Skalata

When a production line stops, money evaporates. Fast. 💸  In factories mass-producing FMCGs, out-of-commission conveyor belts or faulty fans can cost up to $100k an hour. That's a lot of Tim Tams. 🍫 Unplanned downtime in production plants costs the Fortune 500 roughly US$1.5 trillion (with a T) a year. If there ever was an expensive problem in a massive market… this is it. Founded by Jean-Philippe Picard and Tim Cheung, Factory AI combines AI with operational and sensor data to predict when critical machines will fail, estimate their remaining lifespan, and recommend optimal maintenance times. Factory’s mode of ‘fixing before failure’ is already saving Aussie icons like Arnott's and Bega hundreds of thousands in lost manufacturing time. And they’ve even caught the eye of Amazon… More on why we invested 👇

✍️ 27 investments 🤝 16 new portfolio companies 💰 $6.6m invested 📈 $15.5m raised by our portfolio 🇦🇺 2 State Governments invested in our vision 🍾 2 successful exits See the full story of our biggest year yet... 🙌 Alex Barnes, Alex Rixon-Booth, Andy Evans, Ashley Baxter, Cameron Moore, Chenyan Mao, Dominic Lindsay, Edward Sedgley, Himal Randeniya, Huey Le, Hugh Dixson, Jean-Philippe Picard, Jessie Wu, Jo Thomas, Joanne (Jo) Sabena, Joel Anderson, Josh Algie, Kyle Young, Lachlan McBride White, Lulu Wang, Mantas A., Mareile Osthus, Mathieu Jamet, Matt Bauer, Michael Koopman, Nicholas Hunt, Nilu Kulasingham, Peter Treloar, Preet A Singh, Raman Singh, Renee Currie, Rodrigo Garcia-Mulder, Sean Miller, Sean Law, Sebastian B. Mueller, Tanmay Patel, Tim Cheung, Tom Dempster, Will S Russell, Yvette Quinby

I’m excited to share that Skalata has been allocated $5M through the Government of Western Australia's new $45M Venture Capital Initiative. Over the last few years, and countless trips, we’ve noticed a step-change in the level of entrepreneurial and investment activity which we believe is only going to grow ever more quickly. We’re already proudly backing exceptional WA founders like Kevin Mitchem at CO-architecture, Zac Farrow and Willem Poot at Omni Biotech, and Yvette Quinby at Enrola and are very much looking forward to backing several more over the coming years. I’d also like to extend my thanks to all the people in WA that have supported Skalata over the last few years - we are incredibly grateful for your support and are looking forward to working more closely with you into the future.  Thanks also to Premier Roger Cook, Minister Stephen Dawson for their vision in establishing this initiative. Congratulations to all involved in West Tech Fest which is now clearly the largest technology festival in the country. Congratulations also to fellow recipients Derek Gerrard and Kylie Gerrard (Purpose Ventures), Artesian (Alternative Investments), Melt Ventures, Health Translation Group Limited, Glenn Butcher and FundWA and Brandon Capital. A special thank you to Peter Rossdeutscher AM, John Poynton, Paula Taylor, Paul Fitzpatrick, Nikki Fitzpatrick, Charlie Gunningham, Danelle Cross, Kali Norman, Billy Meston, Maya Kavanagh, Rohan McDougall, Eduard Haegel, Jason Balchand, Tim Wall, Samantha Tough, Sonja Montague MacKay, Jeff Elliott, John Barrington AM, Adam Santa Maria, Jane Den Hollander AO, Brad Cuff and there are so many more!

