The Wire

Real-time updates from ANZ tech sales

about 2 months ago
News

Vinyl Group buys Val Morgan Digital for $10.5m, boosts revenue 70%

## Deal Structure Vinyl Group (ASX:VNL) bought Val Morgan Digital from Hoyts for $10.5 million: $7 million cash plus $3.5 million in Vinyl shares with 24-month escrow. Richard White's RealWise Holdings, which owns over a third of Vinyl, is providing up to $10 million in acquisition funding through existing shareholders. ## Revenue Impact Val Morgan Digital generated $10.7 million revenue in calendar 2025 and is expected to contribute $2.5 million in annualised EBITDA. That boosts Vinyl's revenue by more than 70%. The business publishes Fandom, PopSugar, BuzzFeed, Tasty, Vox Media, and LADbible under licence. ## Market Position Vinyl now claims digital audience reach comparable to Nine and News Corp Australia: 47% of Australians online in entertainment, 51% in news. That matters for ad sales teams pitching against traditional media. ## What It Means for Sales Teams Bigger inventory, consolidated sales operation. If you are selling into Vinyl's portfolio (Rolling Stone, Variety, Mediaweek, Concrete Playground, now Val Morgan), expect one pitch instead of two. The combined business reaches more eyeballs, which helps AEs justify bigger ad spends. Watch for quota adjustments as territories get redrawn. Veteran Hoyts CEO Damian Keogh joins Vinyl's board. Deal closes within a month, leaving Vinyl with around $3 million working capital. ## Portfolio Context Vinyl owns blockchain music startup Serenade, music database Jaxsta, musician network Vampr, trade pub Mediaweek, The Brag Media (Rolling Stone, Variety), and Concrete Playground (acquired late 2024 for $5 million). White backed the Rolling Stone acquisition with $11 million in 2023. Consolidation play: buy a rival, double the ad inventory, pitch the combined reach. Standard media M&A except it is happening in ANZ with actual numbers attached.

Startup Daily
about 2 months ago
News

Canva denies Leonardo AI layoffs, 150 staff reassigned internally

Canva says no jobs are being cut as it integrates Leonardo AI, the Sydney generative AI startup it acquired in 2024 for more than $320 million. The company is reassigning Leonardo's 150 North Sydney staff across Canva teams after operating the business separately for 18 months. Most will move into existing AI teams. A small group will continue working on Leonardo as a standalone product. Canva cofounder and COO Cliff Obrecht told Leonardo staff in a video call last week that while many roles would "directly map" to existing AI efforts, others should look at roles elsewhere in the business. The Australian reported this as potential job losses. Canva says that characterisation is inaccurate and no redundancies are planned. "We are not exploring any redundancies and no job losses were discussed or communicated to the team," a Canva spokesperson said. ## Why This Matters for Sales Teams The timing is worth noting. Block just cut 4,000 jobs (40% of workforce) citing AI. WiseTech Global cut 2,000 coding roles for the same reason. Both are major tech employers in ANZ. Canva's integration of Leonardo accelerates its AI roadmap, which could mean changes to how design tools are sold to enterprise customers. For AEs selling design or creative software, this is the consolidation pattern playing out across the category. The company has not announced hiring plans related to the integration. Canva's last major hiring push was mid-2024, adding enterprise AEs in Sydney and Melbourne. ## What Actually Happened Canva acquired Leonardo in 2024 to accelerate its AI capabilities. The deal valued Leonardo at more than $320 million. The business ran independently for 18 months. Now Canva is folding it into the main product. Staff are being reassigned, not made redundant. That distinction matters in a market where "AI-driven efficiency" has become code for layoffs. For now, Canva is holding the line on headcount while competitors are cutting.

Startup Daily
about 2 months ago
News

Canva says no redundancies planned as Leonardo.ai integration begins

Canva denied reports that it is cutting jobs as it integrates Leonardo.ai, the AI startup it acquired last year. *The Australian* reported that COO and co-founder Cliff Obrecht told Leonardo's 150 North Sydney staff that the business was being restructured. The report claimed some employees were encouraged to look at other roles in the business. A Canva spokesperson told *Startup Daily* the company is "not exploring any redundancies and no job losses were discussed or communicated to the team." They said *The Australian* did not contact them to verify the claims. What they did not say: whether the restructure itself is happening. Obrecht reportedly told staff that while many in the Leonardo team would "directly map" to existing AI efforts, others were encouraged to explore other roles. That language, "directly map," usually signals integration, not expansion. ## Context: Tech Integration Math When a tech company acquires another and says "no redundancies," it often means no forced exits, but voluntary attrition and role changes are on the table. The 150-person Leonardo team is being folded into Canva's existing AI roadmap. That typically means some roles overlap. Canva has been aggressive on AI since launching its Creative Operating System in October. Leonardo.ai brought advanced image and video generation capabilities. The question is whether Canva needs 150 people doing similar work to their existing AI team. ## What This Means If you are in sales at Canva or selling into design/AI companies: integration periods create uncertainty. Teams that were autonomous often lose decision-making power. Budgets get consolidated. Territory definitions shift. For candidates: Canva is still hiring across roles, but if you are interviewing for anything AI-related, ask how the Leonardo integration affects the team structure and roadmap. "Directly map" is code for "we are figuring it out."

