Glow Capital Partners

Have you ever wondered how innovators transform an idea into a product loved around the world? Foil Drive’s First Wave documentary offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at one of Australia’s great innovation stories. From a backyard shed in South Australia to the global stage, founders Paul and Ben have built category-leading foil-assist technology, a world-class team, and one of the most loyal and passionate communities in the sport. As they put it, “Foil Drive is for someone who wants the best of the best. This is the Formula1 of foil assist right now.” We’re proud to support the Foil Drive team and can’t wait to see what’s next in their remarkable journey. https://lnkd.in/gNVkA-Rh

Shout out to Foil Drive who recently received major recognition at both the Australian Growth Company Awards and the South Australian Business and Export Awards - being named 'Company to Watch' and 'eCommerce Exporter of the Year', respectively. Founded in Adelaide, Foil Drive now leads the world in electric foil propulsion. A clear example of Australian innovation thriving with a talented team and the right backing and support. Congratulations to the founders and the entire Foil Drive team for the well-deserved recognition and building a world-class Australian business making waves (literally) around the world. #FoilDrive #Innovation #Growth #Export #AustralianManufacturing #BackingAustralianBusiness Justin Ryan, Alex Downie, Michael McCormack, Isabella Mortimore

We're thrilled to welcome Lauren Evans to our team as Finance Director. Lauren brings over 20 years of experience in financial management, reporting, and strategic support across a broad range of industries. She joins us from Inline Partners, and has previously held senior finance roles at Lendlease and at Grant Thornton, advising private business clients across tax, assurance, and advisory services. We’re excited to have Lauren on board!

We’re excited to welcome Michael McCormack to our investment team as Associate Director. Michael joins us from LVP, where he was an Investment Manager focused on mid-market private equity opportunities. He began his career in Ernst & Young’s Transaction Diligence division, working across Sydney and New York to advise both private equity and corporate clients. Fantastic to have you on board, Michael!

What we are talking about on Whatsapp: ⭐ Meta announced this week it is rolling out ads on WhatsApp for the first time, opening a new revenue stream and signalling its ambition to become a platform where brands can build real community at scale. https://lnkd.in/gsYu6ski ⭐ From Suncorp’s automated claims processing during catastrophes, to BHP’s driverless trucks, AI has found its way into Australia’s biggest companies. https://lnkd.in/gnVtJTUn ⭐ L’Oréal’s €1bn+ acquisition of Medik8 backed by Inflexion Private Equity shows how premium skincare remains a highly desirable category. Scaled e-commerce, elite gross margins, and a science-led brand playbook made Medik8 a standout. https://lnkd.in/de3-6Fkt ⭐ Bondi Rescue has found a second life on YouTube, clocking 1.2B+ views and generating millions in digital revenue. As YouTube viewership on TVs now exceeds phones and desktops, it’s a reminder of how older IP can thrive when remade for new platforms. https://lnkd.in/gpppVXuB ⭐ Longevity research continues to be an exciting space, with researchers finding that an anti-aging cocktail of rapamycin and trametinib has improved mice lifespans by ~30% (double the effectiveness of either drug alone), firing up talk that “longevity stacks” will be the next big human trials frontier. https://lnkd.in/gWZjXJvy

What we are talking about on Whatsapp: ⭐ With tariff drama continuing, companies across Australia are feeling the effects. While it’s important to be prepared and nimble, a timely reminder not to implement permanent solutions to a (potentially) temporary problem. https://lnkd.in/gZfuhqU6 ⭐ Competition in the EV battery market keeps heating up. CATL’s upgraded Shenxing pack adds ~520 km of range from five minutes on a fast‑charger, using improved sodium-ion tech to improve performance and safety – taking another step towards <10 min, mass‑market charging. https://lnkd.in/gGgkeGrK ⭐ Despite a $80bn AI spending binge, Microsoft is pausing data‑centre builds from Chicago to Jakarta as power, land and financing costs bite. https://lnkd.in/gJhqRKFe ⭐ With Labor’s landslide victory in the Australian election, the market is expecting a few winners (and losers) across healthcare, transport, housing and more. https://lnkd.in/gE8cC_wW ⭐ Where Australians live up to eight years longer – AIA’s research maps 45 “Vitality Zones’’ whose residents outlive the national average by up to eight years and save ~$370m p.a. in avoidable hospital stays – highlighting similarities across preventive health and community infrastructure. https://lnkd.in/g4k2zMni ⭐ ChatGPT muscles into e‑commerce, with OpenAI launching a shopping experience within ChatGPT, complete with product picks and purchasing. With over 1 billion searches a week, ChatGPT could pose a genuine challenge to Google - with conversational discovery and shorter conversions. https://lnkd.in/gfKYRwNH

