💌 Aussie Startup & VC Summary | 25th January 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 🚀 .

A very special welcome to the 17 new subscribers who joined us since last week - it’s great to have you here!

If you want to be more involved in the Overnight Success community this year as a supporter, sponsor or partner? We’d love to hear from you! Just hit reply to this email and say hi, or reach out to us on LinkedIn 👋 .

👀 Headlines 👀 

💰 The power law works both ways: VC fundraising is on the rebound, with just seven firms securing US$1.88 billion of LP capital in 2024 (AFR)

• A divide is emerging between established players (like Blackbird, Airtree, and Square Peg) and the newer firms. It seems, institutional investors remain faithful to proven VCs, while smaller funds reliant on individual backers face tighter purse strings.

• While the ~$2B feels like a lot, it still falls short of the more than 30 fund closes seen in 2020-2022.

⏹️ Square Peg marks their portfolio up 20% in 2024 (Capital Brief)

• Well-known startups, including Canva, Rokt, Airwallex, and Kredivo (Southeast Asia FinTech), were mentioned as standout performers in 2024. The firm’s aggregate fund value climbed from US$2.7B to US$3.25B.

• Square Peg deployed US$146M in new and follow-on investments in 2024 and returned US$220M to investors across five exits.

• For a full debrief, check out the FY half-year report published by Square Peg here.

🧠 ACS and the Government have teamed up to back a new tech policy think tank (Information Age)

• The newly established Tech Policy Design Institute (TPDi), backed by the Australian government and major tech firms like Apple, Amazon, and Atlassian, aims to shape responsible technology policy through research and industry collaboration.

• Founders Johanna Weaver, Zoe Jay Hawkins, and Sunita Kumar lead the institute, with a board featuring industry leaders like Kate Pounder and Dr. Tobias Feakin.

☠️ Wesfarmers drops Catch (Startup Daily)

• After acquiring Catch for AU$230 million in 2019, Wesfarmers has announced that the e-commerce site will shut down at the end of April 2025, citing fierce competition in Australia’s online retail space.

• Once a profitable platform, Catch went from a $20 million EBITDA in 2020 to an $88 million EBITDA loss in 2022. Wesfarmers now forecasts an additional $38–$40 million loss before tax in the latest half-year period, pushing the total cost of the Catch acquisition north of AU$400 million.

• While the Catch acquisition was a great result for the founding team of the e-commerce business, this longer-term result may sour the taste for large corporates to make acquisitions. With Australia’s IPO pipeline running very dry, it’s important that Australian startups have exits available to them at the end of the tunnel.

🏧 UK-based neobank Revolut is close to securing an Australian banking licence from the country’s financial regulator, APRA (Capital Brief)

• Already one of the world’s fastest-growing digital banks, Revolut wants to deepen its local footprint after five years in the market, aiming to offer deposit products and fuel further expansion.

• Amid a competitive local fintech landscape, Revolut has recently surpassed 800,000 sign-ups and handled 85% more payments year-on-year.

⚡️ Startup Retro ⚡️

Medow Health has secured $2M to build an AI co-pilot designed for medical specialists

Founders: Joel and Josh Freiberg

Sydney-based Medow Health has secured $2 million in capital to scale its artificial intelligence platform that automates medical reporting for specialist practitioners. The round was led by Chris O’Brien, Lifehouse Chief Executive and oncologist Michael Boyer, and orthopaedic surgeon Michael Solomon, and includes backing from leading figures in the medical community who are already leveraging Medow Health’s technology in their practices.

Founded in 2023, Medow Health AI emerged from co-founder Joel Freiberg’s personal frustration with lengthy wait times and inefficient specialist referrals. The company has since experienced steady growth, recording a 50 per cent month-on-month rise since September. With plans to expand operations significantly throughout 2025, Medow Health is setting its sights on the New Zealand market as well.

A critical part of the startup’s strategy involves partnering with health technology group Magentus (formerly Citadel Group), whose systems Genie and Gentu will directly integrate with Medow Health’s automated reporting technology. The move will allow specialists to rely on AI-driven tools that document patient consultations in real time, creating a streamlined process for generating and sharing clinical reports. This efficiency boost aims to reduce administrative burdens, ultimately improving patient outcomes and allowing practitioners to focus more on care delivery.

Due Diligence: Startup Daily, AFR

🎉 Wins 🎉 

💉  Brisbane-based biotech Vaxxas has received the green light for a US$4.8 million (A$7.2 million) programme to develop needle-free vaccines that can be stored at room temperature. (Capital Brief)

• By eliminating ultra-cold storage requirements, Vaxxas’ needle-free platform aims to improve global vaccine access which has the potential to transform how life-saving vaccines reach underserved communities.