SmartCompany
about 2 months ago
News

SaaStr runs sales on 20 AI agents, two Salesforce acquisitions

## From Shelfware to AI Hub in 10 Months Ten months ago, SaaStr's sales team had shrunk to three people. Two refused to log into Salesforce, even when paid $200 a month to do it. When they added Momentum (auto-logs sales calls to Salesforce), one rep quit over the activity tracking. Now SaaStr runs 20+ AI agents, all routing through Salesforce. The setup: Momentum and Attention for call intelligence, four AI SDR instances (Artisan running three campaigns, Monaco handling true outbound), Qualified for inbound, and Salesforce's own Agentforce managing win-backs. ## The Stack in Practice Momentum transcribes every call, extracts next steps, objections, competitor mentions, and pushes structured data to Salesforce. No rep touches it. Artisan sent 15,000 messages in 100 days across ticket sales, sponsorship outreach, and VIP reactivation. Response rates: 5-7%. Monaco booked meetings with top AI companies from day one. Qualified powers the inbound AI agent on saastr.com. Full Salesforce context on every visitor: past attendance, engagement history, ICP fit. Not a chatbot asking the same qualification questions. It knows who it's talking to. Agentforce handles the mess: 1,000 warm inbound sponsor leads that got routed to reps and received zero follow-up. Ever. High-intent leads ghosted by the team. ## Salesforce Buying the Best Agents Pattern worth noting: Salesforce just acquired Momentum. Salesforce just acquired Qualified. They are pulling the best sales agents in the stack in-house. If you are building on Salesforce or evaluating AI SDR tools, that acquisition strategy matters. ## What This Means for Sales Teams The AI agent hub problem is real once you pass five agents. Where does the data go? How do agents talk to each other? When they conflict, who wins? SaaStr's answer: Salesforce became the system of record because it was the only one capable of handling it. Not by design. By necessity. For sales leaders evaluating AI tooling: the CRM question is not about features anymore. It is about whether your CRM can be the central nervous system for autonomous agents. Most cannot. Salesforce can, and they are acquiring the best agents to prove it. Worth asking: what does your stack look like when you have 4 AI SDRs, auto-logged calls, inbound qualification, and win-back automation all running at once? Who is the source of truth? How do you avoid agents stepping on each other? SaaStr went from paying for shelfware to running their entire GTM motion through it. The difference: AI agents that need somewhere to live.

SaaStr
about 2 months ago
News

Divvy Homes: $1B exit, $0 for founders after venture debt wipeout

## The Numbers Divvy Homes, a proptech SaaS platform founded in 2016, sold to Brookfield Properties for approximately $1 billion in early 2025. Founders got $0. Employees got $0. Many VCs, including Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global, got $0. The company raised over $400M in equity funding, hit $2.3B valuation at peak, then layered on $735M in venture debt in October 2021. Total capital raised exceeded $1.2B. Exit price: $1B. The math does not work. ## Why It Matters for SaaS Sales Teams Debt sits at the top of every liquidation waterfall. It gets paid first, in full, before any equity holders see a dollar. When you stack $735M in debt against a $1B exit, there is nothing left for common shareholders. This was not a failure story. Divvy built a real business. But building something real and building something that rewards the builders are two different things. The gap between them is called a capital structure. ## The Venture Debt Reality Most venture debt comes with warrants (dilution), covenants (restrictions when you need flexibility most), and maturity dates (crisis if timing slips). It gets counted as cash position until it becomes a liability. At $3M in venture debt, this probably does not matter much. But founders do not take $3M once. They take $3M, then $7M, then $15M. Each tranche feels fine at the time. Then the market turns, or the exit is lower than expected, and that non-dilutive capital is the thing standing between you and any outcome for your equity. ## When Debt Actually Works Venture debt makes sense when: - You take it right after a strong equity round (adding optionality, not plugging holes) - You are extending runway toward a clear milestone that changes your next valuation - You can repay it from operations if equity markets freeze - The waterfall math works at 0.5x, 1x, and 2x of total capital raised ## What This Means for Sales Professionals If you are evaluating a startup offer, ask about the capital structure. Equity-heavy cap tables are standard. Debt-heavy ones change the math on your options. Divvy employed 200-300 people at peak, including a sales organisation focused on B2B partnerships with property managers. Those stock options were worth nothing at exit, despite building to a $1B sale. Worth noting: Divvy had no ANZ presence. This is a US proptech story. But the lesson applies to any SaaS company past $4M ARR considering venture debt as runway extension. The pitch sounds good: non-dilutive capital. The reality: you are moving capital to the top of your waterfall, above every employee who ever took below-market salary for options they assumed were worth something.

