Rebate software, green home outfitter and elderly companion robots attract $200m

This week’s capital raisings highlight how eclectic and pervasive technology has become - with one company even making the Hollywood flick Robot & Frank become a reality.

Melbourne AI startup Andromeda Robotics is trialling a humanoid companion robot with aged care provider Allity, making Hollywood film "Robot & Frank" become a reality. Image: Sony Pictures.

A company that gives businesses great oversight of their rebate programs, a one-stop shop for electrifying your home, and robots in nursing homes are attracting tech investors cash this week.

Enable, a San Francisco-based company backed by Telstra Ventures, has raised $US120m ($186.3m) as it launches its rebate program software globally, including Australia.

This takes the total amount Enable has raised since 2020 to $US276m and lifts its pre-money valuation to $US1bn, making it the newest tech unicorn.

Lightspeed Venture Partners led the latest raising, with participation from past investors Menlo Venture, Norwest Venture Partners, Insight Partners and Sierra Ventures.

Enable co-founder and chief executive Andrew Butt said the company’s software ensures businesses aren’t missing out on rebates across their supply chains - which happens often given many are still using spreadsheets or pen and paper to manage their rebate programs.

“When we started this journey, rebates were quite often an afterthought, put in place because trading partners felt they needed to. Rebate programs were generally managed in Excel spreadsheets, and not well communicated. Their real value wasn’t understood,” Mr Butt said.

“By helping the market to understand how to strategically use rebates for growth, and by demonstrating the financial outcomes our customers are achieving, we’re bringing to light what effective rebate management can deliver. With this round of funding, we will drive larger financial outcomes for manufacturers, distributors, and retailers who are feeling the crunch of the supply chain more than ever.”

Boundless chief executive officer Eytan Lenko is steaming ahead with making a new investment every three months to help ensure Australia meets its 2030 climate targets

Boundless - a fund backed by Atlassian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, has also made a new investment as part of its goal to tip cash into new businesses every three months that are focusing on clean energy to ensure Australia meets its 2030 climate goals.

Boundless has injected an undisclosed sum to BOOM Power, a company who’s clients include Bank Australia. Boundless chief executive Eytan Lenko said: “BOOM Power delivers purpose-built software that helps Aussie make informed decisions about electrifying their homes and businesses”.

“Their all-in-one platform integrates upstream with finance and technology providers and has a core focus on community housing. With this seed funding, they will assess over 10,000 buildings for electrification opportunities (costs/benefits) within 12 months and have a 90 per cent conversion rate to solar or electrification products.”

BOOM chief and co-founder Alex Houlston said: “Despite overwhelming interest, households get tripped up by complexity, and even deliberate misinformation”.

“They need options tailored to their homes, delivered via trusted one-stop-shops. That’s exactly what our customers (like Bank Australia) provide, using BOOM.

“The investment from Boundless has already been catalytic, as we have built a product that enables any bank or institution to provide unbiased, end-to-end support for electrifying homes.”

Elsewhere, Melbourne-headquartered AI startup Andromeda Robotics has raised $1m this year in round led by Galileo Ventures.

Andromeda announced this week it is trialling a humanoid companion robot with aged care provider Allity, part of the Bolton Clarke Group. The robot that has been designed to interact with residents in a relaxed and conversational manner.

Originally published as Rebate software, green home outfitter and elderly companion robots attract $200m