What Birchal does

Birchal is an Australian Crowd-Sourced Funding (CSF) intermediary that operates one of the country's longest-standing equity crowdfunding platforms, licensed by ASIC (AFSL 502618) through its wholly-owned subsidiary Birchal Financial Services Pty Ltd. Founded in 2018 to coincide with the launch of Australia's CSF regime, Birchal enables proprietary companies and unlisted public companies with under $25M in assets to raise up to $5M from retail and wholesale investors through regulated online campaigns. The platform hosts both non-binding Expression of Interest (EOI) campaigns for demand testing and formal CSF offers that complete the regulated raise, providing gatekeeper checks, offer-document publication, application handling, funds-in-trust administration, and ongoing campaign support.

The platform's product surface includes the core CSF campaign infrastructure, the "Birchal First" wholesale investor syndicate dedicated to Australian hardware technology (medical devices, clean energy, mobility, agtech, advanced manufacturing), a curated Partner Network of specialist agencies, and the annual "Funded!" industry report. Birchal monetizes via a tiered fee structure: a $2,000 AUD + GST fixed EOI setup fee, a $5,000 AUD + GST fixed CSF administration fee, and a performance-based success fee of 8% on raises under $500k, 6% on $500k-$1M, and 5% above $1M. Investors pay nothing to use the platform. The company also derives partnership referral income and runs events, content marketing, and SEO as acquisition channels.

Birchal is the dominant Australian CSF platform by both volume and investor base, having facilitated over $241M across 338 successful offers since 2018, with a 318,000+ member community and approximately 70% share of the FY25 Australian CSF market (46 of 63 successful campaigns). Following a 2024 strategic reset that cut operating costs to roughly 40% of peak and repositioned the firm as retail capital-market infrastructure, the company most recently closed a $2M raise in December 2024 at a $26.28M valuation and is currently conducting a fresh institutional-backed funding round with Triple Bubble and Australia Venture Partners Fund.

Name

Birchal

Legal name

Birchal Pty Ltd

Website

https://birchal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Birchal is Australia's leading ASIC-licensed equity crowdfunding platform (CSF intermediary under AFSL 502618), enabling small proprietary companies to raise up to $5M from retail and wholesale investors through regulated online campaigns, generating transaction-fee revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Collingwood

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. CSF Offer Administration Fee: Fixed fee of $5,000 AUD + GST covering launch of CSF offer, gatekeeper checks, publication of CSF offer document, application and communication facilities, funds handling arrangements, and ongoing campaign support.
2. CSF Offer Success Fee: Percentage of total approved investments raised through CSF offer. Rates: 8% for raises under $500k, 6% for $500k-$1M, 5% for raises over $1M. Only payable on successful completion.
3. EOI Campaign Fee: Fixed fee of $2,000 AUD + GST covering setup and delivery of expression-of-interest campaign, including hosting, campaign manager support, data and insights, investor lead lists, and best practice guidance.
4. Referral Fees: Referral fees may be paid to third parties introducing issuers or investors, calculated as percentage of success fee, amount raised, amount invested, or flat fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Birchal is Australia's leading Crowd-Sourced Funding (CSF) platform, providing ASIC-regulated equity crowdfunding services that allow Australian proprietary and unlisted public companies to raise up to $5M from retail and wholesale investors through online campaigns. The platform runs the full CSF offer lifecycle — EOI demand-testing, gatekeeper checks, offer document publication, investor applications, funds-in-trust handling, settlement and share issuance — and charges issuers a $5,000 AUD administration fee plus a 5–8% success fee. The Birchal First sub-product extends the offering with a wholesale investor syndicate for Australian hardware technology startups.

Product overview

Birchal is a platform business built around its core CSF (Crowd-Sourced Funding) Platform — a regulated equity crowdfunding platform enabling companies to raise capital from investors through online campaigns. The offering includes the core CSF platform for hosting funding campaigns, Birchal First (a wholesale investor syndicate targeting hardware/deep-tech startups), a Partner Network connecting companies with professional service providers, and the Funded! annual industry report. The platform operates end-to-end from EOI campaigns through to settlement and share issuance, charging a tiered fee structure based on funds raised.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Birchal First: A wholesale investor syndicate dedicated to Australian hardware technology, partnering lead cheques with the power of the crowd to fund ambitious founders in sectors such as medical devices, clean energy, mobility, agtech and advanced manufacturing.

