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Welcome to another edition of π Startup Researcher - Oceania, your essential digest delivering the latest news and premium insights on startups and venture capital across the region π
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π° Important News
- Datagrid received full resource consent to build New Zealandβs first AI factory, a 280 MW hyperscale data center campus near Invercargill.
- OpenAI is hosting its inaugural Startups Week in Sydney from March 18 to 20, a series of events with partners like Square Peg and Relevance AI.
- Atlassian is cutting 1,600 jobs (about 10%) of its global workforce, to fund further investment in AI and enterprise sales.
- SCX.ai launched Australiaβs first sovereign AI node in Sydney, providing local, energy-efficient AI processing for enterprises and government agencies.
- Anthropic is opening its fourth Asia-Pacific office in Sydney, citing strong demand and heavy Claude usage in Australia and New Zealand.
πΈ Top Funding Rounds
- MGA Thermal secured A$17 million in funding to accelerate the commercial rollout of its innovative thermal energy storage technology.
- Mary Technology raised A$7 million for U.S. expansion and to enhance its platform to automate complex litigation data management.
- TMRW attracted A$7 million in seed funding led by Tidal Ventures to expand its personalized longevity programs and partner with TruDiagnostic.
- Female-founded contech startup Scopey Onsite landed A$850,000 in pre-seed funding from SFC Capital to expand its AI platform.
π°οΈ IPO and M&A Watch
- Sideline Sport acquired Streamer to expand its footprint in grassroots broadcasting, increasing annual coverage to 10,000 matches across Australia.
- Augmented-reality firm Blippar acquired Plattar, a prominent Australian 3D product configuration and AR commerce platform.
- Foresight acquired NZ Clean Energy, marking its entry into New Zealand's energy market with plans to invest over A$500 million in solar and battery projects.
π¦ About Investors
- PFG launched an A$250 million Australia and New Zealand Technology Credit Fund to provide non-dilutive growth debt to established tech scale-ups, enabling expansion while allowing founders to retain ownership.
- Co Ventures secured A$15 million for a new fund to back Australian pre-seed startups, led by Eucalyptus alumni, strengthening the local tech ecosystem with a founder-centric approach.
- The Australian Business Growth Fund made a multi-million dollar investment in NEXA to expand its digital queue management technology and improve frontline service access.
π Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week π
MGA Thermal
Founded in 2019 in Adelaide, MGA Thermal is developing a breakthrough solution for one of the hardest decarbonisation challenges: industrial heat. Led by Mark Croudace and Alexander Post, the company has created patented Miscibility Gap Alloy (MGA) Blocks that store renewable electricity as high-temperature thermal energy and release it as continuous industrial steam, providing a 24/7 alternative to fossil fuels. MGA Thermal recently secured A$17 million in funding led by IP Group Australia, with support from Main Sequence, bringing total funding to over A$50 million. As it scales manufacturing and commercial deployments, the startup aims to transform how heavy industry powers its operations with clean, reliable heat.
πΌ Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week π
Partners for Growth
Founded in 2004 in California by Andrew Kahn and Don Campbell, Partners for Growth has carved out a distinctive place as a private credit investor backing high-growth tech companies with founder-friendly, non-dilutive capital. Long aligned with Silicon Valley Bank and now led on the ground in Australia by President Jason Georgatos in Sydney, PFG has sharpened its ANZ push with a new A$250 million Australia and New Zealand Technology Credit Fund, after already deploying more than A$149 million into regional names such as Employment Hero and Deputy. Its edge lies in direct bilateral lending, local market presence and a sector-spanning focus across SaaS, fintech, healthtech, and e-commerce, positioning PFG as a bridge between global capital, and scaling innovators.
π€ Opportunities Expiring Soon
Amazon Nova AI Hackathon
- π’ Organizer: Amazon Web Services
- ποΈ Category: Hackathon, Award/Prize
- πͺ Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- π Focus Sectors: AI & Data
- π Application Deadline: March 17, 2026
Hack-Nation Global AI Hackathon
- π’ Organizer: Hack Nation
- ποΈ Category: Hackathon
- πͺ Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- π Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- π Application Deadline: March 21, 2026
Tupu Accelerator for MΔori Founders
- π’ Organizer: Tapuwae Roa
- ποΈ Category: Accelerator, Training & Learning
- πͺ Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed
- π Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- π Application Deadline: March 23, 2026
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