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AustraliaPlatform

Oceania · Pop. 27.2M · #13 startup ecosystem by EV

1 Overview

3,472 Pool of Funded Startups
New Startups
1,684 Annual Startups FoundedAll new ventures
447 Annual Startups FundedReceived investment
get funded 27%
2,976Startups
1,279 Pre-Seed Startups$100K–1M
1,038 Seed Startups$1–4M
Pre-Seed to Seed 22%
659 Series A Startups$4–15M
Seed to Series A 24%
423Breakouts
303 Series B Breakouts$15–40M
A to Series B 29%
120 Series C Breakouts$40–100M
B to Series C 28%
73Scaleups
52 Mega Scaleups$100–250M
reach Mega 1.5%
21 Mega+ Scaleups$250M+
reach Mega+ 0.60%
49Valuation Outcomes
41 Unicorns($1–10B valuation)
reach Unicorn 1.2%
8 Decacorns($10–100B valuation)
reach Decacorn 0.23%
41 Unicorns$1–10B valuation · founded or headquartered in Australia, listed companies included · newest first
8 Decacorns$10–100B valuation · founded or headquartered in Australia, listed companies included
Pre-Seed
1,279
Seed
1,038
Series A
659
Series B
303
Series C
120
Unicorn
41
Decacorn
8

* C→Unicorn and Unicorn→Decacorn rates are derived from current counts (no founding-cohort data); the four mid-funnel rates use Dealroom's cohort tracking.

41 Unicorns$1–10B valuation · founded or headquartered in Australia, listed companies included · newest first
8 Decacorns$10–100B valuation · founded or headquartered in Australia, listed companies included

2 VC investment

How much venture capital flows into Australia

VC investment into Australia-headquartered companies, broken down by round size, company location, sector and funding stage. Only Dealroom-verified VC rounds are included; companies tagged mature or outside tech are excluded.

3 Enterprise value

How much Australia’s VC-backed companies are worth

Combined enterprise value of VC-backed companies headquartered in Australia, founded since 1990 and still operating, at the end of each year. Companies stay in the total after they list or are acquired.

4 State by state

Australia state by state

Every state and territory measured with one definition: a startup pool of companies founded since 2016 or with recorded funding (21,983 nationally), verified VC rounds, Dealroom's VC-backed label, unicorns and combined enterprise value, all by the headquarters of the company. New South Wales took 37% of Australia's VC since 2024, Tasmania 32%; 5 of 8 states and territories have produced a unicorn. Tasmania's $3.4B is 97% one company, firmus.

21,983startups in the poolfounded since 2016 or with recorded funding; 7,632 funded. NSW 8,067, VIC 5,447, QLD 2,941
4,247VC-backed startupsNSW 2,163, VIC 1,099, QLD 519; 7,566 founded since 2021
37%of VC went to NSW since 2024$4.0B; TAS 32% (97% of TAS's total is firmus)
5 of 8states and territories with a unicorn45 unicorns in all; NSW 20, VIC 19 and QLD 4

New South Wales took 38% of Australia's $2.9B VC in 2025

Each column is one year of verified VC into companies headquartered in the state, so every state is measured the same way. NSW's share was 58% in 2016; Queensland grew fastest, 5.4× its 2016 total by 2025. The current year is to date.

VC by state, $$2.5B$5.0B$7.5B$10B $647M 2016 $1.2B 2017 $939M 2018 $1.8B 2019 $2.3B 2020 $5.7B 2021 $4.8B 2022 $2.8B 2023 $2.8B 2024 $2.9B 2025 $5.1B 2026 YTD
  • NSW
  • TAS
  • VIC
  • QLD
  • SA, ACT, WA, NT

One definition for every state: NSW has 8,067 startups in the pool, VIC 5,447, QLD 2,941

The startup pool counts companies founded since 2016 or with recorded funding, the rule under which a company older than ten years with no funding is treated as inactive; "VC-backed" is Dealroom's narrower label; VC is verified VC rounds by the year of the round; unicorns are companies that reached a $1B valuation; combined enterprise value sums the latest valuation of every startup headquartered in the state. AI took the largest share of VC since 2016 in Tasmania (97%) against 22% nationally. Tasmania's $3.5B is 95% one company, firmus.

StateStartup poolVC-backedVC since 2016VC 2026 YTDAI share of VC since 2016UnicornsCombined EV
New South WalesSydney · 8.4M people
8,067
 2,163
$16B
 $1.1B 11% 20 $237B
VictoriaMelbourne · 6.9M people
5,447
 1,099
$7.3B
 $611M 11% 19 $89B
TasmaniaHobart · 0.6M people
149
 28
$3.5B
 $2.9B 97% 1 $17B
QueenslandBrisbane · 5.5M people
2,941
 519
$2.8B
 $237M 22% 4 $46B
South AustraliaAdelaide · 1.9M people
913
 136
$696M
 $71M 9% 1 $5.9B
Australian Capital TerritoryCanberra · 0.5M people
327
 72
$567M
 $111M 6% 0 $3.2B
Western AustraliaPerth · 2.9M people
1,410
 222
$537M
 $47M 17% 0 $12B
Northern TerritoryDarwin · 0.3M people
43
 8
$42M
 $0 — 0 $423M

New South Wales took 50% of Australia's VC since 2016, Victoria 23%

Bubble area is verified VC since 2016 into companies headquartered in the state, placed on the state capital. Beside it, each state's share of the national $31B: NSW 50%, VIC 23% and TAS 11%.

Loading map…

Share of Australia's VC since 2016

  1. NSW50% · $16B
  2. VIC23% · $7.3B
  3. TAS11% · $3.5B
  4. QLD9% · $2.8B
  5. SA2% · $696M
  6. ACT2% · $567M
  7. WA2% · $537M
  8. NT<1% · $42M

firmus (TAS, $2.0B), firmus (TAS, $505M) and Canva (NSW, $400M) are the largest rounds since 2024

The two largest verified VC rounds in each state since 2024, by the headquarters of the company.

