17 ANZ startups that raised $39.15 million this week

An impressive number of local startups shared news of funding deals this week, thanks to group announcements by Melbourne University-linked funds and digital health accelerator ANDHealth+.

We also saw fresh funding flowing through to startups working on renewable energy, fintech, edtech solutions and medicinal cannabis.

Keep reading to find out more about 17 Australian and New Zealand startups that collectively raised more than $39 million this week.

Seven Melbourne Uni startups: $11.7 million

Seven startups will share in $11.7 million in new funding to help them commercialise research from the University of Melbourne.

The investment comes from the university’s Genesis Pre-Seed Fund — a $15 million fund operated in partnership with Breakthrough Victoria — and the Tin Alley Ventures fund, which is a $125 million joint venture with Tanarra Capital.

The seven startups to receive funding are:

• Porous Lane, a company that is creating highly permeable, eco-friendly pavement that captures and recycles water to promote a healthier environment;
• Cell Bauhaus, a startup using maths and computer modelling to understand, predict and alter the behaviour of living cells;
• Remagine Labs, a company making a Bluetooth-connected, wearable electro-pharmaceutical to provide patient-centred care and consistent medication doses;
• Proxima Bio, a WEHI startup that is developing the next generation of medicines, with potential applications in autoimmune diseases and cancers;
• exteRNA, a Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and WEHI startup that is developing novel drugs that are capable of regulating RNA biology for the treatment of cancer;
• Apromore, a startup aiming to help businesses improve their performance by providing access to clear, real-time digital transparency of process data; and
• FlowAI, a startup using AI-enabled design and continuous manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients for critical medicines.

Of the seven startups, five received investment from Tin Alley Ventures and three from the Genesis Pre-Seed Fund, including a syndicated investment into Cell Bauhaus from both funds.

Both the Genesis Pre-Seed Fund and the Tin Alley Ventures fund are in their second year of operation.

University of Melbourne vice-chancellor professor Duncan Maskell said the investments show how the University is supporting the development of new technologies, products and services in areas such as healthcare and sustainability.

“By supporting startups like the ones we are announcing today, we are fostering innovation, transforming industries, driving economic growth and creating jobs,” he said in a statement.

“The breadth of the work emerging from these seven startups is a testament to the exceptional talent within our university community.”

Emerge: $10.8 million (NZ$12 million)

Also announcing new funding this week was New Zealand fintech Emerge, which has secured $10.8 million (NZ $12 million) for its would-be business-focused challenger bank.

According to Startup Daily, the Series A funding round was led by Altered Capital, with participation from Icehouse Ventures, K1W1, NZ Fintech Fund and US investor Hard Yaka.

Emerge was founded in 2021 by Jamie Jermain and Jovan Pavlicevic, with the startup previously focusing on improving financial literacy among children under its former name, SquareOne.

It rebranded as Emerge and pivoted to providing B2B banking services in April this year.

The new funding is reportedly earmarked for hiring across the startup’s marketing, sales and product functions, as well as accelerating its go-to-market strategy.

Emerge is not yet a bank but offers business accounts and cards via its app, and offers a product called EmergePay that allows customers to use their smartphones as payment terminals.

“Emerge is so much more than just better business accounts – it’s a gateway to smarter, faster business operations,” co-founder Pavlicevic said, according to Startup Daily.

“With this new capital, we’re excited to really expand our impact and keep helping NZ do more with money.”

Green Gravity: $9 million

Wollongong-based renewable energy startup Green Gravity has successfully completed its Series A funding round, securing $9 million from a mix of new and existing investors.

Green Gravity, which was founded by Mark Swinnerton in 2021, repurposes legacy mine shifts for utility-scale long-duration energy storage.

The Series A funding comes from a host of institutional investors, including HMC Capital, BlueScopeX, Pacific Channel and Sumisho Coal Australia Holdings (SCAP H).

Green Gravity has an existing partnership with BlueScope X, with BlueScope hosting the startup’s demonstration plant at its Port Kembla Steelworks facility.

In a statement on Tuesday, Green Gravity said the new funding would go towards completing the remaining product development for its mineshaft-based gravitational energy storage tech.

This will include engineering and physical testing of the system at the scale needed to then make decisions about deploying the tech commercially.

“This funding round, backed by a world-class syndicate of investors, demonstrates the game-changing impact Green Gravity is having on the renewable energy storage landscape,” said founder and CEO Mark Swinnerton.

