclosed amount from 007 Venture Partners and Angel Investors (LinkedIn)
Modular Photonics, a photonics hardware platform that upgrades existing optical fibre for data centres and telcos to boost bandwidth without recabling, has raised an Undisclosed amount from Main Sequence (LinkedIn)
Number 8 Bio, an AgTech company that makes slow-release feed capsules for cattle farmers to cut enteric methane from livestock, has raised an Undisclosed amount from Innovation Victoria, Uniseed and UniSuper (LinkedIn)
VALAI, a property energy platform for banks utilities and property firms to provide energy scores and upgrade advice that reduce household bills, has raised an Undisclosed amount from REA Group (LinkedIn | Online Marketplaces)
UNSW Founders 10x Accelerator invested $100k into 16 startups in Pre-Seed rounds
ALBON, an algae wastewater system that removes nitrogen and phosphorus for meat, dairy and agri-food sites to cut discharge and chemical use
Byrd, a construction-waste skip that enables on-site source-separation for builders and contractors to reduce landfill
Circular Sourcing, a sourcing platform for businesses to source verified circular materials to track climate impact
Ephemeris, an aviation platform that coordinates cruise speeds across multiple inbound flights for airlines to cut fuel use and emissions
EpiQuil, an Australian medtech developing dissolvable microneedle patches to deliver drugs through the skin for patients to enable controlled dosing
Geney Bio, a MedTech platform that automates cell therapy manufacturing for developers to reduce development time and costs
iiShield, a MedTech that develops a device called the âKidney Protective Jacketâ to help transplant surgeons protect organs from thermal injury during surgery
LoopForm Materials, a recycled carbon-fibre supplier for manufacturers to turn waste into high-performance feedstock and cut energy use
LORAI Health, a MedTech transdermal patch platform that delivers hormone therapy for menopausal women to improve treatment continuity
Media City Scientific, a chemically defined cell-culture serum replacement for researchers and biotechs to reduce experimental variability
MotionLogic, a vision AI platform that turns 3D industrial video into real-time productivity insights for large-format manufacturers to cut inefficiencies
Platypus, an AI platform that connects a companyâs tools to build automation agents for teams to automate repetitive tasks
SMarT Minds Dx, a MedTech developer of blood-based tests that detect and stage Alzheimerâs pathology for clinicians to enable earlier affordable diagnosis
Ultramarine, a maritime IoT analytics platform that monitors vessels for authorities and insurers to prevent abandonment costs
Yarnie, a screen-free home phone for kids to call only approved contacts to keep parent-controlled, voice-only connections
Zenith Hosting, a hosting platform that deploys and manages self-hosted web apps for teams and small businesses to run on their own domains