💌 Aussie Startup & VC Summary | 8th March 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 🚀 .

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👀 Headlines 👀 

🇦🇺 There’s a new definition for being an Australian Tech Business when applying for government procurement. (Innovation Aus)

The three criteria are: 

1. At least 50% Australian ownership or be listed on an Australian equities market.

2. Australian tax residency.

3. Principal place of business in Australia.

What does this mean for Aussie tech? 

• 20% of the Federal Government’s $80 billion procurement budget goes to tech, which means there’s a massive pie of revenue available for tech companies, and it just got easier for Australian tech companies to separate themselves from international competition.

• The Government will start to prioritise economic benefits over price alone, supporting businesses that invest in Australia.

The second-order ramifications are big, too. 

• More certainty for investors: This update might change some investors' underwriting in a startup that's taking on sovereign tech capabilities.

• Level global playing field: Foreign firms previously had tax and procurement advantages that disadvantaged local businesses.

• Boost for SME tech firms and startups: Overall, this is a leg-up for the ‘little guy’. Plenty of startups now can compete on a more level playing field with bigger organisations.

🧑‍🔬 Science and Industry Minister Ed Husic announced that the Federal Government will adopt all 11 recommendations from the 2024 Diversity in STEM Review. (Startup Daily)

• The announcement was made at SOUTHSTART in Adelaide this week and comes ahead of a looming federal election and International Women’s Day. The Review highlighted intersectional barriers, including gender, socioeconomic status, culture, and physical ability, restricting equal STEM participation.

• Here’s a brief summary of what was included in the recommendations:

  • A long-term, whole-of-government strategy to improve diversity in STEM.

  • Collaboration with states to increase STEM participation in schools.

  • More support for STEM educators and students.

  • Safer workplaces and career pathways for diverse talent.

  • Prioritising First Nations scientists for funding on Indigenous-impact projects.

⚡️ Startup Retro ⚡️

Instant secures $18M Series A at over $100M valuation to re-engage shoppers online who abandon carts

Founders: Liam Millward and William Gao

Sydney-based automated marketing startup Instant has raised $18 million in Series A funding, pushing its valuation to $100 million three years after launch. The round, led by Belgium’s Hummingbird Ventures, follows a $2.2 million pre-Seed raise in 2022. Other investors in the round include Blackbird, TEN13 and Reinventure Group.

Co-founded by teenagers-turned-entrepreneurs Liam Millward and William Gao, Instant tackles the persistent challenge of online cart abandonment, where potential customers visit an e-commerce site and add items to their cart but leave before purchasing. Its platform rapidly re-engages shoppers who click away, winning over brands like July, Toys R Us, Peppermayo, and Fayt the Label.

CEO Millward attributes Instant’s impressive 25% month-on-month growth over the past year to relentless innovation and prompt execution. By combining AI-driven insights with real-time remarketing (such as tailored emails or on-site prompts), Instant enables retailers to recover lost sales and maximise their advertising spend by bringing these shoppers back to finalise their purchases.

On the other hand, the company’s retention marketing products focus on converting one-time or infrequent purchasers into loyal, repeat buyers. Rather than constantly pursuing new audiences, retention marketing strives to make the most of existing customers by building stronger relationships and encouraging repeat business. Common tactics include personalised follow-up emails, loyalty programmes, targeted discounts, tailored content.

With fresh capital secured, Instant plans to expand into the United States and bolster its product engineering.

Due Diligence: SmartCompany

Esper takes off with a $5M Seed round to build hyperspectral imaging sats to detect mineral deposits on Earth

Founders: Shoaib Iqbal and Przemyslaw Lorenczak

Esper has snapped up $5 million in Seed funding to bolster its hyperspectral imaging satellites, aiming to detect critical minerals such as lithium and rare earths from orbit. Led by Paspalis Capital and the Islamic financial services firm Hejaz, the round will support five new satellites and a push into Northern Australia’s resource-rich regions.

Esper’s founders, Shoaib Iqbal and Przemyslaw Lorenczak, liken their technology to “a fingerprint scanner from space.” By capturing hundreds of spectral bands, their satellites identify unique chemical signatures on the Earth’s surface. This data helps mining companies pinpoint exploration hotspots while enabling agricultural, energy, and environmental monitoring.

