From dog food brand to a zero-emissions fertiliser startup, here are three Australian companies that raised big this week.
It was a busy week for Australian startup funding, with three companies closing raises totalling more than $110 million across agtech, fresh pet food, construction logistics and AI sales. Here is what went down.
PlasmaLeap Technologies: US$20 Million Series A
The raise was co-led by the Gates Foundation, Investible and Yara Growth Ventures, the venture arm of global nitrogen fertiliser producer Yara International, with additional backing from Twynam, GrainCorp Ventures, Uniseed/UniSuper, Artesian, SVG Ventures and Ravensdown’s Agnition Ventures.
Founded in 2019 and spun out of the University of Sydney, PlasmaLeap develops zero-emissions chemical reactors that enable farmers to produce sustainable nitrogen fertiliser directly on-farm or at local hubs. The technology is designed to cut emissions, reduce input costs and ease supply-chain dependency, with longer-term applications also being developed for sustainable fuels and energy systems.
Lyka: $67 Million Series C
The round was led by New York venture fund LGVP, whose founder Itai Tsiddon has backed Lyka since its $30 million Series B in 2022. The raise brings the company’s total funding to $155 million.
Founded in 2018 by vet Dr Matthew Muir and Anna Podolsky, Lyka makes freshly prepared dog food and delivers it to consumers on a subscription basis, with weekly pricing ranging between $28 and $50 for a small dog depending on breed, age, weight and activity level. The brand is perhaps best known outside pet food circles for its Netflix-banned ad, which was pulled from the platform following viewer complaints.
Firmable: $14 Million Series A
The raise was led by existing investor Airtree, which also backed the company’s previous $9 million round in October 2023. Other investors joining the round include former Pacific Brands CEO Sue Morphet, A Cloud Guru co-founder Sam Kroonenburg, Redbubble’s Martin Hosking and Aconex co-founder Rob Phillpot.
Founded in 2023 by former Aconex trio Leigh Jasper, Paul Perrett and Karthik Venkatasubramanian, Firmable brings together proprietary account data, real-time buying signals and AI agents into a single platform built to streamline sales tasks and administration for B2B teams. The new capital will support a US rollout and continued development of the company’s AI agent capabilities.
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