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. 🚀
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👀 Headlines 👀
📈 Blackbird and Square Peg both up Canva valuation ~14.5% to US$42b (A$65B) after Figma’s blockbuster IPO. (AFR)
Blackbird told LPs it engaged external valuers to lift Canva’s 30 June carrying value by 14.5%, adding ~US$5.3b and implying a new ~US$42b (A$64.6b) valuation. Not sure why you would need to engage external valuers, you could probably just point to the Figma share price.
Figma’s Nasdaq debut, priced at US$33, jumped to US$115.50 and now, US$38b provides a public comp for design SaaS.
This is the first public reset since Blackbird’s 2022 write-down to US$25.6b; however, there have been valuations disclosed via secondaries.
💸 Advance VC launches $15M fund to buy LP stakes in VC funds, unlocking liquidity for long-hold investors. (Overnight Success)
Australia now has its first dedicated VC secondaries fund-of-funds that will purchase LP/GP interests in existing VC funds (typically at a discount to NAV), giving early investors liquidity as unicorns stay private longer.
Advance VC has hit its first close of $15M (50% of target) and is already invested across 11 VC funds, including vehicles from Blackbird, Tidal, Side Stage and Startmate, creating exposure to 200+ companies such as Canva, Airwallex, UpGuard, Zeller and PsiQuantum (vintages back to 2012).
The fund addresses a decade-plus liquidity crunch for LPs locked in funds stretching to 10–15 years who are unable to cash out.
Founded by ex-Tidal investor Max Kausman, Venture Partners include Andrew J Nash and Alon Greenspan (with support from LaunchVic). Investors include Stake’s Matt Leibowitz, Decjuba’s Tania Austin, former SmartGroup CEO Deven Billimoria, and tech founders Nathan Cher and Rowan Simpson.
🚀 Gilmour Space seeks $100M of fresh capital to reach orbit and target IPO within 3 years after first launch. (AFR)
Gold Coast–based Gilmour is pitching investors in Australia/Singapore for A$100M+ (run by Citi, Bell Potter), aiming for unicorn status. The spacetech has raised A$140m+ since 2015 and was last valued at A$605m.
On July 30, Gilmour’s first three-stage rocket was launched from Bowen, QLD and flew for ~14 seconds on July 30 before engine cutoff and crash.
Gilmour is telling investors they’re planning to have four successful customer launches per year before listing.
🤖 Following the ‘productivity roundtable, the Albanese government elevates AI to a national priority. (InnovationAus)
Industry Minister Tim Ayres to accelerate the AI Capability Plan (investment, skills, capability, resilience), previously slated to be finalised by the end of 2025.
Before any new AI laws, the Treasury will conduct a gaps analysis and is being influenced by various interest groups. The business council argued “no new regulation” while unions pushed for an AI Act and worker protections; academics flagged current rules as “inadequate”.
🎯 NSW revamps MVP Ventures grant with a focus on diversity streams. (SmartCompany)
Under the revised structure, the program will now offer two funding streams with three rounds slated for Sep 1–28, Nov 24–Dec 21, and Mar 9–Apr 5.
Stream one: up to $50k (50% co-contribution) for all eligible startups;
Stream two: up to $75k (25% co-contribution) reserved for women-founded, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander, and regional businesses.
More info via their PDF info pack here.
Additionally, eligibility has been tightened. Startups will need to meet the following criteria: ≤10 FTE (incl. founders) and turnover ≤$400k; consultant spend capped at 50% of the grant.
🐶 Pet Circle founder Mike Frizell moves to chair as the scale-up positions itself for IPO despite slowing growth. (AFR)
According to AFR reporting, FY24 sales rose 6% to $385m (vs 16% prior year); losses widened 25% to $26.4m across 850k customers and ~17k SKUs, plus the pet pharmacy and insurance business lines.
The incoming CEO, ex-Menulog Alistair Venn, will target upsell and category expansion (e.g., horses, chickens) and nationwide next-day delivery.
Pet Circle has been a unicorn since its $125m raise (Dec 2021). Prysm Capital owns 25.4%, Frizell 18.5%; AirTree ~18% with Airtree partner Craig Blair shifting from chair to director.
🐯 Tiger & Bear acquires LUNA, creating a full-service advisory for startups and VCs across legal, accounting, M&A, strategy and corporate advisory. (AFR)
LUNA, the accounting and legal advisory firm that has seen over 250+ startup deals, will keep its brand and clients under the same model. LUNA has worked with the likes of Rampersand, 1835i, LaunchVic, Future Super, EQL, Twoobs, Normal and Build Club.
