We’ve just seen the biggest startup raise of the week so far this year, thanks to Airwallex. Coming in swinging with a Series F worth a cool $466 million, it’s safe to say it operates firmly in the scaleup space. But we’ll still take it.
But the SaaS unicorn wasn’t the only winner this week. Six other Aussie startups also landed some cash for a combined total of at least $495.8 million.
Airwallex: $466 million
Cross-border payments company has secured what is not only one of the largest capital raises this year, but one of the most significant single investments for an Australian-born business, ever.
The company, which was founded in Melbourne in 2015, has completed a $466 million (US$300 million) Series F funding round that brings its valuation to $9.6 billion (US$6.2 billion).
Square Peg Capital led the funding round, which represents the VC’s seventh investment in Airwallex and its single largest one to date.
Prominent Australian VCs Blackbird and Airtree also participated in the round for the first time ever, along with DST Global, Lone Pine Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Hostplus, NGS Super and Visa Ventures.
Airwallex CEO and co-founder Jack Zhang said in a statement the investment is a “major milestone” for the company, which allows businesses to transfer and accept payments across more than 200 countries.
“We started Airwallex 10 years ago to make global money movement as fast, cheap and transparent as possible, but it turns out we were just scratching the surface,” said Zhang.
With the new funding, Airwallex plans to focus on building out its global platform, expanding into new markets and “embracing AI to unlock fully autonomous financial operations”, added Zhang.
“We believe this will fundamentally change how businesses are built and scaled — and we’re building for that future,” he said.
“We’ve always believed in supporting entrepreneurs and startups because we’ve been in their shoes.”
EatClub: $18.2 million
Also revealing new funding this week is restaurant platform EatClub, which has secured $18.2 million in Series A funding as it pushes further into the UK.
Melbourne-based Co:Act Capital led the funding round, which also included participation from Gandel Invest, Marbruck and Platform Advisory.
Launched in 2017 with backing from celebrity chef Marco Pierre White, EatClub initially focused on helping restaurants attract diners with the use of real-time dynamic pricing.
It doubled down on its product development during the pandemic and has grown substantially since. This is in part due to the launch of its payments system, EatClub Pay, which allows diners to redeem special offers through its app.
“It completely reimagines what a dining incentive should look like,” said CEO Pan Koutlakis.
“Restaurants get targeted demand, and diners get spontaneity without friction.”
The startup is hoping to continue this momentum as it expands into the UK this month, while also directing some of the new funding into further product development.
Kite Magnetics: At least $3.6 million
Electric motor tech startup Kite Magnetics has secured at least $3.6 million in seed-plus funding, with the confirmed investment coming from SQM Lithium Ventures — its first direct venture investment in Australia.
The round also included support from Breakthrough Victoria, Investible, Boson Ventures and Monash Investment Holdings.
While the total size of the oversubscribed round has not been disclosed, the company says the funding will support pilot production of its patented Aeroperm material, strategic hires and global expansion efforts.
Spun out of Monash University in 2021, Kite Magnetics manufactures stator cores — a key component in electric motors and generators — using Aeroperm. This is a nanocrystalline material that reduces energy losses by up to 97%.
The company is pitching the tech as a drop-in replacement for electric steel that can increase EV range and cut manufacturing costs.
“We’re not just making electric vehicles drive further, we’re making them cheaper and more sustainable,” said CEO and founder Dr Richard Parsons.
“This is about accelerating global adoption.”
Termina: $3 million
Melbourne-based energy tech startup Termina has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A round led by EVP, with continued backing from Archangel and Skalata.
Founded in 2020, Termina offers an energy management platform that helps multi-site businesses reduce costs by automatically switching to the best available energy pricing and negotiating collective Power Purchase Agreements. The software also consolidates invoicing and analytics, targeting SMEs disadvantaged by Australia’s energy oligopoly.
Termina’s clients include Pizza Hut, Betty’s Burgers and Uniting Vic.Tas, and the company now manages 3,700 energy meters across the country, representing more than $3.6 million in monthly energy spend.
CEO and co-founder Michael Koopman said Termina’s model, which charges based on savings rather than retailer commissions, offers a rare alignment of incentives.
“Our platform unites previously isolated small businesses in a way that hasn’t been possible before,” he said.
The new capital will be used to expand Termina’s coverage of energy services and accelerate its push toward a broader vision of “net zero cost and emissions” energy for Australian businesses.
Preve: $2.2 million
AI physiotherapy startup Preve has raised $2.2 million in seed funding to scale its platform, which uses machine learning to personalise and monitor at-home exercise plans for patients.
The round was led by Carthona Capital and included participation from Startmate, Archangel, Black Sheep Capital and Eucalyptus co-founders Alexey Mitko and Charlie Gearside.
Preve was founded by Adam Beaupeurt and practising physiotherapist Caelum Trott to address a widespread issue in physical rehab: patient drop-off.
“Our research suggests that patients drop out of care 80% of the time,” said Trott. “Preve lets physios provide care that’s consistent, trackable, and actually works for the modern patient.”
Beaupeurt emphasised Preve enhances rather than replaces physios, coaching patients between sessions and delivering better outcomes.
The team was part of Startmate’s Winter 2024 cohort alongside Buster, Trava Health and Tendl.
Foremind: $1.5 million
Workplace mental health and wellbeing platform Foremind has raised $1.5 million in a funding round led by Giant Leap.
Skalata and Snow Foundation have also backed the startup, which plans to use its new funding to build out the capabilities of its platform and expand into New Zealand and the UK.
Foremind was founded by Joel Anderson in 2021 to address the growing demand for mental health support in Australian workplaces.
The startup’s platform brings together proactive mental health support with compliance tools. It is being used by 150 businesses and not-for-profits, including Forty Winx, Maryvale Private Hospital and Beyond Housing. Some 50 new clients have started using the platform in recent months, and the company says it has grown by 4,200% over the past two years.
“Supporting mental health proactively, rather than reactively, is key to fostering safer and more productive workplaces,” said Foremind CEO Joel Anderson in a statement provided to SmartCompany.
“This investment will help us not only expand our platform but also continue to drive real change in how businesses think about and support the wellbeing of their teams.
“We want to empower employers with practical tools to address psychosocial hazards while giving workers the support they need to thrive.”
Liveheats: $1.3 million
Digital scoring platform Liveheats has also secured new funding in the form of a $1.3 million seed funding round.
The Sydney-based startup was founded in 2016 by Chris Friend and Fernando Freire to help sports communities run better competitions.
It does this by helping event organisers build events, collect entries and payments, and organise athletes into heats, schedules or start lists.
Judges can use the platform to score events directly on phones or tablets, while users can see public scores, results and rankings in real time on the web and via livestreams.
In the funding round, Liveheats was backed by Campaign Monitor co-founder Ben Richardson, 86 400 founder and ex-CEO Robert Bell, former world surfing champion Joel Parkinson, ex-CFO of 86 400 Belinda Hogan, and co-founder of Investible and early investor in Canva and Car Next Door, Trevor Folsom.
The company plans to use the funding to grow its product design and engineering teams, and its sales teams in the US and Europe.
As reported by SmartCompany earlier this week, Liveheats recently hit $2 million in revenue and is aiming to reach $10 million by 2028.
“The combination of growing the number of events that run with Liveheats in existing and new sport markets, as well as monetising both our spectator and athlete audience, puts us on a clear path to $10 million in revenue,” said co-founder Chris Friend.
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