In 2025, the Australian tech startup ecosystem saw a surge in exit activity. More startups were being acquired, raising large investment rounds, or even listing on the ASX. This marks a shift after a relatively quiet 2023–24, signalling renewed investor confidence and providing founders and VCs with viable exit opportunities. Below we compile a detailed list of notable tech startup exits in Australia during 2025 – focusing on SaaS and app-based companies (both B2B and B2C) – including confirmed acquisitions and anticipated IPOs by year’s end. Each entry details the startup’s name, industry category, description, exit type, acquirer or exchange, date (or expected date), deal size (if available), and the strategic rationale behind the exit.
Major Acquisition Exits in 2025
The following Australian-founded or Australia-based tech startups (mostly SaaS or app platforms) were acquired in 2025, providing full exit outcomes for founders and investors:
Local Measure – Customer Experience (CCaaS) SaaS.
Description: Sydney-based provider of cloud contact-centre and customer experience software (voice and AI-driven, integrated with AWS Connect). Exit Type: Acquisition by U.S. customer service giant Zendesk (announced Feb 2025, completed May 20, 2025).
Deal Size: ~A$100 million valuation. Strategic Reason: Zendesk acquired Local Measure to strengthen its AI-powered voice and contact-centre capabilities and expand into high-volume service environments via Local Measure’s Amazon Connect integration. This gave Zendesk a scalable CCaaS solution, fast-tracking its ability to deliver integrated voice support within its platform.
SelfWealth – Fintech (Online Brokerage).
Description: Melbourne-based online stock trading platform for retail investors (one of Australia’s popular fintech brokerage startups). Exit Type: Acquisition (takeover) by Singapore’s Syfe. Syfe agreed to buy 100% of ASX-listed SelfWealth via a scheme of arrangement, completed May 7, 2025.
Deal Size: A$65 million cash. Strategic Reason: The acquisition gives Syfe an established Australian user base (~150k investors) and a trusted local brand, accelerating Syfe’s expansion in Australia. SelfWealth was delisted and rebranded “SelfWealth by Syfe,” combining SelfWealth’s platform with Syfe’s tech-driven wealth services.
MagicBrief – AdTech/Marketing SaaS (AI-Powered).
Description: Sydney-based startup offering an AI-driven creative analytics platform that helps marketers analyse advertising performance and build data-backed briefs. Exit Type: Acquisition by design unicorn Canva (announced at Cannes in June 2025).
Deal Size: A$22.5 million (approx).
Strategic Reason: Canva purchased MagicBrief to enhance its offerings for marketing teams by integrating performance insights with content creation. Canva’s COO noted that in today’s environment, content creation needs analytics on “what’s working, why, and how to improve” – MagicBrief’s tools provide that intelligence. The acquisition “strengthens key areas” Canva was investing in (marketing and AI analytics), enabling a “faster, smarter way to create winning content” for users.
EntryLevel – EdTech (Upskilling Platform).
Description: A Sydney-based online education platform (founded 2020) that offers affordable, AI-powered job skills courses and reskilling programs to over 230,000 users.
Exit Type: Acquisition by Melbourne edtech HEX (an “innovation & future-of-work” education startup). The deal was announced in January 2025 for an undisclosed sum.
Strategic Reason: The merger of EntryLevel with HEX allows the combined company to deliver more comprehensive skills-training experiences by blending EntryLevel’s scalable, AI-driven course platform with HEX’s global entrepreneurship and employability programs. It expands their reach and product range, aiming to close the “global employability gap” together.
Nucanon (formerly Stori) – AI/Interactive Entertainment.
Description: A Sydney-based startup specialising in AI-generated interactive storytelling (content generation platform for story-based games).
Exit Type: Acquisition by India’s gaming unicorn Zupee (November 2025). Deal Size: ~A$5 million (reported).
Strategic Reason: Zupee acquired Nucanon to launch a new AI-driven interactive story entertainment vertical as part of its pivot beyond real-money gaming. After regulatory changes in India curtailed cash-based games, Zupee is betting on story-based gaming; Nucanon’s tech and team (which relocated to India) will help Zupee build “the world’s most advanced platform for interactive story entertainment”. The deal effectively marries an Australia-born AI startup with an Indian gaming platform to engage users with narrative-driven experiences.
Neighbourlytics – PropTech/Data Analytics. Description: Melbourne-based data analytics platform (founded 2017) that provides real-time insights into local communities – e.g. foot traffic, lifestyle patterns, and “social fabric” data about neighbourhoods.
Exit Type: Acquisition by ASX-listed REA Group (owner of realestate.com.au) in November 2025.
Deal Size: Not disclosed (the startup had raised ~$1.3M prior). Strategic Reason: REA Group bought Neighbourlytics to deepen the community and lifestyle data available on its property listing platforms. The idea is that “Australians don’t just buy a property, they buy into a community and a lifestyle,” and Neighbourlytics’ data will help home buyers understand local areas (amenities, trends, personalities) around a listing. The acquisition lets REA integrate rich neighbourhood insights into realestate.com.au, enhancing decision-making for property seekers.
WorkSafe Guardian – Safety/Enterprise App.
Description: An Adelaide-based SaaS company providing a lone-worker safety smartphone app (for employees to send immediate duress alerts, etc.).
Exit Type: Acquisition by UK risk-management software firm Ideagen (October 2025). Deal Size: Not disclosed.