Tiger & Bear brings the corporate advisory, specialising in capital raises and M&A. The combined 40-person team will operate across Sydney and Melbourne.
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⚡ Startup Retro ⚡
Block Earner lands $8M Series A at $75M valuation for home loans backed by crypto assets
Founders: Charlie Karaboga and Jordan Momtazi
Sydney’s Block Earner has banked an $8 million Series A at a $75 million valuation to roll out bitcoin-backed loans for home deposits, betting crypto collateral can crack Australia’s mortgage market. Led by Hong Kong investor CMCC Global with Sydney’s King River Capital, the raise precedes a November launch.
Block Earner will offer over-collateralised loans secured by bitcoin, ether, USDC or tether. It lends up to 40% of a customer’s crypto value at 9.5% interest, with a margin call at a 60% loan-to-value ratio and 30 days to top up. Average loan size is $91,000, typically to help with deposits or funding renovations. The company says it has more than $400 million in demand and is negotiating a warehouse with non-bank lenders.
CEO Charlie Karaboga reckons about four million Australians hold roughly $50 billion in crypto capital that can be unlocked without selling. The app is being rebuilt as a one-stop mortgage shop.
A regulatory cloud remains. ASIC is seeking High Court leave after an April Federal Court ruling that Block Earner’s earlier “Earner” product was not a financial product. Competition is emerging locally in the market with start-up Vield is also writing bitcoin-backed loans. Block Earner is also backed by venture investors, including Framework, Coinbase, Longhash and Sequoia Capital.
Due Diligence: AFR, Business News Australia, Startup Daily
RaptorTech leaves bootstrapping and raises $8M to eliminate collisions in mining sites
Founders: Jean Ferreira and Aaron Lockem
Perth-based mining tech start-up RaptorTech has secured its first external capital, raising $8 million in a growth round led by Fifth Estate Asset Management, with a global mining OEM also participating. The seven-year-old company, which has been bootstrapped to date by founders Jean Ferreira and Aaron Lockem, is profitable, generating about $12 million in annual revenue, and is now valued at $40 million.
RaptorTech sells a software-led fleet management and collision avoidance system that works across multiple equipment brands. The SaaS approach targets cash-constrained small and mid-tier miners that need interoperable safety and productivity tools without ripping and replacing existing kit. Its platform is already running across several operating mines in Australia.
For example, Unicontrol offers GPS-guided control systems for precise earthworks and excavation, ensuring increased productivity and accuracy in mining projects. While their Percept package offers proximity awareness technology that is connected to mining machines to prevent accidents, enhance safety, and protect assets.
The fresh funding will go towards accelerating product development, rolling out to more sites, and taking the offering offshore.
Due Diligence: AFR
Carbon280 raises $11.1m Seed to build WA hydrogen-storage pilot
Founder: Mark Rheinlander
Perth-based hydrogen storage startup Carbon280 has raised A$16.6 million to build a pilot plant in Kwinana, Western Australia, betting that a simpler way to store and ship hydrogen can unblock Australia’s stalled hydrogen ambitions. The round includes an A$11.1 million seed led by Woodside Energy, joined by UK investor Hive Energy and a Singaporean family office, with the balance coming via federal R&D rebates.
At the heart of the project is Hydrilyte, a liquid suspension that holds hydrogen at ambient temperature and pressure, avoiding cryogenic tanks or high-pressure cylinders. If it works at scale, the liquid could move through today’s fuel infrastructure, pipelines, tankers and ships, lowering cost and risk for industrial users. The Kwinana facility includes labs and a 100kW TRL6 prototype to test performance at an industrially relevant scale.
Carbon280 also pitches a bonus: Hydrilyte can help separate hydrogen from helium in natural hydrogen plays, potentially unlocking dual revenue streams. Founder and CEO Mark Rheinlander argues the tech could cut capex and logistics complexity for sectors eyeing hydrogen, from green steel to aviation fuels and methanol.
A successful demonstration would give customers bankable economics and could restart momentum for Australian hydrogen projects that have struggled with cost blowouts.
