Breakthrough Victoria Scores 5x Uplift on Investment in US Quantum Startup Listing on the NYSE
Breakthrough Victoria’s A$29 million stake in US‑based Infleqtion has generated a five‑fold value increase after the company listed on the NYSE via a SPAC merger. Infleqtion raised US$550 million, debuting at US$14.25 per share and closing at US$15.59, a 14% first‑day gain. The Victorian fund retained its shareholding, reinforcing its commitment to the region’s quantum ecosystem. CEO Rod Bristow highlighted the IPO as a milestone for both the fund and Australia’s quantum ambitions.
Digital Broker Konkrd Just Changed How You Buy Health Insurance, Using AI
Konkrd, a digital broker founded by former iSelect executives, completed Australia’s first fully autonomous health‑insurance sale using its agentic AI platform. The end‑to‑end process guided a real customer through a needs analysis, policy recommendation, and final purchase without manual intervention,...
LaunchVic OG Boss Kate Cornick Departs to Become Tech Council CEO
LaunchVic CEO Dr Kate Cornick resigned after a decade to become chief executive of the Tech Council of Australia, succeeding Damian Kassabgi. During her tenure, Victoria’s startup ecosystem expanded to 4,400 firms and a $139 billion valuation. The move coincides with...
Seek’s VC Fund Is Conscious Uncoupling with Employment Hero
Seek Investments, the venture arm of ASX‑listed job portal Seek, announced the divestment of its remaining stake in HR platform Employment Hero, concluding an eight‑year partnership. Employment Hero now generates over $300 million in annual recurring revenue and serves more than...
UNSW Puts $35 Million Into Uni Startup Spinouts
UNSW Sydney is allocating $35 million to boost research commercialisation, including a $25 million pre‑seed fund and a $10 million investment in VC High Street Ventures, with the goal of launching 50 spinout companies by 2030. The pre‑seed fund will provide up to...
Techstars Sydney Is the Latest Victim of the NSW Government’s Ongoing Startup Purge
Techstars Sydney accelerator is shutting down after its three‑year contract with the NSW government expired, ending the state’s funding for the program. Over three cohorts the accelerator invested more than $6 million in 36 startups, with 58% receiving their first external...
Former Canva Exec’s Product Mapping Startup, Adora, Designs $9.9 Million Seed Round
Adora, an AI‑powered journey‑mapping platform co‑founded by former Canva product head Omar Salem, closed a $7 million seed round led by Blackbird Ventures. The tool automatically captures screens, interactions and user paths, turning them into live visual maps enriched with analytics...
Startmate Launches Social Enterprise Stream Backing Founders Taking on Society’s Biggest Problems
Startmate has added a dedicated Social Enterprise stream to its Launch Club pre‑accelerator, offering four to six fully‑funded scholarship spots for founders tackling social or environmental challenges. Applications close on March 1, with the cohort launching in late March. The program...
Deel Has $21 Million up for Grabs in Its Global Seed-Stage Startup Comp, The Pitch
Deel, the global HR and payroll platform, has launched The Pitch, an international competition offering a $15 million prize pool for seed‑stage startups. Up to 100 regional winners will each receive $50,000, while ten global champions can earn $1 million to accelerate...
Ladies, Bring an LLM: Most AI Assistants Are Feminine, Which Is Fuelling Sexism
AI voice assistants have surpassed eight billion units in 2024, and the vast majority default to female voices and gendered names. Research shows up to 50 % of interactions involve verbal abuse, with female‑embodied agents attracting significantly more sexual harassment than...
Atlassian’s First Investor Leads $8.55 Million Seed in Workflows Documentation Startup Fluency
Australian AI‑driven workflow documentation startup Fluency announced a $6 million seed round, led by Accel, Atlassian’s first external investor. The round, which also includes DST Global Partners and other venture firms, values the company at roughly $30 million. Proceeds will be used...
South Australian Startup Splose Raises $46 Million in Another Series A
Adelaide‑based Splose secured a $46 million Series A round, the largest ever for a South Australian SaaS firm, led by US growth equity firm Spectrum Equity with participation from Athletic Ventures. The funding follows rapid user growth to over 20,000 allied health...