SaaStr
about 2 months ago
News

DigitalOcean up 28% while SaaS crashes: Why infrastructure beats seat-based revenue

## The Numbers DigitalOcean (DOCN) closed Q4 2025 at $242 million revenue, up 18% and accelerating to 21% growth guidance for FY2026. Stock sits at $62.66, up 28% YTD. Market cap: $5 billion. Meanwhile: ServiceNow down 50% from highs. Salesforce down 40%. Adobe down 35%. The IGV software ETF down 24%. Nearly $1 trillion in enterprise software value wiped since mid-2025. ## Why Infrastructure Survives DigitalOcean sells compute, storage, and networking. Not seats. When AI reduces headcount, companies need fewer Salesforce licenses. But they need more infrastructure to run the AI that replaced those seats. Q4 showed this playing out: AI-related ARR up 150%. Customers spending over $1 million grew 123%. Net dollar retention at 101%. Zero churn in that segment. The company expanded AMD Instinct GPU capacity for inference workloads, positioning against hyperscalers on price and simplicity for developers and SMBs. ## What This Means for Sales Teams If you are selling seat-based SaaS, the market is repricing your category. Growth rates have declined every quarter since 2021. AI gave investors permission to finally act on what the numbers already showed. If you are selling infrastructure, consumption-based models, or tools that increase compute usage, you are on the right side of the divide. For sales professionals evaluating roles: check the revenue model. Per-seat pricing faces structural headwinds. Consumption-based infrastructure does not. DigitalOcean's comp structure and team size are not public, but the business model advantage is clear in the stock performance. Analyst consensus: Buy rating, 12 analysts, price targets $66 to $83. They beat Q4 earnings at $0.44 EPS versus $0.38 expected. ## The Broader Context This is not about one company winning. It is about business model resilience. Palantir, MongoDB, Cloudflare, Snowflake: all infrastructure plays holding up better than application software. Seat-based SaaS built the last decade of software growth. That model is getting repriced. Fast.

SaaStr
about 2 months ago
News

Block cuts 4,000 jobs, 40% of workforce, betting on AI productivity gains

Block is cutting 4,000 jobs, reducing headcount by 40% to just under 6,000 employees. CEO Jack Dorsey framed the move as a strategic bet on AI and "intelligence tools" replacing headcount. The market response: Block shares rose 23% in after-hours trading. That is not typical for layoff announcements. Investors are backing the efficiency play. ## What This Means for Sales Teams Block operates Square, Cash App, and Afterpay. The 40% reduction will hit commercial teams across all three platforms. No breakdown yet on how many quota-carrying roles are affected, but when a company cuts 4,000 people, sales organisations do not escape. Dorsey says the shift is toward "smaller and flatter teams" paired with AI capabilities. Translation: fewer AEs, more automation in prospecting, qualifying, and pipeline management. Block is not alone here. This is the 2025 fintech playbook. ## The Severance Package Affected employees get 20 weeks of salary plus one week per year of tenure, equity vesting through May, 6 months of healthcare, corporate devices, and $5,000 in transition support. That is a solid package. Block is managing reputational risk. ## Industry Context Block joins a wave of fintech and SaaS layoffs in 2024 and 2025. The common thread: companies are swapping headcount for AI-driven efficiency. When Dorsey says "I believe the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion," he is probably right. For sales professionals, this is the trend to watch. AI is not replacing quota-carrying AEs yet, but it is changing the math on how many you need per territory. SDR and BDR roles are under the most pressure. Outbound automation is eating those headcount budgets. ## What Comes Next Block reported 24% gross profit growth in Q4 2025, up to $2.87 billion. They are guiding for 18% growth in 2026 with operating margins hitting 26%. The cost cuts are working, at least on paper. Whether this model scales without the people who built the revenue engine, we will see. Investors are betting yes. Sales teams navigating the job market should note which way the wind is blowing.

Startup Daily
about 2 months ago
News

What VCs actually mean when they say you're too early

## What VCs actually mean when they say you're too early The phrase shows up in rejection emails across ANZ: 'You're too early.' Rampersand cofounder Paul Naphtali says it rarely means what founders think it means. 'Too early is a product of something's missing,' Naphtali said at Growth Summit Melbourne. 'It's also code for we don't necessarily fit, and I don't want to have a long conversation.' The phrase masks several actual problems. Sometimes it's a stage mismatch: seed-stage startups pitching late-stage funds, or pre-revenue companies approaching investors who need validation first. Other times it signals concerns about the founding team, market timing, or product-market fit that the VC would rather not detail. In tighter funding markets, the phrase appears more often. VCs hedge their rejections with soft language rather than explicit reasons, protecting their reputation if the founder succeeds without them. ### What founders should do Naphtali tries to avoid the phrase entirely. 'You should never hear that, but sometimes it sneaks out because we're just busy or don't want to get into a debate.' He recommends founders push back for specifics: What validation is missing? What milestones would change your answer? Which investor stage actually fits? The answer matters because 'too early' sometimes means exactly that. Naphtali met Restoke founders two years before leading their $5.1m seed round in 2024. He liked their backgrounds but was skeptical they could deliver. When they returned with proof, the investment became a 'no-brainer.' The lesson: understand whether you're actually too early, or just pitching the wrong investor. Then decide what happens next. ### Sales hiring context This connects to when founders should hire their first sales rep. The same validation question applies: too early usually means insufficient product-market fit or customer proof points, not arbitrary timing. Founders running their own sales learn what messaging works before handing it to a rep. The hire makes sense when the founder has closed enough deals to create a repeatable playbook. Investors and sales hiring follow similar logic: prove it works first, then scale.

