Participated · Seed · Jun 2026

Ovum operates an AI-powered women’s health platform that captures both qualitative and quantitative health information to create longitudinal records of users’ clinical context. The company reports it has collected more than 60,000 health insights and facilitated over 113,000 AI health conversations, with users aged 15–84 tracking conditions from migraines and ADHD to PCOS, endometriosis and menopause. Ovum generates revenue through subscriptions and enterprise partnerships and has signed pilots and partnerships with organisations including Medibank, Fernwood Fitness, Sweat, Menopause Friendly Australia and Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. The startup has launched clinical trials with St George Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Women to assess AI as a preventative health tool for women. Ovum says 83% of its users have opted in to share anonymised data for research, and the company emphasises it will never sell user data and will only use data with explicit consent. Founded by Dr Ariella Heffernan-Marks in 2022, Ovum is positioning its dataset as a commercial research asset while stressing privacy, consent and clinical integrity.

Led · Seed · Feb 2026

Teacher's Buddy provides educators with automated tools that generate customised lesson plans, student assessments and report-writing drafts, aiming to cut workload and reduce burnout. Founded by Auckland advertising veteran Matt Abraham and Melbourne-based Ben Sze, the service is offered as a free basic product with a Pro tier priced at $155 per year and bespoke packages for schools. In its first 18 months, the platform has attracted 12,000 teachers across 130 countries, demonstrating early global traction. The startup currently employs 10 staff out of Melbourne and is finalising an upgraded version of its platform that the founders say will significantly extend functionality for teachers, schools and students. Although still in a very early commercial phase, the company recently secured new funding at a $12.7 million valuation, underscoring investor confidence. Teacher's Buddy differentiates itself from generic AI tools like ChatGPT by offering domain-specific, pre-tested prompts and templates tailored to educational tasks. Management emphasises that the forthcoming product enhancements will “amplify” the existing feature set and drive broader adoption.

Participated · Series A · Jan 2026

SPEC Toolbox is a Melbourne-based construction engineering platform founded in 2023 by structural engineers Adam Jones and Ringo Thomas. Originally launched as CLT Toolbox to serve the cross-laminated timber niche, the company rebranded after discovering similar design bottlenecks across a wider range of modern manufactured materials. Its cloud software automates complex engineering calculations, helping designers more easily specify affordable and sustainable materials in building projects. The product has attracted more than 6,000 user sign-ups and 35 product suppliers and has already expanded its footprint into Europe, the UK, and North America. CEO Adam Jones says the new capital will accelerate the product roadmap, onboard additional suppliers, and deepen technical infrastructure. To date, SPEC has raised multiple rounds, including a $1.5 million Seed round in October 2023 and a $1 million bridge round in 2024, prior to the current pre-Series A fundraise.

Participated · Seed · Aug 2024

Great Wrap makes fully compostable machine pallet wrap (and previously sold a consumer compostable cling wrap) certified by the Australasian Bioplastics Association. Its wrap is made from compostable biopolymers and plant-based oils, delivers up to 250% pre-stretch, and is denser and stronger than traditional wrap so customers can reduce thickness. The company is B‑Corp certified and has shifted focus from a consumer subscription service to B2B, targeting pallet-wrap waste in supply chains. Great Wrap recently scaled production by moving from the Mornington Peninsula to a larger facility in Tullamarine after a prior funding round. It has partnered with Opal ANZ to add its compostable pallet wrap to Opal Packaging Plus and to leverage Opal’s distribution. The business aims to produce 5,000 tonnes of certified compostable machine pallet wrap as part of efforts to divert traditional plastic from landfills. Great Wrap produces a range of compostable stretch wraps — Cling Wrap, Catering Wrap and Pallet Wrap — made from potato processing waste and a PHA biopolymer. The company first commercialised its wrap in 2020 and moved into its first facility in 2021. After closing a $24 million funding package, Great Wrap expanded into a new 12,000 sqm Tullamarine facility with capacity to manufacture 30,000 tonnes of compostable stretch wrap by the end of 2023. Phase two plans include commissioning an on-site biorefinery to produce PHA from local potato waste, expected in 2023, with capacity to upcycle nearly 50,000 tonnes of waste annually. The expansion is expected to create about 100 jobs in Victoria. Great Wrap is pursuing vertical integration to source local waste from a major potato processor and is working on collection solutions with Australian industrial composting facilities for pallet wrap end-of-life. Co-founders Jordy and Julia Kay say the equity raise will support product growth, team expansion, R&D and international market launches.

Participated · Equity · Apr 2023

Modo builds a digital card-deck app that applies evidence-based cognitive techniques to help users capture and process thoughts, practice inhibitory control, complete tasks, and reduce mental clutter. Core features include cognitive offloading, targeted prompts, self-reflection, abstraction laddering, inhibitory-control nudges, and task-completion prompts designed to improve focus and clarity. Modo’s research highlights demand among people who identify as overachievers or neurodivergent and emphasises tailoring the product to those groups’ needs. The company plans to launch an individual subscription product in early 2024 and will open a select early-access group by the end of the year; it expects employer demand to follow. Modo has raised $800,000 to fund the launch and pre-product growth. The founding team includes former leaders from Culture Amp and Linktree and a chief science officer from Deakin University, and the company is based in Naarm (Melbourne, Australia).