What we're talking about on Whatsapp:   ⭐ Following seven consecutive quarters of GDP per capita declining, Australia’s economy has turned the corner, supported by a long-awaited pickup in consumer spending and state government spend. While it’s looking like the ‘soft landing’ economists have been expecting, any recovery is expected to be shallow while productivity remains at 2016 levels and private sector activity remains weak. https://lnkd.in/gB4KVZ2F   ⭐ Another day, another model – incumbents and emerging players continue to push boundaries in AI. Claude 3.7 Sonnet is the first ‘hybrid reasoning model’ that can be asked to switch between speed and precision. China’s invite-only Manus AI agents are automating 50 tasks simultaneously while OpenAI could be planning to charge US$20k/month for PhD-level agents. https://lnkd.in/gwSc6P7c   ⭐ You wouldn’t be alone if you were struggling to keep up with the Trump tariffs… here’s a timeline: https://lnkd.in/gQQtX38t. Trade tensions are threatening US outperformance and leaving industries in whiplash. In addition to Mexico, Canada, and China, tariffs are being threatened on steel, aluminium, the European Union, chips, autos, and pharmaceuticals. https://lnkd.in/giwTX-Ar   ⭐ The divide is growing on ESG investing – with Wall Street backing out of Net Zero, the gap between the US’ increasingly anti-ESG stance and sustainable investment goals across Europe and Asia is forcing some GPs to become more creative with their ESG strategies, and leaning into investments that fall outside the traditional definitions of ESG and into what could be called sustainability-adjacent. https://lnkd.in/gAuNgirE and https://lnkd.in/gDcitsV2   ⭐ The US has announced it will set up a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and stockpile of other digital assets, to be capitalised with crypto forfeited in legal proceedings. Trump has also pledged support for stablecoin legislation to ensure regulatory certainty for dollar-backed digital currencies – a move aimed at maintaining the USD’s dominance as the global reserve currency amidst growing competition from the likes of China’s digital yuan. https://lnkd.in/gTFeRr9b

We are excited to announce our investment in Foil Drive, a pioneering Adelaide-based company that designs and manufactures the world’s first retrofit electric motors for foiling watersports. Foil Drive offers compact electric motors and accessories that attach to existing foiling equipment, improving ease of use and extending functionality across a broader range of conditions. Today, Foil Drive serves loyal customers worldwide, with a strong presence in Australia, the US and Europe, and holds exclusive partnerships with some of the leading foiling brands globally. We are thrilled to partner with Paul Martin, Ben Jamieson and the entire Foil Drive team to support Foil Drive’s next phase of growth as they continue to deliver innovation on the water. Thank you to all our advisors for their support on this transaction: PwC Australia, L.E.K. Consulting, Bellrock , Thaddeus Martin Consulting Foil Drive’s advisors: Thomson Geer Justin Ryan, Alex Downie, Isabella Mortimore https://lnkd.in/exZ66Mhu

To continue with more exciting news for 2025, we’re thrilled to welcome Sandaru Kamalasuriya to our investment team as an Associate. Sandaru (Sunday) brings a strong background spanning investment banking, strategy and corporate development. Before joining Glow, he spent four years as a Principal at Barrenjoey Capital Partners in the Corporate Finance team, focusing on Private Equity and Industrials. Prior to that, he gained valuable experience in strategy and corporate development at Tyro Payments as well as broader experience across management consulting and financial advisory. We look forward to introducing Sunday to our network and welcoming him to the team!