Startup Daily
about 2 months ago
News

UpGuard raises $105M Series C, EatClub adds $27M for marketplace expansion

## Two startups, $132 million, zero salary transparency Hobart-based cybersecurity firm UpGuard closed a $105 million Series C this week, led by New York private equity firm Springcoast Partners with backing from existing investors August Capital, Square Peg, and Pelion Venture Partners. Restaurant marketplace EatClub, backed by celebrity chef Curtis Stone, added $27 million in a separate round. The combined $132 million fits a pattern: Q1 2026 saw $1.8 billion deployed across Australian startups, down 15% from Q1 2025 but with larger average rounds. Median seed rounds hit $3.2 million, Series A rounds $15.3 million. ## What this means for sales roles UpGuard says the funds will expand "go-to-market functions" alongside AI platform development and strategic acquisitions. That typically translates to AE and SDR hiring, but the company has not posted specifics: no headcount targets, no territory breakdowns, no comp ranges. EatClub's expansion plans are similarly vague. Restaurant marketplace sales usually means inside sales teams working SMB accounts, but again, no numbers. Worth noting: Australian enterprise SaaS firms like SafetyCulture (which has raised $222 million total) typically run sales teams of 50 to 100 people for workplace software at scale. UpGuard's cyber risk platform targets enterprise and mid-market, suggesting similar go-to-market structure, but that is educated guesswork without actual data. ## The broader market Australian startup funding remains concentrated: the top 10 deals captured 70% of Q3 2025's $1 billion total. Series B and later rounds are bottlenecks. AI, healthtech, climate tech, and fintech continue to attract the bulk of capital. VCs like Blackbird Ventures and AirTree are writing bigger cheques to fewer companies. Government backing through the National Reconstruction Fund (AU$15 billion total, AU$1 billion for medtech and renewables) is propping up capital-intensive plays. For sales professionals tracking hiring opportunities, the pattern is clear: funding announcements that mention go-to-market expansion without posting roles or comp are aspirational, not actionable. Watch the actual job boards in 30 to 60 days. ## The reality check Series C usually means scaling what already works. UpGuard has been in market since its earlier rounds with August Capital and Square Peg. This capital lets them add territories and headcount, but until they post roles with real numbers, it is just a funding announcement. The ANZ market is maturing: bigger rounds, more selectivity, and a growing gap between top performers and everyone else. If you are tracking B2B sales opportunities in Australian startups, focus on companies that post specific roles with transparent comp, not companies that announce they will eventually hire. Base, OTE, split, ramp period. Everything else is just noise.

SmartCompany
about 2 months ago
News

UiPath, Workday founders return as CEOs: what it means for sales teams

## The Pattern Two enterprise software founders stepped down, then came back fast. Daniel Dines left UiPath in January 2024, returned by June. Four months. Aneel Bhusri handed Workday to a co-CEO in early 2024, took it back by October. Both blamed AI disruption. The official story: generative AI threatened their business models, only the founders could pivot fast enough. The sales reality: when founders return, comp plans change, territories get redrawn, and quotas shift. ## What Changed at UiPath Dines returned because AI agents threatened robotic process automation. If AI can reason through workflows, why buy rigid bots? UiPath pivoted to "agentic automation." Revenue growth hit 16% in Q3 FY26. ARR reached $1.78 billion. The company added 950 customers building AI agents on their platform. For the 1,500-person global sales team, that meant new messaging, new buyers (AI teams, not IT operations), and new objection handling. The product they sold six months ago is not the product they sell now. ## What Changed at Workday Bhusri came back as software stocks dropped $285 billion in early 2026. The catalyst: per-seat SaaS pricing looked vulnerable to AI agents that replace human users. Workday posted $8.5 billion revenue in FY25, up 15%. Market cap sits above $50 billion. The 3,000-person sales org added AI-specialized AEs, but internal data shows 25% quota attainment challenges. Translation: enterprise deals got harder. Buyers asked tougher ROI questions. Sales cycles stretched. ## What It Means for Sales Teams Founder returns signal strategy shifts. New messaging. New competitive positioning. Sometimes new leadership. UiPath hired a new CRO in 2025. Workday added AI-focused quota capacity. Both companies compete in crowded markets: UiPath holds 30% of RPA against Microsoft and Automation Anywhere. Workday takes 15-20% of HCM against Oracle and SAP. When founders come back, they usually cut what is not working. That includes territories, comp plans, and sometimes people. ANZ presence for both is limited: UiPath runs 50-100 APAC staff, mostly Singapore and Australia. Workday has roughly 200 regional employees across Sydney and Melbourne. Neither reports significant ANZ revenue or hiring plans. ## The Broader Signal Founder-led companies move faster but sales teams face more volatility. When the market shifts, founders rewrite the playbook mid-quarter. That means quota relief is rare and ramp periods do not account for product pivots. If your company brings back the founder, expect change. Product roadmap, ideal customer profile, competitive strategy. Everything is on the table. Worth asking in your next one-on-one: what does this mean for my quota and territory?

