☕️Ser(ai)l Venturers

Good morning.

Nothing lights the belly-fire quite like a freshly-exited founder en route to their next big thing, and Redactive co-founders are just that.

In news broken by Capital Brief, software group RecordPoint has just nabbed Blackbird-backed Redactive, the Melbourne-based security startup which helps companies manage new data threats posed by AI.

Redactive has raised $19 million in venture capital, including an $11.5 million seed round announced last year since it launched in September 2023. And while financial terms of the sale weren’t disclosed, it’s a good bet that co-founders Lucas Sargent, Andrew Pankevicius and Alexander Valente have a nice little egg to throw towards their next AI venture which is already in stealth.

“It’s a problem we are both really passionate about and we are well placed to solve given our experience building Redactive…In short, we think we’ve cracked it with a killer solution,” Valente said.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in Lynas Rare Earths led a rally in rare earths stocks ahead of Anthony Albanese’s meeting with Donald Trump in Washington.

The quick sync

• CBA will keep Matt Comyn in the top job for another three years, prompting mixed investor views on leadership stability and long-term succession. (Capital Brief)

• Barnaby Joyce’s potential move to One Nation signals the collapse of efforts to unseat David Littleproud as Nationals leader. (Capital Brief)

• Apple reported $12.96b in Aussie revenue driven by growth in services while facing growing pressure from Labor’s proposed digital competition regime. (Capital Brief)

• Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump ink minerals deal as AUKUS gains support and Kevin Rudd draws fire. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Infratil boosts Contact Energy stake to 14.3% in $387m mix of debt-and-equity deal. (Capital Brief)

• BofA to receive final bids for Westpac’s $30b RAMS loan book this week. (AFR)

• Insight Enterprises buys Aussie cybersecurity firm Sekuro, following CyberCX’s $1b sale to Accenture. (AFR)

• Qualitas’ Andrew Schwartz sells $53m in shares, keeps 19% stake and commitment to firm. (Capital Brief)

• Air T to acquire bankrupt airline Rex after 15 months in administration; most creditors unlikely to be repaid. (AFR)

• Gold Fields may buy BHP’s WA assets as the company sells nickel holdings amid record gold prices. (The Australian)

• US Antimony Company launches $723m takeover bid for NSW miner Larvotto as Albanese, Trump discuss critical minerals. (AFR)

• Betr finalises $41m buyback after losing PointsBet takeover to MIXI. (Capital Brief)

• Credit Clear expands to the UK via acquisition and launches a raise, with its chairman backing $8m. (AFR)

• The UK CMA says Getty Images’ $5.7b merger with Shutterstock could reduce competition and will face a phase 2 probe unless concerns are addressed. (Capital Brief)

• BGH Capital faces General Atlantic in the final bidding round for El Jannah’s $1b sale. (AFR)

• Argentina sealed a $20b swap deal with the US to boost reserves and economic stability ahead of midterms, amid a 30% peso slump. (Capital Brief)

• D2A Holdings sells 19% Shriro stake at 87¢ per share, above 70¢ open. (AFR)

• Document management firm RecordPoint has acquired Melbourne startup Redactive, which builds AI data governance tools for developers. (Capital Brief)

Capital Markets

• Zip lifts US growth target after 39% jump in Q1 TTV; doubles buyback cap to $100m amid strong earnings. (Capital Brief)

• Gorilla Gold Mines is seeking $30m via a 40¢-per-share raising to fund drilling at its Canadian and WA gold projects. (AFR)

• DroneShield posts record $92.9m revenue, names new CTO as demand for counter-drone tech surges. (Capital Brief)

• Perpetual lifts AUM to $232b, maintains plan to sell wealth unit despite earlier sale setbacks. (Capital Brief)

• Light & Wonder disappointed as court grants Aristocrat access to game math models in ongoing legal dispute. (Capital Brief)

• Bapcor shares drop 15% as $12m earnings hit and cost-cutting review unsettle investors. (Capital Brief)

• Neuren shares jump 9% as FDA grants fast track status to its PMS drug. (Capital Brief)

• Beach Energy shares climb on strong Q1 sales; $50m Hercules well failure dampens results. (Capital Brief)

• ASX launches consultation on tightening merger and dual listing rules after takeover backlash. (Capital Brief)

• Mesoblast shares rise as Ryoncil drives 69% net sales surge in Q1. (Capital Brief)

• OpenAI-backed report forecasts $142b AI boost for Australia; industry groups rally behind findings. (Capital Brief)

• Global asset managers, including Macquarie, Challenger, and GQG, may consolidate to boost growth and market share. (The Australian)

• AustralianSuper commits $1.1b to a new UK housing platform, aiming to become a top-five rental operator within five years. (Capital Brief)

• Apple made $12.9b in Australian revenue and paid $188m in tax, with local profit margins under 5%. (Capital Brief)

• Apple neared record highs after Loop Capital upgraded it to “buy,” citing surging iPhone 17 demand and growth through 2027. (Capital Brief)

• An AWS outage has taken down major apps like Snapchat, Canva, and Coinbase, disrupting services mainly in the US. (Capital Brief)

• Dateline Resources shares have jumped 12,000% in 2025 after Trump called its undeveloped Colosseum site America’s second rare earths mine. (AFR)

VC 

• Startmate launches Founder Streams, a new accelerator model offering tailored 12-week programs led by experienced founders from Canva, Microsoft, Leonardo.ai, and Google. (Startup Daily)

• Inaam founder Arjun Agarwal secures $500,000 pre-seed funding from Startup Bootcamp, Hatcher+, and family offices after a tough journey as a POC migrant founder in Australia. (Smart Company)

People moves

• EY’s Sam Walsh exits after completing REX sale. (AFR)

• Deep Yellow CEO John Borshoff resigns; CFO Craig Barnes to act as interim replacement. (Capital Brief)

• RBC Capital Markets hires Angus Buckley from E&P Capital to head tech coverage. (AFR)

• RBA names CBA’s Martin Thomas as new general counsel, starting 10 November. (Capital Brief)

• Top Australian industrial firms may see new chairmen due to retirements, health, and shareholder pressure. (The Australian)

• Sherry Duhe says Santos chairman Keith Spence forced her out days after she raised concerns about CEO Kevin Gallagher’s leadership style. (AFR)

The watercooler