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Australia

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Introduction

Australia has rapidly emerged as a significant player in the global innovation and venture capital landscape, ranking among the top 20 countries for VC investment. Key innovation hubs include New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

In collaboration with LaunchVic, Investment NSW, Advanced Queensland, Government of South Australia and the Western Australia Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation, Dealroom counts five Australian states as part of its ecosystem network.

Explore Australia’s vibrant ecosystem by clicking on the relevant regions in the map below to discover innovative companies, unicorns, investors, and key ecosystem players. The foundation for a thriving tech future is well-established in Australia.

 

 

Venture Capital

 

By region

Australian VC is geographically dominated by 3 states: New South Wales,Victoria and Queensland. From 2019-2024 YTD, only New South Wales broke through the $10B barrier in VC invested. This was followed by Victoria at $4.7B and Queensland at $2.3B. Together, they make up more than 90% of VC raised by Australian startups between 2019-2024.

 

 

 

After the peak years of 2021 and 2022, Australian VC has mostly stabilised, and surpassed pre-pandemic years in 2023. See the next section for a breakdown by round size and type.

 

By stage

The quarterly dynamic of Australian VC has remained largely stable in the last few years apart from the global VC heavy years of 2021 and 2022. Since those years, Australian VC has been slightly above the pre-pandemic years. Take a look here for more details about individual rounds.

 

 

VC stage breakdown

Looking at quarterly trends in early-stage VC compared to breakout and late-stage VC, there is a clear surge in funding in 2021 and 2022, followed by a subsequent stabilisation. However, 2023 saw some Australian VC mega rounds that pushed 2023 ahead of 2020 and 2019. Find out more about early-, breakout- and late-stage investment below.

 

 

By industry

Discover Australian VC-backed companies by industry.

Compared to the global average, Australia has over indexed in Fintech and Enterprise Software startup investment since 2019. These are industries where businesses have typically been able to scale quickly. So far, these have also been the industries where AI has been a major disruptor.

 

 

Since 2023 other sectors have been gaining traction, with verticals like food, energy and health taking the top spots. Check the top rounds since 2023 here.

 

 

For more granularity, access VC investment raised by sub-industry.

 

VC by segment

Explore below some of the segments Australian startups have been addressing since 2019. The undisputed winner in recent years has been climate tech - this includes sub-topics such as clean energy, innovative food and agritech. Challenger banks also rank highly in total amounts raised, along with technologies such as crypto and web 3.0 and space tech.

 

 

Over $2.6B has been raised in climate tech since 2019. Climate tech VC funding peaked in 2021, but 2024 is still on track to be the second most active year on record and more than double pre-pandemic levels (2019). Explore VC into climate tech categories here.

 

 

Green hydrogen production, circular economy, solar energy and sustainable aviation have been the top segments in Australian climate tech in 2024 so far. Since 2019, electric mobility, biotechnology, solar energy and alternative protein have attracted the most funding. Discover top Australian climate tech rounds since 2016 here.

 

 

Australia can become a global leader in clean technology, leveraging its vast renewable energy potential, minerals reserves and expertise in energy development.

Australia is in fact one of the regions with the most renewable energy potential, especially solar. Renewables already generated nearly 40% of the country's electricity last year. As a result, VC investments in solar energy and green hydrogen production have remained consistent.

Australia is a key player producing the minerals needed in the net zero transition, such as lithium and copper. Australia is already the world’s largest producer of spodumene—the base mineral for lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate—and has the second-largest lithium ore reserves globally. Several startups raised funding in Australia for direct lithium extraction and mining operational efficiency.

Australia also has a strong startup scene in synthetic biology, mainly targeted at food and agritech applications such as fertilisers and alternative proteins, and has a $30 billion opportunity by 2040 in the sector.

 

Global benchmarking

Australia ranks 7th in the Asia Pacific for VC investment raised between 2019 and 2024 H1. Australian VC hubs are also holding their own compared to other global hubs.

 

 

Use our ecosystem tool to benchmark Australia against other startup ecosystems based on key metrics including VC investment, number of exits and new VC funds raised.

 

Investors

The following table showcases the most active investors in the Australia ecosystem, based on their activity in round participation - including over 3k domestic investors as well as foreign investors. Antler leads the way - a Norwegian founded VC with HQ in Singapore that focusses on Fintech and Enterprise Software and which has found ample opportunities in Australia. The most active Australian investor is Artesian Capital Management, which focusses on Australian food and health companies. Explore all Australian investors who invest in Australian companies here.

 

 

Though Australian investors remain strongly represented, more than half of VC raised by Australian startups so far in 2024 comes from foreign sources. This is reflected in the above table with Antler leading in round participation. Substantial amounts of VC in Australia come from Europe, Asia and the US. Some of the largest VCs are located in the US and are typically interested in foreign mega rounds - for example the $350M investment in simPRO in 2021 led by American-based investors.

 

 

Unicorns and Promising Companies

Reaching a $1B valuation and hence unicorn status is a sign of outstanding success and innovation for a tech company. The regular minting of Australian unicorns showcases not only the innovation, but also other well-functioning elements of an ecosystem. The following graph showcases new and cumulated number of Australian unicorns and $1B exits per year growing steadily since 2015.

Discover the latest Australian unicorns.

 

 

Discover the top 100 startups to watch in Australia based on the Dealroom Signal.

 

Australian Tech Industry in Focus

The Australian ecosystem has seen significant innovation and growth in its startups in the last 5 years and has increasingly become an important player for global innovation. This section will take a closer look at the businesses and industries that characterise Australia's tech ecosystem.

 

Top Australian rounds of the last 5 years

Below are some of the largest rounds raised by Australian startups. The largest round was raised in 2024 by Canva - a design product company, and one of Australia's best-known unicorns. But companies from diverse segments have successfully raised large rounds, including energy, health and enterprise software startups. Take a look here to see other top rounds raised in the last 5 years.

 

Most valuable Australian industries

The most valuable industries in Australia are energy, enterprise software and fintech. This ranking is slightly different from VC amounts invested, but roughly the same outcomes can be seen here:

 

Explore the top companies in Australia's most valuable industries here.

Australian exits in the last 5 years

Exits are another way of looking at how promising startups have graduated into successful, established businesses. The number of Australian exits has been on the rise, peaking in 2023 at 288. 2024 is on track to comfortably surpass 250. This is a great incentive for founders and investors alike to be active in the Australian startup ecosystem. Click here to explore all of Australia's exits.

 

 

See below some of the high profile exits from the last 5 years - many of them in the cash rich year of 2021.

 


Click here to explore Australia's top exits since 2019.

 

Methodology

Unless specified otherwise, Australian startups refer to startups based in Australia, which maintain their main centre of business (HQ) in their country of origin.

All data provided is in USD.

 

Related Content

 

Related info

Regions: Oceania