Blackbird Ventures

What Blackbird Ventures does

Blackbird Ventures (legal entity Blackbird Ventures Pty Ltd, founded 2012) is an Australia and New Zealand-headquartered venture capital firm that invests across the entire technology stack, from software to space, under a 'companies not rounds' philosophy that sees it back founders from pre-seed through IPO. The firm operates two core fund vehicles, a Core Fund for first-round investments and a Follow-On Fund for Series B and beyond, and has raised five vintage funds between 2013 and 2022 totaling roughly A$2.163B in committed capital, with fund sizes scaling from A$29M to over A$1B per vintage.

As of August 2025 the firm holds a portfolio of 174 companies with a combined value of A$9.9B, including eight unicorns (notably Canva, SafetyCulture, Culture Amp, Halter, and Eucalyptus), forty companies valued above A$100M, and a reported 36.09% net IRR across all funds. Beyond capital, Blackbird runs a purpose-built founder ecosystem: the Giants mentoring program (4,000+ matches), Foundry pre-accelerator for researchers, two-week Founder Academy, Sunrise Festival as the ANZ flagship tech event, and the Blackbird Foundation for youth creativity. The 70+ person team spans Investments, Operations, and 'Building Blackbird' functions, and a recent board addition (Robyn Denholm) plus the 2023 AFR Best Place to Work award round out the institutional profile.

Revenue is generated through standard VC economics, specifically management fees on committed capital plus carried interest on exits, and the firm concentrates investment activity in ANZ while selectively participating in and leading rounds in US (Baseten, Ivo, Adora) and UK (Elyos AI) opportunities. Strategic partnerships extend capability without diluting focus: Applied for blind hiring, Lilypad for talent, Startmate for fellowships, and the Australian Government's National Reconstruction Fund Corporation as a co-lead on the Gilmour Space Series E.

Name

Blackbird Ventures

Legal name

Blackbird Ventures Pty Ltd

Website

http://www.blackbird.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Blackbird Ventures is an Australia and New Zealand venture capital firm that backs technology founders from pre-seed through IPO across five vintage funds totaling A$2.16B and a 174-company portfolio, supported by the Giants, Foundry, Founder Academy and Sunrise Festival ecosystem programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Vehicles (525990)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Early stage investing
• Growth stage investment
• Founder support programs
• Technology startup investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. VC Fund Management: Blackbird generates returns through management fees on committed capital and carried interest on portfolio exits. Their funds include Core Funds for early-stage investments and Follow-On Funds for growth stage.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Blackbird Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests directly in technology startups across Australia and New Zealand from pre-seed through IPO, deploying capital from its Core Funds (early stage) and Follow-On Funds (Series B and beyond). The firm supplements capital with ecosystem support programs including the Giants mentoring platform, Foundry pre-accelerator, Founder Academy, Sunrise Festival, and the Blackbird Foundation youth creativity initiative. Returns are generated for limited partners through management fees on committed capital and carried interest on portfolio exits.

Product overview

Blackbird Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Australia and New Zealand that offers investment services rather than traditional software products. Its core offerings include the Core Fund (investing in first rounds of ambitious startups) and Follow-On Fund (growth-stage investment for Series B and beyond). The firm also provides ecosystem support programs including Giants (mentoring for early-stage founders), Foundry (pre-accelerator for researchers), Sunrise Festival (startup ecosystem event), Blackbird Foundation (youth creativity initiative), and Wild Hearts Podcast. Operational support products include Lilypad (talent platform) and Startmate Fellowship programs. Blackbird has invested in over 130 companies since 2012, with a portfolio worth over $9.9B as of August 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Blackbird Foundation: Grants, storytelling and funding to unleash creativity in young people.
• Giants
• Foundry
• Sunrise Festival
• Wild Hearts Podcast

Products and services

• Core Fund Investment Early-stage investment fund that invests in the first rounds of Australia's most ambitious startups, typically before revenue and product exist. Aimed at pre-seed, seed, and Series A technology founders in Australia and New Zealand.
• Follow-On Fund Investment Growth-stage investment fund that invests in Series B and beyond in emergent generational companies within the Blackbird portfolio across Australia and New Zealand.
• Giants Mentoring Program Free flagship mentoring program for early-stage founders that matches them with experienced operators, having made over 4,000 mentoring matches to date.
• Foundry Pre-Accelerator Pre-accelerator program designed for ambitious researchers from Australia and New Zealand to commercialize research into startups.
• Sunrise Festival Australia and New Zealand's premier startups festival, an annual ecosystem event bringing together the startup community.
• Founder Academy Intensive program (two-day or five-week format referenced) for founders to build their business alongside other Blackbird founders.
• Blackbird Foundation Grants, storytelling and funding initiative to unleash creativity in young people, operating as a sub-brand of Blackbird Ventures.

Quantifiable outcome

• 36.09% net IRR across all Blackbird funds
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• StartmatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShared office spaces and close operational partnership. Startmate's accelerator and Fellowship programs are referenced as part of Blackbird's ecosystem for connecting founders to talent and programs.
• AppliedcoreTechnology or IntegrationBlackbird uses Applied's blind hiring platform for their own recruitment process to ensure equal chance for all applicants.
• Australian Investment CouncilminorOthersBlackbird uses Australian Investment Council Open Source Funding documents as standard terms for investments.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Y Combinator: Y Combinator is the world's largest startup accelerator providing pre-seed funding and has co-invested with Blackbird (e.g., Elyos AI Series A); comparable in stage (pre-seed/seed) but operates a fundamentally different accelerator model rather than a traditional VC fund.
• Andreessen Horowitz: a16z is a global venture capital firm with a16z speedrun program for pre-seed and significant AI investment activity (e.g., co-led Baseten's round with Blackbird); a broad incumbent that competes across stages Blackbird targets.
• Sequoia Capital: Sequoia is a global venture capital firm that has historically invested in ANZ's top companies (e.g., Canva) and competes at growth stage; a broad incumbent that overlaps with Blackbird at Series B and beyond but operates with far greater scale globally.

Direct peers

• Square Peg Capital: Square Peg is an ANZ-focused VC firm making early and growth-stage technology investments from offices in Sydney and Melbourne, directly comparable in stage, geography, and approach to Blackbird.
• Folklore Ventures: Folklore is an early-stage ANZ VC firm making pre-seed and seed investments across Australia and New Zealand, comparable to Blackbird's Core Fund investing activity and stage focus.
• Carthona Capital: Carthona is an Australian venture capital firm that invests across early-stage technology companies in ANZ, with overlapping mandate and geographic focus to Blackbird.
• AirTree Ventures: AirTree is the most direct ANZ peer — an early-to-growth stage venture capital firm headquartered in Sydney, investing in Australian and New Zealand technology companies with comparable fund sizes and similar 'companies not rounds' philosophy.
• Skip Capital: Skip Capital is an ANZ early-stage venture firm founded by Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar, actively investing in pre-seed through Series A startups in Australia and frequently co-investing alongside Blackbird (e.g., Adora, Kimia).

Regional players

• Movac: Movac is a New Zealand early-stage venture capital firm investing in deep tech and technology startups founded in NZ, comparable geographic niche but operating primarily within New Zealand rather than Australia.
• Icehouse Ventures: Icehouse Ventures is a New Zealand-focused early-stage VC firm based in Auckland that invests in NZ startups, frequently co-investing with Blackbird in NZ-led rounds (e.g., NextWork, Halter).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/blackbirdvc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC9csqrB0CFJRePH0aHOZOMA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blackbird-ventures
• Facebookfacebook.com/blackbirdventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments377 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Blackbird Ventures