Australian Startups That Bloomed in 2021
We recently released our list of the Top Australian Startups To Watch in 2022.
Australia is a large country with a small population and is known for its tourist destinations. Despite this, the country has a buzzing ecosystem and Australian startups are now on the rise, with the country listed as the seventh-best startup destination in the world, which is a great position considering the quality of the competition. It is also true that the country’s startup rate by population was one of the best in the world, with a figure of 5.8%. This means that there are a lot of Australian startups to look out for.
If you are interested in startups from other countries too, you should look at some other lists of top startups. The Australian ecosystem is in an interesting position where it doesn’t want to fall behind. It currently has a lot of companies with the potential to be massive, they just have to reach that potential.
We recently released our list of the Top Australian Startups To Watch in 2022.
1. Airwallex
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Melbourne, Australia
Size: 501–1000
Founder(s): Jack Zhang, Jacob Dai, Lucy Yueting Liu, Max Li
Airwallex is one of the most exciting startups in Australia, it was founded in 2015 and is currently based in Melbourne, Australia. The company operates in the fintech market and makes its name by allowing businesses to easily take and make payments from anywhere across the world. This gives their clients the opportunity to grow internationally.
The company has already managed to gain a massive amount of startup funding in only six years of trading. In total, the company has managed to raise $502 Million from a group of 17 investors. All of this was through venture capital funding.
2. Canva
Year Founded: 2012
HQ: Sydney, Australia
Size: 501–1000
Founder(s): Cameron Adams, Cliff Obrecht, Melanie Perkins
Canva is an Australian startup that was founded in 2012 and currently works from Sydney, Australia. The company offers a SaaS system that allows even the least technological and artistic people the opportunity to make amazing social media content and many other forms of digital content. Their offering truly makes it so that small businesses can upgrade their digital capabilities without forking out a lot of money.
Canva has already shown that it is a force in the market, not only has the company made a total of $372.6 Million in startup funding from a group of 32 investors, but the company has also been very active in the acquisitions market. To date, the company has taken over five companies to improve its offering.
3. Judo Bank
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: Melbourne, Australia
Size: 101–250
Founder(s): Alex Twigg, Chris Bayliss, David Hornery, Joseph Healy, Kate Keenan, Tim Alexander
Judo Bank is an Australian startup that was founded five years ago and is currently based in Melbourne, Australia. Their service makes it easier for business owners with genuine ideas to get some form of lending or finance to help make those ideas a reality. This is achieved through the use of real discussions to make these funding decisions, as opposed to using algorithms to decide whether to decline someone for a loan.
Judo Bank has already shown that it has a phenomenal business model and service offering. This is highlighted by the fact that the company has managed to raise an insane figure of $1.8 Billion in only five years of business. This funding was achieved from a surprisingly small group of 14.
4. Secure Code Warrior
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Chippendale, Australia
Size: 101–250
Founder(s): Colin Wong, Fatemah Beydoun, Jaap Karan Singh, John Fitzgerald, Matias Madou, Nathan Desmet, Pieter Danhieux, Sally Krebs
Secure Code Warrior is an Australian cybersecurity and learning startup that was founded in 2015 and currently has an HQ in Chippendale, Australia. The company provides a learning platform and experience that helps developers and coders to improve their security within their code through the use of a personalized development plan is making the next generation of secure coders in Australia.
The company has already managed to make a lot of money through startup funding, with a total of $51.5 Million being raised to further the growth and development of the company. This was achieved through seven investors and the company has supported its activities by acquiring two other companies.
5. Volt Bank
Year Founded: 2017
HQ: North Sydney, Australia
Size: 51–100
Founder(s): Luke Bunbury, Steve Weston
Volt Bank is an Australian finance startup that was founded in 2017 and is currently based in North Sydney, Australia. The company is trying to shed the modern perception of banks as evil and immoral institutions. Instead of hiding fees and making their customers’ lives easier, they offer full transparency in their services and actually work to improve the lives of their customers.
Volt Bank has received the very enthusiastic interest of two venture capital firms. This shows that the company is doing something right as they have managed to raise $90.1 Million in only four years of trading.
6. Athena
Year Founded: 2017
HQ: Sydney, Australia
Size: 101–250
Founder(s): Michael Starkey, Nathan Walsh
Athena is an Australian startup that was founded in 2017 and is currently headquartered in Sydney, Australia. The company is a home loan provider that is aiming to shake the up the industry in its country. This is because the process of buying a home only really works for the banks, Athena works for the customer and ensures complete client satisfaction throughout the whole process.
So far, the company has managed to make a lot of money from startup funding in the four years they have been going. In total, the company has managed to raise a fortune of $161.5 Million from a group of seven investors. Their meteoric rise makes them one of the most curious startups in Australia.
