Eight Aussie startups that raised $80 million this week

The Australian startups that raised fresh capital this week are building solutions for end-of-life planning, energy storage, the under-utilisation of community venues and more.

Keep reading to learn more about Safewill, Fresho, Celosia Therapeutics, FPR Energy, DataCo Labs, National Renewable Network, SpacetoCo, and Ajust which have collectively raised $80.05 million this week.

Safewill: $17 million

Digital estate planning startup Safewill leads this week’s funding round-up (along with Fresho) with a $17 million Series B round, which it says will bolster its goal to modernise estate planning across Australia.

The funding for the Sydney-based startup comes from joint leader investors Reinventure and King River Capital, along with Carthona Capital and Flying Fox Ventures.

A group of prominent founders and executives have also backed Safewill in this round, including Zip Co co-founder Larry Diamond, Betashares co-founders Alex Vynokur and Ilan Israelstam, former Perpetual CEO Geoff Lloyd and Chris Cuffe AO.

Safewill was launched in 2019 by CEO Adam Lubofsky and has previously raised $5.5 million in Series A funding in mid-2023.

More than 150,000 Australians have used Safewill to create legally binding wills, according to the startup, which is now planning to expand its offering to “build the products that help Australians navigate the loss of a loved one with dignity, simplicity and meaning”.

This will involve Safewill going from estate planning tools like wills, to estate administration and planning via a “technological ecosystem” of digital products and services “that support every stage of life’s journey, before and after death”.

“The traditional approach to estate planning in Australia is expensive, highly manual and often unsuitable for the lives of modern families,” said Lubofsky in a statement provided to SmartCompany.

“With over half of Australians currently without a will, our mission is clear: make it accessible for every single Australian to prepare their estate plan, and reduce the administrative and emotional burden on families now and into the future.”

“This funding enables us to extend our reach and accelerate our product development to meet rising demand,” added Lubofsky.

Safewill’s platform is available both to consumers and enterprises, with the likes of Maurice Blackburn, Mercer Super, Real Insurance and the Public Trustee and Guardian of the ACT using its enterprise-grade software.

The startup also partners with more than 250 charities in Australia and New Zealand to provide software for their bequest programs, and has spun out its own law firm that specialises in wills and estates, called Safewill Legal.

Reinventure managing partner Danny Gilligan said in the statement that Safewill represents “one of the most interesting fintech opportunities” he has seen in his career.

“It is also our favourite place to invest — at the intersection of large, overlooked markets and things important to society,” he said.

Fresho: $17 million

Also leading this week’s funding round-up is Melbourne-born produce logistics platform Fresho, which has secured an oversubscribed $17 million Series B funding round, led by Payapps co-founder Geoff Tarrant with contributions from new and returning shareholders.

The new funding brings the total investment in the startup to $50 million since its launch in 2016.

Founded by Huw Birrell and James Andronis, Fresho streamlines the relationship between fresh food wholesalers and restaurant kitchens, making it easier to automate orders and manage ever-changing produce pricing.

The 2022 Smart50 finalist now operates in Australia, the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand, with the new funding intended to drive its presence in the United States after early success in New York, California, and Texas.

“This funding marks an exciting new phase for us as we double down on our commitment to reshape the fresh food supply chain with innovative tech,” Birrell said in a statement.

Beyond its geographic expansion, the team says it will investigate how AI technology could enhance its platform.

“By investing in AI and emerging technologies, we’re not just enhancing operational efficiency; we’re enabling our customers to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market,” said Birrell.

“As we expand across our existing markets and enter the US, our focus remains on pioneering solutions that help fresh food wholesalers deliver outstanding service with speed, precision, and insight.”

Fresho has processed some 30 million orders to date, and is used by tens of thousands of chefs and kitchen managers.

Celosia Therapeutics: $16.75 million

Sydney-based biotech startup Celosia Therapeutics has also secured significant funding this week, after completing a $16.75 million Series A round for its therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disease.

ALS is the most common form of Motor Neuron Disease (MND). It causes the progressive loss of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, which causes muscle loss and eventual death.

While there is currently no cure for the disease or to reverse damage to motor neurons, Celosia’s lead therapy, CTx1000, has demonstrated the potential to stop the disease from progressing and reverse damage caused by it.

The startup’s latest funding round, which is being billed as one of the largest Series A rounds for an Australian biotech, was led by Uniseed.

It also included a major contribution from hedge fund manager and ALS patient, Iomar Barrett, as well as investment from super fund UniSuper.

Celosia CEO Dr Kathryn Sunn said the company’s CTx1000 therapy program is based on 15 years of research undertaken at Macquarie University, led by Celosia’s founder and chief medical officer professor Lars Ittner and investor and chief operating officer Yazi Ke.

“This landmark investment is a huge boost for the biotech sector, and not only validates Celosia’s innovative approach but also positions Australia at the forefront of global ALS research,” she said in a statement provided to SmartCompany.

“This new funding will fast-track clinical application of their research discoveries, enabling us to bring life-changing therapies to those who need them the most.”

Celosia was launched out of Macquarie University in 2022 with more than $2 million in seed funding and has had exclusive access to a number of patents for advanced gene therapies developed by the University’s researchers.

FPR Energy: $15 million

A new solar venture being spun out of the CSIRO has locked in $15 million in seed funding to help to commercialise its next-generation solar thermal tech.

FPR Energy officially launched this week, with new investors RFC Ambrian and Osaka Gas backing the venture in this seed round.

According to the CSIRO, the capital raise represents the largest ever seed funding round for a CSIRO co-founded venture.

