🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #163, 31st May 2026

$26.6m raised across 5 rounds, Airwallex has launched Airwallex Billing, HEO is nearing a ~$30m Series B round, Tanda is seeking a PE investor at a $500m valuation

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 against its remuneration report as REA Group and ARN Media chair Hamish McLennan joins as chairman amid an ASIC probe into governance and director share sales (AFR)

• ASX-listed biotech Tetratherix is raising about $15m after its shares more than doubled on a US licensing deal for its needle-free GLP-1 and peptide delivery technology (AFR)

Partnerships & Deals

• Anthropic is reportedly seeking 300MW to 500MW of Australian data centre capacity, with CDC Data Centres seen as the frontrunner after pitches from AirTrunk, NextDC, Firmus and IREN (AFR)

• Gilmour Space has been selected by Starfish Space as the docking partner for its Otter Pup 2 mission, advancing Australia’s in-orbit satellite operations capability (LinkedIn)

Product Launches, Milestones and Expansion

• Airwallex has launched Airwallex Billing, a global revenue operations platform designed for AI, API, SaaS and other businesses moving to usage-based and multi-currency billing models (LinkedIn)

• Atmo Biosciences has received US FDA clearance for a new gastrointestinal mapping feature that helps clinicians interpret data from its gas capsule system (LinkedIn)

• Hyperion Systems has unveiled ASTRA 460, a 3D-printed autonomous vessel that can be produced in 40 hours for defence and maritime security use (BNA)

Venture Capital & Other Funding

• Advance VC has reached its $15m target for a secondary venture fund backed by Infinity Asset Management, Brad Feld, David Nathanson and other tech investors (AFR)

• ANDHealth has awarded up to $9m in non-dilutive funding to Australis Scientific, Corcillum, Earflo, Kraken Coding and More Good Days as digital health startups warn capital access is becoming a survival issue (BNA)

• Birchal has opened expressions of interest for a crowd-sourced funding round at a $5m valuation, down 87% from its 2022 peak as the CSF market contracts (SmartCompany)

• Australian founder Blaze O’Byrne’s San Francisco tax AI startup Byron has raised $6.5m USD in Seed funding led by Square Peg Capital (Capital Brief)

• Cars4Us founder Matt Wright will invest $3m across three founders in Australia, the UK and the US after selling his used-car marketplace to Toyota Tsusho for $120m (SmartCompany)

• The Industry Growth Program awarded $21m in matched grants to 15 startup projects just days before applications were paused following a $48m budget cut (InnovationAus.com)

• HEO, a space tech startup, is nearing a roughly $30m Series B round with expected backing from the National Reconstruction Fund (AFR)

• HESTA has backed Synthesis Capital’s new $70m medtech VC fund, which has raised close to $60m to invest in early-stage Australian health technology startups (AFR)

• Tanda, a HR and payroll software company, has appointed Barrenjoey to seek a minority private equity investor at a potential valuation above $500m (AFR)

Government, Policy & Regulation

• Australia and the UK have signed an MoU to deepen cooperation on AI safety, security, testing and risk management (Capital Brief)

• Anthropic has landed its first direct Australian federal government contract with the Fair Work Commission (InnovationAus.com)

Reports & Data

• Equity Clear is launching a national report on investor diversity reporting after consulting more than 160 organisations across Australia’s startup and funding ecosystem (LinkedIn)

• Innovation Bay and ecosystem leaders have launched an interactive visualisation of Australia’s startup ecosystem to highlight funding bottlenecks, key players and reforms needed to improve startup growth (LinkedIn)

• Australia has returned to the world’s top 10 startup ecosystems, ranking ninth globally after growing more than twice as fast as the global average (SmartCompany)

Funding Rounds

• Oli, which developed a wearable monitor for pregnant women that uses AI to analyse to their vital signs for risks of birth complications, has raised $6.5m in a Series A3 round from Scale Investors, Clare Ventures and University of Sydney (Forbes | SmartCompany)

• Cable, an energy retailer that installs a free on-site battery to provide a guaranteed flat 24/7 tariff for SMEs to cut bills 20-40%, has raised $4m in a Pre-Seed round from Systemiq Capital, Black Nova and Angel Investors (SmartCompany | Capital Brief)

• Airwallex, a global payments and financial platform for businesses, has raised and undisclosed amount from Addition (Axios)

• AlleSense, a MedTech product that turns standard microscopes into label-free tissue imaging tools for pathologists to speed diagnosis, has raised $2.5m from Welcome Ventures, Breakthrough Victoria and Angel Investors (Breakthrough Victoria | Startup Daily)

• Amber Electric, the energy retailer on a mission to shift Australia to 100% renewables, has raised $13.6m from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Australian Renewable Energy Agency)