G’day, and welcome to this week’s edition of Overnight Success! Your weekly download on all the important things that happened in the Aussie startup ecosystem. 🚀

An extra special welcome to the 11 new subscribers who’ve joined us since the last edition! 🎉

Did you catch the June edition of our monthly newsletter, Pulse Check? Check it out! 👇️ 

👀 Headlines 👀 

🌞 Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (QVCDF) announces Tidal Ventures and Jekara Partners are sending resources to Queensland to setup shop with matched funding

• Under the QVCDF agreement, VC funds receive up to $20M in matching funding but need to establish operations within the state. The other main stipulation is the investors then need to invest 1.25x the amount they’re allocated into local startups.

• The QVCDF is managed by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) and the program has already seen $8.7M deployed into local startups.

• The fund has a total of $120M to entice investors with and we’re expecting another 4 firms to get the remaining funding.

🎯 The PsiQuantum $1B investment by the Federal Government continues to receive scrutiny from the opposition as legal fees to finalise the deal rise

• Recent reporting has also revealed PsiQuantum was in exclusive talks well before others.

• According to InnovationAus, “a government taskforce and a team of outside advisers was many months into an investigation into a possible investment in PsiQuantum” before 21 other competing quantum firms were invited to participate in the EOI process.

🤑 Australia's HNWI are taking a greater interest in lending their capital, not making equity investments

• Capgemini Research Institute’s World Wealth Report 2024, Australian HNWI wealth rose 7.9% in 2023, outpacing global growth at 4.7%.

• The report also noted that HNWI’s have a growing interest in private debt and equity for capital preservation and growth, especially private debt lending.

• For startups, this could suggest that venture debt will continue to become more accessible and normalised as their lenders grow but private equity investments via family offices may become harder to secure. Regardless, it’s an interesting macro-trend to keep an eye on.

 ⚡️ Startup Retro ⚡️

Psylo sets up shop in the US with $12M Seed round for development of mental health treatments using psilocybin

Founders: Joshua Ismin and Samuel Banister

Sydney-based biotech startup Psylo has secured a US$8 million (A$12 million) Seed round as it moves operations to the US. This funding round was led by Tenmile with contributions from Palo Santo, Focalpoint Ventures, Mystic Ventures, Gaingels, and M8 Ventures.

Psylo focuses on developing psychedelic-assisted therapies, starting with psilocybin, to treat severe mental illness. Their flagship product, PSYLO-100X, is a non-hallucinogenic compound aimed at treating depression and other mental health disorders. Unlike traditional psychedelics, PSYLO-100X induces neuronal remodelling without causing hallucinatory effects, making it safe for home administration.

The fresh capital will bolster Psylo's drug discovery platform and advance PSYLO-100X through Investigational New Drug (IND) application-enabling studies, with the first human clinical trials planned for 2025. The hopes are Psylo's unique therapeutic approach will help the mental health crisis for a broader patient population.

Psylo retains its Australian roots with labs at the University of New South Wales and the University of Colorado Boulder, and boasts notable investors like AirTree co-founder Daniel Petre and CSIRO-backed Main Sequence Ventures.

Due Diligence: Startup Daily

Subble snags $1M pre-Seed to help SMEs mange SaaS subscriptions

Founders: Jaedon Farrugia, Nathan Mackinnon and Jesse Duffield

Melbourne-based startup Subble has raised $1 million in a pre-Seed round, backed by Haystack Capital's Jordan Walsh and Leon Hayes, to refine its product and expand its customer base. Subble offers a business software subscriptions management platform that provides executives with better visibility and control over their SaaS subscriptions to cut unnecessary costs.

Subble addresses the issue of under-utilised and over-deployed software, estimated to account for about a quarter of the nearly $200 billion global software expenditure. The platform uses a combination of expert analysis and AI to identify unused licences, helping companies reduce costs and improve security.

Subble's ability to quickly highlight significant savings has already impressed users. PropertyMate's CEO, James Fitzgerald, reported a 33% savings on their Google Workspace subscription within a day, while 2 Dam Creative founder Steve Brendish saved $12,000 annually by eliminating unnecessary subscriptions.

Due Diligence: ARN, IT Brief

Your Beautiful Life (YBL) raises $2.5 million pre-Seed to build an AI co-pilot for financial advisors

Founders: George Lucas

YBL.AI, a Sydney-based AI-driven platform for financial advisers, has secured a $2.5M pre-Seed round from undisclosed backers. The company is founded by George Lucas, the founder of ASX listed Raiz invest. YBL aims to transform the financial advice industry globally with its platform offering advanced AI tools for document scanning, meeting notes transcription, knowledge base management, and financial simulations like Monte Carlo models and budgeting.

YBL enhances advisor-client interactions by improving workflow efficiency and affordability, enabling advisers to focus more on client relationships. The platform is especially beneficial in Australia, where ongoing advice reforms are in place, and with 80% of Australians not using financial advice, YBL has the potential to open new markets for advisors.

