💌 Aussie Startup & VC Summary | 19th April, 2025

G’day and welcome to this week’s edition of Overnight Success - your weekly download on all the important things that have happened in the Aussie startup ecosystem. 🚀 Happy easter long weekend! 🐰 

Heads up, the deadline for submitting the R&D Tax Incentive applications is fast approaching, with all submissions due by 30 April 2025.

This newsletter is relatively light on capital raise announcements, so we’ve gone deep in celebrating wins and accelerators. Enjoy!

👀 Headlines 👀 

📊 Cut Through Ventures released their 2025 Q1 Quarterly Report. Here are some cherry-picked insights

• Aussie startups raised nearly $1 billion in Q1 2025, the highest since early 2022, showing signs of recovery from recent downturns.

• The largest deals involved medtech companies like Harrison.ai ($179M), AdvanCell ($171M), and Aravax ($66M).

• AI-first startups led the deal count for the first time. However, actual early-stage AI activity likely exceeds reported numbers, as stealthy SAFE rounds under $500,000 are often not announced in the media or on social media.

• Median deal sizes reached all-time highs across all stages, notably at Series A. Investors polled in the report anticipate valuations to continue rising through 2025. 🤞 

• Significant capital flowed to larger deals ($20 M+), despite a drop in mid-sized rounds ($5 M-$20 M).

• Only 2% of total funding went to startups founded solely by women, and just 15% to mixed-gender teams.

🌯 TDM Growth sells $80M Guzman y Gomez stake in block trade (Capital Brief)

• Sydney-based fund manager TDM Growth Partners offloaded $80 million of Guzman y Gomez $GYGLF ( 0.0% ) shares in its first public market sale.

• The block trade involved 2.45 million shares sold at $32.90 each, underwritten by Morgan Stanley

• TDM retains 24.16 million shares worth $775 million, representing 23.2% voting rights.

💁 TechnologyOne urges national innovation overhaul, calls for PM or Treasury to lead 10-year plan (Innovation Aus)

• The ASX-listed software company recommends focusing support on just six priority sectors, including ICT, and establishing a national innovation clusters modelled on the UK’s Catapult Network and Germany’s Fraunhofer Institutes.

• The strategy aims to fix two decades of declining innovation by reducing policy fragmentation, increasing industry collaboration, and leveraging private investment through targeted public funding.

• Past efforts like the Industry Growth Centres were deemed ineffective due to underfunding and a one-size-fits-all "Vegemite" funding model, while single-focus initiatives like ARENA (clean energy) proved more successful, attracting $12.6 billion in private capital.

⚡️ Startup Retro ⚡️

Seer Medical gets revived with fresh $40M lifeline after near-collapse

Epilepsy monitoring startup Seer Medical has emerged from voluntary administration after securing a $40 million rescue package from neurodiagnostics giant Cadwell Industries, existing investor Breakthrough Victoria, and Singapore’s TrialCap.

Under the deal, creditors agreed to a Deed of Company Arrangement, forming a new entity in which all three investors will hold equity. Cadwell, a global leader in neurodiagnostics, plans to integrate Seer’s home-based epilepsy monitoring devices into its portfolio. Seer’s wearable EEG monitoring tech provides long-term epilepsy diagnostics without hospitalisation, capturing neurological, cardiac, respiratory, and behavioural data.

Previously backed by Cochlear and Giant Leap, Seer faced significant setbacks, including clinic closures and a voluntary recall due to documentation issues, leading to voluntary administration in early 2025. Seer had previously raised over $80 million.

Administrators at Pitcher Partners confirmed that creditors would recover most or all outstanding debts in cash or shares, while Seer plans a 2026 US market return. Cadwell CEO Patrick Jensen emphasised leveraging Seer's AI and wearable tech to enhance patient outcomes globally.

Due Diligence: Startup Daily

🔦 Inhouse Ventures Community Spotlight 🔦

• Connect with Danielle in fundraising mode at Threadicated

• Connect with Olly in scale mode at Fingertip

• Connect with Allen in investing mode at EVP

💰️ Wins 💰️ 

💊 RMIT hands over gut health capsule IP to Atmo Biosciences in equity deal marking change in the way Aussie unis spin out technology (AU Manufacturing)

• RMIT University has transferred full intellectual property rights for its ingestible gas-sensing capsule to Atmo Biosciences in return for an undisclosed equity stake in the company.

