Three Aussie startups that raised $198.4 million this week

This week’s startup funding round-up may feature only three companies, but combined, they have raised close to $200 million in fresh funding to continue tackling some of the biggest tech challenges of our time: cybersecurity, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence.

Take a look at the three Australian startups that raised millions in capital this week.

Bugcrowd: $156 million

Australian crowdsourced security startup Bugcrowd leads the pack this week with a mammoth capital raise, having secured $156.2 million (US$102 million) in strategic growth financing at an undisclosed valuation.

The raise, which the company says will see it embark on a new phase of global expansion and innovation in cybersecurity solutions, was led by US investors General Catalyst, Costanoa, and Rally Ventures.

It follows a successful Series D round in 2020 and will see Mark Crane, partner at General Catalyst, and Paul Sagan, senior advisor at General Catalyst, join the Bugcrowd board of directors.

Bugcrowd’s platform connects organisations with a global network of ethical hackers to identify vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

The startup, which was founded in Sydney in 2012, successfully completed a Series D round in 2020, adding to the millions of dollars raised through successive funding rounds over the past decade.

It plans to use the latest capital injection to introduce new technological innovations and enhancements to its platform, some of which will roll out in the next 30 to 60 days, according to CEO Dave Gerry.

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Diraq: $23 million

Also securing fresh funding this week was quantum computing startup Diraq, which raised $23 million in an extended Series A funding round.

As reported by SmartCompany, the round was led by the dedicated quantum technology fund Quantonation, with Higgins Family Investments and the University of New South Wales also participating.

Diraq, which was founded by CEO Andrew Dzurak, previously raised $30.6 million in Series A funding, led by Allectus Capital.

The startup wants to transform quantum computing by handling everything from the creation of the quantum hardware through to its real-world applications. To date, it has raised more than US$120 million and now holds 11 patents.

“This new funding will be used to expand our talented team in Australia and launch in the US as well as capitalise on our existing international partnerships,” Dzurak said in a statement.

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Marqo: $19.4 million

Australian startup Marqo has secured US$12.5 million ($19.4 million) in Series A funding less than six months after closing its seed funding round, as it prepares to shift its headquarters to California.

In August 2023, the previously Melbourne-based startup raised $8.1 million in seed funding, led by Blackbird, to develop its vector search engine powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Five months later, Blackbird has participated in Marqo’s Series A round, which was led by Silicon Valley investor Lightspeed. Also participating in the round was January Capital and Chronosphere founder and chief technology officer Rob Skillington.

Coinciding with the raise, Marqo plans to establish its headquarters in San Francisco, while still maintaining a presence in Melbourne and London.

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