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G’day, and welcome to this week’s edition of Overnight Success! Your weekly download on all the important things that happened in the Aussie startup ecosystem. 🇦🇺 🚀 

A special welcome to our new subscribers - it’s great to have you here! 👋 

👀 Headlines 👀 

🏃The Aussie tech sector faces surging demand, needing an extra 300,000 tech workers by 2035.  (Innovation Aus) 

• According to the 10th ACS Digital Pulse by Deloitte Access Economics for the Australian Computer Society, Australia has surging needs for tech workers and some key bottlenecks to clear out. 

• According to the report, hurdles to hitting the extra 300k target include:

  • outdated curriculums and university-focused pathways that slow talent pipeline growth,

  • immigration and visa delays, and 

  • poor opportunities and infrastructure for regional Australians.

🔍 The Startup Muster report released its findings after surveying 460 founders with 154,000 questions answered. 

• The report is pretty massive and worth a look here.

• Unsurprisingly, the data points towards many founders building in or with AI. A big proportion of founders were also focused on deep tech.  

• Many founders are increasingly looking internationally for both capital and growth. 

• It appears that the cost of living crisis is now permeating into our founder community with many concerned about securing a stable income. 

• Both Startup Daily and Innovation Aus had longer form summaries worth reading. 

• While the survey is a glimpse into our ecosystem, it’s worth noting that 61% of respondents were from NSW, and only 59% had businesses with revenue.

🏠 ➡️ 🏠 Sydney Startup Hub is to be moved out of its current location and relocated to the new Tech Central precinct. (NSW Government Announcement & Startup Daily)

• Tech Central, a six square kilometre precinct bordered by Haymarket, Camperdown, and South Eveleigh in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, currently has the highest concentration of technology businesses anywhere in Australia.

  • Some of the bigger names include Atlassian, Block (Afterpay), Canva, Safety Culture and Rokt, along with 150 research institutes and two world-leading universities.

• This announcement follows some recent NSW Government cuts, such as the MVP Grant reduction and cancellation of the Carla Zampatti VC fund.

👋 Australia’s has unveiled a new invitation-only visa for entrepreneurs (Innovation Aus)

• Australia’s new National Innovation Visa replaces the Global Talent visa, introducing a stricter, invitation-only model for ‘high-calibre’ entrepreneurs, investors, and researchers.

• It maintains similar criteria to the Global Talent visa, including a $175,000 income threshold, but scraps the need for a special envoy and significantly limits annual places (4,000).

👯 New appointments to the FinTech Australia Board (Startup Daily) 

• Tractor Ventures co-founder and CEO, Jodie Imam and Tiimely Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, Jodi Ross, will join the peak body’s board.

• Interestingly, and hopefully, in a positive sign for the industry, Chair Sarah Gorman said all the candidates nominated this year were women.

🤖 A new $20 million Responsible AI Research (RAIR) Centre will open in South Australia. (Innovation Aus)

• Funded by the University of Adelaide, CSIRO’s Data61, and the SA Government, it focuses on AI explainability, handling “hallucinations,” and tackling misinformation.

• The RAIR Centre aims to make Australia a global leader in responsible AI, driving trust, safety, and innovation in AI systems.

🛰️ Sydney startup’s “Optimus” satellite, launched to clean up orbital debris, fails to establish contact and becomes space junk itself. (SMH)

• The satellite, launched on a Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket and developed by Australian startup Space Machines Company (SMC) had a communications issue that affected 30 other satellites in the same launch. 

🤑 The Australian government will impose laws forcing big tech companies to pay media companies for content. (The Conversation)

• Australia plans to impose a new “incentive charge” on large digital platforms like Meta if they don’t pay for news content.

• The approach replaces the earlier news media bargaining code model, essentially forcing platforms to fund journalism or pay up.

• Even if Meta strips news from its platforms, it will still face the charge, making it hard to avoid supporting Australia’s media ecosystem.

• Want to know a bit more about how it’ll work? Check out this explainer by InnovationAus.  

