Venture Capital stories - Page 8

SOUTHSTART 2026 will bring OpenAI, Canva, Derek Sivers and Peter Helliar to Adelaide for a three-day tech, climate and culture forum.

As 2026 looms, studios find the real growth constraint is not equity or debt, but the reliability of revenue fuelling user acquisition.

Australia's Hypersonix has secured a NASA launch window in late February for DART AE, its debut hydrogen-fuelled hypersonic test flight.

Newo raises USD $25m to grow AI voice agents that answer calls for small businesses, after revenue doubled late 2025 amid rising demand.

Matia raises $21m to expand its AI-native data stack, betting on an all-in-one platform as data engineering consolidates.

Qodo launches a beta Azure DevOps integration that embeds its AI-driven, context-aware code review directly into pull request workflows.

Aspire partners with early-stage investor Antler to capture global founders at inception, targeting a 2.3x jump in startup customers by 2026.

ORCA Opti touts defensible AI, rapid global expansion and a 2027 IPO as it targets regulated markets and warns most AI startups will fail.

Boman Group appoints China specialist Professor Charles Qin to its advisory board as it expands cross-border investment across the region.

Christchurch AI startup Contented raises NZD $4.1m seed round to grow its meeting-minutes platform and push into Australia, UK and US.

Deel launches The Pitch, a global contest offering up to USD $15m in SAFE funding to seed start-ups, with APAC entries closing 21 April.

AI bookkeeping startup Botkeeper shuts after 11 years, citing rapid client consolidation, lost revenue and an unsustainable path forward.

Agentic AI is shredding seat-based SaaS models, sparking a wave of 'zombie' vendors, valuation shocks and leaner, AI-native rivals.

Anthropic adds Claude plugins to Cowork, fuelling investor fears that agent-style AI could undermine traditional seat-based software.

Scalare turns operating cash flow positive as cash receipts surge 231% to AUD $4.58 million after acquisitions and founder platform rollout.

Qodo 2.0 launches multi-agent AI code review to boost trust in autogenerated code, claiming 11% better detection of critical issues.

Ecommpay and Payrails form strategic tie-up, offering large merchants a single API to streamline complex, multi-provider payment stacks.

Liquium secures over NZD$2m to scale green ammonia catalysts, promising major efficiency gains for fertiliser and clean fuel producers.

RapidFort secures USD $42m Series A to scale automated software supply chain security and continuous vulnerability remediation.

Genstore launches AI-driven eCommerce platform promising end-to-end shop automation, after beta users processed USD $2.3 million in sales.