G’day and welcome to your weekly edition of Overnight Success - your download on all the important things that have happened in the Aussie startup ecosystem. 🚀
👀 Headlines 👀
🦄 Eucalyptus is set to become Australia’s next unicorn, closing a $190m round at a $1.37b valuation, more than doubling its 2023 valuation. (AFR) Full write-up below.
The raise, upsized twice from initial targets, was backed by Bond, Blackbird, Airtree, Marbruck and new investor World Innovation Lab, with super funds joining directly for the first time.
The growth comes from surging global demand for weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, with brands Pilot and Juniper driving mass-market adoption in Australia and other markets.
🛜 Morse Micro has opened a $32m pre-IPO round as Australia’s largest chipmaker gears up for an ASX listing in 12–18 months, with Canaccord Genuity running investor meetings. (AFR)
The raise extends the company’s $88m Series C, led by MegaChips and the National Reconstruction Fund, which valued Morse Micro at just over $500m. The Sydney-based startup, founded by ex-Broadcom engineers Michael De Nil and Andrew Terry, is building long-range Wi-Fi chips that reach 10× the distance of conventional Wi-Fi.
Morse Micro now has raised $290M in total funding, backed by Skip Capital, CEFC, Blackbird, Main Sequence, Uniseed, and super funds including HESTA, UniSuper, Hostplus and TelstraSuper.
The company operates globally across the US, UK, Taiwan, China, Japan and India, with Tesla chair Robyn Denholm and MegaChips USA CEO Ikuo Iwama advising. The Malcolm Turnbull family office is also on the cap table.
☀️ Australia’s climate tech sector now employs 7,000+ people across 730+ startups, pulling in $680M across 69 deals in 2025, according to Climate Salad’s annual industry report.
Climate Salad identifies 39 potential Aussie climate-tech unicorns, including Brighte, MGA Thermal, SunDrive, Xefco, Amber Electric, Samsara Eco and JET Charge.
These companies are spurred on by the acceleration of private and government funding with $10.3bn in new public capital (Future Made in Australia, ARENA, NRF) alongside $310m in new VC climate funds, led by Wollemi Capital.
Yet Australia still under-invests relative to global benchmarks, particularly in storage, food waste, aviation, marine, HVAC and regenerative agriculture.
🐦 Blackbird has marked down Culture Amp by 23.5% and written down SafetyCulture, but the broader portfolio shows signs of renewed momentum. The VC expects its fresh rising star, Airwallex, to double its revenue to US$2 billion within a year. (Capital Brief)
Blackbird reiterated its belief that Canva is IPO-ready for H2 2026, with revenue and valuation accelerating. The fund plans partial capital returns to LPs based on the 2025 uplift.
Across the other funds, the highlights are as follows:
2015 is becoming a SpaceTech fund with both Fleet Space and Gilmour Space lifting off.
Eucalyptus, as per its new unicorn status, is highlighted as a top performer in the 2018 fund amid surging GLP-1 demand.
More recently. Heidi Health is the standout from the 2020 fund. With Lorikeet leading the 2022 fund, MagicBrief and Leonardo have already been acquired by Canva (the standout from the 2013 fund!!).
⛵ Sea Forest lists on the ASX at a $112.1m valuation, after an oversubscribed $20.5m IPO to scale its methane-reducing livestock feed additive. (SmartCompany, AFR)
The Tasmanian startup’s SeaFeed supplement, made from Asparagopsis seaweed, has been shown to cut livestock methane emissions by up to 80%. By reducing methane production, animals retain more of the energy in their feed, leading to faster growth and lower feed costs.
Fresh capital will fund new blending and distribution facilities across Australia and South Africa, as well as regulatory approvals in key global markets.
As methane carries 80× the warming impact of CO₂, Sea Forest pitches its solution as a rare climate tech that offers immediate ROI rather than adding economic cost.
Investors in Sea Forest include Mick Fanning (three-time world surfing champion), Zoë Foster Blake (Go-To Skincare) and Peter Gunn (Tasmanian billionaire).
🌏 South Asian Australian founders have raised $1.6B in startup funding to date, according to SAARI Collective’s new 2025 report and founder list. (Startup Daily)
The report showcases 101 standout founders, including Airtrunk’s Robin Khuda, Deputy’s Ashik Ahmed and Secure Code Warrior’s Jaap Karan Singh, with the wider cohort of 240 companies raising $400m more than in 2023.
Founders cited traits like jugaad (unconventional innovation that involves finding ingenious and resourceful solutions to problems with limited resources, originating in Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi), resilience, and global connectivity as key strengths, especially in reaching markets beyond the US and Europe.