Due Diligence: SmartCompany
One Stop Warehouse raises $8.5M to make ordering solar systems easier for homeowners
Founder: Anson Zhang
Sydney-headquartered One Stop Warehouse (OSW), a wholesaler of solar panels and renewable gear, has raised $8.5 million in strategic funding from Shanghai-based VC SparkEdge Capital to power a global push and scale its free software platform, GreenSketch.
Founded 12 years ago by CEO Anson Zhang, OSW runs warehouses in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Townsville, and has been expanding in Europe with a focus on Poland and the Netherlands. Despite its scale, the business remains low-margin: ASIC filings show OSW sold $560 million worth of panels and batteries in 2023, generating $29 million in gross profit and a net loss of $5.5 million after expenses and tax.
Customers can use GreenSketch, the in-house software, as an all-in-one design and sales platform for solar and battery projects (mapping, 3D roof modelling, shading analysis, quoting, proposal generation). With one click, they can then order clean-energy gear (panels, inverters, batteries, racking, EV chargers, heat pumps, electricals) for the residential roof that will fit perfectly.
The fresh capital will also accelerate GreenSketch, an end-to-end platform launched this year that aims to speed residential and small-scale deployments. For homeowners, GreenSketch handles system layout, procurement and quoting, plus subsidy applications.
Due Diligence: SmartCompany
OneMRI raises $2.5M Seed to bring preventative MRI scans to the mass market
Founders: Dr Vu Tran, Andrew Barnes, Gopi Sara (CEO)
Whole-body MRI startup OneMRI has raised $2.5 million in Seed funding to take preventive scanning to the mass market, backed by a roll-call of Australian and global angels and funds including OIF, TEN13, Antler, Salus, AfterWork, Archangel, Black Sheep Capital, Prtnr, Tribe Global and Larsen Ventures, alongside clinicians and radiologists.
Founded in October 2024 by Go1 co-founders Dr Vu Tran and Andrew Barnes with entrepreneur Gopi Sara (CEO), the Brisbane-born company operates in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Perth, Sydney, Newcastle and Melbourne, with Asia–Pacific expansion on the roadmap.
OneMRI sells whole-body, radiation-free MRI scans designed to flag early signs of 500+ conditions, from cancers and metabolic disorders (e.g. fatty liver) to benign growths, autoimmune issues (such as MS), spinal degeneration and brain aneurysms. The startup uses MRI scanners that are already in the market but underutilised.
The pitch: complement, not replace, traditional diagnostics while meeting rising “health-curious” demand for proactive screening. Every appointment includes eligibility checks, informed consent, and pre- and post-scan consults with clinicians and care coordinators.
To scale, OneMRI is building a national partner network across radiology providers (Scan Medical, Pinnacle Medical Imaging) and integrative health brands (The Banyans, Evergreen Doctors, Melbourne Functional Medicine, Longey). With more than 100 MRI machines in Australia running at ~30% capacity, the team argues there’s ample headroom to turn idle infrastructure into earlier detection and, ultimately, better outcomes.
Due Diligence: Startup Daily
The Laundry Lady cleans up with $1M Seed round after 13 years of bootstrapping to build a global laundry marketplace
Founders: Susan Toft
Sunshine Coast–based The Laundry Lady has ended 13 years of bootstrapping with a A$1 million Seed round to take its tech-enabled laundry service global. The raise was led by Brisbane investor (and Techniche chair) Karl Jacoby, with Brisbane Angels, AngelLoop, AI ethicist Dr Catriona Wallace, and several local angels joining. The Queensland Government’s Female Founders Co-Investment Fund and Austrade’s Export Market Development Grant also backed the business.
Founded in 2012 by CEO Susan Toft, The Laundry Lady operates across Australia and New Zealand via more than 375 home-based contractors, offering pick-up and delivery laundry services to residential, business, NDIS and Aged Care customers through online bookings and payments. The company has leaned into software with TimeBoss, a one-stop platform for service-business management.
New capital will fund international expansion into Canada and the UK and accelerate product development, including mobile apps, AI tools and advanced segmentation capabilities. The pitch: a lightweight contractor model paired with proprietary software to standardise quality, compress admin and scale supply in fragmented local markets.
Due Diligence: Startup Daily
💸 Wins💸
💥 Hungry for inspiration? HEXPO 2025 is cooking up a full day of bold ideas, big flavours, and high-energy networking. Overnight Success is a proud community partner!
Join Melbourne’s boldest thinkers at HEXPO 2025 – the Feastival of ideas that’ll leave you fired up and full of flavour. Use code OSHEXPO20 for 20% off festival tickets. Grab a ticket here.
