There’s been no shortage of startup funding deals this week, and the mix of companies raising capital once again highlights the breadth of innovation taking place across the country.
We’ve counted eight Australian startups with new funding deals this week, from health and wellness platform Sonder with $40 million to retail media platform Thanks with $4.1 million.
Keep reading to learn more.
Sonder: $40 million
Health, safety and wellness startup Sonder leads this week’s funding round-up, with a $40 million funding round led by Blackbird Ventures and SEEK.
New investor Hostplus Super and existing investor MA Growth Ventures are also backing the Sydney-based company, which was founded in 2017 by CEO Craig Cowdrey along with Christopher Marr and Peter Burnheim.
The Sonder platform, which provides round-the-clock access to health, saftety and wellbeing support for employees, is now being used by more than one million members, and the company itself says it is growing by 40% year-on-year.
Related Article Block Placeholder
Article ID: 312209
It counts several household names among its customer base, including David Jones, Yo-Chi, Lifeblood, Mirvac and IAG.
In a statement provided to SmartCompany, Cowdrey said the company is making a significant “real-world impact”, with its data showing that 56% of its members wouldn’t have sought help without the platform and 77% feel better after using the platform.
“Businesses are recognising that investing in employee health, safety, and wellbeing is not just the right thing to do – it’s a critical driver of retention, productivity, and business success,” he added.
Cowdrey said the new funding will allow Sonder to continue to enhance its platform, scale its operations in Australia, New Zealand the UK, and develop new AI-driven features and products.
Sonder previously raised $35 million in Series B funding in September 2022.
AMP: $20 million
AI-powered e-commerce software platform AMP has also completed a new funding round, and scooped up Shopify app Back in Stock at the same time.
Founded in 2022 by serial entrepreneurs Cameron Priest and Patrick Barnes, AMP has this week raised $20 million from Openspace Ventures and OneVentues.
The new funding brings the startup’s total capital raised to $50 million.
The acquisition of Back in Stock will allow the startup to onboard some 25,000 new customers, including the likes of SKIMS, UGG, Red Bull and Steve Madden. As the name suggests, the app notifies customers when items are back in stock.
As reported by SmartCompany earlier this week, AMP says the acquisition will enhance its AI capabilities, as it will be able to capture high volumes of data related to buyer intent and help merchants create more personalised shopping experiences.
“The acquisition will significantly bolster our platform, [and] allow us to keep solving multiple problems for e-commerce merchants under one roof, and at a competitive price. Our platform model allows customers to do more with less, so it’s vital that we continue investing in it.”
StrongRoom AI: $17 million
Melbourne-born StrongRoom AI, which develops technology for pharmacists to safely track and administer controlled substances, has booked a new $17 million raise.
As reported by the Australian Financial Review, the round was led by previous backer EVP, with more follow-on contributions coming from Artesian and InterValley Ventures.
Founded by Max Mito, Christopher Durre and Kieran Start in 2017, StrongRoom burst onto the scene with novel facial recognition technology.
The startup said those tools could help pharmacists identify patients receiving opioid replacement treatments, ensuring correct dosages and adherence to treatment plans.
The startup has developed considerably since its inception, and now focuses on backend drug registry tools for pharmacists, reducing paperwork and increasing efficiency.
The ‘AI’ in StrongRoom AI comes from tools like its new predictive intelligence platform, that automatically suggests patient programs, training, and professional interventions to healthcare providers.
The startup now counts 1,500 pharmacies in its native Australia, the UK, and the US, as part of its user base.
The latest raise reportedly gives StrongRoom AI a valuation of nearly $70 million.
EcoJoule Energy: $15 million
Brisbane-based Ecojoule Energy has taken on institutional investors for the first time in is decade-long operations, securing $15 million from Ellerston Capital and Fifth Estate Asset Management.
As reported by SmartCompany earlier this week, EcoJoule was founded in 2014 and has developed technology designed to stabilise and optimise electricity flows across the grid.
This includes its EcoVARTM static compensator, which is installed on existing power poles, and more recently, home energy management systems for properties with solar panels.
CEO and co-founder Mike Wishart said the company decided to take on institutional investment to take advantage of growing global demand.
“We’ve seen a huge opportunity worldwide with the energy transition, both in Australia and internationally, and we just haven’t been able to capture that opportunity because we’ve been too small. It’s really about expanding our footprint,” he told SmartCompany.
