Australia’s Blackbird Ventures Raises $752M From Asian Investors
Synopsis
Australian venture capital firm Blackbird Ventures has secured $752 million from Asian investors, highlighting growing international confidence in the country’s startup ecosystem.
Blackbird Ventures, an Australian venture capital firm, just pulled off a record-breaking fundraise, locking in AUD $1.05 billion (about USD $752 million) for its sixth fund, making it the biggest single VC in the history of Australia and New Zealand.
Led by Samantha Wong, one of Blackbird’s partners, along with co-founders Niki Scevak and Rick Baker, the Sydney-based firm manages more than AUD $5 billion in assets.
Foreign funds pour in to Australian venture funds
Blackbird drew in a new wave of international backers, big names like Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Schroders Capital, and Adams Street Partners from the US. But they didn’t go it alone.
Australia’s own Future Fund (the country’s $337 billion sovereign wealth fund) anchored the local support, joined by top superannuation players like Hostplus, Aware Super, and HESTA.
All of this fits into a bigger trend for the region
The State of Australian Startup Funding Report says that 66% of Aussie startup deals in 2025 involved at least one international investor, climbing from 57% in 2024. In all, domestic startups raised AUD $5.1 billion across 390 deals in 2025, which is a 24% jump from the year before. Fintech startups snagged a hefty AUD $868 million, and artificial intelligence touched 61% of the companies that got funding.
Blackbird plans to deploy funds into tech startups across Australia and New Zealand, zeroing in on pre-seed and seed rounds.
The firm keeps its fundamental strategy of investing in pre-seed and seed stages, 96 percent of investments in the past early-stage fund, while keeping capital aside for follow-on investment in the growth stage.
Portfolio Performance and Track Record
Since 2012, Blackbird has backed more than 190 companies and was actually the first institutional investor in Canva (now sitting at about $34.9 billion USD).
The lineup includes four decacorns, six unicorns, and over 46 other companies that are each worth hundreds of millions names like Halter, Heidi (a healthcare AI company where Blackbird owns 35%), Eucalyptus, Baseten, and Gilmour Space all make the list.
Across all its funds, the firm invested over AUD $3 billion, handed back more than AUD $2.25 billion to its limited partners, and its total portfolio has grown to above AUD $12.5 billion. The firm’s net IRR sits at 32%, with nine of its funds landing in the top quartile for their vintage years worldwide.
Australia’s tech sector isn’t small potatoes either, it pumps AUD $248.5 billion into the country’s GDP (about 8.9%) and gives jobs to nearly a million people.
Source: Aikkei Asia
Pooja Malik is a business journalist with over six years of experience covering startups, entrepreneurship, and emerging trends. She has previously worked with leading media platforms such as YourStory Media and BW BusinessWorld, where she reported on business, policy, and market developments. Currently, she serves as Editor at The Inspirepreneur Magazine, where she writes and edits stories across business, lifestyle, and travel, with a focus on clarity, accuracy, and reader relevance.
