Chetan Puttagunta breaks down Benchmark's AI investment thesis and what changed in GTM. The firm's seeing legal AI startups hit $100M ARR in 18 months while taking longer to find product-market fit. Direct sales is back, PLG is not the default, and the moat moved from code to distribution.
DeepMind alumni Adam Liska and Devang Agrawal closed $20M Series A for Airspeed, their AI sales execution platform. DN Capital led the round. The company hit 200 customers across 20 countries two years post-launch, automating CRM updates, follow-ups, and risk flagging for GTM teams.
Former NASA deputy administrator and Space Shuttle commander Pam Melroy joins Gilmour Space's board. The Queensland rocket builder hit unicorn status in January after a $217M Series E led by government fund NRFC and Hostplus. Worth noting: this is governance hire, not go-to-market.
The NSW Budget allocated nearly $80 million for innovation and tech startups through its Innovation Blueprint, but the word 'startups' does not appear in the document. The state leads ANZ startup funding at 41%, yet the budget's focus on payroll tax increases and property revenue decline reveals how government priorities translate to policy language.
David Fairfull, founder of Sydney AI-marketing startup Metigy, sentenced to 9 years for misleading investors and misusing $7.7m in company funds to buy property. The platform raised $39m on AI claims that the ex-CFO says never existed. Worth noting for sales teams: the red flags were visible during the raises.
Federal government revises capital gains tax proposal after founders warned the policy would double exit tax rates and push investment offshore. Small businesses with turnover under $10 million keep the 50% discount. New carve-out coming for innovative firms, details still unclear.
New Side Stage Ventures data shows Australia is the world's fastest-growing venture ecosystem since 2016, up 13.7x. The reality for sales teams: early-stage funding has dropped every year since 2021, and founders now raise 41% of seed capital from overseas, double the US rate. That means fewer SDR and AE roles at the earliest stages.
Labor's new CGT carve-outs for startups still leave equity comp less attractive than overseas markets. Founders say the changes won't stop commercial talent heading offshore. The concern: if equity upside gets taxed harder, ANZ startups can't compete on total comp.
Melbourne longevity startup Everlab closed a $65M Series A led by Airtree. The three-year-old company, which raised $15M seed in July 2025, is hiring for UK market entry and scaling its clinical and tech teams. Worth noting: they are selling preventive health diagnostics direct-to-consumer and through corporate wellness programmes, including BCG, BHP and Bain.
Queensland fintech Flyweel closed $2.41M pre-seed led by Ten13 to build embedded lending for ad spend. The company processed $110M in ad spend across 1,000 businesses and is launching US-first. Worth noting: this is a different entity than the digital commerce company Omnicom acquired for $835M.
New Energy Transport closed a $5 million equity round led by Jekara Group to deploy 20 electric prime movers across NSW by end of 2026. The company is bringing forward its launch timeline by 6 months and will base operations south-west of Sydney with mobile charging infrastructure along freight corridors.
Property buyer's agency Dashdot entered liquidation owing $16.5 million to 695 clients, the ATO, Meta, and startup lender Mighty Partners. Co-founder Goose McGrath cited rising Meta ad costs and halving ad-driven revenue as major factors in the collapse, alongside tax reforms and tighter lending.