This week’s funding round-up features one startup that is assisting transform customer service and another that wants to create it simpler for you to receive to the gym the next time you’re travelling.
Keep reading to learn more about Lorikeet and GymGoer.
Lorikeet: $54 million
Sydney-based startup Lorikeet has raised $54 million (US$35 million) in Series A funding, less than 12 months after publicly launching its universal AI agents for customer service.
The Series A round, which reportedly values Lorikeet at more than $200 million, was led by QED Investors, with participation from Square Peg, Blackbird, Airtree, Skip Capital, Capital 49ers, Operator Partners and Athletic Ventures.
It comes only six months after the startup raised $14.4 million (US$9 million) in February this year, and 10 months after it secured $9 million (US$5 million) in seed funding in October 2024.
The funding round also represents a milestone for the local startup ecosystem as Lorikeet is the first company since Canva to receive early-stage backing from Australia’s three leading VCs — Blackbird, Square Peg, and Airtree.
Lorikeet’s agents, or ‘concierges’, are utilized by several Australian unicorns, including Airwallex, Linktree and Eucalyptus, as the startup takes on global customer service giants Intercom, Zfinishesk, Decagon and Sierra.
The startup, which was founded by Steve Hind and Jamie Hall in 2023, states it has grown its revenue tenfold since October 2024. It is now planning to double down on R&D and its global go-to-market efforts throughout the rest of 2025.
In a statement provided to SmartCompany, Hind declared Lorikeet stands out from other customer service platforms becautilize its concierges focus on actually solving customer problems.
“Even if they’re wrapped up in ‘AI agent’ buzzwords, chatbots that recite self-serve FAQ steps are fundamentally unable to solve the types of issues customers have in the real world,” he declared.
“Customers don’t want to be notified how to resolve their problems. They want a concierge that actually solves them.”
According to Lorikeet, the company is able to undertake complex deployments, such as assisting customers replace lost and stolen debit cards, becautilize its approach to AI safety and operational guardrails utilizes granular permissions and dynamic gating.
“While others were picking the low-hanging fruit, we built a ladder,” added Hind.
“We decided from the start that we didn’t want to focus on FAQ summaries. We focutilized on working with companies in highly regulated sectors like financial services, healthcare, and energy in order to challenge ourselves to build a system able to take high-consequence actions in the toughest environments.”
GymGoer: $400,000
Former AFL player Ryan Clarke has raised $400,000 for his new startup GymGoer, which wants to create it simpler for athletes and everyday travellers to find single-day gym passes while on the go.
Clarke, who previously played for the Sydney Swans and North Melbourne, was inspired to create GymGoer while searching for gyms that he could utilize while travelling in Europe and America.
The GymGoer app allows utilizers to search and pay for temporary passes at nearby gyms and workout facilities that offer short-term access. The system allows utilizers to sign gym waivers within the app, while also avoiding any unnecessary long-term contracts.
Both utilizers and gyms can sign up to utilize the platform for free, with GymGoer taking commissions from each pass sold through the app.
Clarke developed GymGoer through the Hyper Startup Studio accelerator, which assists first-time founders build out app ideas.
The $400,000 in funding comes from a number of investors, including former Countest Road CEO Matt Keogh, and values the startup at $4.4 million.
GymGoer is expected to go live in the coming days and will initially tarreceive inbound travellers to Melbourne, before expanding to other East Coast markets.
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