SaaStr
about 2 months ago
News

Sendle liquidates: what sales teams learn from vendor shutdowns

## Sendle liquidates: what sales teams learn from vendor shutdowns Sendle Pty Ltd appointed liquidators on Wednesday, six weeks after shutting down without warning. The Sydney-based courier service raised over $100 million across 12 years, positioned itself as a carbon-neutral alternative to Australia Post, then collapsed when a merger with US firms ACI Logistix and FastMile failed in August 2025. ACI did not pay what it owed. The merged entity, FAST Group, folded. Sendle followed. For sales teams, this matters in two ways: vendor dependency risk and customer trust recovery. ### Vendor dependency risk Sendle targeted SMB eCommerce sellers. Those customers built logistics workflows around Sendle integrations, negotiated rates, and committed inventory based on delivery promises. When Sendle shut down in January 2026, those customers scrambled for alternatives. If your sales team relies on third-party logistics providers (or any mission-critical vendor), this is the checklist: - Dual-source critical vendors. One provider shutdown should not halt operations. - Track vendor health signals: funding rounds, leadership changes, merger rumours. - Contractual contingencies: what happens if the vendor exits? - Customer communication plan: how fast can you pivot if a vendor fails? Sendle raised $45 million in Series C in 2021. Four years later, liquidation. Funding does not equal stability. ### Customer trust recovery If you sell to SMBs and your platform integrates with now-defunct Sendle, your customers are asking: what now? The sales response: - Proactive outreach. Do not wait for inbound support tickets. - Alternative integrations lined up. Transdirect and Starshipit are Melbourne and Auckland competitors. - Comp adjustments if migration costs money. Show partnership, not indifference. Sendle competed on flat-rate, carbon-neutral shipping. Its pitch worked until the US expansion burned cash and the merger collapsed. For ANZ sales teams, the lesson is less about Sendle specifically and more about contingency planning when vendors implode. Competitors include Transdirect (Melbourne, carbon-neutral options) and Starshipit (Auckland, shipping automation). Both are still operating. Worth noting: neither raised $100 million, and neither tried a cross-border merger with a US partner that could not pay its bills.

SmartCompany
about 2 months ago
News

Sharon AI lists on Nasdaq at $1B, no sales team details disclosed

## Sharon AI lists on Nasdaq at $1B valuation Sydney-based AI infrastructure company Sharon AI (SHAZ) debuted on Nasdaq this week at a $1 billion valuation following a $125 million IPO. The company, founded in 2024 by James Manning and Nick Hughes-Jones, sells GPU compute capacity to enterprises running AI workloads. Early investors who paid $12.50 per share in December saw their holdings worth $30 at listing. That is a 140% return in two months. An ASX listing is planned for April. ## What they actually do Sharon AI rents high-performance computing infrastructure: GPUs, storage, networking, and pre-configured AI environments. Customers include AI labs, hyperscalers, and regulated industries that need compute at scale. The company operates across Tier III/IV data centers and its own facilities, with deployments at NEXTDC M3 in Sydney. Revenue pipeline includes AI training workloads and LLM deployment. Gartner forecasts AI infrastructure spend hitting $1.9 trillion globally this year, up 42% year-on-year. ## The sales angle: nothing No public disclosure on: - Sales team size or structure - Recent AE, SDR, or sales leadership hires - OTE or comp bands - CRO or VP Sales appointment - Go-to-market strategy or sales org expansion plans Manning transitioned from Chairman to CEO in January. Prior to that, co-founder Hughes-Jones held operational roles. No mention of a sales leader in any public materials. ## What this means for ANZ sales Sharon AI is hiring. A $1B valuation and April ASX listing means expansion is coming. Infrastructure companies at this stage typically build enterprise sales teams: 5 to 10 AEs, SDR support, channel partnerships. If you are in tech sales and watching this space, the comp structure and team build-out will matter. Right now, that data does not exist publicly. Worth tracking for Q2 hiring announcements. IPO proceeds are earmarked for GPU equipment, data center expansion, and "customer engagement." That last bit usually translates to sales hires. We will update when actual numbers surface.

Startup Daily
about 2 months ago
News

SafetyCulture CEO out after 14 months, founder Anear back in Sydney

SafetyCulture CEO Kelly Vohs is out after 14 months. Founder Luke Anear returns as interim CEO on April 1, with the company citing "the importance of having a consistent CEO presence at our Sydney headquarters." Vohs, a former US Special Forces Green Beret, took over from Anear on January 1, 2024. He leaves with teenage children in the US and flagged the challenge of embedding AI into SafetyCulture's 3.5 billion worksite image dataset. Anear told Capital Brief the workplace safety platform needs a major rebuild for the AI era, and that means someone on the ground in Sydney. "We can help our customers understand what great looks like in the workplace and what bad looks like better than anyone," he said. ## What This Means for Sales Teams SafetyCulture has scaled from a Townsville garage in 2004 to a global operations platform serving Qantas, Hilton, and Coca-Cola across 80+ countries. The company processes 16 million monthly inspection responses and reported approximately $100M in annual revenue around 2017. CEO changes at unicorns often signal territory restructures, comp adjustments, and hiring shifts. SafetyCulture last raised $75M in late 2024 at a $2.5B valuation, down $200M from its previous round. Valuation cuts typically mean quota relief conversations and tighter pipeline management. No word yet on sales leadership changes or how the AI rebuild affects go-to-market strategy. Worth noting: Anear is interim CEO. The company is searching for a permanent replacement willing to be based in Sydney. SafetyCulture's ANZ presence remains strong, with headquarters in Sydney and roots in Queensland. For sales professionals tracking ANZ tech, this is a founder returning to steady the ship during a strategic pivot. Watch for hiring updates as the new strategy takes shape.