StateCompanyRoundStageDateInvestors
NSW Canva$400MGrowthMay 2024Quadrant Private Equity
AdvanCell$315MSeries DJul 2026Ally Bridge Group, Alpha Wave, Abingworth, Bain Capital Life Sciences +15
TAS firmus$2.0BGrowthAug 2026Nvidia, Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, Coatue Management, Jane Street Capital
firmus$505MGrowthApr 2026Coatue Management, Nvidia
VIC Security Matters$134MBridgeFeb 2026Investors not disclosed
Security Matters$116MBridgeDec 2025Investors not disclosed
QLD Gilmour Space Technologies$140MSeries EJan 2026Hostplus, Blackbird Ventures, Brighter Super, Funds SA +5
Hypersonix Launch Systems$46MSeries AOct 2025High Tor Capital, QIC Ventures, RKKVC, Saab Ventures
SA Fleet Space$100MSeries DDec 2024Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Alumni Ventures, Artesian Capital Management, Blackbird Ventures +2
Myriota$32MSeries CDec 2024Commonwealth of Australia, Main Sequence Ventures, InterValley Ventures
ACT Liquid Instruments$50MSeries CApr 2026Australian National Reconstruction Fund, Keysight Technologies, Significant Early Venture Capital
Dentroid Technologies$32MSeries AJun 2026Michael Gregg, Septodont
WA Realty Assist$25MOtherFeb 2024Investors not disclosed
OncoRes Medical$17MSeries BFeb 2026Brandon Capital Partners, Morgans Financial Limited, Radar Ventures, The Tablet Hub
NT Raindrop$0SeedNov 2024Investors not disclosed

Source: Dealroom Next Gen API (aggregate, timeseries, transactions), shared authenticated client, retrieved 8 October 2026.

Method

VC is Dealroom-verified VC rounds (seed to growth equity) into companies headquartered in the state, excluding companies tagged mature or outside tech, by the year of the round; the same definition the page's VC chart and global-investors section use. Startups are companies founded since 1990 that are not closed, not Mature and not Outside Tech; "VC-backed" is Dealroom's label; unicorns are companies that reached a $1B valuation, listed or acquired companies included. Combined enterprise value sums the latest valuation of every startup headquartered in the state at the end of each year. The startup pool counts the startups founded in the last ten years or with recorded funding, the rule under which a company older than ten years with no funding is treated as inactive; "funded" is Dealroom's label for any recorded investment. AI is the Dealroom AI tag. The current year is to date. Populations are the ones the location sheet carries for each state, shown for context. Companies are assigned to a state by their current headquarters, so a company founded in one state and now based in another counts in the latter, and companies headquartered abroad count in none.

5 Just funded

Just funded in Australia

The Australian companies that closed a verified VC round since Aug 2026, newest first: 15 at Series A or later and 32 at Seed. The signals on each card come from the records: a founder who has founded a funded company before, a team that grew 30% or more in a year, a round led from abroad. A list to read monthly, not a ranking.

47verified rounds since Aug 2026$2.3B in all; 15 at Series A or later for $2.3B
17rounds with a repeat founderHeidi, Pearler and ReFresh
11teams up 30%+ in a yearHeidi +85%, Medow +121% and Elita +63%
14rounds led from abroadCanada, United States, Germany and Netherlands
High Earth Orbit RoboticsSydney, NSW · founded 2016 · 122 people
Series B$25M · Sept 2026

On-demand, on-orbit inspection of space objects that matter in space, from space

Beaten Zone Venture Partners, AirTree Ventures, Australian National Reconstruction Fund, Dcode Capital +1 · $33M raised to date

WWilliam CroweHiranya Jayakody
Jet ZeroSydney, NSW · founded 2021 · 27 people
Series C$19M · Sept 2026

Converting agricultural byproducts to advanced jet fuel

Airbus, POSCO INTERNATIONAL, Qantas · $47M raised to date

Skopos BioMelbourne, VIC · founded 2026
Seed$7.8M · Sept 2026

Developing targeted radiopharmaceutical therapies that deliver radiation directly to cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.

Tenmile, Tin Alley Ventures, Yosemite · $7.8M raised to date

Mohammad HaskaliLuc FuricMichael Hofman
Kinoxis TherapeuticsMelbourne, VIC · founded 2017 · 17 people
Series B$6.0M · Sept 2026

A biotechnology startup developing new therapeutics to address the escalating demand for effective treatments for substance use disorders and social dysfunction in neurological and psychiatric disorders

Main Sequence Ventures · $32M raised to date

MMichael BowenHHugh Alsop
TrendspekSydney, NSW · founded 2018 · 26 people
Series A$3.9M · Sept 2026

Drone Inspection and Trend Monitoring for Asset Management

OIF Ventures · $11M raised to date

Mitch DeamFiona Church
MedcastSydney, NSW · founded 2013 · 54 people
Seed$3.5M · Sept 2026

AI-powered clinical knowledge and CPD for Australian healthcare professionals

Best Practice Media, Bpsoftware · $3.5M raised to date

RentbetterSydney, NSW · founded 2016 · 12 people
Seed$3.2M · Sept 2026

Online platform for self-managing residential rental properties

EVP Capital · $4.5M raised to date

  • Foreign lead
Jeremy Goldschmidt
MedowSydney, NSW · founded 2023 · 42 people
Seed$2.3M · Sept 2026

AI-driven clinical documentation tailored for specialists, integrating seamlessly with EMRs to enhance workflow efficiency

Michael Boyer, Michael Solomon · $5.5M raised to date

  • Repeat founder
  • Team +121%
  • AI
Josh FreibergJoel FreibergAndrew Sharapo2 companies founded
Promethean BioPharmaSydney, NSW · founded 2017 · 6 people
Growth$2.1M · Sept 2026

Globally integrated manufacturer of medicinal cannabis products.

OnMarket · $2.1M raised to date

OpenDebtSydney, NSW · founded 2025 · 3 people
Seed$2.0M · Sept 2026

Formerly known as Whispa AI | Collection technology for lenders and agencies

Antler, Blackbird Ventures · $2.2M raised to date

  • AI
Jonas TischerNorman Yan
ElitaMelbourne, VIC · founded 2023 · 13 people
Seed$1.9M · Sept 2026

Dog longevity platform — health Blueprint, stem-cell banking and 24/7 vet access for more good years together

Boost VC, Artesian Capital Management, Gandel Invest, M8 Ventures +1 · $2.6M raised to date

  • Team +63%
  • Foreign lead
Jackson GritchingPaloma Newton
BluechainMelbourne, VIC · founded 2015 · 10 people
Growth$1.7M · Sept 2026

Bluechain | A better way to pay

Kersting Holding · $1.7M raised to date

Tim Annis
functionSPACEfounded 2025 · 1 people
Seed$1.7M · Sept 2026

Developer SDK for continuous distribution prediction markets.

