Australian Software ‘communicator’ start-up secures US venture capital funding

StartADAM began with free access but will launch premium, paid features including integration with ChatGPT.

Los Angeles-based venture capital fund Watertower Ventures has poured $US1.9m ($2.8m) into Australian collaboration software start-up StartADAM at an undisclosed valuation.

The company, founded by chief executive Adam Stone, has built software that allows cross-platform communication between tools like Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp, and SMS.

Stone’s previous company, Speedlancer, was founded in 2014 and describes itself as the “Uber of freelancing”.

The executive said his new venture has been built in part using IP from Speedlancer, which has, to date, raised $2.3m in funding from backers including Machdoch Ventures and 500 Start-ups.

“I’ve always been interested in the way technology can make our lives easier … not by replacing humans, but looking at how can technology assist in the process,” Stone said. “That’s what Speedlancer was all about, with our AI assistant for allocating tasks to various people in a workflow. Supplying the talent was only part of the picture however, as the technology we developed for Speedlancer actually proved relevant to any digital human interaction, especially for business.

“And that’s what StartADAM is all about, connecting people together across tools, and making that conversation contextual by integrating other tools and services into the conversation. We’re confident that our ‘app without an app’ will help teams work together more effectively and achieve results faster.”

Stone said his start-up had launched with a “freemium” model in a bid to gain early traction, and will then launch premium, paid features including integration with ChatGPT. He declined to give a valuation for StartADAM but said it was an eight-figure total.

The AI tie-ins helped give it a tailwind when attempting to raise capital amid the downturn sweeping through the tech sector, he said.

The wave of interest in artificial intelligence and tools like ChatGPT has led to an AI “gold rush” among start-ups, with venture capital firms ploughing billions into AI start-ups globally despite otherwise dire conditions. Statistics from GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database shows that AI start-ups received $US52.1bn globally in 2022, with Anduril, Anthropi and Black Sesame Intelligent Technology leading the pack.

“AI is a hot trend right now and start-ups in the space won’t find it as difficult to raise compared to other areas,” Stone said. “We also have a killer team, led by our chief technology officer who is an AI professor.”