We counted eight Australian startups that secured new funding this week.
From missions like achieving “infinite recycling” and building a commercially viable quantum computer, to transforming wireless power transfer and pallet wrapping, these startups are all working toward big, challenging and audacious goals.
Keep reading to find out more.
Samsara Eco: $100 million
Samsara Eco founder and CEO Paul Riley poses with his “enzyme recycled” yarn. Image credit: Provided
The top funding round this week is Samsara Eco, the Australian recycling pioneer which raised a staggering $100 million in Series A extension funding.
Samsara Eco was founded by Paul Riley in 2020 and plans to use the new funding to expand across Southeast Asia.
The startup focuses on so-called “infinite recycling,” using advanced chemical processes to reuse hard-to-recycle materials like nylon and polyester.
The latest funding round was led by existing investors Singapore-based Temasek and CSIRO-backed Main Sequence, and follows a $56 million Series A round in late 2022.
The round also included new and returning investors Wollemi Capital, Hitachi Ventures, Titanium Ventures, sportswear giant Lululemon and DCVC.
Lululemon will take a minority stake in Samsara Eco in 2023 and is partnering with the startup to make clothing entirely from enzymatically recycled plastic.
read more.
Dirac: $10.5 million
LR: Will Zeng (Partner at QuantNation) and Andrew Zurak (CEO and Founder at Dirac). Source: Provided
Sydney-based quantum computing startup Diraq has raised an additional $10.5 million (US$7 million) in an extension of its Series A funding round, adding to the $23 million in Series A funding it secured in February.
Diraq was founded by Professor Andrew Zurak and spun out of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in 2022, raising $30.6 million in initial Series A funding led by Allectus Capital.
As Australian Financial Review The Series A extension in February 2024 was reportedly led by French quantum technology specialist fund Quantonation, with participation from Co:Act Capital.
Among the Australian investors backing the startup are CSIRO’s deep tech fund Main Sequence, Taronga Ventures, UniSuper and UNSW.
Dirac said the extra funding would accelerate the development of a commercially viable quantum computer, allowing the company to move faster than US-based rival PsyQuantum, which is set to receive $940 million in investment from the federal and Queensland governments.
The startup also reportedly recently inked a deal with New York-based GlobalFoundries, which supplies semiconductors to companies such as Qualcomm. Capital Brief.
1 Breadcrumb: $4 million
1Breadcrumb CEO Simon Elliott. Source: Provided.
Melbourne-based workplace safety startup 1Breadcrumb has raised $4 million as it prepares to expand into the UK and US.
More than 300,000 construction site workers and 25,000 subcontractors across Australia and the UK are already using the 1Breadcrumb operations platform for jobsites, helping businesses move from paper-based to digital workflows.
Founded in 2020 and led by CEO Simon Elliott, the software helps save operators time and improve productivity by streamlining safety requirements for workers and subcontractors and linking with commonly used project management systems.
“Construction sites are still managed with a siloed approach – on-site meetings, compliance paperwork, phone calls and text messages – creating confusing documentation and hours of manual administration bottlenecks,” Elliott said in a statement. Smart Company.
“Rather than taking a headquarters-based approach, we kept in mind the needs of individuals on the job site, providing an easy-to-understand platform that enables transparency between general contractors and workers, and easy-to-understand digital applications for compliance and job site issues. ”
The funding round was led by Five V Capital, with investor Chris Gillings saying the startup is offering a much-needed solution to the construction market.
“1Breadcrumb fills a missing piece in the technology stack for high-risk industries with an easy-to-use model for field workers that connects with general contractors with just a click,” Gillings said in a statement.
“Australia is leading the global trend towards digitalisation of the construction industry, with a highly regulated market and high labour and material costs forcing the country to turn to technology to improve efficiencies and profit margins.
“1Breadcrumb gives a voice to field workers, captures their valuable data and shares it with project leaders to improve productivity.”
Aquila: $2 million
L-R: Aquila founders Nelson Smith and Billy Jeremijenko. Source: Provided.
Deep tech startup Aquila has reportedly secured an additional $2 million in funding to continue developing its wireless power transfer products. Startup Daily.
The funding round was led by Alua Group, with participation from existing investors Blackbird and Icehouse Ventures.
Founded by Billy Jeremijenko and Nelson Smith, Aquila raised $3 million in seed funding from lead investor Blackbird in 2023. The seed round was also led by existing investors Startmate and Outset Ventures, as well as Possible Ventures, Icehouse, and Stage One.