Remember that time your manager made everyone take a personality test, and suddenly Janet from accounting was a yellow dolphin with eagle tendencies? 🦅 Companies spend $4.3B annually on personality tests that have the scientific rigour of a BuzzFeed quiz. Then they file them away, never to be seen again. 🗄️ TALY is changing that. Using real behavioural science (not horoscopes), their AI coach shows managers exactly how each team member processes feedback, where personalities might clash, and how to handle tough conversations. We're so convinced, we're planning to use it for our own DD process… More on why we’re backing the talented Peter Treloar and TALY Australia to make personality data actually useful. 👇 Soon-Ee Cheah, Luke Downey, Russ Bennett, James Leathem, Bianca La Serra, Steve Mast, David Phillips 👏

⭐ MORE SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENTS ⭐ Want to learn from the best of the best? Check out our newest speakers 📣🎤 WEST TECH MAIN | Thurs 5 Dec - Maxine Minter, General Partner at Co Ventures - Rohan W. Partner at Skalata Ventures - Emily Rich, Co-founder of M8 Ventures Purchase your tickets today via https://lnkd.in/gX9cUD3w #WestTechFest #Techwa #techaus #innovationwa #innovation #startup #businessnews Rohan McDougall Larry Lopez Bill Tai Paula Taylor

Remember the term “impulse buying”? 💸 Not in this economy. Buyers are cautious, and prepared to spend hours researching before they pull the trigger. And although 80% of Aussies are now shopping on mobile, squinting at product photos isn't exactly confidence-inspiring... Enter Viewa. From sofas 🛋️ to swimming pools 🏊, Viewa uses 3D, AR and AI tech to bring products to life in your actual space. It can literally “read the room”, scanning for colour palette, fixtures, and other furniture, then making suggestions for users to drop in and compare. Imagine an interior designer who can save you from yourself - before that expensive armchair and your old IKEA bookcase have to awkwardly coexist forever. We’re delighted to back Edward Sedgley and Kyle Young as they turn our phones into the world's smartest showroom. More on why we invested in Viewa’s vision via the link in comments 👇

We have ONE-HUNDRED-AND-SEVENTY-FIVE 1.1 sessions for #InvestFest next week!💥Our BIGGEST 1:1 schedule to date with 25 VCs and 75 Founders coming here to Cohort Innovation Space. Here's another #InvestorDrop to hype you up😎 #GoldCoast #InvestFest #Startups Dren Xërxa Georgia Wyllie Ben Howe Ariana Margetts Cassandra Birbas Janine McQueen

What does 96% of the Fortune 100 have in common? They all use 2PL or 3PL (second or third-party logistics) on a daily basis. Global logistics is the Ops department for world trade, and the industry is worth a cool $9.4 tril. 💰 But the workforce is shrinking, staff costs are rising, and horrible conditions are taking the fulfilment out of fulfilment centres (looking at you, Jeff 😏). Automation’s the answer, but bipedal sorting robots still cost $250,000 a pop. (And with “backwards legs” like Amazon’s “Digit”, inspired by the way grasshoppers crouch 🤢, they’re also pretty unsettling.) Nexobot Pty Ltd is helping small warehouses compete with the multi-million-dollar robotic systems being deployed by incumbents like Amazon, using 3D printing, “micro-fulfilment” solutions, and local Aussie manufacturing. We’re stoked to be working with founders Dominic Lindsay and Nicholas Hunt to sort out local logistics. 📦 More on why we’ve invested via the link in comments 👇

A massive congratulations to Ken Brand, Assaf Stizki and the whole Restoke.ai team on this major milestone. I'm re-stoked you are finally getting recognised publicly for all the amazing work I've had the privilege of seeing you do behind closed doors over the past 3 years. A big thank you to Andrew Poesaste and Rampersand for leading this round and joining the Restoke journey with Skalata. Thank you to all other incoming and existing supporters. Paul Naphtali Timothy Hui Mandalay Venture Partners Ben Armstrong Archangel Ventures Rohan W. Rob Greco

Join us next week for our "Navigating the Funding Landscape" webinar, where Matt Vitale, Tom Smalley, Maxine Minter, and LUNA's very own Josh Sharma will provide insight into the state of the funding ecosystem in 2024 and what it means for startups. We'll be discussing: ✍️ State of the funding ecosystem in 2024 ✅ Top tips for startups looking to secure investment 🔎 What to expect in 2025 You won't want to miss this one. Register now: https://lnkd.in/gqsNiT9q Birchal Skalata Co Ventures