• “It’s a bit like the system with private health insurance in Australia; if you don’t have private health insurance, you pay a slightly higher Medicare levy. And if you do have it, you don’t have to pay the higher Medicare levy.” - Rob Nicholls (The Conversation)

⚡️ Startup Retro ⚡️

Fleet Space Technologies takes flight with a $150M Series D at ~$800M valuation

Founders: Flavia Tata Nardini and Matt Pearson

Fleet Space Technologies has secured a massive $150 million Series D funding round, boosting its valuation to more than $800 million—double its worth just 18 months ago. The Adelaide-based startup, founded in 2015, has emerged as a global leader in nanosatellite-powered mineral exploration. Fleet Space is currently supplying advanced 3D subsurface imaging tools to over 40 companies across five continents.

This latest raise was led by Teachers’ Venture Growth, part of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Key existing backers, including Blackbird, Hostplus, Horizons Ventures, Artesian Venture Partners and Alumni Ventures, returned to support the company.

Fleet’s flagship ExoSphere platform combines nanosatellites, edge computing and AI to identify critical mineral deposits from orbit. The technology enables sustainable exploration up to 2.5 kilometres below the surface, helping major players like Rio Tinto and Barrick Gold discover resources, before digging.

With fresh capital, the startup plans to accelerate ExoSphere’s capabilities and advance its upcoming SPIDER variant for lunar subsurface exploration, scheduled for 2026. SPIDER is Fleet Space’s state-of-the-art lunar seismic technology that will land on the Moon. SPIDER’s deployment on the Moon aims to advance fundamental research into sustaining human life in other worlds. It’s a big leap forward for Australia’s booming space-tech scene.

Due Diligence: Capital Brief, Au Manufacturing, Startup Daily

Askable raises $22M at ~$100M valuation to allow businesses to do consumer research at scale

Founders: John Goleby and Scott Goleby

Askable, a Brisbane-based market research software company, has scored $22 million in new funding in a round led by Airtree Ventures, hitting a valuation of around $100 million. The seven-year-old company has quietly become a go-to platform for major brands, including Afterpay, Canva, Atlassian, Pizza Hut, Toyota, and 7-Eleven, looking to streamline their user research and product development.

Originally spun out of a customer research agency, Askable’s platform aims to eliminate the pain points of traditional market research, cutting the time and complexity it takes for businesses to gather valuable consumer insights. Its tools tap into a vast network of researchers and over a million survey participants, while its AI-powered research assistants help teams conduct large-scale interviews and studies at speed.

Before this raise, Askable was entirely self-funded and profitable, having expanded into London and Chicago. With fresh capital and new high-profile backers—ranging from influential Aussie tech founders to leaders at Canva and Atlassian—the company is gearing up to ramp its global expansion. It plans to deepen its presence in both the US and UK markets and boost its engineering and product teams, growing headcount by over 40 per cent. The move sets Askable on track to become a formidable global player in user research.

Due Diligence: AFR

Elita Genetics is raising a $1.1M pre-Seed to build Australia’s first stem cell bank for pets

Founders: Paloma Newton and Jackson Gritching 

Elita Genetics, a Melbourne-based startup is launching Australia’s first pet stem cell bank to give pet owners easier access to advanced treatments for chronic conditions like arthritis. The company has emerged from stealth mode with a $1.1 million funding round with backing from Side Stage Ventures, Archangel Ventures, M8 Ventures, and Startmate.

Founded by CEO Paloma Newton and product manager-turned-medical engineer Jackson Gritching, Elita enables vets to collect a pet’s stem cells during routine desexing. These cells can be stored and later used to trigger the animal’s own healing processes, delivering potentially world-class healthcare once only accessible overseas.

With Australians treating their pets more like family and the country’s veterinary services market expanding rapidly, Elita sees an urgent need for better treatment options. Its initial offering targets puppies, with plans to expand to kittens next year. The company’s services start cost just under $4500 for early adopters, including lifetime storage, giving owners what Elita calls a “front-row seat” to emerging stem cell therapies.

Elita believes its approach can push the boundaries of pet healthcare—reshaping how owners invest in their beloved animals’ long-term well-being. You can connect with their (incredibly cute) Chief Moral Officer and inspiration for starting the business, Edgar Allan Paws, on LinkedIn here.

OS has secured some space in this round for pet lovers if you'd like an intro!

