💌 Aussie Startup & VC Summary | 17th May, 2025

G’day and welcome to your weekly edition of Overnight Success - your download on all the important things that have happened in the Aussie startup ecosystem. 🚀 

👀 Headlines 👀 

⛔🚀 Gilmour Space delays historic Eris rocket launch after electrical fault (Innovation Aus, Startup Daily)

• Gilmour Space Technologies has postponed the maiden launch of its Eris rocket indefinitely after an electrical fault during final pre-launch checks accidentally triggered the nose cone to open.

• The delay is a setback for what would be Australia’s first homegrown orbital rocket launch, with no new date yet announced for the TestFlight1 mission from Bowen Orbital Spaceport, Queensland.

• The fault, which followed a separate ground system issue earlier in the week, occurred before fuelling and caused no injuries or damage, though the nose cone now needs replacement.

• The launch only received final clearance last week, after previous setbacks, including Cyclone Alfred and regulatory delays.

☠️ VCs warn Labor’s super tax on unrealised gains could cripple startup investment (AFR)

• Australia’s venture capital sector has slammed Labour’s proposed superannuation tax, warning it could “completely kill” early-stage investment by taxing unrealised gains on super balances over $3 million.

• The 30% tax, set to begin July 1, would apply to potential paper gains, not just realised profits, on assets like private company shares, which are typically illiquid and long-term.

• The stark takeaway is that 30% of venture funds are funded by individuals who invest via self-managed super funds (SMSFs), which is a massive and growing slice of startup and venture funding.

🏦 Quiet optimism returns as Australia’s VC AUM hits $17B despite global slowdown, while the make-up of LPS changes dramatically (Startup Daily)

• According to the Australian Investment Council, venture capital assets under management in Australia rose 7% to A$17 billion between Dec 2023 and Sept 2024, defying a broader global decline in private capital.

• Family offices now represent 40% of investors in Australia’s $65 billion private capital market, up from just 10% in 2020, overtaking superannuation funds as the largest investor group. (AFR)

• Super funds’ share has dropped from nearly 50% to under 15%, driven by APRA’s strict performance tests, which discourage higher-fee, higher-risk investments like venture capital despite their potential for strong long-term returns.

• Family offices, often run by second-gen entrepreneurs, are increasingly comfortable with the risk-reward profile of early-stage tech, and are investing directly, through funds, and via secondaries.

• You can check out the full private capital report here; VC stuff starts on page 18.

⚡️ Startup Retro ⚡️

Bovotica raises $3.4M to cut cattle methane and boost beef yields

Founders: Gene Tyson, Andrew Leech and Phil Pope

Brisbane-based startup Bovotica has raised $3.4 million in seed funding to commercialise a probiotic feed additive that reduces methane emissions from cattle while improving weight gain and milk production. Founded in 2023 by microbiome researcher Gene Tyson and Queensland University of Technology colleagues Andrew Leech and Phil Pope, Bovotica is valued at $9.4 million post-raise.

The startup’s probiotic targets the cow’s rumen microbiome, diverting energy from methane production toward growth. Bovotica estimates that cows lose 12% of feed energy to methane, and cutting that in half could offer significant environmental and financial benefits for graziers.

Backers include AgriZeroNZ (a joint NZ government–agribusiness fund), InnovationClub, and Queensland’s Lord Pastoral. Bovotica joins a crowded field alongside FutureFeed (backed by Andrew Forrest and CSIRO), Rumin8 (backed by Bill Gates), and DSM Firmenich’s Bovaer (3-NOP).

Still a year from animal trials, Bovotica’s approach focuses on naturally occurring microbes in cattle stomachs, unlike Rumin8’s synthetic replication of seaweed compounds. With livestock emissions under scrutiny globally, Bovotica aims to deliver a scalable, science-backed solution that boosts productivity while cutting emissions.

Due Diligence: AFR, Startup Daily

Myvenue raises growth funding for US expansion of POS system for entertainment venues

Founder: Tim Stollznow

Adelaide-based point-of-sale (POS) technology company MyVenue has secured an investment from U.S. growth equity firm Greater Sum Ventures (GSV) to accelerate its global expansion and research and development initiatives. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2020 by CEO Tim Stollznow, MyVenue offers a cloud-based POS platform tailored for sports and entertainment venues. Its technology is deployed across nearly 200 venues worldwide, including Dodger Stadium, Hard Rock Stadium, Little Caesars Arena, and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the latter being the host venue for the 2028 Olympics

The platform includes hardware-agnostic POS software, mobile ordering, self-service kiosks, in-seat POS, an online suite catering portal, and a back office with real-time dashboards, reports, and inventory management. 

MyVenue’s POS system is purpose-built for high-volume, event-driven environments. Its interface allows staff to process transactions quickly, even with minimal training. This speed is crucial during peak periods, such as halftime or intermissions, when venues generate a significant portion of their sales. For instance, during the Ashes Cricket Test Match at Adelaide Oval, MyVenue processed approximately 240,000 credit card transactions with an average approval time of three seconds

The company's leadership team will continue to lead operations from its headquarters in Adelaide. 

Due Diligence: FINSMES

Plexus raises $6M to grow AI legal platform internationally 

Founder: Andrew Mellett

Melbourne-based legal tech startup Plexus has secured $6 million in a fresh funding round led by existing shareholders and Seattle-based Lighter Capital, marking its first institutional investment since launching in 2011. It’s fair to assume that the $6M includes equity and non-dilutive, debt funding.

Plexus offers an AI-powered legal operating system used by over 200 major global brands, including Spotify, Samsung, Coca-Cola, L’Oreal, and Woolworths. 