Lucas is re-domiciling YBL in Delaware and setting up offices in Sydney and Silicon Valley. The platform was built using locally-hosted large and small language models and proprietary technologies and claims it can save users 95% of the time typically spent on common tasks, optimising workflows across applications like XPlan, Microsoft Office, email and Zapier.

Lucas's departure from Raiz Invest in 2022 followed a prolonged boardroom battle. With YBL, he seeks to create a user-friendly, drag-and-drop solution for financial advisers to quickly produce statements of advice, lowering costs and driving demand.

Due Diligence: Startup Daily

Ofload confirms $27M capital raise from December with additional $4M to develop sustainable supply chain network

Founders: Geoffroy Henry

Sydney logistics software startup Ofload has confirmed a $31 million capital injection to support product rollout and business growth in digital freight technology. $27 million of the raise, landed in December 2023, was secured in a round led by Yarra Private Capital Discovery Fund, with contributions from King River Capital and Jungle Ventures. Since then, an additional $4 million has been added to the pool of funds.

Founded in 2020 as Loadsmile and rebranded as Ofload six months later, the company raised $2.8 million in its Seed round, $20 million in Series A in 2021 at a $100 million valuation, and $60 million in Series B in 2022, partly funded by Liquidity Group’s Mars Growth fund for acquisition purposes. The latest funding round values the company at $350 million, a 200% increase from its previous valuation.

Ofload's platform manages freight logistics, including planning, booking, delivery, and payments. It aims to be a comprehensive service provider for Australia’s 58,000 trucking companies, offering invoicing, financial management, insurance, and fuel loyalty systems. Additionally, it collaborates with major carriers to fill empty trucks on return journeys. The platform is also developing tools to assess and reduce the carbon footprints of its fleet which have now travelled over 14 million kilometres.

Due Diligence: The Australian

GPN Vaccines raises $18M in an oversubscribed Series B1 to develop vaccine against pneumonia causing bacteria

Founders: Tim Hirst, James Paton and Mohammed Alsharifi

GPN Vaccines, an Adelaide based biotech led by Tim Hirst, has achieved a $300 million valuation after raising US$12 million (A$18 million) in a funding round led by Forepont Capital, Kern Capital, and Shearwater Capital's Mike Gregg. GPN Vaccines is developing a vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae, a pathogen responsible for middle ear infections, pneumonia, and sepsis, which kills about 1 million people annually.

Founded in 2017 by Tim Hirst (2022 Angel of the Year), along with University of Adelaide professors James Paton and Mohammed Alsharifi, GPN Vaccines aims to address the limitations of current pneumococcal vaccines. Unlike existing vaccines that target the bacteria's carbohydrate capsule, GPN's approach involves a whole-protein, whole-cell vaccine exposing all proteins underneath the capsule, inducing a broad-spectrum immune response against all serotypes of the organism.

The company's phase-one trial demonstrated the vaccine's safety and ability to induce an antibody response. The recent funding will support further clinical studies in Australia and regulatory engagement, including with the US FDA. Additionally, GPN is planning a phase-two trial involving up to 1,600 participants and aims to raise US$100 million for this effort.

GPN Vaccines is also exploring partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to commercialise their vaccine by mid-2028 while continuing to develop other vaccines in their pipeline.

Due Diligence: AFR

🚀 Accelerator Watch 🚀 

🧪 CSIRO’s ON Accelerate has showcased their latest cohort of startups.

• The CSIRO ON Accelerate program offers startups support and cash with a shared pool of capital for teams to access based on performance during the accelerator.

• The accelerator is focused on commercialising research with a requirement for one team member to be an active researcher or within 24 months of completing a PhD. Here’s the full list of startups and their achievements so far! 👇

Aquatone Solutions: enhances nutrient uptake and growth in agriculture and aquaculture with advanced bio stimulants and AI-driven prawn farm management for better efficiency. Explainer video!

Continuous3D: automates the repair of critical metal components using sensors and advanced algorithms, cutting robot program development time from weeks to minutes.

Cytophenix: an AI-enhanced test providing rapid antimicrobial susceptibility results in 3-5 hours, much faster than the current 2-5 days. Has received over $9M in non-dilutive funding to date.

EMU Systems: offers advanced heat stress management for athletes, with plans to expand into sectors like mining and agriculture for enhanced safety and productivity.

Dragonfly Thinking: creating new AI tools to enable businesses and governments to better navigate complexity. Selected for Australia’s AI Sprint and Defence Trailblazer programs. Awarded a $30,000 Innovation Connect (ICON) Grant to develop AI tools. Hosted a workshop at Harvard University and will pilot AI tools in government and businesses in Q3 2024.