Though mining and energy remain key clients, unexpected use cases have emerged, including archaeological site detection. Esper’s imaging can penetrate foliage to reveal hidden burial grounds or ancient structures, reflecting the broad potential for its technology.

The company has had some setbacks, losing its first satellite, Over the Rainbow-1, shortly after launching last March. Despite this, Esper has secured $31M in contracts.

Esper will expand into Darwin, which aligns with Paspalis’s strategy to bolster Northern Australia’s role in the global minerals supply chain. Existing customers span the United States, Europe, and Australia, with plans to scale into Asia-Pacific, Chile, and Canada. Rather than heightening environmental risks, Esper’s imaging promises greater transparency, enabling stakeholders to monitor land use and reduce ecological impact.

Due Diligence: Payload Space, SmartCompany, Startup Daily

Tendle lands $2M pre-Seed to build AI-powered tendering platform

Founders: Laurie Nicol

AI-powered Tendl has secured $2 million in pre-Seed funding to streamline government suppliers’ tendering workflows. Founded in 2024 by Toowoomba-based entrepreneur Laurie Nicol, Tendl leverages AI-driven processes to cut red tape and accelerate submissions.

Led by Tidal Ventures, with participation from Startmate, 77 Partners, Brisbane Angels, and Aussie Angels, the round will fund Tendl’s development team and global expansion. Target markets include Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, and New Zealand.

Tendering is expensive and time-consuming, often tying up a firm’s most experienced staff with no guaranteed payoff. Tendl reuses prior responses, automates repetitive tasks, and refines bids with built-in analytics, reducing effort while boosting success rates. Nicol emphasises that Tendl fosters team collaboration by storing key data on one platform, letting users focus on strategy over admin.

Having hired new engineers, Nicol now aims to broaden Tendl’s global footprint. Public procurement spans $10 trillion annually, per the World Bank. In Australia alone, government procurement hit $99 billion last year. Nicol calls Tendl a lifeline for smaller firms lacking resources.

For government contractors, tendering is “the lifeblood,” making Tendl indispensable for lowering risk and improving results. By simplifying an essential yet taxing process, Tendl powers more efficient, competitive bids worldwide. Tendle is an alumni of the Startmate accelerator program. 

Due Diligence: SmartCompany

Flowing Bee raises $1.6M to make AI-powered behavioural research faster

Founders: Michael Sankey and Sara Khorasani

Melbourne-based Flowing Bee has closed a $1.6 million funding round to supercharge its AI-driven behavioural science platform, promising faster, more affordable customer insights for marketers. Founded by behavioural scientist Michael Sankey and technologist Sara Khorasani (whose experience includes designing simulations for Williams Racing) the startup targets brands seeking to nudge customer actions at scale. The raise was led by Archangel Ventures and included Genesis PSF, Antler, M8 Ventures and the Alice Anderson Fund.

Flowing Bee begins by asking what specific behaviour a business wants to encourage, be it fundraising sign-ups for Movember or nudging supermarket customers towards more fruit and vegetables. It then collects data through surveys, feeding that information to hundreds of AI agents charged with bite-sized analytical tasks. This ‘swarm-based’ approach compresses what would otherwise take months of consulting into a matter of days, drastically reducing cost.

Human oversight remains “in the loop” to verify data quality, while marketing teams can leverage these AI-generated insights to create fresh campaigns and instantly A/B test their efficacy. Flowing Bee already counts Movember, reverse mortgage lender Inviva, and major superannuation providers among its clientele. With backing from Archangel Ventures, Genesis PSF, Antler, M8 Ventures, and the Alice Anderson Fund, the startup now plans a global expansion, with an eye on New York and Silicon Valley.

Due Diligence: SmartCompany

Heidi Health raises another $26.5M to expand its Series A for medical scribe platfrom

Founders: Dr Thomas Kelly, Yu Liu, and Waleed Mussa

AI-powered medical scribe startup Heidi Health has raised $26.5 million in a Series A follow-on round, securing its first major international capital injection. Led by San Francisco-based Headline, the round also saw participation from the UK’s Local Globe and existing investors Blackbird and HESTA.

Founded in 2019, Heidi Health’s AI-driven software automates patient visit transcriptions, freeing up doctors to focus on care instead of paperwork. The company’s tools, already used in over a million consultations per week, summarise conversations in real time without recording or storing audio.

