Refilled Raises $5.6 Million Series A to Scale Office Drinks Dispensers

Sydney startup Refilled has raised $5.6 million in a Series A led by OIF Ventures, with backing from existing investor Melt Ventures and a personal investment from fund manager David Paradice. Startup Daily reported the round on November 13, 2026.

OIF Ventures Leads Refilled's Series A

Melt Ventures also led Refilled's $1.3 million seed round in 2023, and the new round takes the total raised to $7.5 million. Refilled emerged from the University of Technology Sydney, although the idea came to Foodbomb cofounder Ryan Nelson at the gym, where a broken water fountain left him facing a vending machine full of plastic bottles with an empty reusable bottle in hand.

UTS and the University of Sydney were among the early adopters, along with Google's Sydney office. By June 2025, Refilled had installed 42 machines across Australia and signed coworking operator The Working Capitol as its first Singapore customer.

OIF Ventures investor Oliver Darwin said the Refiller was its own sales pitch. "People see one and immediately want one for their office," he said. "Our job is to help them scale up and realise their ambitions on a global stage."

Three years ago, Nelson's target was keeping 100 million single-use bottles out of landfill by 2030. Refilled is already at 1.6 million, and setting its sights on a billion.

The Refiller chills and filters tap water, serving it still or sparkling into a glass or reusable bottle. Users can mix Australian-made flavours and add caffeine, vitamins or electrolytes. Each machine holds enough ingredients for the equivalent of more than 7,680 cans and automatically reorders supplies when they run low.

Nelson says customers, who include Netflix, Uber and Marriott Hotels, can halve their drinks bill. Supplying the ingredients gives Refilled recurring revenue after a machine goes in. "Everyone talks about hardware being hard. That's exactly what makes Refilled so valuable in this market," he said. "We've combined hardware, software, Australian manufacturing and a recurring beverage model into something that would be very difficult to replicate."

Refilled's Earlier Funding Rounds

According to akta.pro company records, Refilled closed a $386,377 round led by Melt Ventures in September 2023, its first institutional capital, followed by an $840,970 seed round led by Melt Ventures in November 2023. The same records list total funding of $1.2 million at the seed stage, with the last round dated November 16, 2023.

Refilled's 2027 Drinks Line-Up

The startup plans to add probiotic, protein and collagen drinks in 2027.