🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #134, 19th October 2025
$10.85m raised across 8 rounds, Phocas acquired by Accel-KKR for $500m+, Remedy Robotics completes world-first remote robotic surgery and Cut Through Venture releases their Q3 2025 quarterly report
Apologies for the delayed send this week - hope you’re enjoying the new format!
News
M&A, IPOs & Exits
Macquarie strikes largest-ever tech buyout with $61bn data centre sale (The Australian)
Sydney-based Phocas has been sold to US private equity giant Accel-KKR for more than $500 million (AFR)
Blackstone’s $24b AirTrunk preps another data centre for sale (AFR)
Sustainable packaging startup Great Wrap collapses under $39 million debt (SmartCompany)
4 years after a record $13m Seed raise, Blackbird-backed ‘ultimate wishlist’ shopping app Carted shuts down (Startup Daily)
Global Order-to-Cash fintech Sidetrade to acquire Australia’s ezyCollect (Australian FinTech)
Capital Markets
Carma fast-tracks IPO bookbuild for $300m ASX debut (AFR)
Catapult Sports enters trading halt ahead of acquisition and related equity raise (Capital Brief)
Partnerships & Deals
Australian chip developer Archer has inked a translation deal with research and development startup Emergence Quantum to work on graphene materials and devices (InnovationAus)
Remedy Robotics has inked a strategic partnership with the Australian Stroke Alliance to roll-out their N1 system across Australia (LinkedIn)
Product Launches, Milestones and Expansion
Firmus expands Australian ‘AI factory’ plan with $73.3 billion from Nvidia, CDC (SmartCompany)
Kim Teo announces the launch of Spots by me&u - a new place to save and share your restaurant recommendations (LinkedIn)
Remedy Robotics completes world-first remote robotic surgery (The Age)
OpenAI courts Australia in its $771b global infrastructure push (AFR)
Hearing tech scale-up Audeara’s push into China takes a giant step with debut order from Eastech (BNA)
Venture Capital & Funds
Blackbird funds change hands at steep discounts, rattling investors (AFR)
How Australia’s top VCs are rethinking startup moats (Capital Brief)
Government, Policy & Regulation
Labor holds briefings with tech companies, unions on national AI plan (Capital Brief)
Ecosystem & Hubs
Seedlab Australia accelerator spices up with 13 FMCG-focused startups selected (BNA)
Inhouse Ventures teams up with Asahi’s VC arm to build a hospitality tech accelerator with $450,000 in non-dilutive funding up for grabs (Startup Daily)
With more VC eyes than ever on QLD startups, UQ Ventures gears up for breakthrough showcase (BNA)
Reports & Data
Cut Through Venture releases their Q3 2025 quarterly report - capturing over $1b in announced funding across 116 rounds making it the biggest quarter of 2025 so far (LinkedIn)
Funding Rounds
Conry Tech, a climate tech company, reinventing air-conditioning to decarbonise and improve comfort, has raised $3m in a Seed round from Audacy (SmartCompany | BNA)
Good Heat, which produces zero-carbon heat as a service to through its heat batteries, has raised $2m from Understorey Ventures, Investible and 2100VC (BNA | Capital Brief | Investible)
Inaam, a fintech platform that provides users a pathway into investing that aligns with their values, has raised $500k in a Pre-Seed round from Sustainable Fintech Fund, Hatcher+ VC and Angel Investors (SmartCompany)
GXE, an all-in-one platform for Investment Funds, Family Offices and Syndicates, has raised $3.3m in a Series A round from Second Century Ventures, Archangel Ventures and Australian Medical Angels (SmartCompany | Capital Brief | LinkedIn)
Mental Jam, a platform for sharing lived experiences of mental health struggles through video games co-creation as a form of creative self-expression, has raised $150k in a Seed round from Breakthrough Victoria (InnovationAus)
InnovaIVF, developing a non-invasive imaging technology that helps clinicians select the most viable embryos during IVF, has raised $150k in a Seed round from Breakthrough Victoria (InnovationAus)
DeepDerm, an AI imaging company reimagining clinical diagnostics through multimodal medical imaging to detect disease earlier and more accurately, has raised $150k in a Seed round from Breakthrough Victoria (InnovationAus)
PredicTX, an AI platform that uses 3D body composition analysis from routine CT scans to personalise chemotherapy, has raised $160k in a Pre-Seed round from University of Melbourne Genesis Pre-Seed Fund and Angel Investors (SmartCompany)