Due Diligence: SMH

AIMon raises pre-Seed to make LLMs safe, reliable and enterprise-ready

Founders: Puneet Anand and Preetam Joshi

AIMon, an AI infrastructure startup, has secured a pre-Seed round co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Tidal VC. AIMon aims to bring much-needed reliability to the booming world of Large Language Models (LLMs).

As enterprises rush to adopt generative AI, many grapple with the risks posed by inaccurate outputs, harmful content, and potential data leaks. AIMon’s platform is a critical safety layer, ensuring companies can confidently deploy LLMs without jeopardising trust or regulatory compliance.

Large organisations face increasing pressure to deliver AI solutions that perform well and meet emerging standards like the EU AI Act. AIMon’s solution positions it as the go-to reliability framework, acting like a monitoring powerhouse for LLMs—much as Datadog did for DevOps or Vanta for compliance. 

Built by a team with deep backgrounds in scalable ML systems and enterprise software, AIMon promises low-latency detection of hallucinations, toxicity, and sensitive data. Its platform is designed to scale efficiently on standard hardware, making robust AI oversight accessible to a wide range of customers.

Due Diligence: Tidal Investment Notes

GoodWork.ai raises $4M Seed to build AI analytics platform for the retail sector

Founders: Matthew Smith, Alex Bergsaker, Ric Porteous and Adam Whybrew

GoodWork.ai, an AI startup building real-time analytics tools for global retailers, has secured a $4 million Seed round led by Square Peg. Founded just a year ago by a team of retail and data veterans, including Boston Consulting Group alumni Matthew Smith, Alex Bergsaker, and data scientist Ric Porteous, GoodWork aims to transform how merchandise, finance, and operations teams understand their trade performance.

Instead of relying on static dashboards and endless spreadsheets, GoodWork promises rapid insights, explaining not only what drove changes in sales—like a promotion or a sudden shift in weather—but also quantifying their exact impact. 

The platform’s core appeal lies in its ability to act as a virtual retail analyst on-demand, delivering answers and alerts in seconds that is apparently “so easy a CEO could pick it up in 5 minutes”.

The platform is still being developed and the 2025 waitlist is currently full. 

Due Diligence: Startup Daily

Terria raises $3M Seed round to power a new generation of maps and digital twins

Founders: Amber Standley and Ana Belgun

Terria, a new geospatial platform spun out from Australia’s CSIRO, has secured a $3 million Seed round led by deep tech VC Main Sequence. The company aims to streamline the creation of digital twins—virtual replicas of physical spaces—from buildings and streets to entire cities and regions. 

These dynamic models help governments and enterprises simulate complex “what-if” scenarios, guiding critical decisions in urban planning, environmental management, and the ongoing energy transition.

Initially conceived in 2014 as an open-source tool for visualising Australian Government spatial data, Terria’s platform now hosts over 15,000 datasets. With fresh funding, Terria’s is aiming for global expansion, offering accessible, intuitive mapping solutions to organisations worldwide. 

As geospatial data usage skyrockets—projected growth in this market is estimated at $50 billion over the next three years, making Terria’s plug-and-play approach stand out as a key contender to catch the market tailwinds.

Due Diligence: SmartCompany, Startup Daily

Quantum Brilliance raises $30M Series A to build quantum chips that operate at room temperature

Founders: Mark Luo, Dr. Marcus Doherty and Dr. Andrew Horsley

Quantum Brilliance, a Sydney-based DeepTech producing synthetic diamond-based quantum chips that operate at room temperature, has landed a $30 million Series A round supported by the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation and Breakthrough Victoria. The deal includes $13 million from the NRF and $10 million from Breakthrough Victoria, with further contributions from Main Sequence Ventures. 

These funds will help establish a pilot-scale Quantum Diamond Foundry (QDF) in Melbourne, ramping up production and improving chip reliability, precision, and cost-effectiveness.

Unlike traditional quantum processors that demand ultra-cold environments, Quantum Brilliance’s chips are designed for more practical deployment in quantum computing and sensing applications. The company will use its Qristal software development kit to refine fabrication specs, enabling customers to simulate and understand their needs before the chips hit production.

With roots in a CSIRO-incubator and five years of IP development, the startup’s ultimate goal is to be part of a thriving local quantum ecosystem.