• The Atmo Gas Capsule, which monitors gastrointestinal gases and transmits data wirelessly, was first developed and tested at RMIT in 2011 and licensed to Atmo in 2018.

• Full IP ownership positions the company strongly as it moves toward FDA 510(k) regulatory clearance and commercial launch. The capsule completed a 200-subject safety and efficacy trial across 12 sites in the US and Australia in 2024, but is currently still limited to clinical research use.

• Atmo’s Head of Clinical Affairs said the data has potential applications in diagnosing gastrointestinal disorders like dysmotility and in evaluating dietary and drug interventions.

🛰️ QuantX Labs to launch quantum clock tech into space aboard SpaceX mission (Innovation Aus)

• Adelaide-based QuantX Labs will launch its TEMPO optical frequency comb—a core component of its quantum optical atomic clock—into space for the first time in a world-first demonstration scheduled for December 2025.

• The launch, supported by a $3.7 million Moon to Mars grant, will be carried out on a SpaceX mission via a vehicle from French company Exotrail, and aims to test the sub-system’s reliability and performance in orbit.

• TEMPO has applications beyond high-precision timing, including deep-space communication, navigation, synchronised Earth observation, and GPS-free positioning.

• Quantx is also collaborating with Defence under a $2.7 million AUKUS Pillar II contract to accelerate the development of quantum-enabled precision navigation systems for contested environments.

🧭 Q-CTRL debuts Quantum Navigation System that outperforms GPS by 50x (Startup Daily)

• Sydney-based Q-CTRL has unveiled Ironstone Opal, a compact, GPS-free navigation system that uses quantum sensors to detect Earth's magnetic "landmarks," enabling precise positioning without satellite signals.​ (Explainer Youtube video)

• In real-world trials, Ironstone Opal achieved up to 50 times better accuracy than traditional inertial navigation systems, maintaining precision even in GPS-denied environments such as contested battlefields or remote regions.​

• The system's AI-powered software ruggedisation allows it to function reliably amidst vibrations and electromagnetic interference, making it suitable for integration into drones, autonomous vehicles, and commercial aircraft.​

• Q-CTRL is collaborating with defence agencies, including the Australian Department of Defence, the UK Royal Navy, and the US Department of Defence, as well as aerospace companies like Airbus, to deploy this technology across various platforms.​

⚡️ Accelerator News⚡️

🚀 The CSIRO ON Accelerate 9 cohort has announced its 9th cohort, with 11 ventures tackling challenges in healthcare, sustainability, and advanced manufacturing.

•  🧱 3DCeraFlex - Developing 3d-printed flexible ceramics for high-temperature applications in energy and defence. ​

• 🔬 Ability Optics – Creating advanced optical imaging hardware to accelerate drug development through faster, cost-effective microscopy.​

• ⚙️ Amorfoil  – Innovating planar flow casting processes to produce efficient materials for grid distribution and electric vehicles. ​

• 💊 Elemental Therapeutics – Restoring antibiotic efficacy against drug-resistant infections with the development of PBT2, a small molecule therapeutic. ​

• 🌿Enhanced Analgesics – Addressing chronic pain with a non-opioid drug offering 24–48 hours of relief, aiming to reduce reliance on opioids.​

• 🧠 Epiblox  – Developing treatments for severe childhood epilepsy caused by KCNT1 gene mutations, aiming to reduce seizure frequency.

• 🧪 Facet Amtech  – Revolutionising ammonia production with energy-efficient technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ​

• 🕶️ I-VADE – Implementing VR-based training to help healthcare workers de-escalate aggressive situations, enhancing safety and care.

• 🧬 ProSeek Bio – Developing next-generation blood tests for early and accurate diagnosis of ovarian cancer, aiming to close the gender health gap.

• 💧Topicure – Creating gel-based formulations to improve topical delivery of active compounds, enhancing patient compliance and reducing side effects. ​

• 🦿 Viortec – Designing innovative devices to improve precision in hip and knee replacement surgeries, supporting better patient outcomes.

📆 Notice Board 📆 

The best place to find upcoming events to attend, and promote any events you’re hosting in the ANZ Startup Events Calendar.

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 💁‍♂️  OnlyCFO’s Guide to Survive a Recession 

• While suggesting that a recession may be a little premature, there’s some sage advice in this article about how founders and business leaders can prepare for uncertainty. The article concludes with some advice on positioning your product in the market to help ensure clients are less likely to churn!

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‘Til next time,

👋 Will

🔨 Tool Box 🔧 

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