Blockwall, Maven 11 Capital, SMAPE Capital · $1.7M raised to date

  • Foreign lead
DelaSydney, NSW
Seed$647K · Sept 2026

Secure peer-to-peer marketplace payments with escrow.

Investors not disclosed · $647K raised to date

GonGlobalMelbourne, VIC · founded 2023 · 2 people
Seed$647K · Sept 2026

Needle-free inhaled IVF drug delivery to cut injection burden.

Innovation Victoria, RMIT University · $1.7M raised to date

  • AI
Ellen Gonda
ClaimKitBrisbane, QLD · founded 2024 · 4 people
Seed$125K · Sept 2026

Automated R&D tax claims and grant applications.

Y Combinator · $125K raised to date

  • Repeat founder
  • AI
Ben Ashdown2 companies founded
Remagine LabsMelbourne, VIC · founded 2021 · 7 people
Seedundisclosed · Sept 2026

Solutions for better management of chronic conditions

Praxis Precision Medicines, Innovation Victoria, Monash Investment Holdings · $1.4M raised to date

  • Repeat founder
  • Foreign lead
Stan Skafidas3 companies founded
Hello CleverSydney, NSW · founded 2021 · 119 people
Seedundisclosed · Sept 2026

A buy-to-earn ecosystem that offers payments and financial management platforms for individuals and businesses

Variant, Easygo · $3.2M raised to date

  • Team +47%
  • Foreign lead
Gavin Vy NguyenCaroline TranCaroline Tran
firmusLaunceston, TAS · founded 2019 · 128 people
Growth$2.0B · Aug 2026

Immersion-cooled data centers for energy-efficient AI workloads.

Nvidia, Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, Coatue Management, Jane Street Capital · $3.4B raised to date

  • Team +106%
  • Foreign lead
  • AI
Jonathan LeveeOOliver CurtisJeremy Rockliff
GridsightWollongong City Council · founded 2020 · 67 people
Series B$23M · Aug 2026

AI capacity management that unlocks latent electric-grid capacity for utilities

Insight Partners · $28M raised to date

  • Repeat founder
  • Team +40%
  • Foreign lead
Kurt WalkomBrendan BanfieldHugh Chan
Alloy RoboticsSydney, NSW · founded 2025 · 12 people
Seed$7.4M · Aug 2026

Robotics data platform for natural language analysis

Square Peg Capital, Airtree, Blackbird Ventures, Skip Capital +1 · $10M raised to date

  • Team +50%
Joe Harris
VexevSydney, NSW · founded 2018 · 36 people
Series A$6.0M · Aug 2026

Building the next generation of non-invasive medical imaging and intelligent patient monitoring

Alumni Ventures, Bioshore Ventures, Blackbird Ventures +4 · $13M raised to date

Eamonn ColleyJohn Carroll
BioScoutSydney, NSW · founded 2019 · 34 people
Seed$4.8M · Aug 2026

Automated agricultural disease detection

Astanor Ventures, Demea Sustainable Investment, AltaVista Transportation Ventures Fund, LP, Artesian Capital Management, Division Q +2 · $5.8M raised to date

  • Repeat founder
  • Foreign lead
GGerry Ball2 companies foundedHenry Brindle
Sophiie AIGold Coast, QLD · founded 2024 · 22 people
Seed$3.3M · Aug 2026

AI receptionist and job management OS for trades and service businesses.

Admiralty Capital Group, Antler, Archangel Ventures +2 · $3.3M raised to date

  • Repeat founder
  • Team +175%
  • AI
Luke KelleherJJacob Banks2 companies founded
TQ TransistorsAdelaide, SA
Seed$2.9M · Aug 2026

TQ Transistors are pioneering a revolutionary negative capacitance topological quantum field effect transistor (NC-TQFET)

Lifeline Ventures · $2.9M raised to date

  • Foreign lead
SeitecCanberra, ACT · founded 2021 · 11 people
Seed$2.6M · Aug 2026

Software-defined seismic sensing for military and security.

Beaten Zone Venture Partners, UNSW Founders · $3.2M raised to date

NOONfounded 2025 · 17 people
Seed$2.5M · Aug 2026

Breakfast drink in a can

BFG Partners, Habitat Partners, RiverPark Ventures · $2.5M raised to date

Cade Fleming
KantokoSydney, NSW · founded 2023 · 21 people
Seed$2.3M · Aug 2026

Telehealth platform connecting adults to psychiatrists for ADHD and mental health care.

Side Stage Ventures, Andrew Barnes, Tenmile, Tyler Dikman +1 · $2.3M raised to date

  • Repeat founder
Zac Altman2 companies founded
MISTSydney, NSW · founded 2020 · 64 people
Seed$2.3M · Aug 2026

Your mobile app to Move, Settle & Live abroad

DoxAI · $3.3M raised to date

JJohn Crutchley
Zabidoufounded 2025 · 11 people
Seed$2.3M · Aug 2026

Laser and computer vision for industrial material analysis

Antler, Black Nova VC, Main Sequence Ventures · $2.3M raised to date

  • Repeat founder
  • Foreign lead
  • AI
CCibby Pulikkaseril2 companies founded
BowerByron Bay, NSW · founded 2025 · 4 people
Seed$2.0M · Aug 2026

AI operating system for scientific research work.