Despite progress, the ecosystem is not without its challenges, with only 29 women founders raising a combined $50m, and 60% reporting discrimination or racism.
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⚡ Startup Retro ⚡
pay.com.au doubles valuation with $25M of fresh capital and a secondary sale of $28M to fuel US expansion
Founders: Edward Alder and Damien Waller
Fast-growing payments and rewards platform pay.com.au has locked in a $53 million capital event, including $25 million in fresh capital, more than doubling its valuation to roughly $633 million. The round, led by Morgans Corporate Limited and backed by Wilson Asset Management, Thorney Group, Ophir, Gandel, and Adam Schwab, cements the Melbourne fintech as Australia’s largest business loyalty ecosystem. Within the round, another $28M of equity changed hands in secondary sales.
pay.com.au posted $246 million in annualised gross revenue in the September 2025 quarter and has processed more than $10 billion in business expenses since launching in 2019. Its pitch is simple: let SMEs earn meaningful rewards on expenses that traditionally deliver no return, from payroll to tax payments. The platform is used by businesses such as FunDay, GAZMAN, CorePlus, and The House of Golf.
New capital will accelerate domestic growth, support a push into the US market in partnership with Amex, and scale its core payments and PayRewards offerings. The platform now connects to 16 global partners, including Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Virgin, Amex, Visa and Mastercard.
Managing Director and co-founder Edward Alder said fewer than 20% of Australia’s 2.6 million businesses engage with rewards programmes today, a gap the company sees as a massive expansion opportunity as it builds a global business-loyalty infrastructure. The cofounders, Waller and Alder, also own Australia’s largest frequent flyer publisher, Point Hacks, and Grant Austin.
Due diligence: AFR, Startup Daily
Eucalyptus hits unicorn status with ~$190M fresh capital to be raised
Founders: Tim Doyle, Benny Kleist, Charlie Gearside and Alexey Mitko
Sydney-based health-tech startup Eucalyptus is on the verge of becoming the country’s next unicorn, with its latest funding round set to value the company at around $1.37 billion. The raise, reportedly expected to hit $190 million after being upsized multiple times, more than doubles the company’s 2023 valuation of $560 million.
Eucalyptus operates a portfolio of online health brands, including Pilot, Juniper, Kin, and Software. While it offers digital care across conditions from fertility to skincare, its rapid ascent has been fuelled by surging demand for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy. The company has already expanded into three international markets and is eyeing further overseas acquisitions as it builds out a global obesity-care platform and pushes deeper into preventative health.
The round has attracted returning investors Bond, Blackbird, Airtree and Marbruck, with World Innovation Lab joining as a new backer. Several superannuation funds are also investing directly for the first time.
Eucalyptus reported 130% revenue growth in the year to November 2025, after generating $120.9 million in FY24 and narrowing losses to $15.2 million.
Due diligence: AFR
Ruminant Biotech raises $14.8M Series A to commercialise methane-reduction tech for cattle
CEO: Tom Breen
New Zealand agritech Ruminant Biotech has secured NZ$17 million (A$14.8 million) in Series A funding as it moves to commercialise a breakthrough methane-reduction technology for cattle. The round values the Auckland startup at NZ$132 million post-money, marking a major step forward in the race to decarbonise agriculture.
The raise was co-led by existing backers Rosrain Investments and Cultivate Ventures, alongside new investor Marex Group, the NASDAQ-listed commodities broker. New Zealand’s government-backed AgriZeroNZ also followed on.
Ruminant’s tech, which early trials show can cut methane emissions for 100 days from a single dose, will launch in Australia and New Zealand in 2026, with regulatory filings underway in Canada, Brazil and the EU. The company will use the new capital to scale manufacturing and accelerate its product pipeline.
Ruminant Biotech have developed a bolus that is swallowed by the cow and sits in the rumen, releasing a small, sustained amount of methane inhibitor over three months, producing low-carbon, high-welfare cattle outdoors on pasture, where cows are meant to be.
Because methane reduction can be measured and converted into carbon credits, Marex is positioning itself at the centre of a new agricultural carbon market. As part of the deal, Marex will act as exclusive broker and market maker for credits generated through Ruminant’s projects, creating a pathway for farmers to monetise their emissions cuts. For perspective, treating every cow twice a year with the Ruminant Biotech product has the same result in CO2 reduction as taking one family-sized car off the road for the year.
