Australia’s biggest venture capital fund, Blackbird Ventures, is the favourite among startup founders according to a new ranking charting how “founder friendly” VCs are. Like the Hottest 100, Eurovision and GOAT rankings in every sport, the list is bound to spark controversy for the notable absences of some leading names in the top 25, while… Read more »
At Main Sequence, we back early-stage founders who are creating the future with cutting-edge science & frontier technologies. But beyond having a focus on deep tech, there are a range of capabilities that set us apart when compared to generalist investors. Here are a few unique things that deep tech investors can bring to the… Read more »
A new $40 million venture capital fund has recruited former Salesforce Ventures boss Mike Ferrari as managing director as it looks to back early-stage startups developing sovereign capabilities. Salus Ventures is the first dedicated early-stage Australian fund to invest in founders developing cutting-edge tech for commercial and government markets. It will back from Seed to… Read more »
Venture capital firm Antler Australia has thrown down the gauntlet on the worth of early-stage startups, upping its investment levels and the post-money valuations for companies it backs. Under new terms announced today, Antler will increase its initial investment by $35,000 to A$225,000 for the same 12% equity stake. The new deal increases the post-money… Read more »
Amid a plethora of analysis of Australian venture capital funding in recent weeks, one report truly stands out because it captures the numbers by talking to the venture capital investors involved. The recently released 2nd edition of The State Of Australian Startup Funding report, from Cut Through Venture and Folklore Ventures, reveal a record number… Read more »
Software-focused venture capital firm EVP has closed its fourth fund after hitting its $100 million final target. The business-to-business (B2B)-focused VC now has more than $270 million in funds under management amid more than 40 early-stage startup investments in software companies in Australia and New Zealand, including Ignition, Deputy, Shippit and Hnry. The sole trader… Read more »
Startup funding in 2022 hit $7.4 billion It’s a 30% fall on 2021, but less than a global drop of 35% Investors made 712 deals Female founders receive more deals, but less funds Investment has grown 5x in 5 years It’s a great time to be an early-stage founder, a new analysis of Australian startup… Read more »
University of Melbourne’s new startup venture capital fund Tin Alley Venture has raised $100 million from a who’s who of the Victorian business establishment to back alumni founders. The uni chipped in $25 million to kick off the fund, a joint venture with John Wiley’s Tanarra Capital, in June last year. Seven months later, the… Read more »
The Australian venture capital arm of Salesforce is one of the victims of the tech giant’s massive job cuts, with Salesforce Ventures head of Australia Mike Ferrari among those shown the door. The VC’s local portfolio of companies will now be managed from the US. Earlier this month, the 23-year-old California-based software company announced a… Read more »
‘Stupid money’ is out and smart investors are looking for opportunities in the Australian startup scene, say leading venture capital partners. Speaking at the Melbourne Startup Bootcamp at Bay City Labs yesterday, Skalata Ventures cofounder and CEO Rohan Workman called out the ridiculous funding rounds that had given startup founders unrealistic expectations. “It’s a great time… Read more »
2022 was a tough year for many, but in tough times our true characters are revealed. I was inspired by Ben Armstrong’s post to reflect on and celebrate the growth and collaborative nature of startup Aus/NZ, especially what I’ve seen last year. Australia is the lucky country, and our luck hasn’t run out. For the… Read more »
Leading law firm Herbert Smith Freehills advises some of Australia’s most successful tech companies on investment deals, including Atlassian, Mr Yum, Carma, Sonder, Culture Amp, Linktree, Who Gives A Crap, :Different, Pearler and Instant Checkout. After the dramatic shift in venture capital in 2022 following an exuberant two years during the pandemic, HSF venture capital… Read more »
Angel investor community Innovation Bay is opening a Brisbane chapter Horizon is moving to agnostic deal flow Queensland founders can apply to pitch via Dealum Innovation Bay, the longest-running community for technology startups, scale-ups and investors in Australia and New Zealand, is launching in Queensland in 2023. Horizon, the 20-year-old organisation’s angel investor community, has… Read more »
Melt Ventures has launched Australia’s first dedicated Advanced Manufacturing Venture Fund and is already near to first close. The Fund is investing in high-growth companies in the Advanced Manufacturing sector including clean technologies such as renewable energy and storage, automation and robotics, agriculture and transport, as well as advanced materials and space. The VC fund… Read more »
Local VC Square Peg Capital has grabbed an additional slice of US-based Rokt in a secondary market transaction that sees employees and current investors once again sell down their stake in the ecommerce marketing platform. It’s the sixth time Square Peg has invested in Rokt over its 10 year history, with the VC holding around… Read more »
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