Startup Daily
about 2 months ago
News

UpGuard raises $105M Series C, Hobart cybersecurity firm now at $134M total funding

## UpGuard raises $105M Series C, Hobart cybersecurity firm now at $134M total funding Hobart-based cybersecurity firm UpGuard has closed a $105 million Series C led by New York private equity firm Springcoast Partners, with participation from existing investors August Capital, Square Peg, and Pelion Venture Partners. The round brings total funding to $134 million across six rounds since 2012. The company reports 244 employees and customers in 90 countries. Funds will go toward AI-powered cyber risk posture management platform development, go-to-market functions, and strategic acquisitions. Worth noting: no specific sales team size, CRO, or VP Sales details were disclosed in the announcement. ### The Business UpGuard sells third-party risk management and security ratings to enterprise customers in finance, healthcare, and tech. The platform covers vendor risk, attack surface monitoring, workforce security, and compliance automation. Revenue sits at approximately $51 million. The company is headquartered in Hobart (Level 9, 45 Murray Street) with offices in Sydney (338 Pitt Street) and Mountain View, California. CEO Mike Baukes, who co-founded the business in 2012, said the Series C will help deliver "enterprise-grade solutions for the mid-market." Translation: they are moving downmarket while maintaining enterprise pricing. ### The ANZ Angle UpGuard maintains strong ANZ presence despite US office. Great Place To Work ranked them Australia's 21st best medium-sized workplace and 8th best tech firm in 2025. The company has submitted policy input to the Department of Home Affairs on ransomware threats to ASX200 firms. No recent ANZ sales hiring announcements or comp data available. VP People Marcus Waterreus leads HR, but sales leadership structure is not public. ### The Market UpGuard competes with Bitsight (cyber risk analytics), Panorays (vendor assessments), and ProcessUnity in the third-party risk management space. The Series C positions them for acquisitions in a consolidating market. Springcoast managing partner Holger Staude said UpGuard has "proven its ability to execute and achieve significant scale and capital efficiency." That reads as: profitable or close to it, unusual for a Series C. For sales professionals: Series C typically means 2x to 3x team growth over 18-24 months. If you are in cybersecurity sales, watch for UpGuard openings in Sydney and Hobart. No comp data available yet.

Startup Daily
about 2 months ago
News

2025 IPO class: 10 of 13 tech companies now underwater

# The 2025 IPO Scoreboard: What It Means for Your Equity Package The 2025 IPO reopening looked promising on paper. 174 companies raised over $31 billion in the first half, the strongest showing since 2021. Tech and healthcare led the charge: 53 tech IPOs raised $17.4 billion, healthcare added another batch with 41.7% weighted returns. Then reality set in. By February 2026, 10 of 13 major B2B and tech IPOs are trading below their listing price. Several significantly below. ## The Survivors **CoreWeave (CRWV):** Up 123% from its $40 March listing. Peaked at $187 in June, now around $89. AI infrastructure with a $55.6 billion revenue backlog. Revenue hit $3.6B in three quarters. The only clear winner. **Hinge Health (HNGE):** Up 28%. IPO'd at $32 in May, trading around $41. Digital MSK therapy with actual unit economics: 51% revenue growth, 85% gross margins, 31% free cash flow margins. Proof that B2B healthtech works without AI hype. **Circle (CRCL):** Up 100% from its $31 June listing. Briefly hit $299, crashed back to $62. USDC stablecoin play, heavily correlated to crypto sentiment. ## The Wreckage **Klarna (KLAR):** Down 69%. IPO'd at $42 in November, now around $13. Valued at $45.6 billion in 2021 private rounds, public market cap today sits at roughly $5 billion. That is a 90% decline from peak private valuation. Class action lawsuits filed. The BNPL model is under pressure, AI repositioning has not convinced anyone. **Netskope (NTSK):** Down 56%. KKR-backed cybersecurity play IPO'd at $24 in December, now trading around $10.60. The entire cybersecurity sector is getting repriced on AI disruption fears. **Figma (FIG):** Down 28%. The most dramatic arc: IPO'd at $36 in September after the Adobe acquisition fell through, exploded to $143 on day one, now trading around $26. Revenue growing 40%, raised 2026 guidance to $1.36-$1.37 billion, but the market is pricing in AI disruption risk to design tools. **Navan (NAVN):** Down 27%. Valued at $9.4 billion privately, IPO'd at $14 ($6.5 billion valuation), now around $10 ($2.5 billion market cap). TTM revenue $656 million, 32% growth, but a Rule of 40 score near zero does not command a premium. ## What This Means for Sales Equity If you joined a pre-IPO company in 2024 expecting a liquidity event in 2025, your equity package likely took a 30-70% haircut post-IPO. Even companies that looked strong, Figma's 4x first-day pop, gave it all back within months. PE-backed IPOs performed terribly. KKR took OneStream public in July 2024 at $20, and now Hg Capital is taking it private 17 months later. SailPoint, another PE re-IPO, is down 38%. The 2026 pipeline includes Databricks, Canva, and Plaid, all deferred from late 2025. If you are weighing offers, factor in that approximately 30-35% of 2025 IPOs finished below their offer price by year-end. The IPO window reopened, but the returns did not follow.

SaaStr
about 2 months ago
News

Biometric data at work: who owns your fingerprints after you clock in?