Heidi is gaining traction in the US as word-of-mouth among doctors drives adoption. “We rise above the sea of other tools because more people use us,” said Heidi founder Dr Kelly. 

The fresh capital will help Heidi Health refine its platform and expand globally, with a focus on markets like the UK, where patients struggle to access basic care. By reducing bureaucratic burdens, the startup aims to improve both doctor efficiency and patient outcomes.

Due Diligence: Startup Daily, Mobi Healh News

GonGlobal lands a $1.6M pre-Seed round to develop a wearable IVF medication system

Founders: Ellen Gonda and Igor Gonda

GonGlobal has secured $1.6 million in pre-Seed funding to develop non-invasive IVF medication delivery, eliminating the need for painful daily injections. Founded by father-daughter duo Ellen and Igor Gonda, the company’s mission is to improve the IVF patient experience and treatment success rates.

The round was led by doctor and entrepreneur Peter Cronin, with support from Flying Fox Ventures, UNSW Founders, The George Institute for Global Health, LaunchVic’s Alice Anderson Fund, and Australian Medical Angels.

GonGlobal’s breakthrough is part of a larger multi-billion dollar opportunity in women’s health innovation. Despite women comprising half the population, the sector receives just 2% of healthcare venture funding. However, Australia is emerging as a global leader, with $333 million in government investment, a strong clinical trial ecosystem, and pioneering advancements in IVM, endometriosis research, and cervical cancer elimination.

GonGlobal was a member of the Health 10x program run by UNSW Founders. Along the way, it’s been keen to demonstrate that women’s health isn’t a niche; it’s an economic and healthcare priority.

The opportunity in women's health is large, to say the least. Historically, women’s health has been grossly overlooked, focusing primarily on sexual and reproductive systems while neglecting other essential health needs. In nearly every country around the world, non-communicable diseases represent the primary causes of death and disability among women.

Due Diligence: Kylie Frazer (Flying Fox Ventures) LinkedIn Post

Extra due diligence: Check out their pitch deck here 👀 

Trusst AI secures $4M to clone your top customer service staff with AI

Founders: Sarel Roets and Ryan Kohler

Customer experience platform Trusst AI has raised $4 million to expand its AI-powered solution that digitally clones a business’s best staff. Sarel Roets and Ryan Kohler founded Trusst AI which operates between Sydney and Colorado. The platform can deploy AI agents that handle voice and text interactions with natural language processing, empathy, and human-like responsiveness. The funding round was led by OIF Ventures.

The AI-powered system interprets inbound calls, automates responses, and provides businesses with deep data insights to improve customer interactions and streamline operations.

The platform operates in the energy, banking, healthcare, and telecommunications sectors. For example, a gas and electricity retailer achieved 25% annual growth but struggled with quality assessment, evaluating less than 0.5% of customer interactions despite expanding their QA team. Trusst AI's solution transcribed and assessed all voice interactions, improving processes like direct debit, reducing inbound calls by 8%, and saving $1.2 million annually.

Due Diligence: CRN Australia 

🎉 Wins 🎉 

👭 FemTech talent project bags $4.9m grant to train 700+ women in tech over 3 years.

• Led by Professionals Australia, with Girl Geek Academy, TAFE Queensland, and Koorie Women Mean Business, the FemTech program is part of the $45M Building Women’s Careers Program, addressing Australia’s tech skills shortage (312,000 workers needed by 2030). The project includes training like:

  • TAFE & diploma courses (224 participants).

  • Leadership & career development (200 participants).

  • Networking & First Nations pathways (300 participants).

🧠 Melbourne-based Cortical Labs announces the world’s first commercial biological computer at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. (ABC, Founder LinkedIn post)

• Cortical Labs, became well known amongst scientific and computer science communities in 2021 for successfully teaching teaching neurons, grown on a computer chip, to play the game Pong.

• Their technology has since advanced significantly, with the company’s CL-1 hardware/wetware and software solutions now available for commercial purchase.

• The company raised $10M in 2023 in a round led by Horizons Ventures, with participation from LifeX (Life Extension) Ventures, Blackbird Ventures, Radar Ventures and In-Q-Tel (the venture arm of the CIA).

🏦 Xccelerate, CBA’s x15ventures accelerator, opens its doors to other corporates to get involved. (Capital Brief)

• The Xccelerate program facilitates mentorship, due diligence, and proof-of-concept collaborations, giving startups a direct route to corporate deals.

