Five ANZ startups that raised $38.5 million this week

We’ve counted three local and two Kiwi startups that raised millions this week, including Hapana, Kinoxis Therapeutics, aglow, Appetise and Bike Matrix.

With a combined funding pool of more than $38 million, these startups are on a mission to change how fitness brands interact with customers, alleviate common symptoms associated with dementia, make meal preparation easy while giving marketing insights to FMCG companies, build a database for compatible bicycle parts, and help beauty operators unlock recurring revenue.

Keep reading to find out more.

Hapana: $17.3 million

Fitness tech startup Hapana leads this week’s funding round-up with a $17 million capital raise led by OIF Ventures and Bailador.

OIF Ventures contributed close to $10 million to the round and its partner Kevin Wilson will join the Hapana board. Bailador contributed $7.7 million, and co-founder and managing partner Paul Wilson will also join the Hapana board.

Founded in 2014 by CEO Jarron Aizen, Hapana is a global Software-as-a-Service platform designed for gyms, group fitness studios and franchises.

The platform is used by prominent fitness chains, including KX Pilates, BFT, F45, FS8, Gold’s Gym, STRONG Pilates, UFC Gym, Club Pilates, Vaura and Air Locker Training. The white-label offering allows these businesses to manage memberships, payments, customer loyalty and retention.

In a statement provided to SmartCompany, the startup said it plans to use the funding to expand its global reach, including across the Asia-Pacific region and in the US, as well as launch its second-generation platform.

Hapana said its tech is being used in 17 countries and over half a billion dollars in payments were processed via the platform last financial year. The company employs a team of 80 people.

“By providing these businesses with a holistic technology solution, we allow them to focus on what they do best, helping their clients achieve their fitness goals,” said Aizen in the statement.

Hapana’s second-generation platform is set to give its users “greater visibility and control over their network”, added Aizen.

“We’re modernising and streamlining the user experience and importantly, we are adding functionality for large franchise fitness brands,” he said.

“By expanding our platform to include new payment channels, we are helping these brands enter new markets and scale their locally developed fitness concepts on a global level. This initiative aligns with our primary goal for Hapana: to serve as a launchpad for global fitness brands.”

Kinoxis Therapeutics: $14.5 million

Biotech startup Kinoxis Therapeutics has raised $14.5 million in funding as it enters the next stage of clinical testing for its therapeutic drug that has the potential to lessen agitation and aggression in dementia patients.

The Series B round includes backing from existing investors, Uniseed, UniSuper, the University of Sydney, and Stoic VC. US-based Avicella Capital was among the new investors to join the round, along with existing and new sophisticated investors.

Founded by Hugh Alsop and associate professor Michael Bowen, Kinoxis was spun out of the University of Sydney in 2018 to develop novel therapies for behavioural and psychological symptoms in neuropsychiatric disorders.

Among these is KNX100, a drug that targets symptoms such as agitation and aggression in patients with dementia and a number of substance-use disorders.

The startup is due to start a Phase 2 study for the use of KNX100 with dementia patients this month. The study will involve 60 patients across eight sites and will be the first of its kind in Australia.

More than 400,000 Australians live with dementia, according to 2023 estimates from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and this figure is expected to more than double to close to 850,000 patients by 2058.

Kinoxis hopes the use of its therapies can help alleviate some of the symptoms that often lead to these people transitioning to assisted living facilities.

“This injection of funding comes at an important time,” said Kinoxis co-founder and CEO Hugh Alsop in a statement on Monday.

“We are targeting a significant unmet treatment need for dementia patients, potentially broadening the options for them to maintain a higher quality of life.

This is a new and highly promising area of development for KNX100, and we are grateful to have had the strong support from our major investors, who are keen to see us take KNX100 into human trials, following our highly encouraging preclinical results.”

