L-R: Phonely founders Nisal Ranasinghe and Will Bodewes. Source: Y Combinator
Australian startups raising capital this week include a telehealth operator, an AI-powered receptionist for businesses and a fashion tech platform.
Keep reading to find out more about three local startups that together raised more than $21 million this week.
Updoc: $20 million
The Updoc team. Source: LinkedIn/ Updoc.
Telehealth startup Updoc has secured $20 million from ASX-listed capital fund Bailador Technology Investments in its first external investment.
Launched in 2021 by founders and co-CEOs Dylan Coyne and Clifton Hodgkinson, Updoc has served more than 200,000 customers to date via its digital platform that connects patients with registered health practitioners.
Patients can book appointments to access medical advice, online prescriptions, specialist and pathology referrals, and medical letters, either as standalone sessions or via a monthly subscription.
Updoc, which won the Rising Star award in the 2023 Deloitte Fast 50 with a growth rate of 15,924%, plans to use the funds to accelerate its product development and international expansion.
“Bailador shares our belief in the potential of our platform to support healthcare delivery, helping to lower costs and improve accessibility for
consumers,” said founders Coyne and Hodgkinson in a statement on Tuesday.
“This is just the beginning for Updoc.”
Phonely: $749,720
Phonely founders Will Bodewes and Nisal Ranasinghe. Source: Y Combinator
An artificial intelligence startup founded by two PhD students from the University of Melbourne has received US$500,000 ($749,720) in investment from Y Combinator, as part of the Silicon Valley accelerator’s Summer 2024 cohort.
According to Business News Australia, AI receptionist startup Phonely is one of fewer than 20 Australian startups to have gone through the prestigious Y Combinator program.
The startup was founded only eight months ago, in 2023, by Melbourne University researchers Will Bodewes and Nisal Ranasinghe, who wanted to find a way to help businesses provide accurate, technology-driven customer support over the phone.
On LinkedIn, Y Combinator described Phonely as a free “humanlike AI receptionist that can answer questions, schedule appointments, and transfer calls”.
The startup, which can reportedly answer up to one million phone calls at once in multiple languages, also recently won the People’s Choice Award at a Startup Victoria AI pitch event.
“At the end of the day, our goal is not to replace receptionists, but rather to allow businesses to provide better support to their customers and let all of us never have to be put on hold again,” Bodewes told Business News Australia.
Citizen Wolf: $381,894.80
Citizen Wolf store in Sydney. Source: Citizen Wolf.
Founded by Zoltan Csaki and Eric Phu, Sydney-based fashion label Citizen Wolf has raised more than $380,000 from 228 investors via equity crowdfunding platform Birchal.
The brand has previously raised over $1 million from 500 investors to supercharge its mission to “unf#ck the fashion industry” by making mass production obsolete. Citizen Wolf, a B Corp-certified brand, also regularly challenges and attempts to change the narrative around Black Friday by asking bargain-crazy shoppers to ignore the endless sales and participate in its ‘Black Fri-dye’ instead.
The brand has also introduced its new AI-powered Magic Fit tech which “guarantees perfect fit by creating your 3D digital twin online using only height, weight and age”, according to its Birchal campaign details.
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