Participated · Equity · Oct 2021

Academy Xi provides highly practical, employment-focused online courses developed with industry practitioners and employers to help students build future-ready careers. Launched in 2016, the company says it has helped thousands of students gain work-ready skills in high-demand disciplines. The platform emphasizes social opportunities and close support while positioning learners to meet Australia’s reported ICT workforce shortfall. Management intends to use new funding to bolster growth through acquisition and strategic partnerships. The company highlights a portfolio of courses and sector-leading talent built over the past five years as the basis for significant expansion. Milford described the broader sector as worth more than $700 million and growing at about 8% annually. Academy Xi is a Sydney-based reality edutech startup. The article identifies the company as operating in the edutech sector. It recently closed a $1.7 million (AUD2.25 million) Series A financing. The Series A was led by Perle Ventures and Alium Capital. The article does not provide further details on the company's core products, future plans, or operating metrics.

Participated · Equity · May 2013

Vend offers a cloud-based, HTML5 retail POS that processes sales, tracks inventory and manages customers across devices and existing POS hardware; it also works offline. The product integrates with partners such as PayPal, Xero, Stitchlabs, Swarm and SelfPay and supports online platforms like Shopify. Vend powers over 10,000 stores in more than 100 countries. The company has expanded U.S. operations with hires from Intuit/Mint and established a North American support office in Toronto. Vend plans to use new funding to grow its North American market through new partnerships, reseller channels, staff and customers and to accelerate expansion in the U.K. and Europe. Prior financings include NZ$8 million in May 2013 and NZ$3 million raised across 2011–2012. Vend makes dongle-free point-of-sale software that integrates with existing hardware like printers, cash drawers, and barcode scanners. Its cloud-based platform is accessible on Macs, PCs, and iPads and lets businesses manage inventory, monitor and track sales, and view real-time reporting. Customers across fashion, sports, tourism, food and drink, and health and beauty pay a monthly subscription fee. Vend launched in 2010 and now powers payments in 6,500 stores across 100 countries. The company is based in Auckland, New Zealand. It has raised a total of just under $10 million after a new $6.5 million round to expand operations and develop the product.