🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #117, 1st June 2025
Top News
Blackbird’s Rick Baker has defended his investment in Airwallex during calls with investors (AFR)
StartupBlink’s latest global rankings sees Sydney rise to 31 as Australia slows overall (Startup Daily)
Venture Downunder Heads West: National Venture Capital Event Coming to WA in August (Startup News)
Australian researchers have simulated real molecules using quantum computing (Startup Daily)
BioScout goes global using AI to protect farms, vineyards from disease (AFR)
Google facing adtech class action from local businesses (InnovationAus)
James Alexander from Galileo Ventures proposes a ‘Tall Poppy’ national strategy for an AI revolution in Australia (Startup Daily)
KKR signs off $1.2b MYOB refinancing, Big American enters debt stack (AFR)
National Reconstruction Fund signs new quantum deal amid internal tension over risk (SmartCompany)
Eucalyptus targets unicorn status in new $150m funding round (AFR)
Ex-ANZ CEO Mike Smith says Australia's fintech red tape can actually be an advantage (Capital Brief)
Perth aerospace startup Drone Forge gears up for its first turnkey fleet in 2026 (BNA)
Curious Thing AI acquired by MaxContact after having gone into administration in late March (InnovationAus)
Startup Muster engages state ambassadors for ‘deep dive’ (InnovationAus)
Startups at Sydney’s National Space Industry Hub have raised $56 million and created 160 jobs in the last 4 years (Startup Daily)
Tech companies are now busy rehiring as the promise of AI doesn’t live up to the hype (Startup Daily)
What Australia still doesn’t get about deep tech according to Main Sequence partner Elaine Stead (SmartCompany)
Aussie startups are raising faster and younger in 2025 (SmartCompany)
Executives head for the door at unicorn crypto start-up Immutable (AFR)
WiseTech shares lift on $3.3b acquisition of e2open (Capital Brief)
Funding Rounds
Unleash Live, a video analytics platform that uses AI to improve workplace productivity and safety, has raised $17m in a Series B round from JR Investment (Startup Daily| AFR)
CalcTree, a multi-disciplinary engineering calculation and workflow management platform, has raised $3.8m in a Pre-Seed round from Foundamental, Standards Australia, Suffolk Technologies, Antler VC, Angel Investors (Capital Brief | SmartCompany | BNA)
Heatseeker, an AI-powered platform enabling businesses to run rapid experiments based on real buyer behaviour helping teams make faster, data-driven GTM decisions, has raised $2.3m ($1.5m USD) in a Pre-Seed round from Capital F, Eupehmia, Even Capital and East End Ventures (Startup Daily | Capital Brief | BNA)
PolyActiva, a biotech making a revolutionary treatment for glaucoma that could eliminate the need for daily eye drops for millions of patients worldwide, has raised $40m in a Series C round from Brandon Capital and the National Reconstruction Fund (AFR | InnovationAus | Startup Daily)
Amber Electric, the energy retailer on a mission to shift Australia to 100% renewables, has raised $45m which includes a $4.5m investment from Gentrack (BNA)
Vively, a continuous glucose monitoring program and app that helps people understand how diet and lifestyle affects their health, has raised $1.6m in a Seed round from Archangel Ventures, Bupa Ventures (Startup Daily)