Seven Aussie startups that raised $10 million this week

It has been a somewhat slower week for startup funding news this week, but we are still seeing some impressive startups secure investment and grant funding.

Here are seven startups with fresh funds to spend this week.

Gaia EnviroTech: $4.3 million

RFM visits Gaia EnviroTech bio-lab and office in Ballarat. Source: Gaia EnviroTech

A regional Victorian startup that focuses on decarbonising the food, manufacturing and agriculture sectors has secured $4.3 million in funding from the decarbonisation fund of RFC Ambrian Funds Management (RFM).

Gaia EnviroTech, an organic waste management and bioenergy company, is based in Ballarat and was spun out of mining technology company Gekko Systems. It has developed what it calls modular anaerobic digestion and in-vessel composting services to help companies meet environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.

The funding from the technology commercialisation investment business RFM was finalised in January and according to Gaia chief executive Michael Renehan, it signifies a win-win for both companies.

“The strategic partnership between Gaia and RFM will benefit from the skills, capabilities and experience of the RFM team such as market knowledge, technology commercialisation experience, plus financing strategies and networks,” he said in a statement.

“Our technology will assist our clients in achieving their environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives and become sustainable businesses for the long term. Gaia brings to the table a proven management team, proprietary technologies such as the Gaia modular anaerobic digester and rapid in-vessel composter based on viable service-based business models.  A classic equation of 1 + 1 = 3.”

Medtech startups: $3.25 million

L-R: Baymatob CEO Tara Croft, CVO and Founder Dr Sarah McDonald, Australia Unity’s Portfolio Manager Victor Windeyer. Source: Supplied

This week’s funding news also includes a group of four medtech startups that will be sharing $3.25 million in non-dilutive funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).

The four recipients are integrating AI and machine learning into their healthcare solutions and were selected for the funding through digital health commercialisation program ANDHealth+.

The startups are:

• Macuject;
• Baymatob;
• Neurotologix; and
• WeGuide.

The funding is aimed at helping the four medtechs reach key clinical and commercial milestones, as well as expand internationally.

Read more.

Q-CTRL: $1.9 million

Q-CTRL founder Michael Biercuk. Source: Supplied.

A special mention this week to quantum computing startup Q-CTRL, which has been awarded £1 million ($1.9 million) as the winner of the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) Quantum Catalyst Fund Competition in the UK.

The Aussie startup won the lucrative prize with a proposal to deliver new quantum-hardware-optimised algorithmic solvers built on its software to the UK Department for Transport and Network Rail.

According to a statement, the project will help optimise station routing, as well as how trains are scheduled across large-scale rail networks.

CarbonHQ: $600,000

L-R: CarbonHQ founders Allen Fan and Eugene Datsky. Source: Supplied

Climate startup CarbonHQ has locked in $600,000 in pre-seed funding from early-stage venture capital funds Galileo Ventures and Investible to accelerate its mission to transform the $3 billion voluntary carbon market (VCM).

Founded by former investment manager Allen Fan and ex-Canva engineer Eugene Datsky, CarbonHQ is building an all-in-one digital platform to make carbon projects more efficient and transparent for developers.

The platform is designed to process on-ground information, automate workflows involved in issuing carbon credits, and directly link the credits with their underlying data.

The goal is to shake up a project development process that has traditionally relied on email, Excel and PDFs, and which, according to CarbonHQ, has resulted in some carbon credit projects taking as long as three years to set up.

A beta version of the startup’s platform was released in mid-2023 and the startup has been working on trial projects with global partners, while also scooping a Carbon Market Digital Innovation Challenge organised by the UNCDF and Clean Cooking Alliance.

CarbonHQ co-founder Allen Fan said carbon projects can play a bigger role in fighting against climate change if they are more efficient and transparent.

“We are thrilled to be backed by Galileo Ventures and Investible as we take on this challenge. Their support will allow us to deliver some pretty exciting solutions for our customers,” he said in a statement.