Six Australian startups that landed $178 million this week

It’s been a spicy week for raises this week with a whopping $178 million being split across six startups, with the largest sitting at $105 million on its own.

Loam: $105 million

Regional NSW startup Loam is the big winner this week, securing $105 million in Series B, with partial backing from Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes.

Loam was launched in 2019 in Orange and focuses on carbon capture in cropping soil — something that was previously believed to be nearly-impossible.

Loam has been able to apply fungi to seed, which enhances a plant’s ability to store carbon in soil long-term.

Read the full story here.

Shift: $27 million

Shift, formerly known as GetCapital, has secured $27 million in Series C funding led by Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia. This comes off the back of a recent jump in the company’s debt funding capacity to the tune of $140 million. According to Shift, both its funding and revenue has gone above 50% growth over the past three years.

Described as a finance on demand business, Shift launched in 2014 and provides businesses with credit and payments platforms.

The fresh capital will be used by Shift to enhance its existing products for its customers, merchants and brokers.

Quantum Brilliance: $25.7 million

Canberra-based startup Quantum Brilliance has raised almost $26 million for its mini quantum computers. In addition to their smaller size, what makes these products unique is that they run at room temperature due to being powered by synthetic diamonds.

According to the company, the fresh cash injection will be used to expand its international business as well as improve manufacturing techniques and delivery of hardware and software to its customers.

Read the full story here.

SwarmFarm: $12 million

Queensland agtech startup SwarmFarm has completed a $12 million Series A round for its autonomous robot farming equipment.

SwarmFarm combines an autonomous platform called SwarmBot with its own operating system, SwarmConnect, that allows developers to create applications for the platform itself to be used by farmers.

The company is looking to bridge the gap between farmers and technologists to improve the future of farming in Australia.

Read the full story here

Tracksuit: $6.8 million

Brand tracking startup Tracksuit has secured $6.8 million in its first ever capital raise.

Founded in 2021, the company offers a brand tracking tool that helps businesses measure, understand and communicate the value of a brand. It surveys thousands of people from different markets and demographics each week in order to track consumer awareness, consideration and preference.

It also allows a brand to bench-mark itself against their competitors.

Read the full story here.

Getahead: $1.38 million

Getahead has raised $1.38 million in pre-seed funding for its ‘Tinder for Jobs’ recruitment platform.

Launched in Brisbane incredibly recently — December 2022 — the Getahead app allows employers and job seekers alike to find an ideal job or team member.

It also matches the two together based on criteria such as preferred work hours, salary expectations, lifestyle, benefits and prior experience.

Read the full story here.