Hardware-heavy startups have long struggled to raise money in Australia. A run of recent rounds suggests that is changing.
Recent rounds
| Company | Field | Round |
|---|---|---|
| MP Space (Sydney) | Space power systems | $23m seed, led by Blackbird |
| Breaker | Defence autonomy | $9m seed, led by Bessemer Venture Partners |
| Deteqt | Quantum sensing | $5m seed, led by Main Sequence |
| Alloy | Robotics data analytics | $4.5m pre-seed, led by Blackbird |
Breaker’s round is reportedly about three times a typical Australian seed round.
Bigger funds
- Blackbird closed a $1.05 billion fund.
- Square Peg closed $650 million across two vehicles.
- Main Sequence is targeting $400 million for its fourth fund.
The gap that remains
Deep tech companies typically need $5 million to $10 million early and another $20 million to $30 million to commercialise. Dynamic Business notes there is still a gap between research grants and commercial traction.
