🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #143, 4th January 2026
$88.1 raised across 9 rounds, Potentia Capital to buy HotDoc, AirTrunk plans $5b Melbourne data centre, Build Club launches Solaris, Employment Hero narrows full-year losses to $35m
Happy new year! A longer edition today with everything that’s happened since 15th December 2025 to now.
News
M&A, IPOs & Exits
Document management software group organiseit acquired by insurtech JAVLN (BNA)
Potentia Capital to buy HotDoc, besting PEP (AFR)
Skoutli has officially been acquired by the American marketplace Swimply (LinkedIn)
Tyro to acquire NAB-backed financial tool Thriday (Capital Brief)
Capital Markets
MMA.INC announces $3m Private Placement led by American Ventures LLC with Donald Trump Jr investing in the offering (GlobeNewswire)
DroneShield mandates shareholding for board and CEO (AFR)
Product Launches, Milestones and Expansion
AirTrunk plans $5b Melbourne data centre as it ponders asset recycling (AFR)
Annie Liao, founder of Build Club, launches Solaris - a platform to help enterprises understand what’s possible with AI and actually make it happen (LinkedIn)
Vaxxas secures TGA approval to manufacture needleless vaccine tech (Capital Brief)
Venture Capital & Other Funding
Bailador lifts valuations of Updoc and PropHero, adding $13,300,000 to its portfolio (Startup Daily)
IPO lull drives record secondary share sales in private tech firms (AFR)
January Capital announces $196m final close on its credit fund (Capital Brief)
Scientist Andrew Wilks raises $60 million for Synthesis BioVentures biotech fund (AFR)
Government, Policy & Regulation
Australia joins US-led AI supply chain alliance (InnovationAus)
The federal government just tipped another $5 billion into its runaway home battery program, but its existing problems remain (Startup Daily)
Govt sets aside $166m for public service AI chatbot (InnovationAus)
MYEFO cuts $102m from Industry Growth Program (InnovationAus)
Labor cuts $102 million from flagship startup funding program (SmartCompany)
CSIRO gets $233 million funding boost in MYEFO update (SmartCompany)
US tech is kicking up a stink about the Australian government’s plan for them to pay local media (Startup Daily)
NRF CEO David Gall says Australia’s scale-up pipeline is strong, but founders need 14–15-year “patient capital” (InnovationAus)
ACCC takes HelloFresh, Youfoodz to court for allegedly misleading consumers over subscriptions (BNA)
ACCC forces WiseTech divestment over monopoly fears (AFR)
Accelerators, Ecosystem & Hubs
Curtin University reveals the 13 startups taking part in its annual accelerator (Startup Daily)
Other News & Updates
Elaine Stead’s 2025 wrap – the good, the bad, the banned and the menopausal (Startup Daily)
A million-dollar TV, Future Fixers, show meant to put girls in STEM on prime time has been shelved amid harassment findings against its co-host James Curran (The Age)
Employment Hero narrows full-year losses to $35m (AFR)
From Strongroom AI to losing LaunchVic: the year’s biggest business controversies (Startup Daily)
Funding Rounds
All fundraises between 15th to 31st December 2025
IND Technology, an EnergyTech company that helps electricity networks detect high-voltage faults early to prevent outages and equipment failures, has raised $50m from Angeleno Group, Energy Impact Partners, Edison International and Virescent Ventures (Capital Brief | SmartCompany)
MEQ Solutions, an AgTech platform that grades beef with AI for producers and processors to unlock carcass value, has raised $23m in a Series A round from Insight Partners (SmartCompany | BNA | Capital Brief)
Atrium, a personal CRM platform that turns your professional network into AI pre-meeting briefs for investors and founders to prepare for meetings, has raised $1.3m in a Pre-Seed round from AirTree Ventures, TEN13 Ventures and Angel Investors (Capital Brief)
GenAqua, a healthtech firm that makes a tap‑mounted UVC LED device to disinfect hospital water, has raised $300k in a Pre-Seed round from LX Health and Angel Investors (BNA)
Ferronova, a MedTech tracer that maps lymph nodes for surgeons to spot high-risk nodes during cancer surgery, has raised $6m in a Series A round from Uniseed, UniSuper, South Australian Venture Capital Fund, Artesian Venture Partners and Renew Pharmaceuticals (BNA | Startup Daily)
Real Flow, a property finance platform that gives advances for sellers and agents to cover marketing, has raised $3.5m from Lyte (AFR)
Savic Motorcycles, a high performance electric motorcycle manufacturer, has raised $2m (MCNews)
Clearwater Wellness, a wellness-tech company that built SnowCap, a thermoelectric ice bath that cools water to speed recovery, has raised $2m (GlobeNewswire)
Applied EV, a software-defined vehicle platform for autonomous logistics and industrial fleets to operate without drivers for safer 24/7 transport, has raised and Undiscloused amount from Japan Post Capital (Direct)