We may only be a couple of weeks into January, but the Australian startup funding tap is already starting to trickle.
This week saw $39.8 million raised across startups in deceased estate management and fitness spaces, as well as neuroscience.
EstateXchange: $12.5 million
A startup addressing the challenges of deceased estate management, co-founded by childhood friends, has banked $12.5 million in its first raise.
Backing EstateXchange are Macquarie Capital, OIF Ventures, and billionaire Paul Little’s family office, with business exec Carol Schwartz and Pier 12 Capital chair Christine Christian also on board as angel investors.
The online platform digitises deceased estate management services for professional services firms dealing with executor administration, such as document sharing and verification.
It connects lawyers, accountants and trustees with financial institutions, insurers, and others holding estate assets or providing services, such as a telecommunications company or share registry, offering the afterlife version of a data room, to save estate managers from the duplication of having to submit the same forms repeatedly to different organisations.
Read more on Startup Daily.
Hapana: $7.25 million
A software platform used by gyms and fitness studios globally to manage memberships has raised $7.25 million.
The round for Hapana, founded in 2014, was led by veteran Sydney asset manager Microequities, with follow-on investment from OIF Ventures.
OIF backed Hapana’s 2024’s $17 million raise alongside ASX-listed Bailador Technologies.
Hapana’s platform is a white-label CRM solution for membership payments, retention and loyalty for fitness brands.
Founder and CEO Jarron Aizen said the funding will support the next generation of the platform with AI-powered tools, expand its global team and support growth in key international markets.
“Our customers aren’t just growing; they’re scaling at a pace that demands a total rethink of fitness tech,” he said.
Read more on Startup Daily.
Omniscient: $36 million
The National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) has invested $20 million in neuroscience startup Omniscient Neurotechnology as part of an ongoing $36 million Series D.
NRF is co-leading the round with OIF Ventures, taking a preferred equity stake.
Omniscient, founded in 2019, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to decode the complexity of the human brain by mapping an individuals’ brain connections.
The AI generates the brain maps from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans, allowing neurosurgeons to personalise treatment plans based on the maps rather than generalised anatomical diagrams.
Omniscient’s proprietary platform, Quicktome has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and is already in use at major hospitals and research institutions around the world.
Read the full story on Startup Daily.
This story first appeared on SmartCompany. You can read the original here.