🎶 Looking to see what startups are doing at the forefront of music and entertainment. Four Australian startups will be pitching at the inaugural BIGSOUND x CAST Tech Showcase in Brisbane soon.
acta, Songpact, Lines and Greenroom360 will take the stage at 4:15pm on Wednesday 3 September at The Precinct Stair Stadium. More event info here.
🚀 Startmate have announced their 2025 Winter cohort with 13 startups across AI, health, hardware and climate, tackling problems from period poverty to water leaks. (Overnight Success)
The standard terms are $120,000 at a $1.5M post-money valuation cap. 70% of this cohort will be getting this deal. The remaining 30% have already had a valuation set by VCs or angel investors before joining the accelerator, and Startmate will be buying in at that valuation. Here are the startups at a glance!
🏥 Care GP: AI agents that automate provider admin, from documents to billing and patient comms.
🥷 Ninja AI: Build and share tools that let AI agents take real actions inside apps.
🩺 Medlo: Staffing marketplace and hybrid care platform with Doccy for digital care.
🧩 Matchbox: Founder-first hiring using AI plus a curated network of domain recruiters.
🛒 Promosync: Automates FMCG retail promotions with analytics and real-time optimisation.
🔧 Integuide: Captures expert technician workflows and turns them into AI guidance.
✍️ Luck: AI workspace that edits, writes and reasons inside your existing tools.
♀️ On The House: Free period products via ad-funded smart vending machines.
⭐ Rave: Social discovery for taste-based recommendations beyond podcasts.
🧪 June Health: At-home STI and cervical screening kits with lab analysis.
💧 Leakster: Acoustic sensors and AI to detect and locate water leaks in real time.
🧤 On Zero: Affordable, open haptic VR gloves for immersive touch in VR.
🤖 HeySTU: Desk companion robot that helps people with ADHD plan, focus and stay on task.
💰 New Fund, Who’s This? 💰
⚕️Monash launches Velos medical innovation accelerator with $17.5m state backing to fast-track commercial health breakthroughs (Innovation Aus)
Purpose-built hub to translate clinical research, MedTech, new care models, drug discovery and biomedical engineering, with a focus on cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic disease.
Located opposite the Victorian Heart Hospital within Monash’s Technology Precinct, the site co-locates clinicians, researchers and industry partners with labs, offices, event space and tailored support programmes.
Early tenants include EMVision Medical Devices (portable stroke-scanning trials in regional SA) and MAVERIC (Monash-led, $60m AI supercomputer to bolster Australia’s sovereign AI research capability).
Funding comes via the Victorian Higher Education State Investment Fund ($350m pool).
💸 Advance VC launches $15M fund to buy LP stakes in VC funds, unlocking liquidity for long-hold investors. Also included in headlines.
Australia now has its first dedicated VC secondaries fund-of-funds that will purchase LP/GP interests in existing VC funds (typically at a discount to NAV), giving early investors liquidity as unicorns stay private longer.
Advance VC has hit its first close of $15M (50% of target) and is already invested across 11 VC funds, including vehicles from Blackbird, Tidal, Side Stage and Startmate, creating exposure to 200+ companies such as Canva, Airwallex, UpGuard, Zeller and PsiQuantum (vintages back to 2012).
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📆 Notice Board 📆
🚀 Startmate is hosting an Alumni Demo Day with Stripe on the 11th of September to showcase some of the best of their portfolio.
Live pitches from standout alumni across AI, climate, health tech, FMCG and space, with 2,000+ investors, founders and operators in the room. 👉 Free rego here
♀️ A new nine-week University of Newcastle I2N programme to boost entrepreneurial confidence, validate ideas and build authentic leadership for women across the Hunter and Central Coast.
Open to women with or without a business idea, no university affiliation required. Applications close 14 September; programme starts in October. Apply now here.
The best place to find upcoming events to attend and promote any events you’re hosting is 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 💁 Teardown: How Linkby raised its $15M Series B in 90 days by Abhishek Maran
If you’re gearing up to fundraise, this teardown is a must-read. Abhi dissects Linkby’s rapid US$15m raise into three main things: category clarity, obsessive prep (answer vault + dataroom), and a tightly run, momentum-driven process. Zero fluff, lots of templates you can copy.
Of course, you can also go very deep on this with Abhi’s eBook, The Fundraising Blueprint.
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‘Til next time,
👋 Will