The beginning of spring seems to be a fruitful time for startup funding, with 19 blossoming Australian and New Zealand startups sharing in new funding offers this week.
Preserve studying to study extra about Andromeda, Starboard Maritime Intelligence, Freckle, Marloo, X-Hemp, Harvest B, Wable and Techstars’ newest cohort.
Andromeda Robotics: $23 million
Robotics startup Andromeda leads this week’s funding round-up, with a $23 million Collection A spherical that will probably be used to help the corporate’s enlargement into the US.
The elevate is among the most important for a woman-led Australian startup this yr and reportedly offers Andromeda a valuation of $100 million.
It comes forward of the most recent iteration of Andromeda’s humanoid robotic Abi coming into a Mecwacare aged care facility this month.
Andromeda, led by founder and CEO Grace Brown, has already launched Abi into 22 Mecwacare amenities throughout the nation, with the AI-enabled robots particularly designed to reduce loneliness among aged care residents whereas supplementing human workers.
The startup’s new Collection A funding spherical was led by San Francisco-based VC agency Forerunner Ventures, together with participation from Rethink Influence, Artesian, Primary Sequence, Seen Ventures, Trampoline, and Startmate.
Present investor Function Ventures, which led Andromeda’s $3 million seed round in 2024, additionally contributed.
Earlier this yr, Brown revealed Andromeda plans to build Australia’s first humanoid production line to satisfy the demand for Abi robots.
Starboard Maritime Intelligence: $20.7 million
L-R: Starboard co-founders Mat Brown, Christopher Laing, Trent Fulcher and Brendon Wright. Supply: provided
New Zealand ocean safety startup Starboard Maritime Intelligence (SMI) has banked a NZ$23 million (AUD$20.7 million) Collection A.
The spherical was co-led by SMI’s first backer, Kiwi VC Altered Capital, with new buyers OIF Ventures and King River Capital, supported by Co:Act Capital, Icehouse Ventures, and Whakatupu Aotearoa Basis.
The funding is for international enlargement into North America, Europe, and the Indo-Pacific, to strengthen its capabilities for categorised and industrial maritime environments, and scale product innovation to satisfy rising demand for real-time risk prevention.
The platform is already utilized by governments, defence companies, and industrial operators in additional than 30 international locations, and safeguards greater than 840,000km of subsea cable infrastructure in addition to displays a major share of the world’s industrial fleet site visitors.
SMI’s platform analyses a couple of billion maritime knowledge factors day by day, together with delivery monitoring, satellite tv for pc imagery, radar, oceanographic, and autonomous sensors, to detect suspicious exercise and problem real-time alerts.
Starboard Maritime Intelligence CEO Trent Fulcher mentioned the platform strengthens maritime safety by detecting adversarial behaviours, defending subsea infrastructure, and supporting categorised operations with real-time risk intervention, in addition to safeguarding provide chains for industrial operators.
“Our mission is evident: to present nations and operators the intelligence edge wanted to safe maritime borders, belongings, and commerce in a quickly evolving risk atmosphere,” he mentioned.
“This funding permits us to increase that attain globally, set the benchmark for real-time maritime intelligence, and assist our companions make quicker, better-informed, and safer selections.”
Freckle: $6.1 million
Melbourne-founded startup Freckle has secured $6.1 million (US$4 million) in seed funding to proceed constructing its knowledge enrichment platform for SMEs.
As reported by Capital Brief, the funding largely comes from worldwide buyers, together with Google’s synthetic intelligence funding fund Gradient.
Additionally collaborating within the spherical had been San Francisco-based VC 1984 Ventures, CoVentures, Liquid2 Ventures and Mintaka.
The most recent funding follows the startup’s $2.9 pre-seed round in December 2024.
Based by CEO Nathan Merzvinskis, Freckle is in search of to supply a simpler resolution for SMEs seeking to clear up and preserve their knowledge, with out the technical complexity of a extra enterprise-focused platform like Clay.
Freckle is designed to attach immediately into an organization’s buyer relationship administration methods and the platform gives entry to greater than 40 knowledge suppliers.
On LinkedIn, Merzvinskis mentioned Freckle has labored with greater than 2,500 firms within the area of 10 months.
“We’re profitable new clients from platforms like Clay each day,” he mentioned on Tuesday.
The founder mentioned the seed funding will “speed up our mission to make knowledge enrichment easy for RevOps groups”.
“We’re constructing extra CRM integrations, deeper workflow automations, and extra highly effective enrichment brokers,” he added.
Marloo: $4.2 million
An AI assistant designed for monetary advisers, developed by New Zealand fintech Marloo, has raised $4.2 million in pre-seed funding.
This spherical was led by Blackbird Ventures, with help from CoVentures, Model Fund and who’s who of angel buyers, together with Xero co-founder Philip Fierlinger, Stake’s Matt Leibowitz, Halter’s Craig Piggott, Heidi Well being’s Tom Kelly, Revolut’s chief authorized officer Tom Hambrett, and Sharesies’ Leighton Roberts.
Marloo got down to deal with the housekeeping problem confronted by monetary advisers, with knowledge suggesting that as much as 60% of the overall value of recommendation goes to administration and compliance, which implies individuals in search of assist spend extra on paperwork than precise recommendation.
Marloo was based in June 2024 by Shakeel Lala, Hardy Michel, and Ben Robertson in Auckland, New Zealand.
Sydney-based Lala, the CEO and a former product lead at Sharesies, mentioned too many monetary advisers are caught with instruments that lock their shoppers’ knowledge throughout completely different methods.