Strategic Reason: For Ideagen, adding WorkSafe Guardian expands its suite of workplace safety and risk solutions with a mobile-first offering. The acquisition delivered an exit for Adelaide’s VC firm Eastend Ventures (which had invested in WorkSafe Guardian three years prior). By joining Ideagen, WorkSafe Guardian can scale its safety app globally as part of a broader compliance platform, while Ideagen gains technology to protect lone workers in real time.
Redactive AI – Cybersecurity (Data Security SaaS).
Description: A Melbourne-based data security engineering startup (founded in 2023 by ex-Atlassian engineers) focusing on AI-driven data protection for cloud services.
Exit Type: Acquisition by Sydney-headquartered data management company RecordPoint (October 2025). Deal Size: Undisclosed (RecordPoint is a growth-stage firm with pan-Pacific presence).
Strategic Reason: Despite being only two years old, Redactive AI found a strategic fit with RecordPoint, which was building out intelligent records management and compliance offerings. The acquisition allowed RecordPoint to incorporate AI-powered security capabilities into its platform, while giving Redactive’s founders a rapid exit. It underscores strong demand for AI/security talent – an example of “ex-Atlassians scoring an exit…after just two years” in operation.
Fingertip – SaaS (Digital Landing Pages).
Description: A Melbourne-based startup offering a link-in-bio and digital landing page platform (a competitor to Linktree) launched in 2024. It had backing from prominent Aussie entrepreneurs (Gabby and Hezi Leibovich).
Exit Type: Acquisition by Linktree (Australia’s global leader in bio-link pages) in November 2025.
Deal Size: Undisclosed (small acqui-hire type deal). Strategic Reason: After trying to challenge the incumbent, Fingertip ultimately “joined them.” Linktree acquired its upstart rival essentially to consolidate the market, absorb Fingertip’s user base and talent, and eliminate competition. Linktree opted to shut down Fingertip’s service post-acquisition, indicating the purchase was strategic to reinforce Linktree’s dominance in the landing-page space.
Ezypay – Fintech (Payment SaaS).
Description: Sydney-based payments SaaS specialising in subscription billing solutions for businesses (an “OG” fintech founded in 1996, but still innovative in cloud payments).
Exit Type: Acquisition by U.S. software and payments firm Xplor Technologies (announced September 2025). Deal Size: Not publicly disclosed.
Strategic Reason: Xplor, which has Australian roots, acquired Ezypay to expand its global payments capabilities, especially in recurring direct-debit billing for gyms, childcare centres, and other subscription-model businesses. For Xplor (which had merged with Clearent in the US), this was a strategic tuck-in to gain a mature payments platform with an established Asia-Pacific client base. For Ezypay’s founders and shareholders, it marked a liquidity event nearly 30 years after the company’s founding, highlighting a late but successful exit in the Australian fintech sector.
Partial Exits and Strategic Investments in 2025
Not all exits were full acquisitions or IPOs; some startups saw partial ownership changes or secondary share sales that gave early investors liquidity while bringing in new strategic partners:
Splend – Mobility/EV Subscription Platform.
Description: A Sydney-founded startup (2015) offering electric vehicle subscriptions for rideshare drivers (operating a fleet of ~7,000 EVs across Australia and the UK).
Exit Type: Secondary Sale (49% Equity) – In January 2025, industry super fund-backed IFM Investors, together with HESTA, acquired a 49% stake in Splend. This growth investment, valued at roughly A$100 million for a minority stake, effectively bought out several early venture backers.
Strategic Reason: The deal provides Splend with significant capital to accelerate its EV fleet expansion and charging infrastructure rollout. IFM’s rationale was that Splend is a “high quality, rapidly growing” tech-enabled services company aligned with the shift to electric vehicles in rideshare – an attractive play on the energy transition. The partnership positions Splend to scale up (with support in strategy and talent from IFM) while allowing the original founders to retain 51% control as they drive the next growth phase.
Anticipated IPOs by Late 2025
After a drought in tech IPOs, 2025 brought signs of revival in Australian public markets. A key expected exit was via an initial public offering:
Moula – Fintech (SME Lending).
Description: A Melbourne-based online lender providing unsecured loans and financing to small businesses (founded 2013).
Exit Type: Planned IPO (ASX listing). Moula announced in early 2025 its intention to go public by year-end, targeting an IPO valuation of approximately A$250 million. Expected Timeline: The plan (revealed in Q1 2025) was to float on the ASX in the second half of 2025, market conditions permitting.
Strategic Rationale: Moula’s proposed IPO signals confidence in the fintech sector’s maturity in Australia. After raising multiple funding rounds and building a substantial loan book, Moula aimed to access public capital to fuel further growth. An ASX listing would not only provide growth funds but also enhance credibility with business customers in the competitive SME finance market. Industry observers noted that a successful Moula IPO could pave the way for other Australian fintechs, as “the listing signals confidence in fintech” locally. (As of December 2025, the market awaited final confirmation of Moula’s float, reflecting cautious optimism for tech IPOs amid improving market sentiment.)
Note: Aside from Moula, a few other tech companies were rumoured or prepping for IPO (e.g. enterprise software scale-ups eyeing 2026 listings), but no other major SaaS/app startup had publicly confirmed a 2025 IPO by year’s end. The overall IPO pipeline in Australia was rebuilding slowly. Moula’s move was therefore watched closely as a bellwether for the return of tech IPOs on the ASX.
Ready to turn your app into the next big startup exit?
Let’s build something exit-worthy — get in touch with us today.