Its new QDF will draw on techniques from the semiconductor industry to unlock advanced chip designs for end markets like energy, infrastructure, and cybersecurity. Already partnered with Germany’s Cyberagentur and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US, Quantum Brilliance aims to position Australia as a leader in next-gen quantum manufacturing.

Due Diligence: Innovation Aus, Smart Company 

Conry Tech cools off with a $1.6M pre-Seed to reinvent and decarbonise air-conditioning 

Founders: Ron Conry and Sam Ringwaldt

Conry Tech, a Melbourne-based startup focused on slashing air-conditioning energy use and emissions, has secured $1.6 million in a pre-seed round led by Bandera Capital, with participation from Pacific Channel. Founded in 2020 by HVAC veterans Ron Conry and Sam Ringwaldt, the company aims to combat one of the built environment’s biggest pollution challenges: the energy-hungry air-conditioning systems that account for a massive chunk of global electricity use.

Their flagship solution, still in development, is called “Bull Ant”. It’s a small, modular air conditioning unit designed for commercial buildings and data centres. By leveraging the founders’ decades of expertise—Conry previously invented both the world’s first modular chiller and an oil-free, magnetic bearing centrifugal compressor—these devices claim to cut AC power consumption by around 40%.

Conry Tech plans to install the first Bull Ant units in Australia next year.

Due Diligence: Startup Daily 

Accoil Analytics secures $2M Seed to grow analytics platform for customer success and product teams

Founders: Peter Preston, Simon Herd and Kate Caldecott

Brisbane-based Accoil Analytics, a data-focused SaaS platform founded by three former Atlassian employees, has raised $2 million in Seed funding. The round was led by Atlassian’s investment arm and Queensland’s sovereign wealth fund, QIC Ventures, both of which previously backed the founders’ earlier startup, Thinktilt. That company, known for its low-code forms platform, was acquired by Atlassian in 2021.

Accoil is focused on helping B2B software providers understand customer engagement at both the account and user levels. By delivering insights into which features drive usage and growth, Accoil’s platform helps sales, marketing, and product teams identify upsell opportunities, strengthen customer retention, and direct resources more efficiently.

With fresh capital in hand, the team aims to refine their analytics product and scale internationally, and will keep their base in Brisbane. Accoil is exploring integrations with cornerstone B2B software platforms like Intercom, HubSpot, and Segment to expand its data analysis capabilities.

Due Diligence: Innovation Aus

Clutch Glue raises $1.4M pre-seed for fashion adhesive glue D2C brand

Founder: Annabel Hay

Clutch Glue, a Sydney-based direct-to-consumer brand founded by former corporate professional Annabel Hay, was inspired by her own frustrations with fashion tape (read: dance floors + sweat don’t play nice with tape), to spend several years developing a water-soluble adhesive to keep clothes and shoes snugly in place. And it paid off handsomely.

Now valued at $10 million and with more than $30 million in projected 2025 revenue, Clutch recently closed a notable pre-Seed round led by Blackbird Ventures, bringing Koala and Milkrun co-founder Dany Milham onto its cap table. The product’s breakthrough came via TikTok, where a viral clip showing Hay gluing a spaghetti strap to her shoulder racked up millions of views, quickly selling out inventory.

Retail traction followed, after Hay claims she cleverly just guessed retail buyers’ emails and secured placements at Australia’s Priceline, achieving top-seller status in just a week. The product’s global patent, direct-to-consumer margin (it costs $2.27 to make a $29 unit), and entry into US giant CVS underscore its strong economics.

Hay also appeared on Shark Tank and eventually said no to investment from the Sharks (but yes to free marketing!). Here is a TikTok produced last year with Annabel discussing a few reasons on why she would “never go on Shark Tank”.

Due Diligence: AFR

Birchal raises $2M from 800 investors at a pre-money valuation of ~$26M in its 3rd capital raise in 3 years

Founder: Matt Vitale

Birchal, a Melbourne-based equity crowdfunding platform, has raised $2 million in just 29 hours. While not quite beating its 2022 record of $3 million in 63 minutes, the latest raise is still the largest and quickest this financial year. Over 800 investors participated, adding to Birchal’s total haul of $7.39 million raised, all via its own platform.