7. SocietyOne
Year Founded: 2011
HQ: Sydney, Australia
Size: 101–250
Founder(s): Andy Taylor, Greg Symons, Matt Symons
SocietyOne is another example of an Australian fintech startup, with the company being founded in 2011 and currently is based in Sydney. The company operates a P2P lending platform that makes it easier for creditworthy people who need money to connect with investors that want to do something good with their money.
The company itself has been running for a decade now and in that time, it has managed to make a large amount of money from startup funding. In total, a collective of nine investors pooled $70.2 Million to help the company to continue its upward growth.
8. Moula
Year Founded: 2013
HQ: Melbourne, Australia
Size: 51–100
Founder(s): Andrew Watt, Aris Allegos, Piers Moller
Moula is another example of a fintech startup in the Land Down Under, being founded in 2013 and currently being headquartered in Melbourne. The company operates a lending platform that aims to make it easier for smaller businesses to seek money. The difference with this company is that it uses its technology to accept or deny applications based on financial and accounting data from those companies.
Investors have already shown that they have faith in the company, as a total of five investors have decided to put their money into the company. The company secured this funding to further its growth and development, with the actual amount reaching $50.9 Million, which is no small amount of money to have invested.
9. Baraja
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Sydney, Australia
Size: 51–100
Founder(s): Cibby Pulikkaseril, Federico Collarte
Baraja is a startup from Australia that operates and develops 3-D sensor technology to make its money. Specifically, the company creates LIDAR systems in an effort to correct some of the problems that are currently appearing in the market for self-driving vehicles. This will make the roads of the future a much safer place to drive on.
The company has already managed to attract a very healthy level of investment from venture capital funding to improve its service and hardware offering. In total, the company has managed to convince five investors to part with their money. This money formed a collective $63.9 Million for the company to use.
10. Nura
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Melbourne, Australia
Size: 51–100
Founder(s): Dragan Petrovic, Kyle Slater, Luke Campbell
Nura is an Australian hardware startup that was founded in 2015 and currently has its base of operations in Melbourne. The company makes its money by manufacturing and selling headphones with a technological twist. The headphones themselves will take a measurement of your hearing and will then tailor the volume of the music you’re listening to, to better suit that measurement. This ensures that ears are properly cared for.
The company has already seen a lot of interest in their headphones from investors, with a group of 19 investors deciding to put their money behind the product. This has led the company to getting quite a significant sum of investment from this group, totaling a figure of $21.9 Million.
11. Plexus
Year Founded: 2011
HQ: Melbourne, Australia
Size: 51–100
Founder(s): Andrew Mellett
Plexus is a legal consulting startup that was founded a decade ago and currently works in Melbourne. The company provides technology solutions to help bring law firms into the digital world. Some examples of their solutions include automation, contract management, and legal issue management.
Investors have already shown some faith in the business model of the company so far. This can be seen from the fact that the company has received investment from five parties. The total investment gained from these parties has come to a figure of $4.7 Million.
12. Cluey Learning
Year Founded: 2017
HQ: Sydney, Australia
Size: 101–250
Founder(s): Michael Allara
Cluey is an Australian edtech startup that was founded four years ago and is currently making its home in Sydney, Australia. Their company provides a solution where parents can arrange for their children to have private tutoring, which could be needed for a number of reasons, especially catching up on schoolwork as a result of the ongoing pandemic.
The company has managed to attract some attention from investors, with the education startup successfully convincing a duo of investors to part with 20 Million Australian Dollars, which has gone to further the growth of the business and the services that they offer to their customers.
13. Morse Micro
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: Surrey Hills, Australia
Size: 51–100
Founder(s): Andrew Terry, Michael De Nil
Morse Micro is an Australian technology startup that was founded five years ago and currently has its base of operations in Surrey Hills. They create integrated wireless circuit solutions, which are intended to help drive the growth of the Internet of Things, which has become a much bigger talking point over the years.
The company has already managed to gain a large amount of funding to further its research and development. In total, ten investors have been impressed enough to throw their money behind the company. This has led to Morse Micro gaining a figure of $33.6 Million as a result of this startup funding.
14. Gilmour Space Technologies
Year Founded: 2012
HQ: Pimpama, Australia
Size: 11–50
Founder(s): Adam Gilmour
Gilmour Space Technologies, true to the name, is a space travel and engineering startup that was founded in 2012 and is currently based in Pimpama. The company makes its money by designing and creating hybrid technologies for propulsion on satellite rockets. This helps to get them into space in a way that is more efficient and better for everyone on the planet.