“Our purpose at Marloo is to empower advisers by constructing the primary product for them, liked for its design, simplicity, and ease of use,” he mentioned.
“We’re dedicated to constructing the AI assistant that the market is clearly asking for.”
X-Hemp: $3.4 million
Sustainable constructing supplies startup X-Hemp has raised $3.4 million in seed funding after banking a ultimate $1 million from strategic funding accomplice Danehill Group.
The Central Tasmanian building tech enterprise, primarily based in Cressy, half-hour south of Launceston, was based in 2020 by Andi Lucas, and can use the money for essential infrastructure, R&D and extra hires to the prevailing eight-person, all-women crew.
X-Hemp‘s fibre processing manufacturing unit makes a product referred to as hempcrete, constituted of hemp fibres, lime, and water, as a concrete alternative. Used for partitions, it’s non-combustible, termite-proof and mould-resistant, with building prices akin to a double-brick property.
The product featured in an episode of the ABC home-building show Grand Designs Australia, the place a Tasmanian couple constructed an off-grid home constituted of hempcrete and rendered with a horse manure combine.
Lucas mentioned that in contrast to concrete and standard constructing supplies, hempcrete shops carbon as an alternative of manufacturing it, making it a more healthy, eco-friendly solution to construct.
“Finalising this capital elevate displays the keenness of our buyers to affix us as we work to remodel the development business in Australia,” she mentioned.
“Most significantly, it permits us to fast-track our formidable marketing strategy to satisfy the rising demand for sustainable constructing and industrial fibre merchandise into Aussie markets”.
Harvest B: $5.7 million
The Harvest B management crew: Alfred Lo, Daniel Mullette and Kristi Riordan
Meals tech startup Harvest B has secured $5.7 million million in funding led by Mandalay Enterprise Companions with participation from Breakthrough Victoria, Alberts Influence Ventures and extra. That features a $2.2 million grant from the federal authorities’s Business Development Program.
The corporate is growing a versatile protein platform that can be utilized throughout a variety of purposes, from blended meats and high-protein meal elements to ingredient options for meals producers.
In keeping with Harvest V, its method is designed to make protein extra reasonably priced, nutritious, and sustainable. It says it’s tapping into Victoria’s strengths in pulse manufacturing, together with the usage of domestically grown faba beans.
Breakthrough Victoria CEO Rod Bristow mentioned the funding highlights the state’s position in constructing resilient and sustainable meals methods.
“Harvest B’s innovation is a recipe for fulfillment — delivering a nutrient-enriched, more healthy and more cost effective product, including worth to Victorian-grown produce and driving progress in our meals manufacturing sector,” he mentioned.
Harvest B co-founder and CEO Kristi Riordan added that the funding will assist strengthen Australia’s meals sovereignty.
“This funding from Breakthrough Victoria accelerates our skill to offer extra reasonably priced, nutritious choices for meals service suppliers and producers,” Riordan mentioned.
The elevate will help scaling operations, native provide chain improvement, and collaborations with Victorian analysis establishments.
Wable: $1.5 million
Melbourne-based startup Wable has raised $1.5 million in Collection A funding to assist drive the UK and US enlargement of its social networking app for neurodivergent individuals
Paul Sharbanee, govt director of Perth-based boutique company advisory and stockbroking agency Taurus Capital, led the funding spherical, which was first flagged in July 2024.
Launched in February final yr by founder and CEO Holly Fowler, Wable is designed for the 20% of the worldwide inhabitants who’re neurodivergent.
Impressed by Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum star Michael Theo, who’s now a model ambassador for the app, Wable goals to foster significant conversations and connections inside the neurodivergent group.
Wable formally launched within the UK and US in late July 2025, and the brand new funding is earmarked to assist the corporate develop its crew, spend money on focused advertising and marketing campaigns, and roll out new product options to its increasing group.
Greater than 11,000 individuals have signed up to make use of Wable in Australia and New Zealand since its launch.
Techstars: 12 startups share $2.2 million
The Techstars class of 2025. Supply: provided
The Techstars Sydney Accelerator has invested US$1.44 million (AUD$2.2 million) in 12 early-stage startups, saying its class of 2025.
From browsing to strata administration, music, advertising and marketing, finance and biotech, it’s a variety of concepts and options to huge issues.
The founders embody a former live performance violinist, an early Airbnb worker, a PhD researcher within the high 2% of scientists globally, the one that launched Canva’s authorized crew, a globally recognised crypto lawyer, and several other second-time founders, together with one who did the US Techstars program for her first firm and is again to construct her second one in Australia.
The 12 startups every acquired US$120,000 (A$180,000) funding, and for seven of the 12 groups, it’s their first funding. Techstars Sydney is backed by Funding NSW, a state authorities physique.
This week, they start a three-month accelerator program in Tech Central in Sydney. Everybody’s there in particular person, with half the founders shifting from interstate or internationally.
The 12 startups are:
- Briefcase, based by Kirk Simmons;
- CorFin.AI, co-founded by David Stephen Sta.Maria and Silven Victor D. Epistola;
- Crystal aOS, based by Joni Pirovich;
- Juxtabyte, based by Hugh Le;
- MuseAI, based by Jad al Masri;
- OncoRevive, co-founded by Samira Sadeghi and Mohammad Tavakkoli Yaraki;
- Onsite, based by Nathan Croxton;
- Our Leg Up, based by Michael Ragavan;
- Slice, based by Amy Stevens;
- SurfLab, co-founded by Antony Enviornment and Jesse Morse;
- VetNotes, based by Mitch Sigley; and
- Zipline AI, based by Michelle Reeves.
- This story first appeared on SmartCompany. You’ll be able to read the original here.
