Nine Aussie startups that raised $38.3 million this week
Find out about nine Australian startups that collectively raised more than $38 million in new funding this week.
Startups building precision measuring tools, humanoid robots and energy storage tech are among those to close significant funding rounds this week.
Keep reading to find out more about nine Australian startups that collectively raised more than $38 million this week.
Liquid Instruments: $15 million
Canberra-born startup Liquid Instruments will use a $15 million investment from Breakthrough Victoria to help it establish an office in Melbourne and hire “dozens” of employees in Victoria.
Liquid Instruments was founded in 2014 by a team of physicists and engineers at the Australian National University (ANU), including co-founder and CEO professor Daniel Shaddock, who previously worked as an engineer at NASA’s jet propulsion lab.
Shaddock created measurement technology for gravitational waves while at NASA, and later teamed up with 11 co-founders at ANU to apply the technology to the development of reconfigurable, precision test and measurement instruments.
Whereas traditional test and measurement devices used by engineers, scientists and students are costly, inflexible and designed for single tasks, the devices created by Liquid Instruments can be reconfigured using field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and a software platform.
This means that the company’s devices can provide access to up to 14 different instruments via a single device, including tools such as oscilloscopes and lock-in amplifiers.
The company now lists its headquarters as San Diego, California, and prior to the investment from Breakthrough Victoria, had reportedly raised more than $50 million in external funding, including $28.5 million in September 2022 and $12 million in 2019.
Liquid Instruments has already been manufacturing products with Victorian partners, and it expects to expand on those partnerships in coming years as it establishes a local presence and hires staff in Melbourne.
It also plans to offer its internship program to undergraduate and graduate students at Victorian universities.
Archistar: $5 million
Proptech startup Archistar has now raised a total of $40 million in funding since it was founded in 2018, after completing a $5 million capital raise led by existing investors this week.
According to The Australian Financial Review, NAB Ventures, Skip Capital, ASX-listed PEXA and chairman Prabhat Sethi once again backed the startup in this latest round.
Previous funding rounds for the startup include a $6 million raise in 2021 and a Series A round in 2020 that was led by AirTree Ventures.
Archistar was founded by Dr Benjamin Coorey and his brother Robert Coorey in 2018 to help property developers, governments, architects and residents to make faster decisions around developments, through the use of digital planning records and AI-based software that can determine if a proposal complies with relevant planning rules.
The startup says it has witnessed a dramatic increase in demand from the public sector and in May, it was selected for the New South Wales government’s AI Solutions Panel.
CEO Dr Benjamin Coorey said in a statement at the time that participating in the panel will see Archistar collaborate with councils across NSW.
“Our goal is to make urban development more accessible, predictable, and efficient, and this opportunity allows us to extend our innovative solutions to more stakeholders in the urban planning ecosystem,” he said.
Linkby: $4 million
Adtech startup Linkby has raised $4 million in Series A funding for its platform that connects brands and publishers via a cost-per-click model.
Linkby was founded by Pedestrian TV co-founder Chris Wirasinha, along with Adrian Fagerlund and Andrew Chak in early 2020 and previously raised $5 million in seed funding in 2022, in a round led by OIF Ventures.
The latest funding round was led by Perennial Private Investments, with OIF Ventures once again backing the startup, according to The Australian Financial Review (AFR).
Wirasinha told the AFR he hopes Linkby will emulate the success he had with Pedestrian TV, which was sold to Nine in two transactions for a combined total of close to $50 million.
“They look very different, but I hope the end results are quite similar – both businesses that are loved by clients they work with, and with a team of talented superstars that love coming to work,” he said.
Linkby, which employs a team of more than 60, reportedly has some 1500 advertisers using the platform and a growing number of publishers that earn money each time a reader clicks through to an advertiser’s website.
The startup says it has generated 15 million clicks for publishers and advertisers to date.
Loopit: $3.95 million
Loopit, a startup that provides software for car-sharing platforms, has raised $3.95 million in pre-Series A funding, according to the AFR.
The new funding follows a $3.6 million seed round in June 2022, with Loopit reportedly wanting to complete a full Series A raise later this year.
Loopit was founded by brothers Michael and Paul Higgins in 2019, to provide white-label software for other firms that operate car subscription platforms.
The founders originally created the subscription platform for their only used car dealership HelloCars, which they launched in 2015. However, demand from customers and other car dealerships for alternative car ownership models led them to offer the tech to other operators under the Loopit name.
Existing investors Tidal, Upswell, Common Sense and Luxem participated in the startup’s latest funding round, along with new investors AeroCorp and Better Labs, the venture arm of the Royal Automobile Club of West Australia.
Andromeda: $3 million
Andromeda Robotics plans to use $3 million in fresh funding to continue rolling out its humanoid companion robot Abi across the country.
As SmartCompany reported earlier this week, the seed funding round was led by Purpose Ventures and follows $1 million in pre-seed funding from Galileo Ventures in late 2023.