The platform's key features include contract lifecycle management, matter management, document automation, and marketing compliance solutions. Plexus AI enhances these capabilities by automating routine tasks such as contract review, document summarisation, and legal support triage, allowing legal professionals to focus on higher-value work.

The funding will fuel Plexus’ global expansion, accelerate its AI product roadmap, and grow its team across existing hubs in Sydney, London, and Washington D.C.

Due Diligence: Business News Australia

York Street Brands (YSB) raises $2M Series C to launch new brand 

CEO: Craig Schweighoffer, CMO: Rachael Wilde

Australian beauty startup York Street Brands (YSB) has secured $2 million in Series C funding from investment firm iPartners, paving the way to launch its new hair growth brand, Bouf. Scheduled for a May 27 release exclusively at Priceline and Atomica, Bouf joins YSB’s existing skincare brands, tbh Skincare and Boost Lab, both of which merged in 2023 following a $5 million Series B round led by Alium Capital.

Under CEO Craig Schweighoffer and CMO Rachael Wilde, YSB has seen impressive growth. Revenues have surged 600% since the merger, and projections indicate a $30 million turnover in the 2025 financial year. The company plans an international push starting with the UK, supported by a $4 million trade finance facility from NAB to accelerate expansion.

YSB’s brands sold nearly 2 million units this financial year alone. Schweighoffer attributes YSB’s success to a robust growth model and innovative product offerings. The funding will also support enhanced product development and global brand equity efforts, leveraging both direct-to-consumer and omnichannel strategies as YSB expands internationally.

Due Diligence: Business News Australia

🚀 Wins 🚀 

🚀🧑‍⚕️ Heidi Health outpaces Canva as fastest-growing Blackbird-backed startup (AFR)

• Heidi Health is now surpassing the early growth benchmarks Canva and Leonardo AI set.

• The six-year-old AI healthtech startup generates $23 million in annual recurring revenue just one year after launching its AI-powered documentation product for medical professionals.

• Founded by former surgeon Thomas Kelly, Heidi Health offers AI software that transcribes and summarises doctor-patient conversations in real time, without recording or storing audio.

• Its product is used over 1 million times per week by doctors, nurses, psychologists, and vets globally, including in top hospitals across Australia, the UK, Germany, and Canada.
  

⛏️ Drill baby, drill! Earth AI strikes rare critical mineral, indium, in rural NSW (Startup Daily)

• Earth AI has discovered indium, a rare critical mineral essential to semiconductors, solar panels, and flat-panel displays, at its Kooranjie tenement in Central West NSW, using its proprietary AI-driven exploration technology.

• Earth AI’s platform uses longitudinal geological data and AI to identify 2km² ‘hot zones’, followed by low-impact precision drilling. It then sells the validated mining rights.

• The Sydney-based startup, spun out of the University of Sydney and backed by Blackbird, Airtree, and Y Combinator, raised $20M in an oversubscribed Series B in early 2025.

📄QLD startup Bidhive acquired by US procurement giant Responsive in global expansion play (Smart Company)

• Queensland-based bid management startup Bidhive was founded in 2017 by Nyree McKenzie and Aaron Godde, Bidhive helps organisations automate and streamline procurement and bidding processes, replacing spreadsheets with collaborative, cloud-based tools.

• Responsive, headquartered in Oregon, focuses on B2B proposal automation and is integrating AI agents into its platform to assist with complex procurement workflows.

• McKenzie and Godde will remain with the company post-acquisition, and no immediate changes are planned for existing Bidhive users, though optional migration to Responsive will be offered.

🎓 First graduates emerge from Microsoft-backed DataCentre Academy in NSW (Innovation Aus)

• 22 students completed the co-designed course at TAFE’s Meadowbank campus, preparing them for roles as data centre technicians and critical environment technicians.

• The program includes hands-on training in a simulated data centre lab, mentoring, and direct pathways to job interviews with Microsoft and other tech employers.

• With over 200 data centres in Australia and investments expected to exceed $26 billion by 2030, the sector will require 8,300+ new skilled workers by decade’s end.

🧠💽 RMIT engineers build brain-inspired device for next-gen visual processing (Au Manufacturing)

• The neuromorphic device mimics the way the human brain processes visual information, capturing, storing, and interpreting movement without needing an external computer.

• Built using atomically thin molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), the device can detect hand movements through edge detection. It analyses only changes in motion rather than full video frames, reducing power and data processing needs.

• It replicates the behaviour of leaky integrate-and-fire neurons, a foundational concept in spiking neural networks, key to next-gen AI systems.

• The breakthrough enables instant visual processing and could dramatically enhance reaction speeds in autonomous vehicles and robotics, improving safety in dynamic environments.

📆 Notice Board 📆 

🎾 AO StartUps opens winter intake for sportstech ahead of the Australian Open 2026

• AO StartUps, Tennis Australia’s sport and entertainment tech accelerator, is now accepting applications for its mid-year 2025 intake, with submissions open until May 28. Apply here.

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

🧠 KaaS (Knowledge as a Service)

Will’s Pick 💁‍♂️ AI's Trillion-Dollar Opportunity: Sequoia AI Ascent 2025 Keynote (YouTube)

• This 25-minute presentation is an excellent watch, as Sequoia essentially lays out its thinking and investment thesis on AI, what they look for in an investment and where founders should focus on building (the application layer!!).

Wills Pick 💁‍♂️ #2: How ships escaped the great stagnation by Works in Progress

• New buildings, planes, bridges, and trains built today are often barely distinguishable from those built decades earlier, and often cost much more money.

• The cruise industry, in contrast, continues to break records. The title of the world’s largest passenger ship has been broken nine times this century, including three times in the last five years. This is an interesting read on how the cruise industry has defied stagnation.

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‘Til next time,

👋 Will

🔨 Tool Box 🔧 

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