Synthetic intelligence and automation have been the secret when it got here to startup funding offers this week, with 4 out of the 5 startups with new funding embracing AI in some type.
Hold studying to seek out out extra concerning the 5 native startups that collectively raised greater than $340 million, together with Firmus, which scored one of many greatest raises of 2025.
Firmus Applied sciences: $330 million
Main this week’s funding round-up is synthetic intelligence infrastructure firm Firmus Applied sciences, thanks to an enormous $330 million funding spherical backed by US chip large Nvidia.
As reported by SmartCompany, native investor Ellerston Capital additionally invested within the Singapore-based firm, which was based in 2019 by Australian entrepreneurs Oliver Curtis, Tim Rosenfield and Jonathan Levee and beforehand headquartered in Tasmania.
The funding provides Firmus a valuation of $1.9 billion, and sees it be a part of the choose group of personal Australian corporations which are valued above $1 billion.
The involvement of Nvidia, which has a market valuation of US$4.3 trillion and is probably the most worthwhile firm on the earth, is being seen as a coup for Firmus, which is planning to record publicly in 2026.
Firmus was additionally backed on this spherical by present buyers Phil King’s Regal Funds Administration, Archibald Capital and Tectonic Funding Administration, whereas Alex Waislitz and the Pratt household are additionally shareholders.
Firmus’ Tasmanian facility, named Challenge Southgate, will type a part of the state’s AI Manufacturing unit Zone, which was unveiled by the state authorities in June.
“AI Factories are purpose-built to energy, practice and inference synthetic intelligences,” stated co-founder Curtis in June.
“With Tasmania’s clear power and our AI Manufacturing unit platform, we consider this would be the most cost-effective, sustainable AI facility on the earth.”
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H3D: $5.8 million
H3D, an AI-powered 3D printing startup creating {custom} healthcare merchandise, has raised $5.8 million in a Sequence A.
H3D emerged from Swinburne College in 2018, its preliminary investor alongside Starfish Ventures.
Co-founder and CTO Dr Philip Kinsella developed the totally automated design know-how at Swinburne. It’s made the startup a world chief within the listening to sector, producing listening to aids, noise safety, and custom-fit earphones.
The Sequence A was led by Vital Ventures, the VC arm of Canberra’s Hindmarsh household, with assist from Swinburne and new investor Co:Act Capital.
H3D now has places of work in Australia, Denmark and Eire, and pioneered automated CAD (computer-aided design) know-how that allows listening to labs to course of lots of of complicated, custom-fit jobs in minutes.
The brand new funding will speed up the introduction of the tech into dental labs globally and construct on the startup’s industrial traction in listening to. A brand new, smartphone-based 3D scanning answer for custom-fit ear merchandise has additionally been developed for roll-out.
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Puralink: $2.3 million
Sydney-based startup Puralink has secured $2.3 million in pre-seed funding for its robotic ‘ferrets’ that may journey via pipes and detect leaks on their very own.
Based by Harrison Crowe-Maxwell, Shyeon Delnawaz and Lengthy Tran, Puralink is on a mission to remodel the way in which companies and different operators conduct pipe inspections.
Excessive-profile angel buyers have additionally backed the startup, together with Deputy co-founder Ashik Ahmed, 4 Pillars Gin co-founder Matt Jones, and former NBA participant Matthew Dellavedova.
Puralink beforehand raised $150,000 from two angel buyers in 2025 and took part in each Cicada’s Quick Begin program and the Startmate Accelerator.
The startup is at the moment taking pre-orders for its robotic ‘ferrets’, which have been designed to journey via, and examine, complicated pipe networks utilized in industries reminiscent of wastewater, storm water, power and mining.
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Escape This: $1.4 million
Escape room operator Escape This has secured $1.4 million from 357 buyers by way of an fairness crowdfunding marketing campaign.
The Perth-based enterprise used OnMarket for the marketing campaign, which attracted a mean dedication of greater than $4,000 per investor. This compares to the standard OnMarket common of $1,800.
Escape This operates 4 venues in Perth and Sydney, which have been visited by greater than 370,000 company so far.
The five-year-old enterprise recorded $6 million in income within the 2025 monetary 12 months, and round $1 million in internet revenue.
In an announcement Escape This stated it plans to make use of its new funding to increase into Melbourne and Brisbane.
Co-founder Bernie Janes stated the extent of curiosity from buyers exceeded the workforce’s expectations.
“It’s undoubtedly a troublesome crowdfunding market proper now, however buyers have recognised our robust enterprise mannequin and the wholesome returns we’re reaching, they usually have voted with their wallets,” he stated.
Isaacus: $700,000
Australia’s first foundational authorized AI startup Isaacus, which is constructing sovereign authorized AI fashions and instruments for authorized tech corporations, has raised $700,000 in pre-seed funding.
The spherical was co-led by Aura Ventures and Galileo Ventures, and the funding can be used to carry Isaacus to market with important buyer traction already underway.
Isaacus has developed a large, proprietary Blackstone Corpus (named after 18th-century English jurist), which covers legal guidelines, rules, instances, and different authorized knowledge from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Eire, the EU, and the United Nations.
Founder Umar Butler is a knowledge scientist and authorized technologist who was beforehand the assistant director of knowledge science on the federal Lawyer-Basic’s Division. He arrange the division’s knowledge science operate and oversaw all national-level AI tasks.
The founding workforce additionally contains advisor Anthony Butler and engineer Abdur-Rahman Butler.
Butler stated Isaacus is working to unravel each AI and knowledge ache level of the authorized tech trade, from retrieval capabilities past these of general-purpose fashions to offering entry to huge untapped, extremely proprietary authorized knowledge.
“Our mission is to assist the subsequent era of authorized service suppliers in democratising entry to authorized companies via the supply of best-in-class, sovereign, inexpensive foundational authorized AI fashions,” he stated.
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