From an expat Australian energy-modelling startup pulling in industrial giants, to a Brisbane compliance platform easing the ESG paperwork burden, it’s been a solid stretch for funding news. And at the other end of the scale entirely, data and AI heavyweight Databricks has just signed off on a round that values it at $188 billion.
Here’s who’s raised what, and who’s backing them.
Databricks raised $188 billion valuation in strategic funding
Databricks is a data and AI platform that helps enterprises unify their data with AI, govern AI costs and access, and deploy AI at scale. The company has signed a term sheet for the round, led by existing investor Coatue, with additional new and existing investors joining, expected to close later this northern summer. Databricks itself hasn’t disclosed the exact raise amount, but the Wall Street Journal and Reuters report it at roughly $3 billion, up from a $134 billion valuation just five months earlier in a February 2026 raise.
The capital will go toward Databricks’ AI products, Unity AI Gateway (multi-AI governance and cost control), Genie (its AI “coworker” for turning business data into answers and actions), and Lakebase (a serverless Postgres database built for AI agents), as well as future AI acquisitions and research. Co-founder and CEO Ali Ghodsi said enterprises are shifting from “tokenmaxxing to valuemaxxing,” prioritising the best outcome per dollar over always using the most powerful model.
Gridcog raised $14 million (Series A)
Gridcog, formerly Gridcognition, models hybrid energy projects to help integrate more renewable power generation, work it’s done for more than 16,000 energy projects across 40-plus markets for clients including Shell, Vestas and PwC.
The Series A, worth $14 million (US$10m), was led by Swiss electrification firm ABB, with support from Axpo, DNV Ventures and VERBUND X Ventures, alongside existing investors AlbionVC and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. The company is a 2020 Startmate alumnus, founded by expat Australians and now based in London, with additional offices in Berlin, Madrid, Perth and Melbourne.
New Energy Transport raised $5 million
New Energy Transport is deploying a fleet of 20 heavy-duty electric prime movers on Australian roads, initially based near Sydney, to electrify freight transport. The $5 million investment was led by venture capital firm Jekara Group and will fund mobile charging stations alongside the truck rollout, bringing the fleet’s launch forward from mid-2027 to later in 2026.
Co-founders Fredrik Pehrsson and Daniel Bleakley run the company, which also plans fixed-charging depots extending its reach to Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane by 2031.
ESGAgent.ai raised $725,000 (Seed)
ESGAgent.ai, trading name of Klean Technologies, is a Brisbane-based AI platform that automates climate, safety and governance reporting for heavy industry, cutting compliance timelines from months to hours. The Seed round was led by Japanese VC DNX Ventures, taking total funds raised, including grants, to $1.7 million since a 2024 pre-Seed.
Founder Shan Vahora says the company’s clients include tier-one miners, food manufacturers and global engineering consultants. ESGAgent.ai has also brought on former Ashurst Risk Advisory director Mike Duggan as executive general manager, and Arcadis chief commercial officer Greg Steele as an investor and director.
Hyades raised A$990k (pre-Seed)
Hyades helps companies turn messy map-based data, satellite imagery, drone footage and radar, into AI-ready models for industries like insurance, agriculture, mining and climate science.
The Auckland startup’s pre-Seed round was led by Icehouse Ventures, with support from K1W1 and angel investors Tony Falkenstein and Tim Brown. On top of the VC raise, Hyades also secured a NZ$400,000 New to R&D grant from the New Zealand government. Founders are University of Auckland graduates Ashin Alex (CEO), Sam Kurian (CTO) and Jimin Seo (COO).
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