Venture capital fund · 22 deals
Venture firm backing early-stage climate companies
Surry Hills, NSW
Every published round Grok Ventures took part in, and every parcel of existing shares it bought off another holder. Deals we hold but haven't published yet are not counted.
Companies Grok Ventures has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airwallex | Fintech payments and financial infrastructure company | 18 Nov 2021, Series D+ | 1 | 0 |
| Carted | 2021, Seed | 1 | 0 | |
| Dovetail | Customer insights and research platform | 7 Feb 2022, Series A | 1 | 0 |
| Fleet Space | 22 Nov 2021, Series B | 1 | 1 | |
| Fleet Space Technologies | nano satellite startup | 17 Nov 2021, Series B | 2 | 2 |
| Goterra | Sustainable biotech startup processing food waste using insects, now in liquidation | 2020, Series A | 1 | 1 |
| gridmo | Oct 2023 | 1 | 1 | |
| Infradebt | 23 Feb 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| Loam | 16 Feb 2023, Series B | 1 | 0 | |
| Loam Bio | Agtech company developing microbial soil-carbon technology and farmer carbon projects | 2020, Seed | 2 | 0 |
| Mako | Maker of shark skin-inspired film that reduces drag on aircraft to cut fuel use and emiss… | 4 Aug 2026, Series A | 1 | 0 |
| Milkrun | 20 Jan 2022, Series A | 1 | 0 | |
| SunCable | Ambitious renewable energy transmission project | 21 Mar 2022, Series B | 2 | 1 |
| SunDrive | 13 Oct 2022, Series B | 1 | 0 | |
| Vow | Cultivated meat company | 14 Nov 2022, Series A | 2 | 0 |
| Who Gives A Crap | 20 Sep 2021 | 1 | 0 | |
| Zoomo | E-bike startup | Nov 2022, Series B | 2 | 2 |
This is a stake in the fund itself, money that the fund's manager invests, not a stake in the fund manager.
| Fund | Manager | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Transition Fund | Infradebt | RenewEconomy |
| Tenacious Ventures Fund I | Tenacious Ventures | globalventuring.com, globalaginvesting.com, Dynamic Business, evokeag.com |
Companies Grok Ventures has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Grok Ventures did.
| Company | Bought by | Kind | Announced | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milkrun | Woolworths | Acquisition | 26 May 2023 | ~$10m |
| SunCable | Helietta Holdings | Acquisition | Sep 2023 | - |
| SunCable | Grok Ventures | Acquisition | May 2023 | - |
Companies Grok Ventures acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
| Company | Kind | Announced | Price | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SunCable | Acquisition | May 2023 | - | RenewEconomy (9 Feb 2024), RenewEconomy (4 Jul 2023) |
Stories naming Grok Ventures. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
MAKO has banked a $28 million Series A, headed by Virescent Ventures, to take its drag-cutting Flightfilm coating to market; the piece also recalls an earlier seed round and a government grant.
Also Startup Daily
Sydney aerospace company MAKO has raised $28 million in a Virescent Ventures-led Series A to manufacture Flightfilm, a shark-inspired skin that cuts aircraft drag and fuel use.
Also Virescent Ventures portfolio·mako.aero·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia·Defence Connect
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.
Carted, the wishlist and commerce API startup, is shutting down on 22 October 2025. Its 2021 seed round raised $13m with Blackbird leading, alongside Grok Ventures and Tidal Ventures.
Also Startup Daily
SunCable denies reports its huge Northern Territory project is faltering, saying its fundraising is on track with healthy investor interest, while Grok Ventures reportedly weighs selling part of its stake.
Commentary on Dovetail's CEO being sued by the company's in-house lawyer, with notes on the startup's near-billion-dollar valuation and its Blackbird and Grok Ventures backing.
Agtech investor Tenacious Ventures reached an $18 million first close on its second fund, which has a $50 million target; backers include Trawalla Group, Wollemi Capital Group and Macdoch Ventures.
Also Forbes Australia
Mike Cannon-Brookes' investment vehicle Grok Ventures has hired Tan Kueh, ex-Macquarie, UBS and BlackRock, as CEO, joining CIO Jeremy Kwong-Law, as it sharpens its strategy around climate investing.
SunCable appoints two industry executives — Cameron Garnsworthy as Australian managing director and Martin Hay as chief development officer — to drive the onshore component of its Northern Territory baseload solar and storage project.
5B, a New South Wales solar technology firm, has hired Sun Cable's co-founder and ex-CEO David Griffin as its new chief executive, succeeding co-founder Chris McGrath.
SunCable has picked Bell Bay in Tasmania for its manufacturing facility after a two-year site search; the piece also recalls the administration fight that left Cannon-Brookes' consortium in control.
Weekly roundup covering five Australian startups' raises: Phasio's seed led by AirTree, CLT Toolbox, X-Hemp's crowdfunding, gridmo's first round, and Humpday's pre-seed from Antler.
Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, via a Grok-linked joint venture with Quinbrook, has completed the buyout of SunCable out of administration; the article also recalls earlier raises and names an interim CEO.