The company has shown investors that they have the right stuff to take their company to the stratosphere and beyond. This is evidenced by the fact that a total of seven investors have pledged a total of 88 Million Australian Dollars to the company. This funding will drive the company into the next stage of its development.
15. Bionic Vision Technologies
Year Founded: 2010
HQ: Carlton South, Australia
Size: 1–10
Founder(s): Robert Klupacs
You can probably already tell what Bionic Vision Technologies does, just by its own name. This company was initially founded in 2010 and is currently based in Carlton South, Australia. The company creates and offers bionic vision solutions that help blind people to be able to see again. Of course, there is a lot of demand for a prosthetic of this nature and the world would be a better place if the company reaches massive success.
The company has already managed to receive a notable amount of startup funding to continue their research and the development of their “bionic eyes”. The company managed to convince a trio of serious investors to part with a collective $18 Million. If this money leads to significant breakthroughs, the company could shape up to be one of the most exciting startups in Australian history.
16. AgriWebb
Year Founded: 2013
HQ: Sydney, Australia
Size: 11–50
Founder(s): John Fargher, Justin Webb, Kevin Baum, Philip Chan
AgriWebb is an Australian startup that was founded in 2013 and is currently based in Sydney. The company provides a software platform that allows farmers to collect and analyze data about their farms. This benefits the farmers as they are able to make good decisions based on the data that has been collected.
The company has already managed to achieve a large amount of startup funding, with the company raising a total of $36.5 Million. This was achieved from a group of 11 investors and the company has even made an acquisition since being founded eight years ago.
17. Car Next Door
Year Founded: 2012
HQ: Pyrmont, Australia
Size: 101–250
Founder(s): Chloe Iliffe, David Trumbull, Will Davies
Car Next Door is an Australian startup that was founded in 2012 and is currently based in Pyrmont. The company makes itself known through its vehicle solutions. The company offers an online marketplace where users can book ride-sharing in a safe environment. This also includes the implementation of in-vehicle technologies to improve customer safety.
The company has managed to attract startup funding to increase the quality of its platform and business operations. In total, Car Next Door has managed to bring in a total of $17.3 Million in startup funding and this figure was achieved through the combined efforts of ten investors.
18. Tribe
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: South Melbourne, Australia
Size: 51–100
Founder(s): Jules Lund
Tribe is a brand marketing and e-commerce startup that was founded in 2015 and is currently based in South Melbourne. The company itself provides a platform where businesses can connect with influential people that can advertise for their brand. This also allows influential people to start earning money by advertising the brands that they already use and enjoy.
The company has made a strong start to life in its first half a decade of trading. As a result of this strong start, the company has managed to attract attention from investors. A total of four investors have put their money into the startup, with a grand total of $12.3 Million being raised for the company so far.
19. Immutable
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: Surrey Hills, Australia
Size: 51–100
Founder(s): James Ferguson, Robbie Ferguson
Immutable is an Australian startup that was founded in 2018 and is currently based in Surrey Hills. The company has created a blockchain infrastructure for the world of gaming, which is helping to capitalize on the growing market for in-game items. This is achieved by turning these in-game items into a form of NFT which can be built and sold in a similar way.
Despite the company’s seemingly niche market, there are already investors that have put their support behind the three-year-old business. In total, eight investors have decided to back Immutable and this has ended up netting the company a total of $17.4 Million in startup funding.
20. Fleet Space Technologies
Year Founded: 2015
HQ: Beverly, Australia
Size: 1–10
Founder(s): Flavia Tata Nardini, Matthew Pearson, Matthew Tetlow
Fleet Space Technologies is a startup that was founded in 2015 and is currently based in Beverly, Australia. The company itself, true to its name, is involved in space. Specifically, the company is focusing on its attempt to connect the Internet of Things across the use, through a network of low-cost satellites. This will turn, make the costs cheaper for people back on planet earth.
Investors seem to be agreeing with this assessment of the business, which is evident when you consider that seven investors have actually put their money into the company. These investors have managed to collectively pour $11.1 Million in funding into the company so that it can achieve its objectives.
21. Q-CTRL
Year Founded: 2017
HQ: Pyrmont, Australia
Size: 11–50
Founder(s): Michael Biercuk
Q-CTRL is a quantum computing startup that was founded in 2017 and is currently based in Pyrmont, Australia. They use their own knowledge in the field to create software that assists other companies and entities with finding practical applications for quantum computers. Their solution helps to make the process of actually using the computers much easier in addition to this.
Investors have been wowed in the short four years that the company has been trading. In total, there have been eight investors that have decided to put their trust into the business. In return for this trust, the business has managed to gain a figure of $15 Million in startup funding to improve its offerings.
Originally published at https://startupstash.com.