TEN13, Admiralty Capital Group, Edale Capital, YU Liu · $2.0M raised to date

  • AI
EnrolaBrisbane, QLD · founded 2023 · 10 people
Seed$1.4M · Aug 2026

On a mission to help 30,000 students change their lives through the right education

Purpose Ventures, AfterWork Ventures, Antler, Skalata Ventures · $2.0M raised to date

YYvette QuinbyJo Thomas
NbryoBrisbane, QLD · founded 2020 · 16 people
Seed$1.3M · Aug 2026

Advanced genetic breeding solutions for sustainable livestock production and enhanced cattle farming efficiency

Queensland Investment Corporation · $13M raised to date

  • AI
GYLDMelbourne, VIC · founded 2020 · 13 people
Seed$1.0M · Aug 2026

Agency helping game studios secure publishing deals

Kameha Ventures, ICO PARTNERS LIMITED, IndieBI, mod.io · $1.0M raised to date

  • Team +86%
  • Foreign lead
FFabian MalabelloLex SuurlandEmre Can Deniz
SuperheroSydney, NSW · founded 2017 · 109 people
Growthundisclosed · Aug 2026

An accessible, understandable and affordable investment platform

Salter Brothers · $56M raised to date

WWayne BaskinJohn Winters

Source: Dealroom Next Gen API (transactions, entities, people), shared authenticated client, retrieved 8 October 2026. Rounds are Dealroom-verified VC rounds into companies headquartered in Australia, Seed and later, by the month of the round.

Method

Every Dealroom-verified VC round of Seed stage or later into a company headquartered in Australia, with a round date from 2026-08 to the day of retrieval; companies tagged mature or outside tech are excluded, as on the rest of the page. Investors are the participants Dealroom records, with the lead marked; a round is led from abroad when a lead investor's headquarters is outside Australia. A repeat founder has Dealroom's serial-founder classification or more than one founded company with funding beyond this round. Team growth is Dealroom's one-year employee count change, shown from ten employees. Amounts are USD.

6 Largest rounds

Largest funding rounds in Australia

A live treemap of $40M+ verified rounds from the Dealroom API. Each cell is one round into a company headquartered in Australia, grouped by Dealroom sector. Companies tagged mature or outside tech are excluded.

Largest rounds in Australia - 2024–2026

Every $40M+ verified VC round into Australia-headquartered companies in 2024–2026, excluding mature and outside-tech companies, grouped by Dealroom sector.
- rounds · - raised
Live from Dealroom API Open full VC dashboard

7 Global investors

How the world invests in Australia

Foreign investors took part in 57% of Australia's disclosed rounds since 2024, and those rounds carried 79% of the capital. Australia ranked #17 in the world for VC invested in 2025 and #12 by unicorns; Sydney is #26 in the Global Tech Ecosystem Index 2026.

Data: Dealroom, 7 October 2026.

#17country by VC invested, 2025$2.9B
79%of VC since 2024 was in rounds with a foreign investor57% of rounds; 675 foreign investors active
#12country by number of unicorns49 companies founded or headquartered in Australia have reached a $1B valuation, listed ones included
#26Sydney in the Global Tech Ecosystem Index 2026Ranks higher in Blockchain (#13), Cybersecurity (#17) and Foodtech (#19)

Rank among countries by VC invested: from 16th in 2015 to 10th in 2026

Best year 2026, at #10. 2026 is year to date.

#1#5#10#15#17#102015201720192021202320252026 YTD

Rounds with a foreign investor took 79% of VC capital since 2024

Each bar is 100% of the year's VC capital into Australia-headquartered companies, in rounds with disclosed investors; blue is the capital in rounds with at least one investor headquartered outside Australia. The full round counts, not the foreign investor's share of it.

Share of capital25%50%75%100% 70% 2017 69% 2018 70% 2019 76% 2020 72% 2021 71% 2022 78% 2023 61% 2024 87% 2025 85% 2026 YTD
  • Rounds with a foreign investor
  • Domestic investors only

The late-stage gap: a foreign investor in 82% of $100M+ rounds since 2024, in 55% of rounds under $15M

Share of rounds in each size band since 2024, rounds with a disclosed amount.

20%40%60%Under $15M: 616 rounds, $1.8B; rounds with a foreign investor 55%55%Under $15M: 616 rounds, $1.8B; rounds led by a foreign investor 22%22%Under $15M616 rounds · $1.8B$15–100M: 92 rounds, $2.9B; rounds with a foreign investor 79%79%$15–100M: 92 rounds, $2.9B; rounds led by a foreign investor 52%52%$15–100M92 rounds · $2.9B$100M and above: 17 rounds, $5.3B; rounds with a foreign investor 82%82%$100M and above: 17 rounds, $5.3B; rounds led by a foreign investor 47%47%$100M and above17 rounds · $5.3B
  • Rounds with a foreign investor
  • Rounds led by a foreign investor

Exits since 2017: 73 IPOs and 297 acquisitions

VC-backed companies headquartered in Australia, founded since 1990, excluding companies tagged mature or outside tech. The figure on each bar is the year's number of exits.

26 2017 16 2018 21 2019 36 2020 51 2021 32 2022 37 2023 53 2024 67 2025 31 2026 YTD
  • IPOs
  • Acquisitions and buyouts

Largest exits since 2017, by valuation at exit

  1. Afterpay$29.0B acquisition
  2. AirTrunk$15.5B acquisition
  3. firmus$4.6B IPO at $4.6B valuation
  4. AirTrunk$1.9B acquisition
  5. Judo Bank$421M IPO at $1.5B valuation

Rounds since 2024 by the foreign investor's home country: the US in 257, Singapore in 118

Each round counts once per country of its investors.

  1. United States257 rounds · 181 investors
  2. Singapore118 rounds · 39 investors
  3. United Kingdom85 rounds · 73 investors
  4. New Zealand30 rounds · 19 investors
  5. Hong Kong21 rounds · 14 investors
  6. Germany21 rounds · 18 investors
  7. Canada19 rounds · 16 investors
  8. France18 rounds · 14 investors
  9. India16 rounds · 7 investors
  10. Netherlands15 rounds · 9 investors

Most active foreign investors in Australia since 2024

675 investors headquartered outside Australia joined at least one round since 2024, alongside 397 domestic investors. "Led" counts rounds where Dealroom records the investor as lead.

