Australian and Kiwi startups in fields as diverse as cell therapy, wastewater treatment, and local government software raised at least $66.3 million this week.
Continue reading to learn more about their innovations, and the investors who believe in those ambitious projects.
Cartherics: Over $15 million
Melbourne biotech Cartherics has raised more than $15 million via an oversubscribed funding round, to help it begin trials for its cell therapy treatment that targets ovarian cancer.
Founded in 2015 by Alan Trounson and Bob Moses, along with doctors Richard Boyd, Ian Nisbet and Peter Hudson, Cartherics is developing a range of cell-based immunotherapies to treat cancers and other diseases, and intends to start a clinical trial for its CAR-NK cell therapy product, CTH-401, in 2025.
The biotech company says it has already been able to demonstrate the effectiveness of CTH-401 in killing ovarian cancer cells in both tissue culture and animal models.
The funding comes from a mix of existing and new private investors, however, these were not identified in the company’s announcement.
According to Startup Daily, Cartherics has previously raised a total of $26 million in funding, including $19 million in 2019.
The company also plans to use part of the new funding to broaden its pipeline for treatments for other diseases.
Zitcha: $15 million
Zitcha founders Troy Townsend and Jack Byrne. Source: supplied
Retail media startup Zitcha leads this week’s funding round-up, with a $15 million Series A funding round that is earmarked to help the startup unlock further growth in the US market.
Zitcha was founded by CEO Tony Townsend and chief operating officer Jack Byrne and allows retailers to essentially create their own retail media network (RMN) to sell advertising space to suppliers who want to reach their customers.
The platform is already used by global consumer brands like Unilever, Microsoft and Lego, as well as leading retailers in seven regions, including Coles in Australia, The Warehouse Group in New Zealand and Ocado in the UK.
The funding round was led by US investment firm VMG Partners and included participation from existing investor OIF Ventures.
Zitcha plans to use the funds to open new offices in the US and hire sales and customer success teams there, with Townsend relocating to the US to lead the push.
The startup will continue to be headquartered in Australia and its platform and engineering hub will remain in the Asia Pacific region. Bryne will manage Zitcha’s operations outside of the US.
Water & Carbon Group: $14.5 million
If you haven’t heard of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, you may have heard the acronym PFAS.
And if you haven’t heard of PFAS, you’ve probably heard of “forever chemicals”, the colloquial term for PFAS compounds resistant to biodegradation.
These compounds are found in household goods like non-stick pans and food packaging.
Researchers at home and abroad are increasingly concerned about these chemicals entering drinking water systems once those products hit landfill.
Water & Carbon Group is devoted to limiting the quantity of PFAS that seep out of landfill and into the earth, reducing the volume of “forever chemicals” that enter drinking water catchments.
It has devised systems to process this landfill ‘leachate’ before the chemicals can contaminate water systems.
Now, the Brisbane-based venture has announced a US$10 million ($14.5 million) raise led by international investment funds Emerald Technology Ventures and Ecolab Inc.
Water & Carbon Group is already demonstrating its ability to catch and remove PFAS at wastewater treatment sites in Darwin and the US state of Pennsylvania.
“The company’s success in Australia, and now the US, shows the scalable, global potential” of its technology, Emerald Technology Ventures investment director Julien Dillon said in a statement.
Zeligate: $5.5 million
Investor interest in artificially intelligent systems for the workplace is only growing, as evidenced by the investment in Brisbane-born startup Zeligate.
The venture has announced $5.5 million in seed funding, comprised of $3 million from high net-worth individuals, and a second $2.5 million seed round subject to finalisation.
Founded by Denver Mainoo, Zeligate promises workplaces access to what it calls ‘Zelis’, its take on AI assistants capable of automating repetitive and laborious tasks.
It says two ‘Zelis’ are currently available, occupying hiring assistant and personal assistant roles, with a customer service assistant forthcoming.
Zeligate claims to utilise leading LLMs, including OpenAI’s latest flagship, the ChatGPT-4o model.
In a statement, Mainoo said the venture’s goal was to provide an alternative to expensive and time-consuming AI options.
“Instead, we provide a far more affordable advanced GenAI solution and drastically reduce the number of individual applications and monthly subscriptions businesses may currently be spending thousands on,” he said.
Ideally: $5.5 million
L-R: Ideally co-founders Joshua Nu’u-Steele, James Donald and Brendan Cervin. Source: Ideally
New Zealand-founded startup Ideally is also eyeing a US expansion, after securing $5.5 million in a funding round led by Icehouse Ventures and OIF Ventures.
