Atlassian

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #180, 4th October 2026

Weekly roundup reporting Australian startup funding rounds and government grants, a venture fund close, agreed acquisitions, an IPO pricing, a collapse, plus executive hires and AI policy developments.

Airtree is offering $350,000 to ANZ founders to kick off in Silicon Valley

Startup Daily reports Airtree has extended its Frontier founder residency to San Francisco, dangling uncapped US$250,000 SAFE notes at expat Aussie and Kiwi founders; its Sydney edition hosts alumni of major local tech firms.

Buildkite quietly raised $21 million earlier this year after posting massive losses

ASIC filings show Buildkite raised $21m via convertible debt in January 2026 after heavy losses and a CEO change; its earlier backers include OneVentures, AirTree, General Catalyst and Dom Pym.

Also Capital Brief

Victoria picks nine start-ups for LaunchVic's 30x30 mentoring program

LaunchVic selected nine Victorian start-ups, including Preezie, for a mentoring bootcamp with executives from Atlassian, Uber, Dropbox, Seek and Canva.

Xero board bumps CEO's pay to $25.8 million – but mandates skin in the game

Forbes Australia reports Xero's board lifted CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy's potential pay to US$18.5 million, mostly equity vesting over three years, and now requires her to hold shares worth five times her salary.

Bower raises $2M to bring ambient intelligence to the research lab

Bower, an Australian startup, has closed a $2 million pre-seed round led by TEN13 with Admiralty Capital Group, Edale Capital and angel backers, funding ambient AI that captures laboratory work as structured research records.

Canva founder says AI costs down 90% after skyrocketing bills delayed product rollout

At a Sydney event, Canva's co-founder explained how soaring compute bills forced a delay to its AI relaunch, and how homegrown models cut serving costs; he also recalls early government backing.

Canva wipes $11 billion from its valuation, putting IPO plans in doubt

Blackbird and Airtree mark Canva's worth down sharply, the employee share price falls too, and commentators question whether a 2027 sharemarket float remains realistic amid sliding confidence in AI-era software.

Our Investment in Bower | The AI Research Partner for Scientists

Ten13 led Bower's A$2m pre-seed round for a voice-first AI assistant that helps scientists capture lab observations hands-free, founded by a four-person team with backgrounds at Microsoft, Google and Atlassian.

Also Startup Daily

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #173, 9th August 2026

Weekly roundup: Firmus completes its $2.85b round; Procore acquires DroneDeploy; Atlassian rebounds while Canva cuts guidance; plus fresh raises for Zabidou, BioScout, Vexev, Enrola, Spacetalk and others.

Also Dealroom·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy

Our Investment in Vexev - Building Autonomous Robotic Ultrasound

Ten13's post explains why it joined the robotics company's latest raise alongside Blackbird, Neotribe, Startmate and Horizons, covering its autonomous scanning device, dialysis focus, founders, and US rollout plans.

Also Dealroom·vexev.com·datapile.co·evtoday.com

Powering the battery revolution

The CEFC recounts a decade of project financing behind Australia's landmark grid batteries — DeGrussa, Hornsdale, Victorian Big Battery and Capital Battery — showing how early public capital helped storage reach mainstream markets.

Former Smart50 winner Cover Genius reaches $2 billion+ valuation

Insurtech Cover Genius, previously ranked first on the Smart50 list, has secured $143 million from Vista Credit Partners at a valuation above $2 billion, with funds earmarked for AI development and acquisitions.

Biza prepares for acceleration after securing over 50% of initial non-bank lenders

CDR solutions firm Biza.io signs four initial non-bank lenders as clients and adds three directors, Max Diamond, Anthony Spark and David Nixon, to its executive team amid growth.

Sydney Startup Hub rent bill owed to the NSW government pushes Fishburners into administration

Fishburners, the Sydney not-for-profit co-working community, has gone into voluntary administration over a long-running rent debt to the NSW government. KPMG administrators will keep it trading while pursuing a sale and recapitalisation.

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #159, 3rd May 2026

Weekly roundup: Hipages takes a majority stake in VIZ Insurance, Side Stage Ventures banks $40m for fund two, Airwallex unveils the Latitude 37 program, Anthropic appoints an ANZ general manager, Atlassian shares jump.

Google Cloud launches US$750M agentic AI partner fund at Cloud Next

Google Cloud has committed US$750 million to a new partner fund for agentic AI resources and incentives, unveiled at Cloud Next; the piece also recalls Google's March acquisition of security firm Wiz.

Canva paints itself as an AI work platform with Simtheory, Ortto acquisitions

Canva has bought Sydney AI startup Simtheory and marketing automation firm Ortto, its fifth and sixth acquisitions in ten months, as it repositions from design tool to AI workplace platform; no prices disclosed.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·This Week in Australian Startups

Startmate's heading back to Silicon Valley with its founders

Startmate will resume taking founders to Silicon Valley this May and stage its first San Francisco Demo Day; the article also recalls Fluency's recent US seed round led by Accel.

