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Headlines:

• 🤝 Start-ups look to crowdfunding.

  • Start-up founders embraced equity crowdfunding in record numbers in 2022 amid a tighter venture capital funding market, but even this early-stage funding segment was not immune to valuation pressure.

  • Read more via the AFR.

• 💰 Square Peg Capital posts a solid 2022 despite tech market corrections.

  • Its holdings increased in value by 7% through 2022, thanks in large part to a few strong performers - like eCommerce tech platform Rokt.

  • Despite the positive update, Square Peg still warned that conditions in the coming year will remain tricky. (AFR)

• 🤔 Linktree brings in Google and IMG while retaining strong valuation.

  • Profitability still eludes Linktree, but investors clearly believe the 7 year old Aussie unicorn has what it takes - and new partners have tipped in more money on the same terms as an earlier timely raise near the peak of the market in March 2022.

  • This leaves the business with over $100M in the bank despite continuing to spend big on growth plans. SMH

1. Start-up Retro: Australia's start-up raises with a smidge of context.

2. Aussie Raisins: Aussie start-ups currently looking for fresh funds.

3. Notice Board: Signposting key events and opportunities.

4. Accredited Tweeters: Snippets from mostly Aussie start-up Twitter.

5. (KaaS) Knowledge as a Service: Articles to make you smarter. Or to share with co-workers to make them think you’re smart.

⚡️Start-up Retro⚡️

Climate-Tech

🐄💨 Rumin8 hits the gas with $17M and backing from Bill Gates to lower livestock emissions

The climate-tech company, Rumin8, has secured $17M in the second phase of its Seed round. The funding was led by Harvest Road Group, the agri-food business of the Forrest family, and Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV). Rumin8 has patented technology that uses red seaweed compounds to reduce the methane created by livestock farming. The active ingredient, bromoform, disrupts enzymes inside gut microbes that produce methane gas during digestion. The funds will be used to commercialise the product in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and the US, plus invest in product development. The product is a supplement to livestock diets, and ongoing trials demonstrate a >85% reduction in methane. For context, that’s two tonnes of carbon emissions removed from the air, per cow, per year. The Harvest Road Group are a strategic partner in the investment with 1.5M hectares of cattle stations in WA. This investment also marks the first of BEV into Australia. Livestock produces 3.7% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and is likely to increase as humankind has a growing appetite for meat and dairy products.

Due Diligence: Business News Australia

HR Tech / Employee Wellbeing

🏗️ Foremind lands $200K Seed round to improve wellbeing in construction sectors

Canberra-based Foremind has landed $200K in Seed funding from Skalata Ventures. The company focuses on improving mental health support, particularly in the construction and building sector, which sees 200 suicides yearly in Australia alone - more than workplace accidents. Mental health compensation claims have risen by 50% in the last six years. Foremind was cofounded by Joel Anderson, an engineer who built the platform after his experience in construction using poor Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). In particular, Foremind hopes to help small construction businesses that are priced out of corporate EAPs. The platform allows users to self-evaluate their distress levels by answering assessment questions and suggesting steps for support. On the backend, data is anonymised, and site-specific information is available for leaders. The funds will be used to make the platform available on any device, anywhere, at any time. Foremind is already working with several construction companies, including Roberts Co, Intermain, Connect Resources, and MAX Build.

Due Diligence: Startup Daily

Bio-Tech

🩺 Ferronova secures $11M in funding and grants to hunt and treat cancer

Adelaide-based bio-tech firm Ferronova has secured $11M to accelerate trials of their nanoparticle platform. The funds are made up of an investment of $8M which was led by Renew Pharmaceuticals Limited and included previous investors Uniseed and Artesian Venture Partners. In addition, the company secured a $3M research grant from the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centres. The Ferronova technology helps surgeons locate and remove malignant cells in brain and stomach cancers. According to the Australian Cancer and Research Foundation, one in three Australian men and one in four Australian women will be diagnosed with cancer by age 75. This new technology will help with awareness and screening, meaning cancers can be detected earlier, which improves long-term outcomes. The nanoparticle is detected on an MRI and can identify and locate micro-metastases (collection of cancer cells) that can often go undetected.

Due Diligence: Smart Company

EV / Energy Storage

🪫 Relectrify charges away with funding from Toyota Ventures

Relectrify, a Melbourne-based developer and supplier of control solutions to increase the cycle life and lower the cost of energy storage solutions, has landed new funding. The company was founded in 2015 with previous raises totalling $11M. This latest round, while undisclosed, was led by Toyota Ventures and welcomed Creative Ventures to the cap table. Existing shareholders like Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Energy Innovation Capital, and the venture arms of South Korean industrial company GS and European power company EDP increased their investment in the business. The Relectrify cell-level architecture increases battery resilience by enabling the batteries to bypass cells that are failing or at risk. This means that second-life batteries can be reused without expensive testing. The raise comes with massive tailwinds in the renewable energy sector, with battery storage estimated to increase by 75% between 2022-27. Although Toyota Ventures is a standalone fund, it’s clear the fund is looking for companies that create value for the broader Toyota ecosystem. This capital will allow Relectrify to focus on commercialising the process of taking second-life EV batteries and using them as storage solutions for commercial, industrial and residential applications.

Due Diligence: Toyota Ventures Investment Memo & Relectrify Announcement

Ed-Tech

👩‍💻 Code Like A Girl gets $800K grant from WiSE

Code Like A Girl, a social enterprise hoping to end gender inequality in the tech industry, has received an $800K grant. The funding comes from the latest round of Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship (WiSE) grants program. The funding will allow Code Like A Girl to expand its School of Code program and internship placement programs.

Among the announcements of the latest WiSE grant recipients were other cool initiatives, including the following:

• Food Futures Company ($975K) to scale-up projects aimed at increasing participation of Indigenous women in the agri-food sector.

• Indigenous Entrepreneur Network ($951K) for culturally-appropriate coaching and training, and to build business networks to help Indigenous women and girls to thrive.

Due Diligence: Government Announcement

If you're a founder or investor who has just closed a round, please reach out to us at [email protected]

Aussie Raisins

• Keep it Cleaner 🏃‍♀️

  • Founded by models and Instagram-influencers Steph Claire-Smith and Laura Henshaw, the health & fitness empire includes a subscription-based fitness app and line of health food products.

  • The company is looking for funds to help with their UK expansion.

  • Due Diligence: AFR

• Jinolo 🧑‍💻

  • Like Figma for 3D models, the company reportedly may look to raise capital for a CAD file-sharing platform.

  • Due Diligence: AFR

Notice Board

• Want an in-depth outlook on 2023 from an investor’s perspective?

  • Register to this online event hosted by KPMG High Growth Ventures.

  • Best suited to: Founders & Investors.

• It’s a government grants bonanza!

  • There are a bunch of grants currently open for application that might be worth taking a look if your startup is looking for extra support.

  • Airtree has kindly collated them all for you here.

  • Best suited to: Founders

Have something to put on the Notice Board?

We're always looking for upcoming events & opportunities across the Aussie start-up ecosystem - reach out to [email protected] to add yours!

Accredited Tweeters

(KaaS) Knowledge as a Service

• The Cadence: How to Operate a SaaS Start-up by David Sacks

  • An operating philosophy is more important as a SaaS business scales past 50 employees.

• The real reasons why a VC passed on your startup by Sarah Downey

  • Sarah dissects the language used by VCs on why they may have walked away from the deal.

• The Big Mac Index by The Economist on the current state of inflation.

  • According to the burgers, the Australian dollar is 4.6% undervalued to the USD.

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Cya next time,

👋 Will & Gem