🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #129, 14th September 2025

$41.4m raised across 17 rounds, Cashrewards to close after 11 years, ANZ’s venture capital fund offloads $67m stake in Airwallex and Australia’s richest families plot country’s tech reboot

Top News

• Big tech’s platform fact checking ‘stalling’ in Australia (InnovationAus)

• Forrest, Zampatti families fund VC to back women start-up founders (AFR)

• Linktree CEO orders staff to use AI in quest for more 'time on craft' (Capital Brief)

• Sydney-founded Click Management to be acquired by GameSquare for $12.8 million (BNA)

• Digital agency Rocket lands Australian-first OpenAI deal to help SMEs use AI (SmartCompany)

• Investment NSW backs Equity Clear’s investment diversity data standard (SmartCompany)

• OpenAI execs hold talks with Jim Chalmers over 'strategic' Australian investment (Capital Brief)

• Airtree has been awarded Venture Firm of the year at this years Australian Investment Council awards (Craig Blair)

• Stripe Capital set for Australian rollout by end of 2025 (Capital Brief)

• Advanced Navigation plans global production network amid surging demand for GPS-denied technology (BNA)

• Beyond the funding funnel: Rethinking women, VC and the data shaping debate (Startup Daily)

• Macquarie, Nvidia tip into PsiQuantum's $1.5b Series E (Capital Brief)

• Australia’s richest families plot country’s tech reboot at private summit (The Age)

• Canva and Atlassian say AI not to blame for staff departures (AFR)

• Heidi Health targets petcare with AI platform in Greencross vet clinics (The Australian)

• QuickFee sells US Pay Now business to Aiwyn for A$40 million (Australian FinTech)

• ‘We can do it for under $100m’: Start-up joins race to build local ChatGPT (AFR)

• ANZ’s VC hedge, 1835i, cashes in its Airwallex stake for $67 million (Startup Daily)

• Cashback platform Cashrewards to close after 11 years (SmartCompany)

• Zeller challenges global fintech giants, launching new developer suite (The Australian)

• ANZ’s venture capital fund offloads $67m stake in Airwallex (AFR)

• Atlassian boss Mike Cannon-Brookes reneged on joint CEO succession deal, halting rise of Anu Bharadwaj (The Australian)

• Software Combined has acquired it’s first company in Europe - Unified Streaming (Software Combined)

Funding Rounds

• Freckle, a Clay alternative that sits on top of your CRM, auto-enriching every record coming in from any source, has raised $6.1m in a Seed round from Gradient, 1984 Ventures, CoVentures, Liquid2 Ventures and Mintaka (Capital Brief)

• Techstars has invested $180k ($120k USD) in the following Australian startups as part of it’s latest cohort (Startup Daily)

  • Briefcase, a legaltech startup which is building software for the online courts and tribunals of the future

  • Crystal aOS, an agentic operating system purpose built for crypto specific laws, guidance and cases

  • Juxtabyte, which is building a new way for large enterprises to compliantly manage their data, and improve data discoverability internally

  • MuseAI, an AI assistant for organising musicians’ notes and audio clips

  • OncoRevive, which is building early cancer detection through our advanced liquid biopsy technology

  • Onsite, an all in one platform for building and property management

  • Our Leg Up, which is building Australia's surrogate Bank of Mum and Dad

  • SurfLab, an end-to-end surf progression platform that personalises and accelerates surfers’ development,

  • VetNotes, automatic clinical note taking for veterinarians

  • Zipline AI, which helps brands and consumers to co-design products and content using simple text prompts,

• Andromeda, a Humanoid robotics startup, has raised $23m in a Series A round from Forerunner Ventures, Rethink Impact, Artesian, Main Sequence Ventures, Visible Ventures, Trampoline, Purpose Ventures and Startmate (Grace Brown | Capital Brief | AFR | SmartCompany)

• Wable, a social networking app for neurodivergent people, has raised $1.5m in a Series A round from Angel Investors (BNA | SmartCompany)

• X-Hemp, the manufacturer of hempcrete a sustrainable replacement for concrete which made from hemp fibres, has raised $3.4m in a Seed round from Danehill Group (Startup Daily | BNA)

• INTIX, which is transforming fan engagement and ticketing through a white label offering for sporting organisations that helps them streamline operations, grow fan bases and boost revenue, has raised an undisclosed amount (BNA)

• Harvest B, Australia's first plant-based protein ingredient manufacturer, has raised $5.6m in a Pre-Series A round from Mandalay Venture Partners, Breakthrough Victoria and Alberts (InnovationAus | BNA)

• GOLF.AI, an AI powered platform that unifies tee times, travel, rules, and play into one intelligent, trusted, and connected golf experience, has raised an undisclosed amount (Clive Mayhew)