As SmartCompany reported earlier this week, Ideally has recently launched in Australia and says it is laying the groundwork to enter the US market.
Ideally was founded by James Donald, Brendan Cervin and Joshua Nu’u-Steele and launched in August 2023 in New Zealand.
The platform, which offers real-time customer insights to marketers and agencies, was founded at TRA Labs, the same venture studio where successful brand tracking startup Tracksuit was founded in 2021.
The startup uses AI to speed up the turnaround time on customer feedback and has so far attracted 115 customers across a range of industries, including Asahi, Telstra, M&C Saatchi and Ogilvy.
According to the company, the new funding will support product development and accelerate its entry into international markets, including the US.
Attekus: $5 million
A technology platform making it easier for residents to book local council facilities has secured $5 million in its first-ever external funding round.
Founded in 2017 by Tom Muller and Andrew Cutler, Attekus pledges to simplify council facility hire for customers and local governments alike.
Its cornerstone Bookable platform, which integrates with the widespread local government IT system TechnologyOne, is now used in 20% of Australian and New Zealand councils.
In a statement, Muller reflected proudly on Attekus’ bootstrapped history while recognising the growth potential afforded by external capital.
“The business has now reached a size, and the opportunity ahead of us is large enough, that we saw this as the right time to raise capital,” he said.
The funding will be used to expand the business into fresh markets, with Attekus identifying the United Kingdom’s local government sector as a prime target.
Domestically, the business has identified further growth opportunities in the Australian and New Zealand education systems, and in governments at both the state and federal level.
The funding round was led by Five V Ventures and QIC Ventures.
Lorikeet: $5 million
Lorikeet’s team, including co-founders Steve Hind (far left), and Jamie Hall (second from right). Source: Supplied
An artificial intelligence-powered customer support platform designed to resolve complex customer inquiries more efficiently than existing support models or chatbots has secured $5 million in seed funding in a round led by Square Peg.
Founded by former Stripe and Google Brain executives Steve Hind and Dr Jamie Hall, Lorikeet’s AI architecture is designed to tackle intricate issues that stump conventional chatbots, from handling delayed orders to replacing compromised credit cards. It aims to seamlessly integrate with existing company workflows by offering a natural conversational experience.
Lorikeet is also backed by leading angel investors and executives from Atlassian, Stripe, Linear, Brex, OpenAI and Rippling. The startup’s customers include Remote.com, Eucalyptus, Step, Chemist2U, and Sensorflow.
“We’ve focused first on solving the hardest support tickets, because that’s where we can create the most value for our users,” said Steve Hind, Lorikeet co-founder and CEO.
“Most AI agents focus on writing simple ‘Q&A’ style responses to customers’ questions. We think the hard part of support is executing the workflows that actually solve customers’ problems, so we focused on that. Our agent works just like your best human agent – and unlike any other AI agent. This approach allows us to work in highly regulated industries like financial services and healthcare, where accuracy and compliance are non-negotiable.”
The funding will accelerate Lorikeet’s global expansion.
Enrola: $800,000
Enrola co-founders Jo Thomas and Yvette Quinby. Source: AfterWork Ventures
A startup aiming to make it easier for students to choose and enrol in vocational education courses has raised $800,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by AfterWork Ventures.
Skalata Ventures is also backing Enrola, along with existing investor Antler, and an unnamed strategic angel investor who has experience with growing comparison platforms.
Enrola is the brainchild of founders Jo Thomas and Yvette Quinby, who together have experience in education, comparison websites, software development and tech leadership.
In a statement provided to SmartCompany, Thomas said there are 4.5 million students trying to navigate the complex vocational education enrollment system each year, and Enrola wants to “make that process seamless”.
“At Enrola, we’re passionate about helping people access life-changing education by simplifying the decision-making process,” she said.
“This investment will allow us to scale our impact even further, helping more students find the right path to a new career or qualification. We’re thrilled to have the support of such fantastic investors who believe in our mission.”
The startup, which launched this year, says the funding will allow it to scale its platform, which helps students find the right course and provider for them through a personalised digital experience and hands-on support.
Enrola also plans to grow its partnerships with Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) and continue growing the courses on its platform, from 90 to more than 200. The company already partners with 12 RTOs across sectors including community services, health, business, automotive, fitness and pharmacy.
AfterWork Ventures partner Alex Khor said the VC is excited to back Enrola’s mission to “reshape vocational education”.
“Their solution not only helps students find the right courses but also assists RTOs in a market that is becoming increasingly competitive,” said Khor in the same statement.
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