Latest updates for ANZ sales professionals
Melbourne IT integration startup Support Fusion closed a $1M pre-seed round led by Func Ventures and Exhort Ventures. The company is hiring go-to-market, partnerships, and customer success roles across Australia and the US. No comp details disclosed yet.
Stela Solar takes over as CEO of Stone & Chalk, ANZ's largest startup accelerator. Solar spent 20+ years in AI solution sales at Microsoft, Accenture, and CSIRO. Signals shift toward AI strategy and corporate partnerships.
Eight ANZ startups raised $373.3M this week, led by NZ agtech Halter's $314M Series E at $2.9B valuation. Silicon Quantum Computing added $60M, Cauldron closed $35M Series A. Worth noting: these are deep tech and agtech plays, not sales software. Limited hiring data disclosed, but Halter's expansion into Australia signals potential AE and AM roles as they scale territory coverage.
The tech goes live in days. The training that makes it work takes 60 focused days. Most companies skip the training, then wonder why it failed. SaaStr breaks down the actual timeline: foundation work in weeks 1-2, optimization in weeks 3-4, ongoing maintenance after day 60.
Canva acquired Melbourne adtech startup Doohly for $30M, adding digital out-of-home advertising to its design platform. The deal marks Canva's sixth acquisition in two years and positions it to manage client branding from design through to in-store and outdoor advertising execution.
Teresa Anania, former SVP Customer Experience at Sophos (now CCO at Verint), breaks down how the cybersecurity firm manages customer success across 600,000 accounts when cyber threats evolve in hours, not days. The reality: by the time a support ticket lands, you have already lost the customer.
Cauldron Ferm closed $13.25M led by Main Sequence Ventures to scale hyper-fermentation tech in regional NSW. The 2022-founded biotech runs a 30,000-litre facility in Orange but hasn't disclosed sales team size, structure, or hiring plans. Worth noting for biotech sales professionals: no CRO, VP Sales, or revenue numbers public despite $19.5M total raised.
Kim Teo's hospitality tech merger absorbed heavy integration costs in year one, with losses that had skeptics calling it. The company is now profitable, processing $2 billion annually across 6,000+ venues. Here is what it took to survive the messy middle.
New Zealand agtech Halter closed a $314.4 million Series E led by Founders Fund, nearly tripling its valuation to $2.9 billion in under 12 months. The company, which makes GPS-enabled cattle collars, now employs over 300 people across NZ, Australia, and the US, with expansion into the UK and Ireland planned.
Lee Hickin, National AI Centre exec director, says Australia should focus on AI applications in data-rich sectors like agriculture and healthcare, not competing on frontier models. Worth noting for sales teams: enterprise AI adoption is already at 68%, but the play is sector-specific tools, not generic platforms.
Sydney brothers Daniel and Will Roberts steered IREN from near-collapse (down 95% in 2022 crypto crash) to $17B market cap by pivoting from Bitcoin mining to AI data centres. The Nasdaq-listed company is hiring across commercial roles as it scales operations backed by renewable energy infrastructure.
The trust objection to AI account executives assumes buyers prefer human relationships. Reality: most B2B deals happen with strangers on Zoom who know 20% of the product. AI AEs answer every question accurately, no quota pressure, no overpromising. SaaStr data shows higher close rates when the AI is well-trained.