The Alice Anderson Fund Backed Women Founders when They Needed It Most, but It’s Now Under Threat
Elena Tsalanidis highlighted how the Alice Anderson Fund has been a lifeline for women‑led startups, offering pre‑seed capital and a tight‑knit community that helped launch her AI‑driven legal platform, Deeligence. She praised the fund’s early conviction and the networking dinners that turned isolation into collaboration. However, she warned that the fund’s model is now under threat as women’s share of Australian venture capital has slipped from 15% in 2024 to 11% by Q3 2025. Tsalanidis called for greater funding transparency and a renewed commitment to backing diverse founders.
Lyka Fetches $67 Million to Scale Fresh Pet Food Model
Lyka, the Australian fresh‑dog‑food startup, secured $67 million in a Series C round led by New York‑based LGVP. The funding will fuel global expansion, new product lines, and peer‑reviewed clinical trials on canine health and longevity. Lyka now reports roughly $200 million in annual...
Future Minds Network Banks $650,000 to Elevate Young Australian Entrepreneurs
Future Minds Network has secured $650,000 to scale its accredited entrepreneurship pathway for low‑income Australian students. The program will serve up to 80,000 Year‑12 dropouts across regional communities, offering six‑week workshops, real‑world startup experience, and $3,000 tuition savings with university...
Veyor Raises $10.5 Million in Series A Funding to Grow Construction Logistics Platform
Construction logistics platform Veyor secured a $10.5 million Series A round, valuing the company between $50 million and $75 million. The round was led by Marbruck Investments with participation from CoAct, Investible and SpringCapital. US revenue now exceeds 30 % of total sales and is...
AI Sales Startup Firmable Bags $14 Million to Expand to the US
AI‑powered B2B sales startup Firmable announced a $14 million Series A round led by existing backer Airtree, earmarked for a U.S. market rollout and further development of its proprietary data engine and AI agents. The company, founded by former Aconex executives in...
What VCs Actually Mean when They Say Your Startup Is “Too Early”
Venture capitalists increasingly label pitches as “too early,” a phrase that often masks deeper concerns about product validation, market readiness, or fit rather than pure timing. At a Melbourne Growth Summit, Rampersand’s Paul Naphtali explained that the comment can be a...
Victoria Takes Venture Capital Crown From NSW in $2.2 Billion Funding Surge
Victoria’s venture capital ecosystem surged in 2025, raising $2.2 billion across 134 deals – a 2.9‑times increase year‑on‑year and the state’s second‑largest funding year on record. The growth was driven by a sharp rise in mid‑size ($20‑49.9 million) and large ($50 million‑plus) rounds,...
Marco Pierre White-Backed EatClub Raises $27 Million in Series B
Melbourne‑based restaurant marketplace EatClub has closed a $27 million Series B round, led by Marbruck, pushing its valuation above $200 million. The funding follows a rapid UK rollout that has signed more than 1,000 restaurants and tripled order volumes since its London debut...
Appetise Secures $7 Million to Turn Meal Plans Into Market Research
Appetise, the New Zealand‑origin meal‑planning app, closed a $7 million Series A round led by Icehouse Ventures, less than a year after launching in Australia. The company switched its consumer product to a free model to build a behavioural data engine that powers...
HotDoc Goes From GP to PE as Founder Confirms Sale to Potentia
HotDoc, the Australian platform linking patients to their preferred GPs, has been sold to private‑equity firm Potentia, which leads a consortium including Acclivis Group and existing backer Airtree. The deal, valued between $250 million and $300 million, follows years of growth to...
Fluent Commerce Raises $46 Million to Help Retailers Get AI-Ready
Fluent Commerce, the Australian order‑management platform, secured $46 million in a financing round led by Bain Capital. The new capital will accelerate its AI‑focused product roadmap, including a rapid data‑integration tool and a multi‑context protocol server that connects AI agents to...
Proptech eGuarantee Raises $5.5 Million for Its Digital Lease Bond Platform
Sydney‑based proptech eGuarantee secured $5.5 million in new capital, boosting Correlation’s ownership to over 60 percent. The infusion backs rapid scaling of its digital Lease Bond platform, which has lifted bond values from $8 million to more than $100 million in under four years....
Steve Baxter: Why I’ll only Invest in Australian Defence Startups that Are Serious About the US
Steve Baxter announced that his fund will only back Australian defence startups that demonstrate a concrete plan to establish a U.S. presence. He argues that the U.S. defence budget—about $1.5 trillion—offers the scale required for venture‑backed growth, far beyond Australia’s $35 billion....
HAMR Energy Lands $10 Million Runway From Qantas and Airbus
Australian low‑carbon fuel startup HAMR Energy closed a $10 million Series A round backed by Qantas, Airbus and Thyssenkrupp Uhde. The capital will accelerate its flagship Portland Renewable Fuels project, targeting 300,000 tonnes per year of methanol derived from plantation forestry residues. A...
Operata Raises $11 Million Series A as AI Reshapes Contact Centres
Melbourne‑born SaaS firm Operata secured an $11 million Series A round, lifting its valuation to $100 million. The funding, led by Tidal Ventures with participation from Glitch Capital and existing backers, will accelerate integration with major contact‑centre platforms and global expansion. Operata positions...
Neara Powers up to Unicorn Status with $90 Million Capital Raise
Neara, a Sydney‑based digital‑twin startup, secured $90 million in a Series D round, pushing its valuation above $1 billion. The round, led by TCV and joined by existing backers, brings total external capital to roughly $180 million. Neara’s AI‑driven platform now models 15 million assets...
CorePlan Raises $5 Million to Expand Its Mining Software Platform
Perth‑based CorePlan secured a $5 million follow‑on round led by existing backer EVP to accelerate its mining software platform. The funding will fuel global team growth, extend the solution into drilling and geology workflows, and deepen presence in the Americas and...
Real Estate Startup Agentsy Closes $700,000 Pre-Seed Raise
Australian proptech startup Agentsy announced the close of a $700,000 pre‑seed round led by Empress Capital. The funding coincides with the launch of its AI‑driven platform from closed beta to a nationwide commercial release for residential real‑estate agencies. Agentsy’s software...