Due diligence: AFR
Australis Scientific raises $9.3M to bring smart bladder-health patch to lower the need for adult diapers
Founder: Nicky Agahari
Sydney-based medtech, Australis Scientific, has raised $9.3 million (US$6 million) from Japanese pharmaceutical giant Rohto, backing a non-invasive wearable designed to replace adult diapers and transform treatment for overactive bladder.
The funding will accelerate first-in-human trials of Confidanz. This discreet, band-aid-sized smart patch delivers tibial nerve stimulation near the ankle, a clinically validated way to calm bladder activity. Today, patients typically rely on surgery, medication or invasive procedures. In Japan alone, adult diapers outsell infant ones, and waste is expected to reach 1.8 million tonnes annually as populations age.
Confidanz aims to replicate gold-standard percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation in a scalable, at-home format while enabling clinicians to monitor patients remotely via a mobile app. The device entered human trials in October, generating data for approvals with the TGA, FDA, and Japan’s PMDA. The partnership gives Australis access to Rohto’s deep distribution networks and supports a future licensing pathway in China, where faster regulatory processes could speed commercial rollout.
Due diligence: SmartCompany
Paperly raises $3M to scale school admin platform as ARR surges 4,600%
Founders: Daniel Dawson and Jak Tidman
Perth-based edtech startup Paperly has raised $3 million to accelerate domestic growth and meet rising international demand for its school administration and compliance platform. The round was led by Tribe Global Ventures, with participation from returning investors Purpose Ventures and Skalata.
Paperly builds modular SaaS tools that streamline extracurricular and administrative workflows, from excursion management and digital forms to parent–teacher scheduling and risk assessments, integrating with existing school information systems to replace fragmented third-party tools. The platform now has 250+ schools contracted for 2026, spanning independent and government sectors.
The raise follows a period of explosive traction: Paperly reports 4,600% ARR growth since its 2023 seed round. Co-founder and CEO Daniel Dawson, a former school operator, began building the product to eliminate inefficiencies he experienced firsthand. Jak Tidman, who joined as COO during the seed round and is now recognised as co-founder, has driven partnerships and sales as the company scales.
Paperly is doubling down on Australia while expanding into the UK and Asia, backed by reseller agreements and strong inbound interest. It has already set up offices in Melbourne, Brisbane and the UK, with ~30 staff globally.
Due diligence: Business News Australia
💰 New Fund, Who’s This?💰
✔️✔️ EVP has raised $100 million for its fifth fund, with 80% of capital coming from existing backers, signalling investor confidence despite StrongRoom AI controversy. (AFR)
The firm is still pursuing Federal Court action against StrongRoom AI, alleging the startup misrepresented its finances before collapsing into administration.
The new fund contains personal contributions from EVP partners of more than $15 million, bolstering the new vehicle after navigating the firm's most turbulent period in its 10-year history.
EVP follows a concentrated investment model, typically backing 11–13 SaaS companies per fund with ~20% ownership and a board seat, rather than spraying capital widely.
The firm notes that, aside from StrongRoom, it has lost money on only one of 54 investments. EVP’s portfolio includes the likes of Deputy, Henry, canibuild, EatClub and Farmbot.
📕 Ochre Ventures, Australia’s first VC fund dedicated exclusively to First Nations founders, has hit a $30 million first close toward its $100 million debut fund. (StartupDaily)
The VC has already made five investments, spanning sectors such as construction (PSG Holdings), gaming (MicroProse, with $5m FY24 revenue), and AI biodiversity (Xylo Systems).
Analyst Aidan Devitt says First Nations businesses generate $16 billion in revenue and employ 116,000+ people, but lack consistent access to scale capital and long-term advisory support.
Ochre plans to change this by providing $250k–$2m investments from Seed to Series A, along with connections, governance support, and founder mentoring.
The firm has also launched a pre-accelerator backed by $400k from LaunchVic and additional incubation programs to build a pipeline of Indigenous-led startups.Ochre is sector-agnostic, backing scalable First Nations companies with strong leadership, early traction and long-term growth potential across gaming, AI, construction and clean tech.
🏗️ Boman Group, a Melbourne fund manager that’s also backing OpenAI and Anthropic, has partnered with JPC Group to launch a $60 million property-tech fund aimed at tackling Australia’s housing crisis. (AFR)
The new fund will target modular housing, robotics, advanced building materials, and tech-enabled construction platforms, making 6–8 investments with typical $10 million cheques.
Both Boman and JPCX (JPC Group’s investment arm) are contributing half the capital each, with plans to deploy most of the fund within months before opening it to external investors for a larger raise.
JPCX director Paddy Jayawardena says breakthroughs in modular construction could allow homes, apartments and daycare facilities to be designed and built within six months, with quality indistinguishable from traditional builds.