Based in Newcastle, FPR Energy’s mission is to reduce industrial emissions, which currently account for 20% of Australia’s annual carbon output, with a particular focus on hard-to-abate heavy industries like minerals refining, steel, cement and chemical production.

It plans to do this by using CSIRO’s Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) technology, which uses ceramic particles to store sunlight as heat. This makes it possible to store energy for long periods of time to support industrial processes, as well as the production of green fuel and reliable power sources.

The CST tech developed by CSIRO can produce temperatures of up to 1200 degrees Celsius, which the government body says is an industry-first.

Following its launch, FPR plans to establish a 50-megawatt thermal demonstration plant, to prove the viability of the CST technology on a larger scale.

The venture also plans to expand the technology to other high-solar regions, including North and South America, the Middle East and Africa.

DataCo Labs: $6 million

Data collaboration startup DataCo Labs also announced new funding this week, to coincide with the launch of its new Collaborative Customer Growth Platform.

The startup has secured $6 million in seed funding from ANZ Bank, which also has a strategic partnership with DataCo Labs that allows the startup to use de-identified ANZ customer and transactional data on its platform.

In fact, DataCo Labs has been commercialised through 1835i Labs, which is the corporate venture capital and innovation partner of ANZ Bank.

The startup’s new platform combines insights from financial transactions with secure data collaboration technology to help companies plan, execute and measure their customer growth initiatives.

Its target industries include retail, media, consumer goods, travel and leisure.

DataCo Labs has also recently entered into strategic partnerships with major media organisations Nine Entertainment and Southern Cross Austereo, and worked with Business NSW to analyse the growth of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales period across the state.

“We originally built DataCo to deliver safe and simple collaboration technology that allows organisations to work together securely and responsibly on data,” explained co-founder and chief operating and product officer Danny Tyrrell in a statement provided to SmartCompany.

“As we’ve grown as a business, we’ve seen the potential to make a bigger impact with collaborative ecosystems by bringing technology, data, and industry expertise together into a platform that drives immediate insights and value to organisations.”

National Renewable Network: $4.3 million

With a mission to make solar energy more accessible for the average household, National Renewable (NRN) has secured an oversubscribed $4.3 million pre-Series A funding round.

As reported by Capital Brief, the round features investment from the Club Investible network, Electrifi Ventures, Jelix Ventures, and Ecotone Partners.

NRN allows households to install home solar panels and batteries with no upfront costs for the consumer.

Costs are recouped through bespoke deals with energy companies, allowing households to pay for the solar energy they use, along with a fixed daily fee to cover network costs.

NRN says this model allows households to access energy at a lower cost than traditional grid power, saving them in the long run.

The latest oversubscribed round demonstrates confidence in NRN’s model, founder and chief executive Alan Hunter told the publication.

NRN secured a $1 million pre-Series A round earlier this year, and gained access to a $10 million funding facility to drive its growth.

SpacetoCo: $2 million

Western Australian startup SpacetoCo has completed a $2 million capital raise as it prepares to expand its space-sharing platform into the UK.

The funding round was led by Purpose Ventures, also based in WA, and represents the sixth investment made by the VC fund since it was established 18 months ago.

SpacetoCo was founded by Daniel McCullen, Jeremy Hurst and Daniel Franco in 2017 and offers a way for members of the public to use under-utilised spaces, such as venues run by local councils and community centres.

The platform acts as a marketplace to connect those looking to hire a space for an event with councils or community organisations that have spaces available.

SpacetoCo provides these organisations with enterprise-level software to simplify their venue booking processes and reduce the associated administrative burden.

The startup’s platform is used by more than 42% of WA’s metro local governments and 10% of local councils across the country. It also operates in New Zealand, having expanded across the Tasman Sea in 2018, and has previously received funding from RAC’s $23 million Betterlabs fund.

SpacetoCo’s UK expansion plans are already underway, with the startup having been accepted into the UK government’s Global Entrepreneurs Program.

“We are looking forward to having the Purpose Ventures team on board and working with them as we take SpacetoCo’s growth to the next level,” said SpacetoCo CEO Daniel McCullen in a statement provided to SmartCompany.

“We are proud of the impact that we have had in Australia and NZ, unlocking access to under-utilised spaces and look forward to continuing our expansion into the UK in 2025.”

Ajust: $2 million

Ajust, a Sydney-based startup trying to make customer service a little smoother for consumers and businesses alike, has raised a new $2 million seed round.

The round was led by Carthona Capital and brings the startup’s total funding to $2.7 million since its launch in 2022.

Founded by Tom Kaldor, Ajust acts as a one-stop-shop for consumers looking to complain about a business, service provider, or government agency, instead of filing a complaint themselves.

Traditional complaint pathways can be confusing and demoralising, Kaldor says, leaving consumers without the answers they seek while lowering an organisation’s reputation.

Ajust invites consumers to share information about their complaints, processes that information using AI, and then contacts the organisation on the consumer’s behalf.

The correspondence Ajust sends to those organisations is tailored to their specific complaint-handling processes, Kaldor says, removing the guesswork for consumers.

Ajust is free for consumers but comes with a fee for participating organisations.

The pitch to businesses: signing up for Ajust might be cheaper or more efficient than building a DIY complaints-handling process, while also limiting reputational risk.

“A lot of customer service platforms optimise for efficiency and deflection — making customers go away as quickly and cheaply as possible,” said Damian Fox, partner at Carthona Capital, in a statement.

“Ajust flips this paradigm on its head with AI that’s focused on getting the best outcome for consumers, while minimising time wasted by everyone.”

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