Latest updates for ANZ sales professionals
Canberra defence tech startup Seitec closed $4 million led by ACTivate Capital to scale its passive sensing platform globally. The 2021-founded company sits at 11-20 employees and is expanding its commercial team. No revenue figures disclosed, typical for early-stage defence startups.
New joint committee will investigate AI adoption barriers in small business. Background data shows 65% of non-adopting SMEs distrust AI decision-making, 54% say it is not relevant, 19% do not know how to use it. For vendors: the blockers are implementation confidence and workflow fit, not price.
Seven ANZ startups closed funding deals totaling $111.5 million this week. Fintech Constantinople pulled $62.5 million, bringing total raise to $145 million in 24 months. The round puts them near unicorn valuation, but comp details and hiring plans remain undisclosed.
Gold Coast AI startup Bower closed $2M pre-seed led by TEN13. Four founders, 1-10 employees, no sales team yet. COO/CRO James Boysons running go-to-market. Early customers include Mount Sinai Hospital and Southern Cross University. Worth watching: enterprise software veterans building for scientists, not horizontal AI.
The ACCC executed a search warrant on WiseTech Global's offices today as part of an investigation into alleged Competition and Consumer Act breaches. The logistics software giant's shares fell 12% before recovering slightly. This is the second regulatory raid in 10 months for the $1.4 billion revenue company.
The Sydney-founded software company reported 31% cloud growth in Q4, reversing market doubts about AI impact. Revenue hit $1.77B, up 28%, with RPO surging 44%. The catch: margins guided down 11 points as AI inference costs hit the P&L.
Canva's internal valuation fell 20% to US$31B ($43.5B AUD) in its latest employee share grant, down from $38.9B a year ago. That is $11B wiped off the books. The drop comes as the company navigates AI cost pressures and volatile late-stage private markets, with IPO plans now looking less certain than they did 12 months ago.
Jason Lemkin's team cancelled Notion after seven years. No complaints, no support tickets, no competitor win. Their AI agent absorbed the product's last use case: running staff meetings. Usage went to zero before customer success could intervene.
Gold Coast AI receptionist startup Sophiie AI closed $5 million seed at $30 million valuation. Archangel Ventures, Admiralty Capital Group, Antler, Gandel Invest and Aussie Angels backed the round. Company is hiring for US market entry and product expansion.
Sydney travel-tech startup Visaible.ai closed $1 million seed (Blacksheep Capital) to help hotels track and fix how they appear in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI search tools. Founder Sam Rich is running sales solo with a team under 10 people. The play: protect hotel direct bookings as travelers shift from Google to AI assistants.
Jason Lemkin breaks down the three-part system that separates sales orgs where average reps hit quota from those where they close nothing. Product-market fit, tight process, and sales support are not optional. Missing any one and your hires from high-performing companies will fail.
Sydney's $42B design unicorn cut its 2026 growth forecast from 30% to 20%. The real story: customers are churning without switching to a competitor. AI agents are building creative workflows that never consider Canva at all. Worth noting for anyone selling product-led SaaS in the AI era.