“This unique blend of global technology knowledge, Australian manufacturing credentials, mining services expertise and large-scale listed infrastructure investment capacity will set us up for success as we move decisively to deploy this innovative clean energy solution.”

Viridian Renewable Technology: $2.5 million

Melbourne-based startup Viridian Renewable Technology is set to ramp up its manufacturing capacity and create 15 new jobs, after receiving a $2.5 million investment from Victorian government-backed Breakthrough Victoria (BV).

Viridian, which operates a commercial plant in Derrimut, transforms food waste into new pet and agricultural products through sustainable insect protein manufacturing.

The company says it produces insect-based protein ingredients for pet and animal feed that are higher in nutritional value and more environmentally friendly, as well as fertiliser products that support regenerative agriculture.

Its circular economy approach aims to reduce food waste, while also lowering the emissions traditionally produced from food, feed and fertiliser products.

The new funding will help Viridian with its plans to build two additional manufacturing plants in Gippsland, and collaborate with Victorian universities and engineering businesses on research projects in the future.

CEO Martin Pike said the support from Breakthrough Victoria will help Viridian solve the food wastage programs of more Victorian businesses.

“We are excited to contribute more to Victoria’s growing circular economy sector and create a tangible environmental and economy impact,” he said in a statement provided to SmartCompany.

Five medtech startups: $3.25 million

Five medtech startups will share in $3.25 million in new funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), after securing stage-two funding in the ANDHealth+ accelerator program.

The startups to receive funding are:

• Eugene;
• Atmo Biosciences;
• Immunosis;
• Metabolic Health Solutions; and
• Humanetix.

In a statement provided to SmartCompany, ANDHealth+ said the funds will help the startups undertake further studies and scale their operations as they work to solve major health issues, including genomics and genetic testing, gut and metabolic health, immune deficiencies and improving clinical efficiencies.

The startups, which started the program in August 2023, are part of the third ANDHealth+ cohort to receive funding from the MRFF. As part of the program, they have received preliminary funding for Stage 1 projects, as well as support from local and international advisors, experts and investors.

ANDHealth CEO and managing director Bronwyn Le Grice said the five companies have high growth potential and are tackling health issues that Australians deal with on a daily basis.

“The funded projects will not only look at the commercial and clinical milestones these Australian health businesses need to meet, but provide expert support and advice, access to global partnerships and critical non-dilutive funding to ensure these solutions make it into the hands of patients, clinicians and care teams as swiftly as possible,” added Le Grice.

Earlier this year, the MRFF invested $3.25 million in non-dilutive funding in four other Australian medtech startups through the ANDHealth+ program.

The program is run by ANDHealth, which focuses on helping digital health startups to commercialise. In February, an independent report found every $1 invested into the sector via ANDHealth+ results in $19.70 in capital being raised and the creation of $4.20 in gross economic value. On average, startups that participate in the program go on to raise $1.1 million in capital within six months.

Polymath: $1.5 million

On Monday evening, Startmate alumni Polymath revealed it closed a $1.5 million pre-seed funding round earlier this year.

SmartCompany‘s Tegan Jones was in the audience at Startmate’s Demo Day, during which a video was played featuring Polymath co-founder Sophie Silver.

Silver mentioned the edtech’s capital raise in the video and Tegan is working on finding out more details.

New Zealand-based Polymath focuses on turning maths into individual, tailored games for children.

Read more of our rolling coverage of SXSW Sydney here.

Byron Bay Bio: $400,623

Sydney-based medicinal cannabis startup Byron Bay Bio has secured more than $400,000 in fresh funding via an equity crowdfunding campaign. The round, raised via Birchal, saw participation from 197 investors.

Founded by Will Stolk, Byron Bay Bio believes DNA analysis, targeted specifically to the medicinal cannabis market, could help cultivators patent and commercialise their innovations.

“This new funding will help us ramp up the pressure on the Australian government to legalise over-the-counter cannabis products, such as our flagship Byron Bay CBD product lines,” said Stolk According to a report by Business News Australia.

Speaking to SmartCompany recently, Byron Bay Bio CEO and repeat entrepreneur Jeff Lang said the venture is already working with 14 cultivators across Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Thailand, and Colombia to identify novel genomes, with the goal of securing intellectual property protection.

“We consider the pharmaceutical industry and medicinal industry coming into this sector,” Lang told SmartCompany.

“They’re going to want that IP protection. They’re going to want their licensing. They want that standardisation and quality level.”

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