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Venture capital

Yesterday

QIC investment director Lottie Bryon, private equity partner Nick Guest and private equity analyst Eden Peterson.

QIC bets on Aussie climate tech companies, backs $200m VC

Queensland’s sovereign fund has joined Westpac and Clean Energy Finance Corporation in backing Virescent Venture’s second climate-focused fund.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

This Month

Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick

The tech industry must evolve beyond ‘problematic geniuses’

A venture capitalist’s controversial comments about investors seeking out “problem child” founders as tech leaders showed outdated thinking that pervades the sector.

  • Claire Bristow
Eric Gao is in China signing off on investments in a big new VC fund targeting Aussie tech firms.

New $1b VC fund will back Aussie start-ups with Chinese money

A Melbourne-based fund manager for Chinese money is set to close the first part of a targeted $1 billion to back Australian start-ups that could expand into China.

  • Jessica Sier
Tim Norton, founder of 90 Seconds.

VC-backed video start-up 90 Seconds fields interest, hires advisers

90 Seconds’ owners have hired Singapore-based boutique investment bank Sansa Advisors to field inbound inquiries and oversee the diligence process.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Dom Pym has founded more than 22 companies, but you probably only know him as the guy who built neobank Up.

‘If we lose everything, we can just get a regular job’

From a childhood that was “pretty tough” in parts, Dom Pym founded 22 companies including neobank Up, which he sold for $116 million. Now he wants to elevate Australia’s venture ecosystem.

  • Yolanda Redrup
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University of Melbourne deputy vice chancellor (research) Mark Cassidy: “We are not going to solve all the issues we have unless we partner with others.”

Stellar records on research at risk from funding shortfall

Melbourne University, ranked No.1 in the Research category, has created an ecosystem with industry partners and policymakers.

  • Alexandra Cain
Airtree’s Craig Blair, who on reflection has zero tolerance for brilliant jerks.

Airtree’s Craig Blair didn’t mean to defend ‘brilliant jerks’

This is capitalism for and by gods. Or by very naughty boys.

  • Myriam Robin
Hivery co-founder and CEO Jason Hosking started the company after working for Coca-Cola.

‘We gave it everything’: AI start-up calls it quits after raising $60m

Administrators are looking for buyers of the assets of fallen retail company Hivery, which had raised over $60 million from leading VC firms.

  • Paul Smith
Phil Thomson, co-founder and CEO of Auror a retail crime platform that watches over retailers like Woolworths and Bunnings.

Woolworths, Westpac funds back controversial $500m anti-crime start-up

Auror’s use of AI technology to help retailers track criminals led to an Information Commissioner investigation, but investors aren’t worried.

  • Paul Smith

The Netflix model used for going to the doctor

The Challenger winner of the Business to Consumer category, Updoc, has delivered compound annual growth of 200 per cent.

  • Simon Evans
Crimson Education co-founders Fangzhou Jiang and Jamie Beaton have built a billion dollar business straight out of school.

NZ firm turns $1b unicorn helping kids get into elite unis

The 11-year-old Crimson Education has cracked the billion-dollar valuation after a small fundraising round led by New Zealand venture capitalists.

  • Paul Smith
Adam Gilmour said he wants to see the company’s first rocket launched before the end of the year.

Gold Coast rocket company gets green light for first launch

After a two-year battle with the regulator, Gilmour Space has been granted approval to launch its Australian-made rocket to compete with SpaceX.

  • Tess Bennett

October

Canva co-founders Cameron Adams, Cliff Obrecht and Melanie Perkins at a company event.

Canva valuation leaps to almost $50b as overseas investors eye Australia

The design software giant is the largest of the country’s privately owned technology firms, and is seen as a bellwether for the local start-up sector.

  • Updated
  • Amelia McGuire, Tess Bennett and Paul Smith
Neara’s co-founders Daniel Danilatos, Karamvir Singh and Jack Curtis are seeing international expansion opportunities.

PE giant buys in as Aussie AI infrastructure start-up raises $45m

Swedish private equity giant EQT is one of the lead investors in a $45 million funding round at Australian AI infrastructure start-up Neara.

  • Paul Smith
Vaxxas Ceo David Hoey outside the medtech’s 5,500 square metre facility in Queensland.

Medtech darling Vaxxas launches $100m raise to fund trials

For most investors, Vaxxas has been “the one that got away”, with $100 million of the equity raised to date split between just two investors.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
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BuildPass founders Matt Perrott (left) and Aaron Vanston.

GitHub founder, Carthona Cap back construction software biz BuildPass

BuildPass has secured seed investment from Saniel Ventures, owned by Leigh Jasper who sold construction software firm Aconex to Oracle for $1.6 billion in 2018.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Danish Aleemullah speaks at the Australian Financial Review Energy & Climate Summit in Sydney.

Why investors still have ‘great opportunity’ on the net zero path

Despite higher interest rates, foreign currency fluctuations and commodity price volatility, investors still see Australia as set for “a rapid amount of growth”.

  • Ronald Mizen

The secret to raising hundreds of millions like these Young Rich

Entrepreneurs on the Young Rich List have raised more than $US3.6 billion in funding from venture capital and private equity. Here are their top tips.

  • Yolanda Redrup
r the technology sector, a trend that is captured by technology themed ETFs.

John Wylie is betting venture capital’s business model must change

The veteran investor wants to marry Australia’s world-class intellectual property with our world-class retirement system.

  • James Thomson
Alisdair Faulkner, who founded and sold ThreatMetrix, is now running cyber firm Darwinium.

He sold his firm for $1b, but believes the next can be 10 times bigger

Tech guru Alisdair Faulkner went from being a “crocodile country” coder to selling little-known ThreatMetrix for a landmark sum. He now has greater ambitions.

  • Yolanda Redrup

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/venture-capital-1n1u