  1. AntlerSingapore, Singapore · Accelerator71rounds63companies17led
  2. TechstarsNew York City, United States · Accelerator27rounds27companies2led
  3. Y CombinatorSan Francisco, United States · Accelerator10rounds8companies2led
  4. Peak XV PartnersBengaluru, India · VC8rounds8companies4led
  5. Insight PartnersNew York City, United States · VC7rounds7companies4led
  6. LocalGlobeLondon, United Kingdom · VC6rounds3companies2led
  7. Prosus VenturesAmsterdam, Netherlands · Corporate6rounds5companies5led
  8. 500 GlobalPalo Alto, United States · VC6rounds4companies1led
  9. In-Q-TelArlington, United States · VC5rounds5companies0led
  10. Pacific ChannelNew Zealand · VC5rounds5companies0led
  11. Co VenturesSan Francisco, United States · VC5rounds5companies1led
  12. NvidiaSanta Clara, United States · Corporate4rounds1companies1led

Policy-backed capital: a state bank, agency or fund-of-funds in 15% of capital since 2024, and in 3 of the 17 rounds of $100M or more

Investors matched by name (KDB, IBK, KVIC, K-Growth, KIBO, KODIT, KIC, the National Pension Service, ministries, TIPS, the SME agencies). Money routed through fund-of-funds into private VCs is not visible, so this is a floor.

10%of rounds since 2024
15%of disclosed capital
7%of $100M+ round capital
51rounds with both a policy-backed and a foreign investor
  1. Breakthrough Victoria36 rounds
  2. Main Sequence Ventures29 rounds
  3. Queensland Investment Corporation20 rounds
  4. Australian National Reconstruction Fund12 rounds
  5. CEFC - Clean Energy Innovation Fund2 rounds
  6. Future Fund1 round

Where the capital goes since 2024, and how much of it is foreign

Energy draws the highest foreign share of capital (91%), Fintech the lowest (58%). Companies tagged Artificial Intelligence took 66% of Australia's VC in 2026 so far, against 75% worldwide.

IndustryVC since 2024Foreign share of capital
Health$1.6B82%
Enterprise Software$1.3B80%
Energy$1.1B91%
Fintech$581M58%
Media$489M18%
Transportation$357M68%
Food$355M71%
Robotics$250M44%
Real Estate$236M74%
Marketing$134M56%

Sydney: $3.7B of VC since 2024, #25 among 32 major tech hubs

Metro areas, not city limits: Sydney includes the cities around Sydney, and Paris is the whole Ile-de-France region. The rank is among 32 major tech hubs tracked as Dealroom metro regions, not every city in the world. Sydney is #26 in the Global Tech Ecosystem Index 2026, which also weighs company value and outcomes.

  1. Greater London$49B #3 of 32
  2. Ile-de-France$20B #9 of 32
  3. Seoul Capital Area$19B #10 of 32
  4. Singapore$18B #11 of 32
  5. Bengaluru Metropolitan Area$17B #12 of 32
  6. Greater Tel Aviv$13B #13 of 32
  7. Greater Tokyo Area$12B #14 of 32
  8. Toronto-Waterloo$7.9B #17 of 32
  9. Berlin/Brandenburg$7.5B #19 of 32
  10. Sydney$3.7B #25 of 32
  11. Melbourne$2.0B #31 of 32

Source: Dealroom Next Gen API, 7 October 2026. 4,129 verified VC rounds and 370 exits of Australia-headquartered companies since 2017; 3,189 participating investors and acquirers resolved to a headquarters.

About the data

Rounds are Dealroom-verified VC rounds (seed to growth equity) into companies headquartered in Australia, excluding companies tagged mature or outside tech; the same definition applies to every country and metro hub it is compared with. Shares of capital and rounds use only rounds with at least one investor whose headquarters is known; 919 rounds without disclosed investors are excluded from those shares but included in totals. A round counts as having a foreign investor when any participant is headquartered outside Australia, so the foreign capital shown is the full size of mixed rounds, not the foreign investors' cheques. Firms with several Dealroom records (same website) are counted once.

Unicorn counts follow Dealroom's definition: companies founded after 1990 that reached a $1B valuation, including companies since listed or acquired. Counts and ranks include companies founded or headquartered in each country, as in the funnel. Country ranks compare all countries by VC invested in the year. Exits are IPOs, acquisitions and buyouts of Australia-headquartered VC-backed companies founded since 1990, on the same exclusions as the rounds; the listing exchange is not recorded. Policy-backed investors are matched by name and understate money routed through fund-of-funds. The current year is year to date. The Global Tech Ecosystem Index 2026 rank is taken from the published report.

8 AI focus

AI in Australia

AI companies took $1.1B of VC in 2025, 37% of Australia's total and 19.8× the 2016 figure. Australia has 531 VC-backed AI startups worth $65B combined, with 7 unicorns. The section compares Australia with Asia Pacific and the world on the same lens. About AI on Dealroom.

$1.1BAI VC in 202537% of Australia's VC; $6.1B since 2021
531VC-backed AI startups12% of Australia's VC-backed startups; 8 raised $100M+
7AI unicornsof 45 in Australia; IREN, AirTrunk and firmus
$65Bcombined enterprise value16% of Australia's startup value; $48B at the end of 2025

AI took $1.1B of Australia's $2.9B VC in 2025

AI VC into Australia-headquartered companies grew 19.8× from 2016 to 2025, against 3.1× for all VC. The peak year was 2025 at $1.1B. The current year is to date.

VC into Australia, $$2.5B$5.0B$7.5B$10B 6% 2016 23% 2017 6% 2018 8% 2019 6% 2020 11% 2021 9% 2022 9% 2023 7% 2024 37% 2025 66% 2026 YTD
  • AI
  • Other VC

AI was 37% of Australia's VC in 2025, above Asia Pacific but below the world

Each line is the share of the year's VC capital that went to AI companies. Asia Pacific is the China, India, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, New Zealand and Vietnam total. The world and Asia Pacific lines follow the year's largest AI rounds, so a handful of deals move them. The current year is to date.

AI share of VC25%50%75%100%World 76%Australia 66%Asia Pacific 62%20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026 YTD
  • Australia
  • Asia Pacific
  • World

Australia ranks 3rd of 11 Asia Pacific countries on the AI share of VC

China put $111B into AI since 2021, 18 times Australia's $6.1B. Australia has 531 VC-backed AI startups, the 6th-largest pool in the region, and 7 AI unicorns. The current year is to date.