## The case that changed workplace biometrics Jeremy Lee worked at Superior Wood, a Queensland sawmill. In 2018, the company rolled out fingerprint scanners for site attendance. Safety and payroll accuracy, they said. Lee refused to scan. Superior Wood terminated him. The Full Fair Work Commission ruled the dismissal unfair in *Lee v Superior Wood* [2019] FWCFB 2946. The reason: employers must obtain explicit consent before collecting biometric data. It is classified as sensitive information under the Privacy Act 1988. The employee records exemption only applies after you have already collected the data with proper consent. That ruling sits under every biometric system rolled out in Australia since. Fingerprint scanners, facial recognition, keystroke patterns, eye tracking. All of it requires explicit consent before the data enters company systems. ## What this means for sales teams If you are selling HR tech, workforce analytics, or productivity monitoring tools into ANZ, this case is your compliance baseline. "We enhance safety and accuracy" does not override the Privacy Act. Neither does "industry standard" or "everyone does it." The market for employee monitoring software is growing. We360.ai, Time Doctor, ActivTrak, Hubstaff: all selling versions of workplace surveillance with varying levels of biometric data collection. Some track keystrokes and mouse movements. Others want facial recognition for attendance. A few are pitching AI models trained on employee productivity patterns. Your prospects will ask about compliance. They should. If they do not, you should bring it up anyway because post-sale regulatory blow-ups kill renewals and referrals. ## The F1 comparison Formula 1 drivers produce biometric data as part of their job: heart rate, stress response, eye tracking. It feeds into race strategy and car development. When a driver leaves, that dataset stays with the team. It is written into contracts, regulated by the FIA, with clear guidelines on collection and usage. Most Australian workplaces have none of that clarity. They bolt on fingerprint scanners or AI productivity monitors without thinking through consent, data ownership, or what happens when someone leaves. The default assumption seems to be: if we bought the software, we own the data. That assumption does not hold in Australia. Superior Wood learned that the expensive way. ## What actually works If you are in the sales motion for monitoring tech: lead with consent frameworks, not feature lists. Show prospects how to implement compliant biometric policies before they buy. Include legal review in the sales cycle. Make data ownership and retention crystal clear in your contracts. If you are buying this tech: get proper consent before turning anything on. Not buried in an updated employee handbook. Explicit, informed consent for biometric data collection. Document it. Have your legal team review the vendor's data handling. The compliance risk is real. Superior Wood faced an unfair dismissal case. Larger employers face class actions, regulatory investigations, and the kind of headlines that make boards nervous. The market is moving toward more workplace monitoring, not less. AI productivity tools are the new normal in tech sales orgs. That makes consent frameworks and data ownership the new table stakes. Worth noting: no one has cracked truly anonymous biometric monitoring at scale. If the system can identify individuals (which is the point), it is collecting personal data. Act accordingly.

SmartCompany
about 2 months ago
News

WiseTech cuts 2,000 coding jobs, AI replacing manual engineering work

WiseTech Global is cutting 2,000 engineering jobs as AI replaces manual coding work, CEO Zubin Appoo announced during the company's earnings call. The cuts represent 28% of the ASX-listed logistics software company's 7,000 global headcount. "The era of manually writing code as the core act of engineering is over," Appoo said. The cuts target engineers writing code, not sales or go-to-market teams, though the company provided no specifics on whether revenue roles are affected. WiseTech, headquartered in Sydney, develops CargoWise and other logistics software used by 17,000+ customers including 24 of the top 25 global freight forwarders. The company claims its platform touches 55% of global manufactured trade flows. ## The Numbers First half revenue grew 76% to US$672m. Operating cash flow up 31% to US$192.3m. The company recently closed a US$2.1bn acquisition of e2open and ships 1,226+ product enhancements annually across 39 product centres. Shares rebounded 4% to $45 following the announcement, though still down 60% from July 2024 highs. ## What This Means for Sales No mention of sales team changes, comp adjustments, or quota impact. The cuts focus on engineering, but sales professionals at WiseTech and competitors should watch for: territory consolidation if customer success workload shifts, quota adjustments if AI efficiency claims translate to changed sales targets, and potential downstream effects on deal cycles as product development accelerates. WiseTech joins a growing list of tech companies restructuring around AI. The difference: they are stating it directly rather than hiding behind "organizational efficiency" language. For sales teams at logistics software companies, this signals potential shifts in how technical resources support deals. No disclosed sales leadership changes or CRO commentary. Sales headcount and structure remain unclear.