ErythroSight: creating a therapeutic for retinal diseases using patients' own red blood cells. Secured a patent for their technology to treat vision loss diseases. Awarded a $50,000 ANU impact grant and $20,000 from ON for regulatory support and lab supplies.

Infinite Bioworks: focuses on advanced starter cells to support the bio-revolution, partnering to develop environmentally friendly materials and ingredients. Secured over $150k in commercialisation funding and developed international partnerships during the accelerator.

Jessie Technology: autonomous data entry system improves care quality in aged care by reducing the time needed for data and compliance documentation. Received Seed funding, established an MVP and has a trial in an aged care home.

Plasmid Therapy: combats antimicrobial-resistant infections by safely removing AMR genes from bacteria with an oral solution, enhancing treatment efficacy. Received regulatory approvals and initiated human trials for technology addressing antimicrobial-resistant infections.

Wild Yeast Zoo: uses native yeast strains to innovate in brewing, baking, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels, aiming to diversify and improve production processes. Generating customer revenue and in discussions with potential buyers. Plans to expand into biofuels and bio-based chemicals while maintaining engagement with the fermented beverage industry.

Want to learn more about why we’re reporting these figures? Read about the ‘Funding the Balance’ initiative here.

🤑 New Fund, Who’s This? 🤑 

Brandon Capital raises $270M for new life science investment fund called Brandon Biocatalyst 6

• The fresh capital comes from superfunds, Hostplus, HESTA and ASX-Listed CSL.

• The trio of investors isn’t new to the fund, having participated in the last three vintages, including the 2015 $200 million fund, the 2017 $230 million fund, and the 2019 $250 million fund.

🥳️ Wins 🥳

🏦 The Finnies were held in Sydney this week with 322 FinTechs across Australia entering across 19 categories

• The full list of winners can be found here! A quick summary of the big awards and big winners.

  • FrankieOne picked up the coveted Fintech Organisation of The Year award and digital wallet fintech Waave won Emerging FinTech of The Year.

  • WeMoney won three separate awards: Excellence in Open Data, Excellence in Wealth Management and the People’s Choice Award.

💻 Q-CTRL, the Sydney based quantum infrastructure software provider, announced this week that they have broken previous records for using quantum computing to solve complex problems

• Q-CRTL’s software were able to consistently find the correct solution to a range of optimisation problems at a larger scale than ever before using IBM hardware.

• The IBM quantum computer was up to 1,500 times more likely to find the correct result compared other solutions.

• The achievements are detailed in the technical paper.

📌 Notice Board 📌 

🎤 Pitch Opps | 🚀 Accelerator | 🏆️ Competition/Award | 💰Grant | 📅 Event | 🎓️ Course

📆 Tropical Innovation Festival - 17th - 21st June📍Cairns

• The Tropical Innovation Festival is a week-long innovation festival with a “choose your own adventure” style program, set in the idyllic climes of Far North Queensland.

• You’ve still got time to get your tickets, and OS readers can get 20% off with the code OSUCCESS20.

📆 Media Masterclass for Women in Tech - 13th June 💻️ Online

• Tech Ready Women is hosting a free Lunch & Learn session for female founders wanting to learn how to craft their brand story, pitch to media and fully leverage the benefits of effective PR strategy. Register to attend here.

• This is part of the monthly workshops from Tech Ready Women's Female Founder Connect community.

📆 Startup Sips - 28th June 📍Melbourne

• Mayfly Ventures and Aussie Founders club are hosting this EOFY celebration for “founders, dreamers, and doers who usually are glued to our home offices” and" “tired of talking to plants about their startup ideas”. If that genius copy hits home for you, secure your spot here.

🧠 KaaS (Knowledge as a Service)

Gem’s Pick 💁‍♂️ Billy Slater - Leading from the (Full)Back

• As a newly-adopted Queenslander, Billy and his QLD Maroons were top of mind in our household this week, not just because it was the first game of the (men’s) State of Origin for 2024, but also because we listened to this inspiring new episode of my favourite podcast, The Imperfects.

• Slater is considered one of the greatest NRL players and now coaches of all time, despite only coaching a handful of games, mainly due to his remarkable leadership style, defined by an incredible work ethic, unwavering humility and a focus on encouragement before criticism.

• Whether you consider yourself a ‘leader’ or not (and for the record, even Billy doesn’t), this ep has lessons for everyone. If this week’s Origin win was anything to go by - his approach gets results! ✊ 

Will’s Pick 💁‍♂️ How to Model a Venture Capital Fund

• This is very inside baseball, but this was a fascinating article to read, especially having a play on a few of the linked (and free) Excel and Google Sheets models listed.

• For founders, this is an interesting article to read and absorb to get a better sense of what VCs are looking for in their investments—or, less diplomatically, why a VC might say you’re not a fit for their thesis and requirements.

• It could also be very useful when you’re trying to understand better how your company might fit in their portfolio, investment approach and follow-on strategy.

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‘Til next time,

👋 Will & Gem