• The company has been invested in by OneVentures Innovation Fund I, other supporters include Brandon Capital Partners, HealthCare Ventures, and The University of Queensland.

☀️ UQ Ventures awards 11 startups with $15k as part of 2025 Ventures ilab Accelerator

• ilab is one of the longest-running accelerator programs in Australia and has supported 305+ startups and attracting ~$435 million in investment and grant funding.

• Save the date for Pitch Night on Thursday 10 April 2025 and learn more about the program here.

🚀 LaunchVic is ramping up support for accelerator programmes, helping aspiring founders stress-test ideas and boost startup quality rather than just quantity.

• Part of this initiative is Basecamp, a program focusing on the current void of support between a startup finishing accelerator and scale-up-focused initiatives like the LaunchVic 30x30 program. 

📚 HEX acquires EntryLevel!

• Friends of the newsletter and future-of-work education platform HEX has acquired, (other) friend of the newsletter and Sydney-based EntryLevel, an AI-powered platform offering six-week, mentor-led courses in data analytics, cybersecurity, UX design, Python, and more. (It’s an OS friend fest! 💗 )

• EntryLevel’s cohort-based model reports completion rates up to 15 times higher than other online programmes, attracting more than 30,000 learners since its 2020 founding.

🍻 Aussie non-alcoholic beer brand Heaps Normal lands in the US (LinkedIn Post)

• The company’s Chief Brand Officer this week announced on LinkedIn that its beverages are now available for purchase from the shelves of Whole Foods Market, and soon will be in other retail locations too, across the Bay Area. Cheers to that!

🤔 Vibe Check 🤔 

👀  The US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, aims to cut America’s civil service and red tape significantly - Adam Gilmour (Gilmour Space Technologies) wants a similar idea implemented in Australia (Capital Brief)

• Gilmour argues that Australia’s deeptech efforts (in space tech and areas like cultivated meat) are stymied by slow bureaucratic processes, citing how his own rocket permit took a year longer than expected.

• With an Australian election looming and government efficiency being a topic front of mind via the US election, opposition leader Peter Dutton has also spoken about “government waste” but frames solutions in terms of supporting mining and resources rather than a large-scale departmental overhaul, or in reference to DeepTech. 

📆 Notice Board 📆 

🎪 _SOUTHSTART is offering a discounted ticket for first-time attendees & founders

• For a limited time only, _SOUTHSTART is selling a $499 Founders Fast Pass, giving first-time attendees and time-poor founders access to Growth Academy (March 4) and Main Day (March 5), covering startup growth, scaling, and investor networking.

• Want 10% off any _SOUTHSTART ticket? Use this link!*

• *The only condition is that you come and say hi to us when you’re there! 😉 

👋 Join the team at Stella Startups (and work with Gem 😍 )

• When she’s not working on Overnight Success, Gemma is the co-founder of startup marketing consultancy Stella Startups. The team is now hiring for a Startup Marketing Manager - an exciting opportunity to work with some of Australia’s most exciting early-stage startups to help set up their marketing foundations and build their execution engine so they can grow.

• Check it out here & reply to this email if you or someone you might know could be a good candidate!

The startup events calendar is just beginning to ramp up again for 2025…!

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)

Gemma’s Pick 💁‍♀️ A sceptical take on AI + predictions for 2025, from Gary Marcus

• The Economist’s Babbage recently released this interview with scientist Gary Marcus who offers an antidote to the AI hype we’re often surrounded by in the ‘tech startup bubble’. He’s certainly not anti-AI - he’s all for it - but rather considers himself to have a more realistic and cautious point of view about what’s possible/likely in the short term and what’s worth getting really excited about.

• You need a paid subscription to listen to the pod (email/DM me for a link if you’re dying to listen to it!), but if you want a sense of Marcus’ opinions, check out his Substack article - “25 AI Predictions for 2025”.

Will’s Pick 💁‍♂️ Game, Set, Cash: How Tennis Australia raised a $50M venture fund while some VCs fight for survival by me!

• As part of my role at Encour, and to keep growing my writing skills, I started a newsletter breaking down the businesses behind our favourite sports. The first edition focuses on how Tennis Australia has leveraged its biggest asset, the Australian Open, to bring innovation to tennis, work with startups and now raise a ~$50M venture fund!

• If you love sport or innovation, you’ll love this first edition! Since I’ve had a few messages already!

Have we missed something? Got some feedback? We love emails, so send one over!

• 🦤 Find us on Twitter: Overnight Success, Will, Gem

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• 💌 Email

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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.