AI share of VC, 2021–2026

  1. China30% · $111B of $372B
  2. Singapore30% · $14B of $48B
  3. Australia24% · $6.1B of $25B
  4. New Zealand23% · $706M of $3.0B
  5. Japan20% · $6.5B of $33B
  6. South Korea19% · $12B of $63B
  7. Taiwan13% · $364M of $2.7B
  8. India8% · $9.1B of $117B
  9. Hong Kong7% · $944M of $14B
  10. Vietnam3% · $128M of $4.9B
  11. Indonesia2% · $259M of $12B

Asia Pacific countries, 2021–2026

CountryAI VC 2021–2026RoundsVC-backed AI startupsAI unicornsVC per startup
China$111B2,4971,575127$71M
Singapore$14B7055905$24M
South Korea$12B1,13469110$17M
India$9.1B1,5081,2148$7M
Japan$6.5B1,0436436$10M
Australia$6.1B6505317$11M
Hong Kong$944M1471302$7M
New Zealand$706M96851$8M
Taiwan$364M671064$3M
Indonesia$259M76680$4M
Vietnam$128M57410$3M

Tasmania holds 50% of Australia's AI VC since 2016; in Asia Pacific it ranks 9th of 25 hubs

Bubble area is AI VC into companies headquartered in the hub. Sydney ($1.8B) and Melbourne ($790M) follow Tasmania inside Australia. In Asia Pacific, Beijing ($30B) and Shanghai ($17B) lead since 2021.

Australia · since 2016

Loading map…
  • 1. Tasmania9 rounds$3.4B
  • 2. Sydney399 rounds$1.8B
  • 3. Melbourne306 rounds$790M
  • 4. Brisbane85 rounds$578M
  • 5. Perth48 rounds$92M
  • 6. Adelaide47 rounds$73M

Asia Pacific · since 2021

Loading map…
  • 1. Beijing407 rounds$30B
  • 2. Shanghai323 rounds$17B
  • 3. Seoul882 rounds$11B
  • 4. Singapore1,098 rounds$11B
  • 5. Shenzhen290 rounds$8.5B
  • 6. Tokyo836 rounds$6.0B

AI is 12% of Australia's VC-backed startups and 13% of those that raised $100M+

Each row counts companies headquartered in Australia that reached the stage; bars are scaled to the first row of each column. 13% of VC-backed AI startups raised $10M or more, against 14% across all Australia startups. 42 VC-backed AI startups have exited.

StageAI startupsAll Australia startupsAI share of the stage
Startups founded since 1990
2,825
36,288
8%
VC-backed
531
4,321
12%
Raised $10M+
69
625
11%
Raised $50M+
10
146
7%
Raised $100M+
8
61
13%
Unicorns
7
45
16%

Australia's AI startups are worth $65B combined, 16% of the country's startup value

Combined enterprise value sums the latest valuation of every AI startup headquartered in Australia at the end of each year, listed companies included. It was $763M at the end of 2016 and $48B at the end of 2025. Asia Pacific's AI startups are worth $2.5T, so Australia holds 3% of the region's AI value.

Combined EV of Australia's AI startups, $$25B$50B$75B$100B 4% 2016 3% 2017 3% 2018 2% 2019 3% 2020 3% 2021 4% 2022 4% 2023 8% 2024 12% 2025 16% 2026 now

The label above each column is the AI share of the combined value of all Australia startups that year.

Hosting, Enterprise Software and Health took 79% of Australia's AI VC since 2021

Left: AI VC by the industry of the company since 2021; a company with two industries counts in both. Right: the same capital by round stage. Series C and later rounds took 70% of the capital.

By industry

  1. Hosting$3.4B · 51%
  2. Enterprise Software$1.1B · 17%
  3. Health$767M · 11%
  4. Robotics$335M · 5%
  5. Transportation$309M · 5%
  6. Energy$117M · 2%
  7. Security$100M · 1%
  8. Marketing$68M · 1%

By round stage

  1. Pre-Seed$38M · 1%
  2. Seed$515M · 8%
  3. Series A$611M · 10%
  4. Series B$584M · 10%
  5. Series C$411M · 7%
  6. Series D$85M · 1%
  7. Growth$3.8B · 62%
  8. Bridge$2M · <1%
  9. Other$42M · 1%

simPRO, Advanced Navigation and Heidi lead Australia's AI startups by valuation

The 12 most valuable VC-backed AI startups headquartered in Australia that have not exited, with the latest valuation Dealroom holds and total funding raised. Below, the 10 largest AI VC rounds since 2024: firmus $2.0B, firmus $505M and firmus $324M.

  • simPROEnterprise Software · Brisbane · founded 2002
    $1.4Bvaluation$392Mraised
  • Advanced NavigationRobotics · Sydney · founded 2012
    $1.0Bvaluation$188Mraised
  • HeidiHealth · Melbourne · founded 2019
    $900Mvaluation$208Mraised
  • HelfieHealth · Melbourne · founded 2016
    $750Mvaluation$35Mraised
  • NearaEnterprise Software · Sydney · founded 2016
    $712Mvaluation$115Mraised
  • Harrison.aiHealth · Sydney · founded 2018
    $461Mvaluation$218Mraised
  • Omniscient NeurotechnologyHealth · Sydney · founded 2019
    $445Mvaluation$124Mraised
  • BarajaTransportation · Sydney · founded 2015
    $160Mvaluation$66Mraised
  • Affinda GroupEnterprise Software · Melbourne · founded 2013
    $142Mvaluation$31Mraised
  • LorikeetEnterprise Software · Sydney · founded 2023
    $140Mvaluation$49Mraised
  • PlotlogicEnergy · Brisbane · founded 2016
    $112Mvaluation$46Mraised
  • Applied EVRobotics · Melbourne · founded 2015
    $110Mvaluation$28Mraised

Largest AI rounds since 2024

CompanyRoundStageDateInvestors
firmus$2.0BGrowthAug 2026Nvidia, Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, Coatue Management, Jane Street Capital
firmus$505MGrowthApr 2026Coatue Management, Nvidia
firmus$324MGrowthNov 2025Archibald Capital, Ellerston Capital, Nvidia, Regal Funds Management +1
firmus$300MGrowthJul 2026MAAS Group
firmus$226MGrowthSept 2025Ellerston Capital, Nvidia
Harrison.ai$115MSeries CFeb 2025Aware Super, Horizons Ventures, Alpha JWC, Australian National Reconstruction Fund +3
Advanced Navigation$102MSeries CMar 2026AirTree Ventures, Australian National Reconstruction Fund, Quadrant Private Equity
Heidi$100MSeries CSept 2026Blackbird Ventures, Headline, Phoenix Court Group, Point72
Heidi$65MSeries BOct 2025Point72, Blackbird Ventures, LocalGlobe
firmus$65MGrowthFeb 2026MAAS Group

Source: Dealroom Next Gen API (aggregate, timeseries, entities, transactions), shared authenticated client, retrieved 7 October 2026.