Andromeda was launched in 2022 by robotics engineer Grace Brown, who is using her technical expertise along with character design from Disney and Pixar animators to build colourful, humanoid robots to be used as companions and supports in aged care facilities and hospitals.
The startup’s robots, named Abi, use AI and machine learning, which means they can be customised, learn from interactions, respond to questions, express emotions, and even recognise human faces.
The robots can help with daily tasks, while also offering social and cognitive support to help improve the quality of life and independence of their companions.
The $3 million in new funding will go towards enhancing Abi’s capabilities, expanding the Andromeda team, and supporting the startup’s move to larger manufacturing facilities in South Melbourne.
Naked Rivals: $3 million
Sydney-based healthy food brand Naked Rivals has locked in $3 million in fresh capital as it eyes global expansion.
Launched by Andrew and Kate Gordon in February this year, Naked Rivals’ frozen citrus cubes are already available from 1,600 supermarkets across the country, including Coles and Woolworths.
But the founders, who continue to run the business as a side hustle despite its rapid growth, are now looking further afield.
In a statement provided to SmartCompany, the company said it is in talks with several global distributors and fast-moving consumer group brands to “scale its product range internationally”.
With new products also under development, Naked Rivals is targeting an annual revenue of $120 million.
“We are delighted to have secured this substantial capital investment. Our success is rooted in our ability to prove and demonstrate our global scaling ambitions. Additionally, we’ve sharpened our value proposition, centered around the theme of ‘convenience with a conscience’,” said Andrew and Kate Gordon.
The funding comes from a single, unnamed ultra-high-net-worth family via the Australian Investment Network — an online portal that connects angel investors with growing brands.
MGA Thermal: $2.48 million
New South Wales-based MGA Thermal has secured $2.48 million from the federal government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), adding to an earlier investment of $1.27 million from ARENA in August 2022.
This new funding follows a $5.7 million raise in April, which was part of a $14 million funding round.
As of April 2024, MGA Thermal had raised a total of $28.8 million in funding and grants for its long-duration thermal energy storage tech, which it says has key applications in the mining, mineral processes and manufacturing industries.
The startup was founded in 2019 by Dr Erich Kisi and Dr Alexander Post, and was previously backed by industry giant Shell, which invested $560,000 in seed funding in MGA Thermal as part of its GameChanger startup accelerator fund in early 2023.
The startup’s ultimate goal is to abate 30 million tonnes of CO2 by 2030, which would be the equivalent of more than 23 years of commercial airplane flights between Sydney to Los Angeles.
MGA Thermal CEO Mark Croudace said with further support from ARENA, the clean energy company is a step closer to recommissioning its demonstration unit and scaling up for commercial deployment.
“A behind-the-meter energy storage solution that helps balance utility-scale renewables with distributed energy storage is vital for Australia to effectively manage the evolving supply-demand dynamics of a clean energy future,” he said in a statement provided to SmartCompany.
TrueState: $1.5 million
AI startup TrueState has secured $1.5 million in funding as it launches a platform that it says can allow businesses to quickly develop AI applications in a matter of days.
As reported by SmartCompany earlier this week, the funding comes from Airtree, Side Stage Ventures, Galileo Ventures and Imprint Capital Partners.
TrueState was founded by former McKinsey QuantumBlack consultant Will Ashford and officially launched this week.
The platform contains AI application templates for businesses, which can be integrated with customers’ operational data. The tech could then be used by companies to predict machinery failure or recommend actions to prevent customer churn, for example.
“Every industry is being reshaped by AI. Winners are defined by their ability to harness the right AI tools to deliver real commercial value before their competitors,” TrueState founder and CEO, Will Ashford said to SmartCompany.
“But right now, we’re seeing most businesses in one of two scenarios. They are either investing in a huge tangle of third-party AI toys that are more hype than impact, or they are taking months or even years to build their own AI tools, often relying on costly external consultancy firms.”
TrueState aims to help fill the gap between these scenarios with an intuitive platform that non-technical teams can use easily.
Maxme: $400,000
LaunchVic‘s Alice Anderson Fund has participated in a $400,000 capital raise by Melbourne-based startup Maxme, which offers human skill development programs.
Maxme was founded in 2019 by Renata Sguario, with a mission to equip employees with ‘human’ or ‘soft’ skills in rapidly changing workplaces.
The edtech startup does this through a number of apps and platforms, including gamified learning app Hodie, the Human Skills Academy virtual coaching platform, and the Amica program for secondary school students, along with tailored programs for organisations.
“Maxme has raised $400,000 after bootstrapping for four years to supercharge sales and scale at a time that the market needs us most,” Maxme founder and CEO, Renata Sguario told SmartCompany this week.
The funding will help Maxme continue to grow its reach and impact, particularly at a time when generative AI is being incorporated into more workplaces.
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