Dynamic Business brings you the key startup fundraising rounds from this week:
Tech Startup Q83 raises $3.2m
Q83, an Australian tech innovator, has raised $3.2 million. It also announced the launch of Kitly Creator Network, a platform that unites Australia’s top talent agencies and independent creators into a single centralised database with real-time reporting data and integrated business tools for talent.
Zepto closes $25 million Series A with AirTree Ventures, Decade Partners
Zepto, a real-time account-to-account merchant payments platform, has announced a $25 million Series A funding round led by AirTree Ventures and Decade Partners.
Zepto’s Series A funding will fuel domestic growth, international expansion, and the enhancement of its market-leading payment infrastructure – including investment in building additional functionalities on top of the NPP’s PayTo framework – as well as a slew of strategic hires.
NSW invite applications for grants for cleantech startups
The NSW government has opened applications for three new grant initiatives totalling up to $95 million in clean technology research, development, and commercialization.
The three Clean Technology grant initiatives are as follows:
- $45 million for infrastructure, such as world-class innovation facilities, to accelerate clean technology research, development, and commercialization.
- $10 million to assist organisations such as start-ups and entrepreneurs in acquiring the skills and resources they need to succeed commercially.
- $40 million to accelerate the scale-up of clean technologies that will aid in the decarbonization of high-emitting and difficult-to-abate sectors.
Directo receives a $2.3m capital injection from Investible
Directo has received a $2.3 million capital injection from technology investors including Investible in order to scale the first online B2B marketplace for the pharmacy sector in Australia.
The networked two-sided online marketplace is built on Directo’s proprietary enterprise technology platform, which has been configured for and integrated into pharmacy enterprise solutions. It transforms supply chain management and interactions for over 500 pharmacies by connecting them directly with more than 80 suppliers and wholesalers on approximately 30,000 products.
NSW announces $8.7m support for Aboriginal businesses
The NSW Government’s Closing the Gap grants are now open for business applications, with nearly $9 million available to boost Aboriginal businesses and provide additional support to Aboriginal communities.
Ben Franklin, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, stated that the $8.7 million programme will help communities and businesses prosper by creating more jobs, improving services, and improving life outcomes for Aboriginal people across NSW.
Closing the Gap Strengthening Community Capability Grants and Closing the Gap Strengthening Business Capability Grants are the two streams of the grants programme.
NAB Ventures Invests in Payment and Data Enterprise Solutions Company DataMesh Group
DataMesh Group, an emerging player in global payment services, has secured $12m in a pre-Series A funding round, including new investor NAB Ventures.
Additionally, there has been continued investment from some of Australia’s largest merchants and retailers, who seek to utilise DataMesh’s services, including an existing cornerstone investment by the Chairman of the Peregrine Group, which utilises the DataMesh solution in their hundreds of fuel sites and retail outlets.
Asia-Pacific Private Equity investment value touched $296b 2021
According to a new Bains & co report, the value of deals in Japan, Southeast Asia, and South Korea has more than doubled. Investments in Greater China and India accounted for 43 per cent and 20 per cent of total deal value, respectively, but India grew faster than China in 2021, increasing its share of the overall market.
Furthermore, Asia-share Pacific’s global assets under management (AUM) increased to 30 per cent by the end of 2021.
Investors’ demand for Internet and technology companies was strong, as it had been in previous years. The Internet and technology sectors accounted for 48percent of the total deal value. The number of unicorns—privately held start-ups valued at $1 billion or more—in the region rose to 277 in 2021, up 61 per cent from the previous year.
The pool of Asia-Pacific unicorns, which more than quadrupled in the past 5 years, now represents more than 50 per cent of the world total. In Australia and New Zealand, investment value rose 46 per cent year on year.
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