Cheque-in: 10 ANZ startups raised nearly $193 million this week

Weekly roundup of ten Australian and New Zealand startup raises totalling nearly $194 million, topped by Neara's $90 million round at a $1.1 billion valuation, with Splose, Operata, HAMR Energy and Adora also covered.

The race is on

Blackbird partner Niki Scevak argues SaaS is not dead; winners will be companies that reinvent for AI, citing Canva's AI pivot and Kaleido acquisition, plus Heidi Health's new software category for doctors.

Also TechCrunch Australia·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia·Forbes Australia·TechCrunch Australia·Forbes Australia·Forbes Australia

Atlassian's first investor leads $8.55 million Seed in workflows documentation startup Fluency

Melbourne work-documentation startup Fluency raised a US$6 million seed led by Accel at a $30 million valuation, with DST Global and others participating; its founders previously raised $1.5 million.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Investment Notes: Ivo Series B

Blackbird's post explains why it led Ivo's US$55 million Series B with five co-investors, citing the legal-AI company's product expansion, customer growth, and adoption by major corporates.

Also SmartCompany

Why Canberra software startup Aristotle Metadata went with venture debt for capital

Canberra data governance firm Aristotle Metadata has borrowed $400,000 from Tractor Ventures as venture debt, planning to grow its consulting partner network after equity investors labelled it too risky.

Culture Amp cuts 60 jobs as AI focus grows

Melbourne's Culture Amp has cut roughly 60 roles amid a push into AI products like AI Coach; the piece also recalls its 2019 Series E, 2021 Series F and $2 billion valuation.

Cheque-in: 8 startups gobbled up $572.12 million in funding this week

Weekly roundup of eight raises totalling $572.12 million, led by Firmus's $500 million round; RAGE Biotech, SunDrive, Number 8 Bio, Fabra, Keeyu, MyGig and Drone-Hand also funded, plus two RAGE Biotech executive appointments.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Business News Australia

CEFC backs Brighte with $40 million for cheaper home battery installation

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation is putting up to $40m into Brighte through a federal program, letting the home-energy fintech offer cheaper green loans for solar, batteries and other household upgrades.

The Founders Union startup services hub launches

Scalare Partners has launched The Founders Union, an AI-driven hub connecting founders to education, community, services and investment providers; Westpac, MYOB, Atlassian and Zoho are among its partners.

Ex-Atlassians score an exit for their AI data security startup after just two years

RecordPoint has bought Redactive AI, a Melbourne data security startup founded by former Atlassian staff, for an undisclosed sum two years after its founding; Felicis and Blackbird co-led its 2024 seed round.

From 0 to 4.5 billion: how the Startmate pay-it-forward mentorship model built a startup powerhouse

Startmate reflects on a decade of backing founders, profiling breakout alumni across its cohorts and describing how its mentors reinvest in newer startups, alongside its fund model and returns.

Investment Notes: Alloy

Blackbird's investment note announces it led Alloy Technologies' $4.5 million pre-seed round, profiling founder Joe Harris and describing the startup's software for robotics companies deploying artificial intelligence.

Also Forbes Australia·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Alloy is bringing data management to the robotics industry

TechCrunch profiles Alloy, a Sydney startup whose software helps robotics firms manage sensor and camera data; it has raised a pre-seed round led by Blackbird Ventures and signed four local design partners.

Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany

Atlassian's AI shopping spree continues with $1.5 billion bid for US developer platform DX

Atlassian is acquiring US developer-analytics firm DX for US$1 billion — its second purchase this month, following The Browser Company and earlier deals for Loom and AirTrack.

Also Forbes Australia

Atlassian acquires DX, a developer productivity platform, for $1B

Atlassian has agreed to buy DX, a tool that measures engineering team output, for $1 billion — its biggest deal yet — after also announcing The Browser Company purchase this month.

Also Tech Funding News - Australia

Investing at Day 0 of Marloo

Blackbird partners recount backing Marloo's founders before they had settled on an idea, having led its 2024 pre-seed and now announcing its seed round.

Also marloo.com·marloo.com·Fintech News Australia·Business News Australia·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany

Nursing home robots startup powers up on $23 million Series A

Andromeda's animated approach to $100m Abi and AI

Andromeda Robotics raised a $23 million Series A led by Forerunner Ventures, valuing the Abi humanoid robot company at $100 million, with founder CEO Grace Brown relocating to San Francisco to hire Hollywood animators.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup News (WA)

Atlassian bets on AI with $610M Browser Company acquisition

Atlassian is acquiring The Browser Company, maker of the Arc and Dia browsers, for $610 million in cash, betting that AI-powered browsing will anchor its workplace software ecosystem.

Neural Notes: Why Atlassian joined the AI browser war

Column on Atlassian's $935 million takeover of the Arc and Dia developer, arguing the deal fits its workplace software strategy amid intensifying competition in AI browsing tools.

Also Forbes Australia·Startup Daily·TechCrunch Australia·Forbes Australia·Tech Funding News - Australia

Atlassian Aims For AI Browser For Knowledge Workers With $610M Acquisition Of Startup Behind Dia

Atlassian has agreed to buy The Browser Company, maker of browsers Dia and Arc, for roughly $610 million, aiming to build an AI browser for workplace use.