Seven Aussie startups that raised $155.5 million this week

It’s been a somewhat quieter week for startup funding news, compared to the more than $230 million raised last week.

But, with just days to go until many Australian businesses take a well-deserved summer break, big deals are still being done.

Keep reading to learn about seven local startups that have collectively secured $155.5 million in new funding this week.

Jet Charge: $72 million

Melbourne-based Jet Charge leads the funding round-up this week, with a $72 million capital raise to help it roll out its electric vehicle charging service offering.

The large capital injection comes from lead investor Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, via its Mirova Energy Transition Fund 6 (MET6). Existing investors also participated, including the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, RACV and Kilara Capital.

Jet Charge was founded in 2012 by Tim Washington and Ellen Liang and originally focused on supplying, installing and maintaining EV chargers for private use at homes and offices.

In early 2022, the company raised $25 million in Series B funding, and in April 2023, it was selected to participate in LaunchVic’s 30X30 program for scale-ups.

Six months later, Jet Charge launched a $24.9 million ‘Charging as a Service’ (CaaS) project to make it easier for business fleets to switch to EVs.

Jet Charge plans to use this new funding to ramp up this program, as well as continuing to expand its EV charging infrastructure, which can now also be found at transport depots across the country and in other commercial settings.

In a statement on Thursday, Jet Charge said it has delivered more than 20,000 chargers and accessories and has recently expanded its services to New Zealand.

“JET Charge was founded on the belief that electrifying transport is key to achieving a sustainable future,” said co-founder and CEO Tim Washington.

“This funding will enable us to build the scalable, accessible, and reliable infrastructure required to make EVs a practical choice for every Australian and New Zealander.”

Myriota: $50 million

Adelaide nanosatellite startup Myriota is preparing to hire 100 new staff members and expand internationally, after completing a $50 million capital raise.

As reported by SmartCompany, the funding round includes $25 million from the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC).

This is the third major investment from the NRFC in recent weeks, with the fund also backing quantum computing startup Quantum Brilliance and mining services company Russell Mineral Equipment.

Myriota was founded in 2015 by Dr Alex Grant and Dr David Haley and the company’s nanosatellite technology facilitates Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity across industries like agriculture, mining, and defence.

The company has developed South Australia’s first state-owned satellite, Kanyini, and earlier this year, received a $1.5 million Moon to Mars grant from the Australian Space Agency.

The new funding will go towards building out Myriota’s manufacturing capabilities at its South Australian facility, driving the company’s partner ecosystem and enabling large-scale deployment of IoT sensors.

Read more.

Vault Cloud: $22.5 million

Speaking of the NRFC, cloud computing provider Vault Cloud has raised $22.5 million in Series B funding, with the NRFC as the lead investor. Additional contributions came from private Australian investors.

Founded in 2012, Vault specialises in secure, sovereign, and hyperscale cloud infrastructure, catering to government, defence, and critical infrastructure sectors. It was the first cloud services provider certified by the Australian Signals Directorate to host highly classified workloads.

The new capital will be used to enhance Vault’s existing offerings, such as its SECRET Cloud platform, and to develop innovative services like AUKUS cloud capability and deployed tactical cloud solutions. This investment will also support the expansion of Vault’s AI-driven security features.

Read the full story here.

WearOptimo: $8 million

Queensland-based health tech startup WearOptimo has secured support from prominent investors as part of an $8 million funding round that will help it reach its goal of commercialisation by the end of 2026.

As reported by The Australian Financial Review, the funding round was led by former National Rugby League star, and founder of The Man Shake, Adam MacDougall, and included participation from healthcare provider Aspen Medical and retired Formula 1 star Mark Webber.

The startup was founded in 2018 by biomedical engineer and academic Professor Mark Kendall, who previously founded the needle-free vaccine delivery device company Vaxxas.

WearOptimo is working on small, AI-enhanced wearable sensors that can detect the hydration levels of their users. The sensors are worn directly on the skin and are designed to help identify hydration risks among field workers, military personnel, athletes and hospital and aged care patients.

The company already has a distribution deal with Aspen Medical and has established a $7 million manufacturing facility in Brisbane.

It has also secured $10 million in grant funding to progress its tech from its current proof-of-concept stage, and in November 2022, raised $5 million in funding for clinical trials at Queensland University of Technology.

8seats: $2 million

A Sydney-based messaging startup that wants to take on WhatsApp and Slack has raised $2 million in seed funding from a roster of high-profile investors that includes former Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci.

Designed for the nearly 12 million ‘deskless’ workers in Australia — and more than 1 billion globally — 8seats is building a communication platform for workers that don’t require personal phone numbers or corporate email addresses.

Founded by CEO Iain McDonald in 2021, the startup has raised a seed round following success with an early-access rollout and ahead of its public launch in 2025.

The seed funding comes from Black Nova, along with Banducci and tech entrepreneurs Mike Priddis and Greg Miller.

A number of angel investors are also backing the startup, including TBWA president Paul Bradbury, Prezzee’s Tony Karp and Innovation Bay’s Ian Gardiner, while its advisory board features the likes of Jodie Fox, founder and CEO of Shoes of Prey; John Moore, former head of innovation at Bupa; and Michael Buckley, former managing director of Accenture Digital.

8seats says its platform will be particularly useful for industries like retail and hospitality, where employees are working both in the office and on the grounds, and will offer a more secure option than employees using personal chat apps for work.

The startup has 41 pending patent claims for its platform, which has processed more than 300,000 messages since launching in closed beta.

Founder and CEO Iain McDonald said 8seats is “on a mission to disrupt the norm” with its device-agnostic platform.

“In a world dominated by legacy platforms, we’re here to give businesses a smarter, simpler way to connect and collaborate across every employee, from the shop floor to the boardroom,” he said in a statement provided to SmartCompany.

Cormagna: $704,973

Healthtech startup Cormagna plans to use more than $700,000 in new funding to accelerate the development of its remote heart monitoring device, which it hopes will better support people living with heart disease.

The Melbourne-based startup, which was founded by Amber Tan and Eric Shum, secured funding from 22 investors via an equity crowdfunding campaign on Birchal, which closed last week.

Cormagna has been undertaking research and development for its device, which is not yet available for sale or approved by regulatory bodies.

According to the company’s Birchal profile, it is planning to develop a “suite of AI-enabled heart health solutions”, which will allow people living with heart disease to “monitor their condition within the comfort of their own home, and assist clinicians in identifying earlier points of targeted intervention and improve patient management to achieve better health outcomes”.

Wosup: $301,000

Also successfully raising funds via a Birchal campaign this week was Wosup, a startup that is helping shopping centres, sporting venues and more to ditch single-use plastic cups.

Wosup (which is an acronym for ‘war on single-use plastic’) reached its maximum fundraising target of around $300,000 prior to its Birchal campaign closing on Thursday, with 93 investors choosing to back the company.

Founded by Karl Page and Martin Salter, Wosup provides venues with reusable, infinitely recyclable aluminium cups and generates revenue across four streams: fee-per-cup usage, upfront service fees, sponsorship opportunities, and public sales.

The company completed 48 events in 2024 and hopes to double this in 2025.

It says it has diverted more than 90,000 plastic cups from landfill since January 2023, having worked with prominent clients such as GWS GIANTS, Sydney Showground, Stadiums QLD, Rugby Australia, PMY, The Australian Turf Club and Lion.

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