Australian clean energy software startup Gridcog has raised US$10 million in a Series A funding round to scale its platform for modelling and optimizing decentralized energy projects across international markets.

The round was backed by a group of strategic energy investors, including ABB Electrification Ventures, AXPO Ventures, DNV Ventures and Verbund Ventures. Gridcog plans to use the capital to deepen its technology platform while expanding its commercial, customer and product teams across Australia, the UK and Europe.

The investment comes as renewable energy developers increasingly need software capable of modelling more complex combinations of generation, storage and energy consumption before committing capital to projects.

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Modelling Decentralized Clean Energy Projects

Gridcog develops techno-economic modelling and simulation software that helps companies design, analyze and optimize decentralized clean energy projects.

Its platform allows businesses and project developers to assess different energy configurations and understand their potential technical and financial performance. The technology is designed to replace complex spreadsheet-based modelling with faster analysis that can support investment and development decisions.

As renewable energy systems become more distributed and interconnected, project developers must evaluate increasingly complex combinations of technologies and operating conditions. Gridcog is positioning its software as an infrastructure layer for making those decisions earlier in the development process.

The company has already attracted customers across the energy and infrastructure sectors, including Shell, Greenvolt, Perth Airport, AGL and Ausnet Services.

Strategic Investors Back Gridcog’s Technology

The Series A brings Gridcog together with investors that have direct exposure to the global energy transition, giving the startup strategic industry relationships alongside new growth capital.

Kaare Helle, Head of DNV Ventures, said Gridcog can reduce modelling work that traditionally takes weeks using spreadsheets to hours of faster and more transparent analysis.

That reduction in modelling time can help developers assess project economics earlier, allowing them to identify potentially bankable projects and make investment decisions with greater visibility into expected outcomes.

The platform addresses a growing challenge in the energy sector as the focus moves beyond simply installing renewable generation toward managing increasingly complex energy systems.

Solar, wind, batteries and other distributed energy resources need to operate within systems shaped by changing electricity demand, market conditions and infrastructure constraints. Software capable of modelling those interactions can help businesses evaluate projects before deployment and optimize their design.

Scaling Across Australia, the UK and Europe

Gridcog will use the Series A capital to continue developing its platform, adding more advanced functionality and analytical capabilities as customer requirements become more complex.

The company will also expand its commercial and product operations across its major markets in Australia, the UK and Europe, strengthening its ability to support customers developing decentralized energy projects in different regulatory and market environments.

The participation of ABB Electrification Ventures, AXPO Ventures, DNV Ventures and Verbund Ventures also gives Gridcog connections to established companies operating across different parts of the global energy industry.

With the new funding, Gridcog is entering its next phase of growth with a focus on turning increasingly complex energy project data into faster technical and commercial decisions. Its expansion strategy will center on scaling that modelling infrastructure as investment in decentralized clean energy systems continues across its core international markets.

Australian AgTech startup Agscent has raised $3.5M in fresh funding to advance its livestock diagnostic technology, which analyses cattle breath to provide rapid insights into pregnancy, health and methane emissions.

The round attracted investment from Scale Investors and Tundra Capital, alongside family offices and agricultural investors. The financing values Agscent at approximately A$26.9 million, more than doubling the company’s valuation over the past 18 months.

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Turning NASA Technology Into Agricultural Diagnostics

Agscent’s technology has its origins in sensing research developed for NASA to monitor astronaut health and detect airborne hazards during space missions.

Founder Bronwyn Darlington licensed a patent covering the sensing technology and adapted it for agricultural applications, creating a platform capable of detecting biological and chemical signals in livestock breath.

The system functions as a type of “digital nose,” combining advanced sensors, biological signal analysis and artificial intelligence to identify specific chemical signatures.

This enables farmers to receive diagnostic information directly on the farm without relying entirely on traditional laboratory testing.

Detecting Cattle Pregnancy Earlier

One of Agscent’s key applications is pregnancy detection in cattle.

The technology can identify pregnancy as early as 18 days after insemination, compared with approximately 40 days using some conventional approaches.

Earlier detection can help farmers make reproductive management decisions sooner, potentially improving herd productivity and reducing the time and costs associated with identifying unsuccessful breeding attempts.

Agscent plans to use part of the new funding to strengthen the artificial intelligence capabilities behind these diagnostic systems.

Measuring Methane and Livestock Productivity

Beyond reproductive management, Agscent’s technology can analyse cattle breath to measure methane emissions and provide insights related to feed efficiency and animal productivity.

The methane-monitoring application has already generated commercial revenue for the company and could help livestock producers better understand both the economic and environmental performance of their herds.

By collecting information directly from animals, Agscent aims to provide farmers with faster data that can support decisions around productivity, sustainability and livestock management.

Testing the Technology in the United States

Agscent is conducting larger-scale validation programmes in the United States, including work with Dairy Farmers of America.

These programmes are designed to evaluate the technology across commercial farming environments and provide additional evidence of its effectiveness at scale.

The company plans to use its new capital to expand operations and further develop its AI-powered detection capabilities as it moves toward wider commercial adoption.

Expanding Beyond Agriculture

Mark Gustowski of Tundra Capital highlighted the potential for Agscent’s technology to move diagnostics that traditionally require laboratory testing directly to farms, allowing results to be obtained much faster.

The underlying sensing technology could eventually have applications beyond livestock management.

Its ability to identify specific chemical signatures in the air could potentially support areas such as industrial and environmental monitoring, creating additional opportunities for the technology outside agriculture.

With A$5 million in new funding, Agscent is now focused on strengthening its AI capabilities, validating its technology at scale and expanding a diagnostic platform designed to make livestock management faster, more data-driven and efficient.

AI-powered sales startup Enrola has raised US$2.1 million in Seed funding to expand its platform that helps consumer-facing businesses engage potential customers and convert leads into sales.

The round was led by Purpose Ventures, with participation from existing investors Antler, AfterWork Ventures, and Skalata.

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AI Agents for Consumer Sales

Founded in 2023 by Jo Thomas and Yvette Quinby, Enrola develops AI-powered sales agents designed for businesses selling higher-value products and services where customers typically require more information before making purchasing decisions.

The company’s AI agents communicate with potential customers through SMS, responding to inquiries within seconds and operating around the clock.

The agents can qualify leads, answer customer questions, address objections, schedule calls with sales teams, and, in some cases, complete sales directly through automated conversations.

Pivoting from Education to AI Sales Technology

The investment follows Enrola’s shift from its original education comparison platform toward developing AI-powered sales technology.

The company is targeting what CEO Jo Thomas describes as “high-consideration B2C” purchases, where customers generally spend more time researching, comparing options, and communicating with businesses before completing a transaction.

Enrola aims to help companies respond faster to these potential customers while reducing the amount of repetitive engagement handled manually by sales teams.

Preparing for the Future of AI Commerce

Thomas said consumer purchasing behavior is changing rapidly as AI becomes increasingly involved in how people discover, evaluate, and purchase products and services.

Enrola is developing its platform to support interactions across emerging buying environments, including future agent-to-human and agent-to-agent commerce, where personal AI assistants could interact directly with businesses’ AI sales systems.

Rather than focusing only on adding another communication channel, the company aims to build sales infrastructure that can adapt as consumer purchasing behavior evolves.

With the new Seed funding, Enrola plans to continue developing its AI agent technology and expand its platform for consumer-facing companies looking to automate customer engagement and improve sales conversion.