Heading into a Golden Era of Startups & VC
Rampersand's 2024 Year in Review
As we close the books in 2024, we can feel the energy in the Australian startup ecosystem returning after a tough couple of years. The resilience, experience and ambition of Australian founders (and their teams) are unprecedented in this ecosystem, which bodes well for the year(s) ahead.
Our team members spent time this year in several of the leading startup ecosystems in the world, including Tel Aviv, Silicon Valley and New York. They returned to Aus buoyed by the relative quality of what is being grown here. Everyone in the ecosystem here should be proud of what’s been achieved over the past decade, particularly over the past couple of years since the market tightened (to put it mildly). While corrections can be harsh, and there may well be pain still ahead for some, this is also the nature of startup land. In a war of best ideas and best execution, not everyone can win. And, as Indigenous land management has known for centuries, the regrowth from forest fires leaves the land more fertile with much stronger growing conditions.
Looking back at some of the activities and achievements from the Rampersand team and portfolio companies, we see that the green shots are certainly flourishing.
New Investments: Betting on Bold Innovation
During a really active year of investing, we announced three new seed-stage additions to the portfolio, bringing AI to enhance and disrupt massive industries, including recruitment, advertising and hospitality.
Cuttable: 10x-ing the creative and production power of creative people:
The team is already supercharging the advertising and marketing teams at Catch of the Day, Penfold’s, Nandos, and Medibank. With a proven leadership team, including unicorn founder Sam Kroonenberg, Cuttable’s solution boosts productivity, has strong market demand, and offers scalable growth with high ROI for brands.
Hatch: Meaningful jobs for young professionals:
The experienced leadership team has developed a laser-like focus on the young professional (or Gen Z) job-hunter market. This focus has positioned Hatch with the advantage of capturing the largest job-seeker category in the market, which is now outstripping its competitors for job searches in Sydney and Melbourne.
Restoke.ai: Increased profits for every restaurant owner:
They raised over $5 million in 2024 and have expanded to the US. The team size has more than doubled from 9 to 19, and their restaurant intelligence platform is utilised by more than 1000 restaurants across the globe.
Global Recognition, Innovation and Expansion
Rampersand-backed companies continue to lead, inspire, and win new markets, delighting thousands of customers and making a genuine impact worldwide. These companies, which often had nothing more than a sharp idea and a prototype when we first invested, now generate hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue and have created thousands of jobs.
To point out just a few of the accolades from an eventful year:
AmazingCo saw its 400,000th customer book an experience on the platform and soared past $100M in transaction value.
Cake Equity won an AFR FinTech Award for Excellence in Establishing Global Market Presence.
Goterra opened its state-of-the-art facility in Sydney, processing millions of tonnes of organic waste (and diverting it from landfills). Goterra also expanded into large-scale hospitality via hotel chains, won Startup Daily’s Most Innovative Startup of the Year, and its sustainability efforts caught the eye of Hon. Ed Husic, Minister for Industry and Science, among others.
JigSpace was highlighted by Tim Cook during the Apple Vision Pro launch, and they expanded to the US and became a finalist in the Apple App Store’s “App of the Year” Awards.
Orkestra was recognised as a growth champion at the AFR Energy Awards.
Quantum Brilliance won a German government contract to develop the world’s first quantum computer by 2027, solidifying its Series A funding with investors from the US, Japan, and Australian sovereign wealth funds.
Spaceship was acquired by investment juggernaut eToro and has opened up massive opportunities as it joins the global platform.
Surreal, JigSpace, and Sapia were named in the Australian Business Review’s Top 100 Innovators for 2024.
Looking Ahead: Trends That Excite Us for 2025
We’re so impressed by many notable companies' hard work and achievements this year…but that’s enough looking in the rearview mirror.
Let’s look forward at a few reasons why we think 2025 could kick start a transformational decade (or more) of opportunity with some trends from the Rampersand investment team:
AI in production will deliver tangible impact: AI will move beyond prototypes and demos to be widely used, providing accurate business results and improving efficiency in many industries.
Vertical software will revolutionise niche industries: Entirely new software categories will emerge, transforming traditional sectors like healthcare, education, financial services, and professional services with targeted innovative solutions.
Vertical AI Solutions tailored for SMEs, such as Restoke, will unlock unprecedented productivity levels, making tools previously viable only for large enterprises accessible to smaller businesses.
Agentic AI platforms will redefine user interaction: The era of agent-driven AI platforms will create new user interfaces, offering more intuitive and personalised experiences powered by next-gen AI agents.
The billboards of the future will reshape customer engagement: Customer outreach will pivot to algorithm-driven video platforms, out-of-home additions such as in-car screens, and AI-enhanced SEO.
Tech-Enhanced Experiences Will Become a Standard: The expectation for flawless, delightful customer experiences will continue to drive innovation in consumer-facing and B2B interactions, raising the bar for every industry.
Beyond 2025…
As we look forward to 2025, the Australian startup ecosystem is well-placed. We have a decade of startup and VC success, which has helped create an unprecedentedly strong talent, capital, and innovation pipeline.
For Rampersand, our mission hasn’t changed, and we are just getting started. We will continue to partner with exceptional founders who dare to dream big, have the know-how and drive to execute, and strive to be the most valuable investor in early-stage companies.
The future is bright. The opportunity is vast. We are excited to be at the forefront of shaping the next golden era for startups.