• The focus will be on helping FinTechs and early-stage startups connect with major enterprises.

🔭 Galileo Ventures expands to San Francisco to better support Aussie founders.

• Galileo is now the first Australian pre-Seed VC with dual headquarters, opening a San Francisco office to better support Australian founders entering the US market.

• The fund targets pre-Seed to Seed investment focus, providing up to $500,000 to first-time tech founders building for global markets, particularly in AI and enterprise software.

• Galileo’s portfolio companies have already attracted follow-on investments from major Silicon Valley firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Peak XV, and Insight Partners.

👀 Curated Opinions 👀 

🧭 According to a partner at Quantonation, Will Zeng, Australia’s strict quantum export laws could stifle startups and benefit Big Tech (Amazon, Microsoft, Google). (Capital Brief)

• As quantum computing has now been added to the Department of Defence and Strategic Goods List of controlled exports, selling quantum tech overseas risks up to 10 years in jail, even with allied nations under strict controls.

• Although there are limited exemptions for UK & US under AUKUS, these are only for “verified entities.”

• Zeng warns there could be a risk of brain drain with startups moving overseas for better market access.

• Big Tech is leading quantum development, while startups like Diraq focus entirely on quantum innovation.

• Zeng is urging for reform to support local quantum startups and prevent Australia from falling behind in global competition.

💁 More women are leading family offices, especially within Aussie tech. (AFR)

• Traditionally, roles were dominated by men, but as wealth transferred to new generations and tech-driven fortunes emerged, women took leadership roles within these family offices.

• This piece in the AFR, highlights Victoria Denholm (CEO, Wollemi Capital), Judy Anderson-Firth (CEO, Euphemia) and Sarah Worboys (Venture Strategy Director at Saniel Ventures), who are among a growing group of female leaders shaping investment strategies.

• What could this mean for the ecosystem? Women-led family offices focus more on ESG, impact investing, diversity, and innovation, reflecting shifting generational values.

📆 Notice Board 📆 

🚀 Google's ANZ Study Jam is a free, 30-day virtual program designed for developers and engineers in Australia and New Zealand.

• The program provides tangible learning outcomes, a certificate that validates your Gen AI skills, and exclusive Google Cloud swag when you finish the program. 

• The Study Jam now kicks off on March 14th! You can register now here, or feel free to share this with the best developer in your life.

⚕️ Applications are now open for MedTech Actuator Accelerator – Asia Pacific’s leading 6-month program for early-stage MedTech, BioTech, and HealthTech startups. Since 2018, they’ve supported over 100 startups navigate the complexities of healthcare commercialisation, accelerating their path to market and investment readiness. Apply by 21 March! 

• Take the first step at a free Venture Bootcamp on 19 March!

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)

Gem’s Pick 💁‍♀️ Breaking the Cycle, Sweat Equity Newsletter (Capital Brief)

• I have a lot of respect for the work the team at Capital Brief are doing - in particular Bronwen Clune who has been in and around the startup ecosystem for longer than most probably realise (bringining a huge wealth of knowlege, and networks to her work) and has a knack for breaking down issues in an intellectual yet common sense way. I had the pleasure of catching up with her this week at SOUTHSTART and giving her an in-person ‘thumbs up’ on this newsletter edition that hones in on an issue I’ve been grappling with a lot recently; is continuously talking about the poor state of gender inequality in startups and VC (particularly relating to funding), just reinforcing a narrative that in turn, reinforces the problem? If the answer is yes (which I think it is), then media seemingly find themselves between a rock and hard place.

• Bronwen offers a few potential solutions to this problem, including to:

  • Integrate women into business media year-round (not just around IWD…),

  • Stop framing the achievements of female founders around their gender,

  • Diversify sources for reporting (not just in gender focused pieces), and

  • Focus on longitudinal data, rather than isolated data points, to keep key players that aren’t making progress to account.

Will’s Pick 💁‍♂️ Positive Inertia by Brain Food (Blog)

• This very short blog is about inertia and the resistance to change. It focuses on how it applies beyond physics to business, habits, and innovation. Understanding this principle reveals why starting is difficult, but momentum becomes an advantage once established. It explains why disrupting established markets is challenging yet possible and why the startup advantage is agility and lack of organisational inertia.

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‘Til next time,

👋 Will & Gem

🔨 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.