Products and services

• Birchal CSF Platform Australia's leading equity crowdfunding platform enabling Australian proprietary and unlisted public companies (with less than $25M in assets and turnover) to raise up to $5M from retail and wholesale investors through ASIC-regulated CSF offers. Handles the full offer lifecycle including EOI demand-testing, gatekeeper checks, offer document publication, investor applications, funds handling in trust, settlement and share issuance. Charges issuers a $5,000 AUD administration fee plus a tiered success fee (8% under $500k, 6% $500k–$1M, 5% over $1M); investors pay nothing.
• Birchal First

Quantifiable outcome

• $241M+ facilitated across 338 successful CSF offers since 2018
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Fishburners (The Ascent Project)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 9 December 2025Birchal partnered with Fishburners' The Ascent Project supporting women founders with access to capital through education and investor connections. Over 30 organizations partnered including VCs Airtree, Tractor Ventures, OneVentures, Tidal, Touch Ventures, Side Stage, and Techstars.
• Compound MediacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSpecialist paid digital advertising agency for Australian equity crowdfunding raises, helping founders hit and exceed raise targets by converting ad spend into committed investment.
• Fusebox VenturescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGrowth-focused agency dedicated to empowering purpose-driven startups through strategy, storytelling, and data-led marketing to drive investment and community engagement.
• LUNAcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMultidisciplinary advisory supporting startups with end-to-end legal, accounting, tax, strategy and CSF expertise. Delivers fixed-fee, growth-focused services across full business lifecycle.
• Glide AgencyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDigital marketing agency offering analytics, copywriting, founder storytelling, paid ads, and CRM setup services for crowdfunding campaigns.
• Wynne DigitalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerClient-first digital marketing partner delivering transparent support across Google Ads, SEO, social advertising and automation.
• Collective ObjectiveminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCertified B Corp strategic branding and design studio working with purpose-driven businesses to build brands with measurable positive impact.
• Daily Planet ProductionsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProduction and animation studio specializing in end-to-end video, post-production and motion content for brands and agencies.
• Compass StudiominorGTM or Marketing PartnerStrategic communications partner transforming brand purpose into influence through PR, marketing, and creative storytelling for crowdfunding campaigns.
• HUNTERminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBrand accelerator partnering with founders, VCs, and growth businesses to build and transform brands through strategy, design, and creative execution.
• Zai Australia Pty LtdcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing service provider (formerly Assembly Payments Platform) handling payment processing for investor transactions. Remitter name may appear as 'Zai', 'Cuscal' and/or 'Birchal' on bank statements.

Scale indicators20 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Crowdcube: UK-based equity crowdfunding platform facilitating retail and institutional investment in growth-stage private companies; comparable to Birchal under a similarly regulated regime with focused sector coverage including consumer brands.
• StartEngine: US-based Regulation Crowdfunding platform offering equity and debt raises to a large retail audience; comparable as a high-volume equity crowdfunding intermediary with similar revenue model (success fees on raise amounts).
• Republic: US-based equity crowdfunding and private investment platform (absorbing Seedrs/Republic Europe); operates the largest community of retail investors in private markets globally and is the closest US analog to Birchal's community-led equity crowdfunding model.
• Equitise: Australia-based equity crowdfunding platform operating under the same ASIC CSF regime as Birchal; the most direct domestic competitor on regulatory framework, target issuer profile, and capital-raising mechanics.
• Wefunder: US-based Regulation Crowdfunding platform enabling retail investors to invest in startups via equity offerings; directly comparable to Birchal as both focus on equity crowdfunding under regulated frameworks and serve community-driven funding for early-stage companies.
• OurCrowd: Israel-based global equity crowdfunding platform combining retail syndicate capital with institutional co-investment; comparable to Birchal First's wholesale syndicate model on the hardware/deep-tech side as well as broader retail equity raises.
• SeedInvest: US-based equity crowdfunding platform connecting accredited and non-accredited investors with vetted startups; directly comparable as a regulated retail-facing capital-raising intermediary with deal-screening infrastructure similar to Birchal's gatekeeper checks.

Regional players

• Companisto: Germany-based equity crowdfunding platform connecting retail investors with venture-stage companies; comparable on crowdfunding model and broad investor base, though operating under German/EU regulation rather than Australian CSF.
• SeedBlink: European (Romania-headquartered, pan-European) equity crowdfunding platform for tech startups; comparable on equity-crowdfunding mechanics but operates in a different regulatory regime and geography, serving the same type of growth-stage founders.

Broad incumbents

• AngelList: US-based private-market platform spanning fund formation, syndicate SPVs, and recruiting for venture-backed startups; broader in scope than Birchal but overlaps in enabling retail and accredited investors to access private deals through regulated infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/birchalco
• Facebookfacebook.com/birchal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/birchal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Birchal