Australia faces a severe housing shortage, projected to miss 2029 construction targets by 260,000 dwellings, making cost-efficient prefab solutions increasingly critical. Less than 10% of Australian homes use prefabrication today, compared with 84% in Sweden.
🧑💻 Pacific Channel, with support from LaunchVic, has launched Fund IV, a $55 million deep-tech fund backing Australian startups from pre-seed to Series B. (Capital Brief)
The fund, structured as an ESVCLP, offers investors capital gains tax exemptions on eligible investments and a 10% tax offset on contributions. LaunchVic has supported the fund’s establishment in Victoria with a $300,000 grant, part of its strategy to attract more venture firms to the state and strengthen the local early-stage ecosystem.
Pacific Channel, founded in 2004, is a long-standing Asia-Pacific VC specialising in science and engineering innovations across health, agri-food and environmental tech.
Across its previous funds, the firm has invested in 67 companies with 11 exits, backed by sovereign wealth funds and family offices across the region.
🥳 Wins 🥳
Innovation Aus hosted their awards for 2025, and we’ve cherry-picked some of the startup highlights. (Innovation Aus)
Q-CTRL crowned Australian Hero for its rapid ascent from Sydney startup to global quantum powerhouse, driven by breakthroughs in quantum control and its new GPS-resilient navigation system Ironstone Opal.
EcoPHA Biotech + Terra Sol win Energy & Renewables for developing a fully biodegradable PHA bioplastic made from Pongamia oil, eliminating microplastics and enabling consumer-grade products via Terra Sol’s design-led manufacturing.
Stacked Farm takes out AgriTech Award with its fully automated vertical farm producing 400+ tonnes annually using only six staff. Its 20-level Gold Coast facility sets a global benchmark in AI-driven climate control, robotics and supply-chain resilience, with a Melbourne megafacility underway.
Enhanced Analgesics wins Health Tech for EA1, a first-in-class non-opioid therapeutic delivered via nasal drops. The mRNA-driven treatment provides 24+ hours of pain relief without addiction risk, earning judges’ praise as one of the world’s most promising opioid alternatives.
Professor Andrew Dzurak was awarded Innovation Leadership for two decades of quantum breakthroughs and building Diraq into a globally competitive silicon-quantum company capable of manufacturing millions of qubits using existing semiconductor processes.
Innofocus scores People’s Choice Award in a landslide, recognised for its frontier nanoprinting platform enabling quantum-grade and photonics-grade manufacturing. The company also took home the Translation Hero Award for turning deep science into commercial products.
📆 Notice Board 📆
🌏Demo the Future: Techstars Tech Central Sydney Accelerator Demo Day is bringing 2,500+ founders, investors, and innovators together for one epic night. They’ve landed Ben Shewry as the keynote speaker. Get your ticket before they sell out.
See 12 bold startups take the stage, Mon, 8 Dec 2025 | 6–8pm | Darling Harbour Theatre, ICC Sydney 👉 Register now
🎾 AO StartUps has opened its final intake for 2025, with a focus on AI technologies set to transform global sport and entertainment. (AO Announcement)
The program is a key pillar of Tennis Australia’s innovation and VC strategy, giving startups the chance to pilot cutting-edge tech at the Australian Open and across major TA events. Applicants must show strong potential to impact the global sports and entertainment ecosystem, especially through AI-driven fan, player and event experiences.
Early-stage tech companies have until 30 November 2025 to apply here.
✏ LaunchVic is running a confidential 10-minute survey to understand what support local founders need next — with all responses anonymised.
If you’re a Victorian founder, share your experience before 17 December to help shape the ecosystem’s future. Take the Founder Survey.
The best place to find upcoming events to attend and promote any events you’re hosting is the ANZ Startup Events Calendar.
Would you like to promote an event or an opportunity? Enquire about a Notice Board promotion by replying to this email.
🧠 KaaS (Knowledge as a Service)
Will’s Pick 💁 What Baseball’s Greatest Hitter Can Teach Us About Decision-Making by Farnam Street
I just finished reading Moneyball (the movie’s better). I saw this great Farnam Street piece on how Ted Williams became baseball’s greatest hitter by reducing the number of decisions he needed to make, becoming a master of patience and knowing his lane. It’s got some great takeaways for founders and investors:
For founders: A neat reminder that saying no to average pitches is what creates room for the right ones. Focus, timing, and knowing your strengths > doing everything at once.
For investors: Circle-of-competence 101. The best operators (and the best investors) win by staying in their sweet spot and waiting for deals where they have a genuine edge.
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‘Til next time,
👋 Will