Method

VC rounds are Dealroom is_vc_round rounds, by the year of the round and the headquarters of the company. Startups are companies founded since 1990 that are not closed, not Mature and not Outside Tech. Sector membership is the AI tag. Combined enterprise value is the sum of the latest valuations of those startups at the end of each year. AI VC by hub groups the platform's city names into metros (Tasmania: Launceston, Hobart; Sydney: Sydney; Melbourne: Melbourne). The funnel counts companies by total funding raised to date; "VC-backed" is Dealroom's label. Asia Pacific is China, India, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, New Zealand and Vietnam.

9 Ecosystem index

Sydney in the Global Tech Ecosystem Index 2026

Sydney is 26th of 325 hubs in the Global Champions ranking, unchanged on last year, and 123rd among Rising Stars. Within the index's sector rankings it places highest in Blockchain (#13), Cybersecurity (#17), Foodtech (#19). About the index.

#26Global Championsunchanged on 2025
#123Rising Starsdown 52 on 2025
#45Density Leadersdown 3 on 2025
325hubs rankedMelbourne #41, Brisbane #127, Adelaide #197, Perth #198, Gold Coast #265 in Global Champions

Global Champions ranking: Sydney against other hubs

Bar length follows the index score. Switch between the world table, APAC and the peer hubs used elsewhere on this page.

Sydney among the first 15 of 325 hubs

Change since 2025

  1. #1 Bay Area
  2. #2 New York City
  3. #3 Boston
  4. #4 London
  5. #5 Los Angeles
  6. #6 Austin 2
  7. #7 Tel Aviv 1
  8. #8 Paris 1
  9. #9 Beijing
  10. #10 Seoul 1
  11. #11 Shanghai 1
  12. #12 Bengaluru 1
  13. #13 Washington DC 3
  14. #14 San Diego 2
  15. #15 Chicago
  16. #26 Sydney

Sydney's rank in the index's sector rankings

Overall Champions rank #26. Sydney ranks above its overall position in Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Foodtech, Fintech, Robotics, Climate Tech, and well below it in Semiconductors, Gaming, Health Medtech, Defence, Space, Life Sciences, Transportation.

SectorChampions rankvs overall #26Density rank
Blockchain#1313 places above#11
Cybersecurity#179 places above#24
Foodtech#197 places above#15
Fintech#206 places above#13
Robotics#206 places above#29
Climate Tech#215 places above#27
AI#304 below#41
Energy#4519 below#28
Semiconductors#4721 below#46
Gaming#5024 below#27
Health Medtech#5125 below#47
Defence#6034 below#71
Space#6034 below#60
Life Sciences#7145 below#72
Transportation#8155 below#63

Source: Dealroom Global Tech Ecosystem Index 2026, ranking data to the end of 2025; read from the index team's ranking sheet on 7 October 2026. The published report is the source of truth for the official figures.

About the index

The Global Tech Ecosystem Index scores 325 hubs on venture funding by stage over two periods (2017–20 and 2022–25), funding growth, combined enterprise value of VC-backed companies in 2018 and 2025, founders affiliated with local universities, active and pending patents, unicorns and new unicorns, with population, GDP per capita and cost of living as context. Global Champions ranks on absolute scale, Density Leaders per inhabitant, Rising Stars on growth. Sector rankings apply the same scoring to companies in each sector; "vs overall" is the sector rank compared with the hub's overall Champions rank.

10 Location comparison

Unicorns, decacorns and centicorns — Australia in a global comparison

Companies count where they were founded or are headquartered. Values are per 1M people or totals, as a share of the US (US = 100%) or absolute; bars scale to the largest value in each column. Hover any value for the per-1M rate and absolute count.

11 Global reach

How global are Australia’s startups?

Share of Australia-headquartered startups whose web audience is mostly domestic, split across several markets, or mostly abroad, compared with other HQ countries.

Explore startup globalness

Explore the full comparison and methodology ↗

12 Startup hubs

Inside Australia: 5 startup hubs, 527 universities

Hubs are sized by combined enterprise value; universities and research institutes by the startup founders they produced. Hover any point for its numbers; the lists rank hubs by EV and universities by founders.

Loading map…
By enterprise value · 5-yr growth
1 Sydney $178B 15× 5-yr
2 Melbourne $65.2B 9.2× 5-yr
3 Brisbane $12.3B 5.2× 5-yr
4 Perth $5.2B 7.2× 5-yr
5 Adelaide $3B 12× 5-yr
Universities · founders produced · 527 tracked
1 University of New South Wales 1,950
2 University of Sydney 1,946
3 Monash University 1,931
4 RMIT University 1,498
5 The University of Queensland 1,245
6 University of Technology Sydney 1,124
7 University of Melbourne 962
8 Macquarie University 780

13 Universities

Universities and spinouts in Australia

Spinouts originating from Australian institutions, alongside companies founded by their alumni worldwide. 527 institutions tracked, 83 with recorded spinouts.

Showing 1–12 of 527 institutions
The University of Queensland1361,4751,3378
University of New South Wales1122,4212,10222
RMIT University1031,7711,6017
University of Sydney1022,3282,07822
Monash University952,2052,04012
University of Melbourne781,2361,09015
University of Adelaide436265651
University of Western Australia366415893
Australian Institute of Company Directors336175064
Griffith University287656494
University of Technology Sydney281,3931,2149
University of Wollongong274934461
Page 1 of 44

Source: Dealroom · 7 October 2026 · Counts can overlap across institutions.