This marks Birchal’s third self-run equity crowdfunding campaign, further solidifying its status as the go-to for everyday Australians keen on backing visionary ventures. CEO and co-founder Matt Vitale sees the result as a positive signal for the broader funding market, noting that investor confidence appears to be returning after a challenging few years.

Since equity crowdfunding was legalised in 2017, Birchal has helped more than 300 companies secure over $218 million in funding. With fresh capital, Birchal aims to surpass $500 million in funding volume.

Due Diligence: Startup Daily

NZ Corner 🥝 

Caruso (Smart Company)

• Fund administration startup Caruso has secured a $3.2 million investment led by private credit firm Balmain.

• The funding will support Caruso's expansion into the Asia-Pacific region and North America, as well as further development of its SaaS platform designed to streamline fund management operations.

GrwAI (Startup Daily)

• AI-augmented sales coaching platform, GrwAI, raised NZ$2.4 million (AUD$2.2 million) in a pre-Seed round led by U.S. investors, with a NZ$12 million valuation.

• The company plans to relocate from Auckland to San Francisco to accelerate its U.S. market expansion and enhance its product development team in New Zealand.

🎆 Wins 🎆 

💰️ “Australia’s single biggest defence export of all time”: Advanced Navigation signs multi-million dollar deal (Innovation Aus)

• Advanced Navigation, an Australian company specialising in AI robotics, has secured a $7.5 million contract with the Department of Defence to develop a prototype inertial navigation system.

✅ LaunchVic released its Impact Report for 2024, citing 3,500 startups based in Victoria, 34% of which have a one-woman founder. The report is linked here. 

• Victoria has produced 18 unicorns, and startups from Victoria employ 63,000 people globally. The average Victorian founder is 42!

🇺🇸 New WA Government-backed accelerator is sending 12 startups to the US (Startup Daily)

• The Western Australian government has initiated the Global Growth Accelerator Program (GGAP) to support 12 local tech startups in expanding into U.S. markets.

• Participants will undergo a three-month preparatory course to refine their market strategies and connect with potential customers, investors, and partners in both civilian and defence sectors.

🤖 New robotics residency program has been announced by the Federal Government (InnovationAus)

• The Australian Government is emphasising the need for substantial investment in robotics to maintain global competitiveness and capitalise on a potential $2.2 trillion benefit from automation over the next 15 years.

• The Australian Centre for Robotics Vision's Robotics Roadmap calls for increased government and private sector investment to secure these economic advantages.

📍 Notice Board 📍 

As the year winds to a close, you might be turning your mind to planning your calendar for the new year… 👀 You’ll find the most comprehensive list of upcoming startup events on this ANZ Startup Events Calendar - a joint project brought to you by yours truly, Startmate, The Community Collective and Frontcover.

Check it out!

Would you like to promote an event or an opportunity? Enquire about a noticeboard promotion here.

🧠 KaaS (Knowledge as a Service)

Gem’s Pick 💁‍♀️ A System of Agents brings Service-as-Software to life, by Joanne Chen, Jaya Gupta of Foundation Capital

• I do not envy my SaaS founder friends who are constantly having to re-assess their product roadmaps as AI-technology evolves so quickly - it’s a near impossible task, but a crucial one for survival. This article gives a really fascinating perspective on the potential (and IMO likely) future for how AI tools will work together, not just via integrations as we currently understand them, but as a system of agents, all building on each other’s inputs and outputs, creating a loop of improvement and efficiency. The same authors have written a range of related articles before and after this one worth taking a look at here.

• Now if someone could just develop a system of AI agents to do all my housework… 🤔 

Will’s Pick 💁‍♂️  A Letter to Starters, Part 2 – Ownership Investing by Ben Gisz of TDM Growth Partners

• This article by TDM Growth Partners is a great read, especially for investors!

• It explains one of the core values of the firm: ownership. Usually, these sorts of values are just words on the wall. What I like about TDM is they’re structurally built into their business model. Everything from only being paid in performance, to limiting the number of PortCo’s and of course the evergreen fund structure stops forced selling.

I also penned an article on a recent team offsite I was apart of. I hope you enjoy!

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‘Til next time,

👋 Will & Gem

🔨 Tool Box 🔧 

We’re often asked for recommendations for tools, agencies, and evening up-skilling opportunities. We’ve contacted a few of our favourite tools and people and secured some discounts for you! Our community.