From a Sydney tradie tech startup to a defence fund backed by Steve Baxter, this week’s funding roundup covers five deals worth knowing about.
It was a busy week for Australian founders and investors, with fresh capital flowing into everything from tradie tech and defence innovation to AI insurance and fintech.
Here is what got funded.
Chime Labs raises $900,000 to help tradies stop losing work after hours
Sydney startup Chime Labs has closed a $900,000 pre-seed round led by 500 Global, with participation from angel investors, to build AI tools for trades and service businesses.
Founded by former Google leaders Alexis Griveau and Mathew Pretel, the company’s first product is a human-sounding AI receptionist that answers calls around the clock, qualifies leads and books jobs directly into a tradie’s calendar. The core problem it is solving is straightforward: when a tradie is on the tools and misses a call, that job often goes to whoever picks up next. Chime Labs is building the infrastructure to make sure that work is not lost. The funding will go towards hiring and expanding the product to become a broader operating platform for trades and services businesses across Australia.
Beaten Zone Venture Partners hits AU$17 million as defence tech investment surges
Brisbane-based Beaten Zone Venture Partners, Australia’s specialist defence technology venture capital firm, has reached AU$17 million in committed capital after a sharp acceleration in investor interest during March 2026.
The fund was launched by investor and entrepreneur Steve Baxter in August 2023 and focuses exclusively on early-stage Australian companies building products with material military application, including autonomous systems, cyber resilience and advanced hardware. March alone accounted for AU$2.6 million of total capital raised, roughly 16 per cent of the fund’s lifetime total in a single month. Baxter has personally invested AU$5.05 million alongside AU$11.95 million from external investors. The firm said demand had increased dramatically in recent weeks amid growing awareness of geopolitical threats facing Australia, and is actively deploying capital into startups aligned with national security priorities.
Yoga Joint raises USD $5.5 million ahead of New York City expansion
US-based infrared fitness brand Yoga Joint has raised USD $5.5 million in growth capital to fund its expansion into New York City, with plans to open its first locations in late 2026 and scale to 15 or more studios across the city and surrounding markets by 2030.
The round was led by Adam Shane, a fitness industry veteran and former Chief Development Officer at Barry’s, who joins as Franchise Owner and Managing Director of Yoga Joint’s New York operation. Port Street Ventures, led by Brent Leffel and Nick Orzano, co-led the raise alongside Jon Canarick, Managing Partner at North Castle Partners and board member of Crunch Fitness, SLT and Therabody. Additional investors include former Town Sports International CEO Alex Alimanestianu, Vuori VP Anthony DiMaggio and Five Iron Golf co-founder Jared Solomon. The capital will support the launch and build-out of multiple New York locations.
Rosella raises AUD $3.7 million to automate commercial insurance brokerage
Sydney-founded Rosella has raised AUD $3.7 million in pre-seed funding led by Peak XV Partners, formerly Sequoia Capital India and SEA, alongside Intact Private Capital, to build an AI-native commercial insurance brokerage targeting small and mid-market businesses in the United States.
Founded by Sean Stuart, a former venture capitalist, and Chris Dwyer, previously a founding engineer at Constantinople and AI lead at Accenture, Rosella is building its own technology stack rather than layering AI onto legacy platforms. The platform automates client submissions across more than 100 carrier portals, compares policies, flags coverage gaps and supports brokers during live client calls. The company says it has cut the time to generate certificates of insurance from 30 minutes to under two minutes. Stuart framed the company’s vision plainly: “The next $100 billion company will not sell software licenses. It will sell a service powered by software, built specifically for the people doing the work.”
Triple Bubble reaches $10 million first close on its $50 million fintech fund
Fintech venture capital fund Triple Bubble has hit a $10 million first close on its target $50 million fund, nine months after launch, with Commonwealth Bank’s venture scaler x15ventures as a cornerstone investor.
Co-founded by Dom Pym, the fund has attracted a notable group of fintech founders and finance executives including WeMoney’s Dan Joveski, Caligra’s Grant Bissett, Nitro Software’s Chris Dahl, and Tractor Ventures co-founders Matt Allen and Aprill Enright. Techstars co-founder Brad Feld and Maxine Minter from Co-Ventures have also committed capital alongside Michael Holm from Balmain Corporation and executives from LGT Wealth Management. Triple Bubble is focused on early-stage fintech investment in Australia and is continuing to raise toward its $50 million target.
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