About spinouts and alumni companies

Spinouts are companies recorded by Dealroom as originating from the institution. Alumni-founded companies count businesses whose founders studied there, wherever those businesses are based. Founder alumni count people; alumni unicorns count companies that reached a $1 billion valuation. The table includes universities, business schools and research institutes headquartered in Australia, as classified by Dealroom. Schools and parent universities can have separate records. Missing data is shown as a dash; zero means a recorded count of zero. The columns and rows should not be added together. Bars use the highest count in each column across all institutions as their scale.

14 Founder factories

Australia's founder factories

3,603 founders on Dealroom passed through 37 Australian-founded companies. Atlassian leads with 504, then Canva 177, REA Group 130 and Envato 99. Among companies founded since 2010, Canva has produced the most founders per year of existence. Founder networks worldwide.

People who worked at the company and went on to found one, per company

Each bar counts people with a recorded role at the company who are also founders of a company on Dealroom, with the best-funded founders named. A larger and older company has had more people pass through it, so the count is a measure of reach, not of rate.

  1. Atlassian · Sydney, 2002504 · Amit Puntambekar, Yaroslav Nazarov
  2. Canva · Sydney, 2013177 · Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht
  3. REA Group · Melbourne, 1995130 · Serge Kotlyarov, Simon Baker
  4. Envato · Melbourne, 200699 · Daniel Lizio-Katzen, Keith Pitt
  5. SEEK · Melbourne, 199784 · Leigh Jasper, Andrei Miulescu
  6. BigCommerce · Sydney, 2009, now headquartered in the US82 · Eddie Machaalani, Mitchell Harper
  7. Airwallex · Melbourne, 2015, now headquartered in Singapore75 · Xijing Dai, Ki Lok Wong
  8. MYOB · Melbourne, 199172 · Andrew Birch, Andy Lee
  9. Zip · Sydney, 201363 · Anthony Thomson, Dianne Di Challenor
  10. Culture Amp · Melbourne, 200959 · Rod Hamilton, Douglas English
  11. Afterpay · Melbourne, 201456 · Wayne Baskin, Akash Garg
  12. Linktree · Melbourne, 201654 · Dario Fazlic, Anthony Zaccaria
  13. Cochlear · Sydney, 198152 · John Parker, Federico Collarte
  14. Rokt · Sydney, 2012, now headquartered in the US52 · Bruce Buchanan, Justin Viles
  15. Immutable · Sydney, 201850 · Justin Waldron, Alex Connolly
  16. SiteMinder · Sydney, 200646 · Dean Stoecker, Mike Ford
  17. Go1 · Brisbane, 201545 · Andrew Barnes, Vu Tran
  18. Campaign Monitor · Sydney, 2004, now headquartered in the US41 · Matthew Jacobson, Gopal Patel
  19. Tyro · Sydney, 200339 · Tim Andrew, Peter Haig
  20. Airtasker · Sydney, 201239 · Simone Mancini, Jonathan Lui
  21. Catapult Sports · Melbourne, 200634 · Leonard Ryan, Birgir Ragnarsson
  22. Employment Hero · Sydney, 201429 · Dave Tong, Ben Thompson
  23. Nearmap · Sydney, 200729 · Penny Diamantakiou, Tom Bass
  24. Deputy · Sydney, 200826 · Ashik Ahmed, Steve Shelley
  25. Ansarada · Sydney, 200526 · Boris Bohrer-Bilowitzki, Eugene Segal
  26. carsales · Melbourne, 199723 · Mark Paul, Rohan Le Page
  27. Aconex · Melbourne, 200020 · Robert Phillpot, Leigh Jasper
  28. Prospa · Sydney, 201215 · Simone Mancini, Gregory Moshal
  29. Kogan · Melbourne, 200613 · Ruslan Kogan, James Spenceley
  30. Judo Bank · Melbourne, 201612 · Malcolm Hiscock, Jacqui Colwell
  31. Octopus Deploy · Brisbane, 201111 · Paul Stovell, Robert Ͳaylor
  32. Harrison.ai · Sydney, 201810 · Aengus Tran, Dimitry Tran
  33. Hipages · Sydney, 20045 · Robert Sharon-Zipser, David Vitek

Banks, telecoms and other large employers

  1. Macquarie · Sydney, 1969720 · David Hornery, Ed Robinson
  2. Commonwealth Bank · Sydney, 1911442 · Coenraad (Coen) Jonker, Johnny Mitrevski
  3. Westpac · Sydney, 1817324 · David Klinger, Christopher Gale
  4. Telstra · Melbourne, 197545 · Johnny Mitrevski, Ryan Junee.

Source: Dealroom people and company records, retrieved 7 October 2026.

Method

Companies founded in Australia, selected by hand; four large employers are listed apart. A person counts once per company when Dealroom records a role at the company and a founder role at any company, in either order, so the figure includes people who founded a company before joining and founders who later joined the company as executives. It is not a count of startups spun out of the company. The named founders are those whose founded companies raised the most capital.

15 Founder origins

Where Australia's unicorn founders build

123 founders born in Australia are behind 70 unicorns; 36% of those were built in the US. Origins are resolved from biography and education history, not current address. Compare with the other origin countries in Oceania, ranked by founders or per 1M inhabitants.

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16 Patent intelligence

Australia startup IP portfolio: 7,391 patent families

Granted patent families assigned to startups headquartered in Australia. Aggregated across the country's hub-level filings — Bay Area, Boston, etc. roll up under the United States row, the same way Tokyo and Osaka roll up under Japan.

Granted patent families
7,391
Filed by tracked startups headquartered in the country.
272 patents per million residents · #27 globally
Top patenting hubs
1 Sydney 4,861
2 Melbourne 1,476
3 Brisbane 393
4 Adelaide Metropolitan Area, Australia 350
5 Perth Metropolitan Region 311

17 Latest quarter

Australia's latest quarter in venture capital

VC raised by Australia-headquartered companies in the quarter shown, against the quarter before and the same quarter a year earlier.

Latest complete quarter

 

Loading VC raised by Australia-headquartered companies…

More data

Explore Dealroom data →
Region Oceania Continent / region · Pop. 46.6M · #21 region by EV Country New Zealand Oceania · Pop. 5.3M · #25 startup ecosystem by EV

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