Last Week in Australian Startups #83, 2nd September 2024
Last Week in Australian Startups #83, 2nd September 2024
I was away this weekend and as with most trips you always think you have more time than you actually do when you get back home, hence the day late post and a quick round up on the key ASX updates in tech;
Appen reduces losses by $25.5m, share price regains ground lost from Google contract termination (BNA)
Dubber at risk of insolvency as auditors flag 'material uncertainty' (Capital Brief)
SiteMinder narrows FY loss, targets 30% revenue growth (Capital Brief)
User growth reignites to deliver Beforepay its first full-year profit (Australian FinTech)
Kogan scrapes its way back into the black with small profit after 'turbulent' years (BNA)
ASX-listed fintech lender Wisr bolsters its balance sheet and returns to growth (Australian FinTech)
NextDC shares dip on lower-than-expected FY25 guidance (Capital Brief)
Airtasker shrinks losses as it eyes US deals (The Australian)
Tyro Payments profit surges fourfold to $25.7M despite transaction volumes flatlining (BNA)
Why tech bolters are lighting up reporting season (AFR)
Top News
Airwallex CEO Jack Zhang lifts lid on staff turnover (The Age) → (Jessy Wu’s commentary)
Google shrinks media code deals by 40% as Labor weighs options on Meta (Capital Brief)
Main Sequence launches Atmosphere to boost early-stage Australian deep tech startups (Capital Brief)
Airwallex has published a first-of-its kind report examining the opportunities and business challenges facing Australian founders - The Australian Startup Financial Confidence Report 2024 (Airwallex)
Almost $700M of funding rounds in fintech were unannounced in 2023 according to Techboard (Startup Daily)
The Australian government is threatening quantum founders with 10 years in jail if they export it without permission (Startup Daily)
Nine mulls what to do with Domain stake, again (AFR)
Why founders and VCs keep funding deals quiet — more often than you realise (Capital Brief)
The Walter & Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) for medical research has launched a $66M VC fund to back medtech startups (Startup Daily)
Square Peg's Paul Bassat insists VC remains his main focus despite new democracy initiative Amplify (Capital Brief)
Samsara Eco partners with global nylon leader NILIT to develop the world's first nylon 6,6 textile-to-textile recycling facility (Capital Brief)
Debt dealmakers prepare to lend big for winner of $20B-plus AirTrunk (AFR)
NAB report blasts Meta and other social media giants tardiness on scams (The Australian)
Elmo Software owner, K1 Investment Management parades 10x EBITDA at sale kick-off (AFR)
Procreate founder James Cuda doubles down on his criticism of 'overhyped' generative AI (Capital Brief)
AustralianSuper has written off more than $1.1B in equity and loans in Pluralsight, a Utah-based video training firm once valued at more than $US5 billion (AFR)
From Reinventure to reinvention: Westpac's mutating VC journey (Capital Brief)
Payments player Zeller eyes overseas opportunities (The Australian)
Tech accelerator and early-stage investor Scalare Partners targets $8m backdoor listing on ASX (BNA)
The Albanese government is preparing to force social media platforms to obey mandatory codes of conduct (The Australian)
Funding Rounds
Cropify, an AgTech startup that utilises computer vision and AI to classify pulses and grains, has raised a $2M Seed round from Mandalay Venture Partners and Hatcher+ (SmartCompany | BNA)
Inform Ag, a farm management tech platform, has raised a $7M Series A from the Rural Funds Group (Startup Daily | SmartCompany)
Evolution Surgical, a medtech which designs and manufactures spinal implants, has raised an undisclosed amount from the Quadrant Growth Fund (AFR)
HyTerra, the climate tech which focuses on the exploration and production of natural hydrogen, has raised $22M from Fortescue Metals Group through a share purchase on the ASX (BNA)
Equ, a calorie tracking and recipe app fka Equalution, has raised an undisclosed amount from Artesian’s Female Leaders Fund (BNA)