The startup will complete the Startmate Accelerator in 2023 and successfully completed trials of its wireless drone charging technology in regional Victoria in January this year.
Co-founder and CEO Billy Jeremijenko said: Smart Company The company’s Lightway system enables small drones to stay airborne indefinitely.
“We’re scaling up quickly,” he said at the time.
“We are committed to expanding power transmission so we can keep large drones in the air indefinitely, as this brings huge benefits to more efficient asset management and safety in remote locations and public places like beaches.”
National Renewable Energy Network: $1 million
NRN founder Alan Hunter. Source: Provided
Sydney-based National Renewable Network (NRN) has secured $1 million in pre-Series A bridge funding led by Investible’s Climate Tech Fund.
The round also included participation from Electrifi Ventures and other angel investors, and the startup secured $10 million in funding from Catalytic Impact Capital earlier this year.
Founded in 2019 by Splend co-founder Alan Hunter, NRN is focused on transforming the way consumers access renewable energy resources for their homes and businesses.
The startup works with both energy retailers and consumers to offer solar power and battery installation with no upfront costs.
The funding round was oversubscribed, with Investible contributing over $400,000 to the round. This marks the first time Investible has invested in a company that it met and worked with in the Greenhouse Tech Hub collaborative community.
“This pre-Series A funding is an important step in laying the foundation for a larger Series A round later this year,” said Alan Hunter, CEO of NRN.
“We’re grateful to Investible, Electrifi Ventures and our other investors for their support. Their backing validates our vision and commitment to making renewable energy solutions affordable and accessible. Over the coming months we’ll be working closely with Investible as we prepare for our next round of fundraising, which will enable us to scale our operations and bring the benefits of solar and battery systems to many more homes across Australia.”
Clean: $725,000
A startup that helps brands measure and communicate their environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials has raised $725,000 in pre-seed funding.
according to Startup DailyThe funding round was led by Prtnr Ventures, a new venture capital fund founded by former Queensland top entrepreneur Wayne Gerard.
Founded in 2022 by Shan Vahola, Clean has also been awarded a $200,000 IGNITE grant from the Queensland Government to accelerate its growth, product development and marketing activities.
The startup is focused on helping brands connect with and retain engaged customers who are interested in a company’s ESG activities. In addition to demonstrating such credentials to customers, the startup collects e-commerce data and uses AI to help brands retarget shoppers through email and social media marketing.
The startup’s clients include brands such as Wild Earth, OCAM, Hommey and Arms of Eve.
Vahora said: Startup Daily Clean’s goal is ““We aim to reach 50 brands in the next 12 months, raise a seed round and expand into the US.”
Bearhug: $325,000
Tom Field in a bear hug. Source: Provided
Sydney-based startup Bearhug also raised new funding this week, securing $325,000 from investors as it looks to expand its reusable pallet wrap designed to remove single-use plastics from consumer goods supply chains.
Bearhug was founded in January 2023 by college friends Tom Field and Max Higgins. Field drove a truck for several years and saw firsthand how much plastic was being discarded every day.
The startup has already engaged over 70 businesses in using its pallet wraps, which can be reused up to 1,000 times. Not only does Bearhug’s wrap significantly reduce the need for plastic wrap on pallets, but the startup says it is also cheaper and safer than plastic wrap, resulting in less breakage.
The startup, which started out supplying craft breweries with reusable wrap before expanding to all businesses, plans to use its new funding to address some of the challenges larger companies face when switching away from using plastic pallet wrap.
BearHug is also working on a “pooling model” for reusable wraps, which would allow businesses to borrow wraps and then trade or transfer them between businesses.
read more.
Cindy Ai: $300,000
Melbourne-based AI startup Sindy has been selected by the University of California, Berkeley’s Skydeck accelerator, securing $200,000 ($300,000) in investment.
Founded by University of Melbourne medical student Benjamin Arya and PhD candidate Oliver Kucanick, Sindy develops AI-enabled enterprise software for universities.
Aria said: Smart Company The startup, formerly called Sincidium, launched this week to help universities “engage, assess, provide personalized feedback, and ensure academic integrity across large cohorts.”
Arya and Kucanich were students when they started working for the startup, but they’ve now dropped out and work full-time on Sindy, which is being piloted at the University of Melbourne and the University of California, Berkeley.
The founders, who won the University of Melbourne’s startup competition in 2022, have now relocated to San Francisco and are part of the SkyDeck program. Notable SkyDeck alumni include electric bike giant Lime and edtech unicorn Empowering.
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