With 12 extra sleeps to Christmas, Melbourne-born Airwallex wins the 2025 Australian capital elevating stakes with an enormous $498 million Sequence G that values the fintech at $12 billion.
In the meantime, cybersecurity startup Kasada and sole dealer accounting platform Hnry additionally booked $30 million and $26 million raises, respectively.
Preserve studying to study extra about six Australian and New Zealand startups that collectively raised greater than $568 million in new funding this week.
Airwallex: $498 million
Melbourne-born fintech Airwallex has seen its valuation improve by 30% in simply six months following a $498 million (US$330 million) Sequence G increase — its second for 2025.
The spherical was led by a brand new US VC investor Addition, supported by T. Rowe Worth, Activant, Lingotto, TIAA Ventures, and Robinhood Ventures. Native VCs Sq. Peg – its eighth funding – and Airtree additionally emptied their pockets, however not newcomer Blackbird, which tipped in $60 million as a part of a $232 million Sequence F in Might.
The brand new spherical sees Airwallex’s valuation leapfrog from $9.36 billion (US$6.2 billion) then, to $12 billion (US$8 billion) now.
After opening workplaces in Singapore in January 2022, then relocating its HQ there 12 months later, the worldwide funds platform, which is formally domiciled within the tax haven of the Cayman Islands, says it would now make San Francisco its twin international headquarters for continued US growth and AI growth.
Airwallex additionally pledged to spend greater than $1.5 billion over 2026-29 to scale its US operations, and improve its native headcount to greater than 400 staff over the subsequent 12 months.
The fintech at present has 2,000 workers and plans so as to add one other 1,000 by the tip of 2026.
Learn extra on Startup Day by day.
Kasada: $30 million
Sydney-based cybersecurity startup Kasada has secured $30 million (US$20 million) in new funding, in a spherical led by Swedish non-public fairness big EQT.
As reported by Startup Day by day, Kasada is now valued at greater than $300 million.
Numerous present traders additionally participated within the spherical, together with Ten Eleven Ventures, Essential Sequence Ventures, Reinventure, OIF Ventures, the StepStone Group and Malcolm Turnbull’s funding car Turnbull & Companions.
Kasada final raised in late 2021, when it booked $23 million in Sequence C funding. This adopted a $14 million Sequence B increase in mid-2020 and $13.5 million in two separate investments in 2019.
Based in 2015 by Sam Crowther, Kasada specialises in cybersecurity providers, defending web sites from bots trying person account takeovers, fraud, knowledge scraping and different disruptive assaults.
Whereas 10 years outdated, the startup is experiencing an uptick in demand for its know-how because of the creation of synthetic intelligence-powered bots which are more and more scraping web sites throughout all industries.
Learn extra at Startup Day by day,
Hnry: $26.1 million
New Zealand-founded sole dealer accounting platform Hnry has secured $26.1 million (NZ$30 million) in a Sequence C funding spherical to assist it increase its pay-as-you-go platform throughout Australia and into the UK.
Movac’s Progress Fund led the funding spherical, which additionally included participation from present investor Icehouse Ventures.
Based in 2018 by husband-and-wife workforce James and Claire Fuller, Hnry gives a full-stack accounting resolution that’s designed particularly for sole merchants.
Hnry handles earnings tax, GST and Medicare levies on the level of cost for sole merchants, earlier than transferring the rest of the funds into the person’s private checking account.
Enterprise homeowners may lodge tax returns utilizing knowledge collected by way of the Hnry platform, in addition to situation invoices, allocate private superannuation contributions, and observe work journey by way of a standalone app.
CEO James Fuller informed SmartCompany this week that the platform is designed to be accessible and easy to make use of for sole merchants.
“Persons are uninterested in being marginalised, they usually desire a service that takes care of every part for them, that permits them to truly get on with doing the issues that they actually need to do, with out having to fret about doing admin, decoding accounting jargon,” he stated.
All G: $10 million
A Sydney-based various proteins startup fermenting “cow-free dairy” options has raised $10 million in a convertible word.
The spherical for All G was supported by LSE-listed clear meals investor Agronomics, an present investor, in addition to the VC arm of German tech-driven substances producer Doehler and Singapore’s ID Capital. The corporate is now pondering a Sequence B.
The money for the five-year-old Sydney startup comes alongside a three way partnership cope with French useful and dietary dairy substances producer Armor Protéines for its international ambitions.
All G was based in 2020 by serial entrepreneur Jan Pacas, whose earlier ventures embrace ASX-listed pet care market Mad Paws and HR software program enterprise Flare.
The startup first raised $16 million in a seed spherical in 2021 from the Clear Power Innovation Fund, Ellerston Capital, and Andrews Meats CEO Peter Andrews. Then in early 2022, the Woolies VC fund, W23, tipped in “an extra multi-million injection of capital” and 6 months later, Agronomics signed on with $25 million.
CommBank boss Matt Comyn and Virescent Ventures are additionally on the cap desk. Whereas the corporate flagged however didn’t disclose a Sequence A, it now says it raised $40 million.
In late 2023, All G Meals, because it was identified then, spun out Love Buds, its plant-based mince, burgers, sausages and nuggets enterprise, in a partnership with fellow traveller Fenn Meals.
Learn extra on Startup Day by day.
Bless Funds: $3.75 million
Perth fintech Bless Funds raised $3.75 million in seed funding in mid-2025.
The spherical, accomplished in July, was backed by billionaire Khalil (Charlie) Shahin and London’s Forte Securities, and was lastly revealed as the worldwide funds platform, which is hoping to tackle incumbents equivalent to Airwallex, Clever, Revolut and Monzo, appears to be like to lift a Sequence A for its international ambitions.
Based in 2022 by Affy Bhatti, technologist Mo Zaatar and Omair Chodhry, Bless is chaired by Peter Khoury, the previous BDO South Australia managing accomplice, and a three-decade veteran in monetary providers, governance, and scaling companies.
“My focus is making certain we’ve the correct capital, compliance, and partnerships to scale throughout Canada, the UK, and the US whereas sustaining our low-cost mannequin,” Khoury stated.
The funds app now has greater than 1,500 lively customers, and hopes to hit 8,000 by the tip of 2026. Its remittance product now reaches 60 nations, and the fintech obtained regulatory licenses to open in Canada subsequent month. The upcoming Sequence A will underpin plans for licences and launches within the UK in 2027 and the US in 2028.
This month, Bless launched a journey card with no transaction charges for abroad or on-line spending, promising higher change charges than conventional banks.
Learn extra on Startup Day by day.
Emanda: $300,000
Melbourne-based valuation startup Emanda has raised $300,000 in pre-seed funding. The spherical was backed by M8 Ventures, Torus Ventures, Melbourne Angels and angel traders.
Based by former M&A advisors Peter Gatt and Emily Grinton, alongside technical co-founder Ben Ashby, Emanda says it’s constructing a platform that offers enterprise homeowners a sooner technique to perceive what their firm is price.
As an alternative of counting on static stories or prolonged advisory processes, the device generates valuations utilizing monetary knowledge and trade benchmarks, and maintains an AI-powered knowledge room that robotically kinds, labels and interprets key paperwork. The platform additionally consists of guided assessments to assist founders determine dangers and alternatives throughout due diligence.
The startup has already moved from prototype to public launch, with nearly 180 clients and greater than 50 referral companions.
Emanda can be rolling out a reseller program focusing on greater than 50 companions in 2026.
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