EcoJoule employs a team of 20 people and its customer base includes the likes of Endeavour Energy, Essential Energy, Ausgrid and AusNet Services.
Harmony Intelligence: $4.7 million
Australian-American AI startup Harmony Intelligence also revealed details of its new funding this week, after closing a $4.7 million (US$3 million) seed funding round.
The funding round was led by prominent Australian VC fund Airtree and included participation from more than 30 strategic investors, including First Row Partners, Maxwell Capital, executives from Canva, Plaid and Adept AI, and The Lean Startup author Eric Ries.
Founded in mid-2023 by Plaid alumni Soroush Pour and Alex Browne, Harmony Intelligence is on a mission to build AI-powered cyber defences, at a time when more and more organisations are dealing with sophisticated, and AI-enabled, cyber threats.
The startup’s mission is to “level the playing field by building defensive technologies that stay ahead of these threats, ensuring business and organisations are protected as AI capabilities continue to advance at an exponential pace”, said CEO and co-founder Soroush Pour in a statement provided to SmartCompany.
Harmony Intelligence plans to use the new funding to continue developing its next-generation defensive AI technology, including AI automated penetration testing systems.
In the same statement, Airtree partner Jax Vullinghs said an “arms race” is developing in AI security.
“As AI systems become more powerful and accessible, the tools available to malicious actors are evolving at an unprecedented rate. Harmony’s team combines deep AI and cyber expertise, making them exactly the kind of company we want to back,” she said.
Thanks: $4.1 million
Australian-founded retail media startup Thanks is preparing to scale across the ANZ region, and in the US and UK, after raising $4.1 million (US$2.6 million) in new funding.
The seed funding comes from Peak XV Partners, Founder Collective and Side Stage Ventures, and sits alongside multinational partnerships with major e-commerce platforms eBay, Zip and Sezzle.
Thanks was launched in 2022 by former Zip employees Steve Tesoriero, Cayley Ostrin and Doron Ostrin to offer an alternative to disruptive and irrelevant advertising offers.
While the startup is now headquartered in New York, much of its team is based in Sydney.
Thanks allows brands to offer relevant, curated offers to shoppers, including post-check-out. It claims its customer-first approach has helped increase click-through rates by up to 660% for its partner brands and unlock new revenue streams by tailoring offers to some 20 million monthly customers.
However, the founders say they are only getting started. As they wrote in a blog post this week, “the future of advertising isn’t about more ads — it’s about better ones”.
Breaker: $2 million
AI startup Breaker has secured $2 million in pre-seed funding led by Australian deep tech investment fund Main Sequence.
The investment will enable Breaker to triple its team over the next six months and expand its presence in the US.
Unlike traditional robotics firms focused on hardware, Breaker says it has developed AI-powered software that allows robots to act, adapt, and communicate like humans.
The company says this enables a single operator to control up to 100 systems, fostering real-time, context-aware decision-making.
“True autonomy isn’t just about building better individual robots, but about making them work together—and work seamlessly with humans,” co-founder and co-CEO Matthew Buffa said.
Breaker has also partnered with SensorOps to enhance autonomous defence applications and Airvolute to integrate its AI agent into advanced drone platforms.
Medigrowth: $1.6 million
Rounding out this week’s funding deals is biotech startup Medigrowth, which has successfully raised $1.6 million via an equity crowdfunding campaign on Birchal.
Related Article Block Placeholder
Article ID: 313105
More than 750 investors backed the startup, which distributes THC, CBD oils and dry cannabis flower medicinal products via multiple channels, including its own telehealth platform Haiku.Health.
This is the second successful Birchal campaign for Medigrowth, which raised $3.4 million from more than 2000 backers in August 2023.
Medigrowth launched Haiku Health in that same year and revealed plans to establish a research facility in Geelong, Victoria. The company has been collaborating with Deakin University for some time and more recently, has ventured into the veterinary sector in partnership with Kindred.
The biotech says thousands of Australians have now used products from its portfolio, which it is hoping to expand with the new funding. According to the company’s Birchal profile, it is also running active clinical trials and is seeking to access global pharmaceutical markets.
“We’re not just building a business; we’re transforming healthcare and improving lives through innovative medical cannabis solutions,” said CEO and co-founder Adam Guskich in a statement provided to SmartCompany.
Never miss a story: sign up to SmartCompany’s free daily newsletter and find our best stories on LinkedIn.