Startup Daily
about 2 months ago
News

Victoria takes national VC lead with $2.2B, driven by late-stage rounds

## Victoria leads 2025 VC funding, but the story is in the stage mix Victorian startups raised $2.2 billion across 134 deals in 2025, according to Cut Through Venture's latest report. That is a 2.9x year-on-year increase and the first time Victoria has topped national VC rankings. The numbers look strong, but the composition tells a different story for sales teams evaluating opportunities. ## Late-stage rebounds, early-stage cools Rounds between $20M and $50M jumped from 4 in 2024 to 17 in 2025. Deals over $50M increased from 3 to 6. Median Series A deal size hit $15M, up from $6M the year prior. Series B+ medians doubled to $40M. Early-stage activity moved the other direction. Sub-$5M rounds dropped from 87 to 66. Rounds in the $5M to $20M range fell from 29 to 17. For sales professionals: fewer seed-stage startups mean fewer SDR and early AE roles in 2026. The hiring is happening at scale-ups with proven models and established GTM motions. ## The Airwallex factor Airwallex's $498M Series G accounts for 23% of Victoria's total. The fintech was Melbourne-founded but relocated its headquarters to Hong Kong in 2018, three years after launch. It now operates from Singapore with a dual US HQ and is domiciled in the Cayman Islands. Strip out Airwallex and Victoria raised $1.7 billion, roughly matching NSW's reported $1.7 billion across 160 deals. That comparison matters when evaluating where the actual hiring concentration sits. ## Sector mix: fintech and biotech lead Fintech pulled $759M. Biotech and medtech took $526M. Climate tech and healthtech followed at $208M and $165M respectively. Notably absent from Victoria's top sectors: AI, which led national funding in 2025. Victoria's AI capital was comparatively small as a standalone category, though Cut Through Venture noted 75% of 2025-funded startups use AI in some capacity. ## What this means for sales teams LaunchVic, the state's startup agency, backs this ecosystem with $40M in annual budget allocation, $60M in venture growth funds, and support for over 3,800 startups. The state now hosts 20 unicorns and leads Australia in enterprise software (50% of national startups), healthtech (50%), and fintech (33%). For AEs and sales leaders: Victorian scale-ups are hiring, but the bar is higher. Companies raising $20M+ already have quota-carrying teams and territory structure. They are adding enterprise AEs and account managers, not figuring out go-to-market. Early-stage companies looking to build first sales teams: that is happening elsewhere or waiting for the funding market to shift back toward seed.

Startup Daily
about 2 months ago
News

Heidi Health acquires UK's Automedica, launches two AI products

## Heidi Health acquires UK's Automedica, launches two AI products Melbourne-based Heidi Health acquired UK clinical AI startup Automedica and launched two new products, marking its first acquisition since raising $125 million in 2024. Terms were not disclosed. The deal adds Automedica's evidence-led AI framework and UK regulatory access (including MHRA AI Airlock sandbox) to Heidi's platform. **Two new products shipped:** - Heidi Evidence: Real-time clinical research during consultations, built on Anthropic's Claude models - Heidi Comms: Patient communication and care plan coordination for healthcare teams Heidi now supports 370,000 clinicians globally, processing 10 million consults monthly across 100+ countries. The company leads global AI scribe adoption and is the top player in Canada by market share. **What this means for sales teams:** Heidi is moving upmarket. The acquisition and product expansion signal a push into enterprise healthcare beyond individual GP subscriptions. Expect hiring across enterprise sales, implementation, and customer success to support the broader product suite. The company's existing model: free individual clinician access subsidised by enterprise contracts. Customer retention sits at 100% repurchase intent (KLAS Research). Main sales friction: long enterprise cycles with risk-averse hospital buyers and AI output validation concerns. Heidi raised $98 million Series B in October 2024 at $703 million valuation (Point72 Private Investments, Blackbird, Headline) plus a $27 million Series A top-up earlier that year. Total funding: $96.6 million USD. **CEO Dr Thomas Kelly** positioned the Evidence product as ad-free and clinically independent, contrasting with ad-supported AI models from OpenAI and others. The pitch: commercial-influence-free clinical decision support. No headcount or sales team details disclosed. Company integrates with Epic and major ANZ practice management systems (Gentu, MedicalDirector). Compliance: ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, Australian Privacy Principles. Heidi competes in ambient AI scribing but specific competitors were not named. The Automedica deal is its first M&A move since founding in 2019 (originally as Oscer for clinical training, rebranded 2021).

Startup Daily
about 2 months ago
News

Victoria raises $2.2B in VC, NSW loses crown, early-stage deals drop 24%

Victoria startups raised $2.2 billion across 134 deals in 2025, taking the national crown from NSW for the first time, according to Cut Through Venture's latest report. The 2.9x jump from 2024 looks strong until you check the deal mix. Rounds between $20M and $50M increased from 4 to 17. Rounds above $50M doubled from 3 to 6. Meanwhile, sub-$5M deals dropped from 87 to 66, a 24% decline in early-stage activity. Median deal sizes climbed across every stage. Pre-seed rounds hit $925k, up from $675k. Seed rounds reached $3.2M. Series A median jumped to $15M from $6M, and Series B+ hit $40M from $17M. Those numbers suggest stronger pricing for companies that made it through, but a higher bar to clear. NSW still led on deal count despite losing on total capital. Victoria's $2.2B came from fewer rounds than NSW closed, pointing to concentration in later-stage bets rather than broad ecosystem activity. Breakthrough Victoria, the state's $2B government fund, has backed 88% of early-stage and 76% of venture-stage deals in Victoria since launch. The fund recently committed to five VC funds, each with a 25% mandate to invest in Victorian companies. That mandate effect likely contributed to the capital surge, though the fund itself is under government review. National context: Australian startup funding hit $5.4B in 2025, up 31% from 2024. Victoria captured 34% of deals versus NSW's 41%. AI, biotech, and fintech drove most activity. For sales professionals, the pattern matters more than the headline. Fewer early-stage rounds means fewer new sales orgs forming in 2026. More late-stage capital means expansion hires at funded companies, typically enterprise AEs and account managers rather than SDRs. If you are looking at Victorian startups, check their round size and stage. A $40M Series B means different hiring than a $3M seed.

SmartCompany
Load More