Appetise (formerly known as MenuAid): $3.6 million

New Zealand-based meal planning and grocery shopping app MenuAid has announced a NZ$4 million raise in a Pre-Series A funding round led by OIF Ventures and Icehouse Ventures. The startup has also announced a rebrand with a change of name to Appetise on LinkedIn. Founded in 2021, by husband and wife duo Toby and Elise Hilliam, the startup serves more than 50,000 Kiwi and Australian users with its platform that offers custom recipe recommendations, and grocery ordering.

According to the startup, the new funding will be used to grow its team and expand its global operations.

As per the brand’s LinkedIn post, “our rebrand aim was simple: to strengthen the bond between food lovers, brands, and the cuisines they adore”.

The fresh new approach will also see Appetise move away from its NZ$4 weekly subscription model to a free-to-use platform, reports Startup Daily. The startup will instead monetise captured user data on the B2B side as a marketing insights platform for the food and beverage industry.

The startup has introduced ‘Appetise Insights’ for FMCG companies which will capture consumer behavioural data allowing marketers to use the findings to “streamline your decision-making process, justify your marketing investment, and improve your ROI”.

“Until very recently, FMCG brands have made huge business decisions based on claimed data found in U&A [usage and attitude] studies and survey panels. Appetise Insights has created an accessible, real-time and reliable data source built with real shopper behaviour, so businesses can make better-informed decisions,” CEO Toby Hilliam told Startup Daily.

“For consumers, Appetise will only be better than before. We’re pushing forward on the same mission to make it easier for consumers to eat healthy, save money and reduce the stress of their grocery shop,” he said.

Bike Matrix: $1.8 million

New Zealand-based bicycle parts compatibility startup Bike Matrix has raised NZ$2 million in a seed funding round “led by a seasoned industry veteran”, the startup disclosed in a LinkedIn post.

Bike Matrix was founded in 2022 by co-founders and bicycle mechanics Adam Townsend and Lyndal Bailey with the aim to remove “the confusion around bicycle parts compatibility by building a bike and aftermarket parts compatibility database and API”. In March 2023, Adam Barnes joined the Bike Matrix team as the tech co-founder. According to the startup, the funding will used to expand its team and “take Bike Matrix to the next level”.

The startup won the Eurobike Award 2024 in the digital solutions category earlier this year and boasts of 80 component brands and more than 25,000 bikes currently listed in its database.

“In five years, this will be the go-to method for finding bike parts, just like it is in the automotive industry,” co-founder Lyndal Bailey told Startup Daily.

Aglow: $1.25 million

A tech startup seeking to shake up the beauty industry has secured $1.25 million in funding, 15 months after its launch.

Aglow was founded by Karl Margrain and Jo Blundell and launched in May 2023, leveraging the founders’ fintech, SaaS and beauty-tech experience. The platform offers a membership model for the beauty industry, helping small businesses in the sector to secure predictable revenue and customers to manage their budgets. 

The funding round was led by Icehouse Ventures and Brand Fund, and included participation from Ryan Baker, founder of beauty-tech platform Timely, and existing investor Peter Haig, who co-founded ASX-listed payments provider Tyro.

In a statement provided to SmartCompany, aglow said its platform is already being used by more than 600 beauty salons and clinics, which collectively serve more than 5000 members in Australia and New Zealand.

These salons are generating more than $16 million in salon membership payments, according to aglow, which in turn is helping them smooth out their cash flow, obtain financing and increase the valuations of their businesses.

Co-founder and CEO Karl Margrain described the funding round as a “significant milestone” for the startup, which is also planning to expand to the US.

“It will accelerate our mission to transform financial stability for beauty businesses,” he added in the statement. 

“We’re excited to expand our impact across Australia and New Zealand, and this investment paves the way for our entry into the United States market. Our goal is to empower more beauty professionals with the tools they need to build predictable, growing revenue streams through memberships.”

A number of salons that use aglow are now generating more than $1 million in recurring revenue from members, added Margrain.

“It’s akin to a gym membership; 30 years ago gyms were predominantly pay-as-you-go like beauty is today,” he said. 

“Now, the recurring payment membership adoption across gyms is close to 100%. This membership movement we’re leading will be as impactful for this industry as gym memberships have been for the fitness industry.”

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