Three Aussie startups that raised $18.75 million this week

This week saw Australian innovators raise capital to develop innovative cancer treatments, AI tools for infrastructure assessment, and waste concrete processing systems.

Keep reading to learn more about Skopos Bio, Trendspek, and R2Crete.

Precision oncology startup Skopos Bio has secured a $12 million seed round, helping it develop and test radioactive particles that target cancer cells.

The funding comes from big-name investors: Andrew Forrest’s Tenmile, John Wylie’s Tin Alley Ventures, and Yosemite, headed by Steve Jobs’ son Reed Jobs, collectively led the raise.

Skopos Bio was formed in 2024 by Professor Michael Hofman, Associate Professor Mohammad Haskali, and Associate Professor Luc Furic, who spun the venture out of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

The Melbourne startup is developing radiopharmaceuticals capable of targeting cancer cells that were previously only reachable by conventional drugs.

Earlier, Professor Hofman had advanced prostate cancer diagnosis and care by developing a “theranostic” approach, combining imaging with targeted radiation therapy.

Skopos Bio hopes its new treatment will cover a broader range of cancers, enabling oncologists to deliver radiation to cancer cells while minimising damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

The startup is eyeing human trials, with Tin Alley managing partner Tin Alley telling the Australian Financial Review: “We think that in relatively short order we can show that this technology works.”

Read more at the Australian Financial Review.

Infrastructure software startup Trendspek has raised $6 million at it looks to expand into North America and Europe and ramp up its AI analysis of asset condition.

The round was led by OIF Ventures. The Sydney scaleup last raised a $6.3 million Series A in December 2022.

The funding will support hiring, product development and customer support overseas, where Trendspek already works with Canada’s Suncor Energy and the Port of Rotterdam.

Founded in 2019 by former Qantas pilots Derek Feebrey, Fiona Church and Mitch Deam, Trendspek builds 3D condition records for infrastructure such as ports, energy facilities and telecommunications networks.

Its customers include Chevron, Woodside Energy, NSW Ports, Grain LNG and Vocus. Revenue from critical infrastructure customers has grown annually by 165% over the past three years.

More than 860 organisations use Trendspek to access over 1,700 sites digitally, with 128,000 virtual site visits completed. The platform tackles a problem anyone managing an ageing asset faces: identifying what needs attention, or can wait and whether repairs are working.

A University of Melbourne research spinout has raised a $750,000 pre-Seed to commercialise its concrete recycling technology and build a pilot plant.

The university’s Genesis Pre-Seed Fund and research commercialisation investor Uniseed backed R2Crete, for industry trials and help the startup develop commercial partnerships.

R2Crete’s patented process turns waste concrete into clean aggregates and a cement replacement for use in new concrete. That reducing the need for virgin materials such as sand, gravel and limestone.

Melbourne uni senior lecturer Dr Tuan Nguyen, developed the research on the process, cofounding R2Crete with MD Warren Overton and Professor Mahdi Miri Disfani.

They claim the process can recover up to 75% of the cement in waste concrete and deliver a 50% reduction in carbon emissions while maintaining the performance of conventional concrete.

The pilot plant will provide the next test of those claims at commercial scale, including whether the materials can be produced reliably and cost effectively.

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