Local tech raisings down

Local startups and young technology companies registered a big decline in funds raised in the March quarter compared to December, according to the latest report from tech sector analysts Techboard.

Western Australian companies raised about $67 million in the period, down from $106 million in the previous quarter, taking its national share of funding from 14.6 per cent to only 6.9 per cent.

About 65 per cent of funding raised in WA came via the ASX, with the largest capital raising coming via a $20 million placement from recruitment tech firm Livehire.

Originating in WA, Livehire is now headquartered in Victoria, but retains a strong presence locally.

Medical dermatology company Botanix Pharmaceuticals also used the ASX to raise $15 million to develop its lead product for acne.

Also among the biggest funding deals in the quarter was an $8.6 million initial coin offering for cryptocurrency Bitcar, which allows coin holders to peer-to-peer trade fractions of luxury cars.

Crypto-focused National Currency eXchange raised $750,000 via a private round of funding, while HR company Schrole Group received a $50,000 grant.

All up there were 24 funding events in WA that were recorded by Techboard in the March quarter.

Nationally, $972 million was raised by startups and young technology companies in the quarter, up from $720 million in December.

NSW accounted for nearly three quarters of the national funding, with $728 million, while Victoria ($113 million) and South Australia ($48 million) also made significant contributions.

Techboard chief executive Peter van Bruchem said although the report revealed $972 million worth of funding, he was confident more than $1 billion was raised.

“We will have missed some funding events ... our capture of announced deals is not quite 100 per cent and the visibility of investments, particularly at the early stages is comparatively low which will in part be due to some investors and companies preferring for their raises to remain below the radar,” he said

“One of the challenges we face in working to provide the best funding data available is that much of that data is not published or disclosed.

“We have been working to improve our capture of funding events and increase the level of disclosure.”

He said the report took total funding tallied by the company to $2.4 billion for the current financial year.