🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #140, 30th November 2025
$37.3m raised across 4 rounds, EVP raises $100m fifth fund, Blackbird writes down Culture Amp, Safety Culture, Eucalyptus set to raise $190m at $1.4b valuation, Hello Clever secures AFSL
News
M&A, IPOs & Exits
Canva ‘ready’ for 2026 IPO, Blackbird tells LPs (Capital Brief)
Palo Alto Networks acquires Aussie-founded Chronosphere in US$3.3b observability deal (AFR)
Methane-busting startup Sea Forest debuts on the ASX trading 20% above its offer price, raising $20.5m at a $112.1m valuation (SmartCompany)
Capital Markets
The rise of DroneShield, why its CEO just dumped all his stock and whether the company can restore the faith (AFR)
Battery technology group Iondrive raises $4m to pursue e-waste recycling plans in the US (BNA)
Partnership & Deals
AirTrunk, CDC, NextDC, AWS, Microsoft join forces on new peak body for data centres (Capital Brief)
Product Launches, Milestones and Expansion
Atlassian opens new Melbourne office in vote of confidence for Victoria’s tech scene (The Age)
Hello Clever secures an Australian Financial Services Licence to deal in non-cash payment facilities and foreign exchange services (Australian FinTech)
Venture Capital & Other Funding
$500m Aussie chipmaker Morse Micro launches pre-IPO round (AFR)
Blackbird writes down Culture Amp, Safety Culture as Airwallex, Eucalyptus shine (Capital Brief)
Boman Group launches $60m fund to back modular and construction-tech startups (Startup Daily)
Eucalyptus set to be Australia’s next unicorn at a $1.4b valuation with pending $190m raise (AFR)
EVP raises $100m fifth fund to back AI-driven B2B software startups (AFR)
Indigenous founder focused VC Ochre Ventures hits $30 million first close on $100m target (Startup Daily)
Pacific Channel, LaunchVic unveil $55m fund for deep tech startups (Capital Brief)
SolidHydrogen launches seed fundraise with the cornerstone committed from University of Sydney’s pre-seed fund (pv magazine)
People Moves & Spotlights
Lendi Group appoints Co-Founder Sebastian Watkins as new CEO (Australian FinTech)
Reports & Data
Climate Salad releases the 2025 Climate Tech Industry Report (Direct)
Other News & Updates
Yume Food collapses into liquidation after a decade of fighting food waste (SmartCompany)
Funding Rounds
Australis Scientific, a MedTech wearable patch that delivers tibial nerve stimulation for adults with urinary incontinence to reduce urgency and frequency, has raised $9.3m ($6m USD) from Rohto Pharmaceutical (Capital Brief | SmartCompany | InnovationAus)
Pay.com.au, a FinTech platform that lets businesses pay everyday expenses with linked bank accounts and credit cards to earn flexible rewards, has raised $25m from Morgans Corporate Limited, Ophir Asset Management, Thorney Investment Group, Wilson Asset Management and Angel Investors (SmartCompany | AFR)
Space CoLAB, a quantum encryption platform that prototypes field-hardened systems for defence to secure links, has raised an undisclosed amount from Antler (BNA)
Paperly, an EdTech platform that simplifies admin for primary and secondary schools to manage extracurriculars and parent communications, has raised $3m in a Undisclosed round from Tribe Global Ventures, Purpose Ventures and Skalata (BNA)