Also Startup Daily
Three Australian companies — Fleet Space Technologies, MoreGoodDays and Syneta — feature on Forbes Asia's 100 to Watch list; the piece profiles each business, its backers and recent raises.
Weekly roundup reporting eight Australian startups together raised $85.6 million across mining tech, cybersecurity, waste, energy storage, health and micromobility, plus a Google.org grant for Global Sisters.
Goterra, a Canberra venture that recycles food scraps with maggots into animal feed, has banked a $10 million bridge to grow its waste plants serving Woolworths, with a Series B planned this year.
Also AgFunderNews·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·AgFunderNews·AgFunderNews
Sun Cable cuts scores of jobs and its three founders step back from executive roles as buyers Grok Ventures and Quinbrook finalise the takeover agreed in May.
Also RenewEconomy
Manufacturing news roundup: Fleet Space's oversubscribed Series C, a grant-backed 3D printing research project, an agreed brand acquisition, equipment orders, a cargo drone first flight and industry awards.
A Grok Ventures-led consortium with Quinbrook has agreed to acquire Sun Cable out of administration, reviving plans to ship solar power to Singapore, after Andrew Forrest's side stayed out of the final bidding.
Weekly roundup of five startup raises: Fleet Space's Series C, Checkmate's Series A, Adventus's new round, Endua's hydrogen funding and Servicely's raise, with investors named.
Also Forbes Australia
Bondi Partners reposts The Australian's coverage of Fleet Space Technologies' $50m Series C round, which Blackbird Ventures led and Bondi joined, valuing the Adelaide-based nanosatellite maker above $350m.
Also Blackbird Ventures portfolio·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Techboard·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing·Forbes Australia·satcom.digital·TechCrunch Australia·Space Connect
E-bike subscription startup Zoomo cut 27 roles in its second restructuring in six months, weeks after client Milkrun's collapse, and disclosed a previously unreported $24 million raise led by Grok Ventures and the CEFC.
Also Techboard
Instant grocery delivery startup Milkrun is winding up, with co-founder Dany Milham telling staff trading ends this week. The article recalls its $75 million Series A backed by AirTree, Grok Ventures and Skip Capital.
Also Forbes Australia·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·AgFunderNews·Forbes Australia
Profile of Olympia Yarger, founder of Canberra agri-tech startup Goterra, which uses robot-managed maggots to process food waste into protein and fertiliser, recalling its 2018 seed and 2020 raises led by Grok Ventures.
Infradebt has reached first close on the capital raise for its Energy Transition Fund, backed by Grok Ventures and Jana, to lend to big batteries including Neoen's Capital Battery and Genex's Bouldercombe.
Agtech startup Loam has raised a $105 million Series B co-led by Lowercarbon Capital and Wollemi Capital, following a $40 million Series A, to commercialise its soil-carbon technology.
Queensland mushroom-based meat alternative maker Fable Food Co raised a Series A led by K3 Ventures, with celebrity and existing investors, to fund product development and expansion into North America, the UK and Singapore.
Atlassian's cofounder, through his family firm Grok Ventures, has extended a $65 million interest-free loan to administrator-run Sun Cable, which is up for sale after a founder split; Grok earlier co-led its $210 million Series B.
Manufacturing roundup: Vow, Ofload and Vaxev each raise new capital; Ofload buys CIA Logistics; Quickstep upgrades its outlook; Pawsey's Setonix earns green computing honours; Australia backs shipping and plastics pledges.
Cultivated meat maker Vow raised a Series A to fund product development, manufacturing expansion and hiring as it prepares to launch its quail product in Singapore restaurants.
Also TechCrunch Australia·TechCrunch Australia·TechCrunch Australia·AgFunderNews·TechCrunch Australia·AgFunderNews·AgFunderNews
NSW Environmental Trust grants $3 million to solar innovator SunDrive within a $6.5 million allocation shared with Hysata, Southern Green Gas and Quickstep; SunDrive's recent series A drew CEFC alongside Blackbird and Grok Ventures.
Also @AuManufacturing
SunDrive has raised a Series A round co-led by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Main Sequence Ventures, with Blackbird and Grok also backing its copper-based solar cell technology.
Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·RenewEconomy·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily
Solar cell maker SunDrive has raised a $21 million Series B led by Main Sequence Ventures, with CEFC, Grok and Blackbird investing, and first-time backers including Turnbull, Denholm and Adams.
Also RenewEconomy·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy
Pocket money app Spriggy has raised $10 million in follow-up funding from unnamed investors, after a $35 million Series B in July 2021, and plans to grow its team to around 100.
Also Startup Daily
Airwallex is reportedly seeking a second Series E extension of about US$150 million, while the article recalls its earlier Series D, E and E1 raises and flags a possible 2024 public listing.
Green power exporter Sun Cable secured a $210 million Series B from existing shareholders, led through the billionaires' vehicles Grok Ventures and Squadron Energy, moving its Australia-Singapore electricity link closer to go-ahead.
Sun Cable has raised A$210 million in Series B funding from existing shareholders, led by Mike Cannon-Brookes' Grok Ventures and Andrew Forrest's Squadron Energy, for its giant solar, battery and subsea cable project.
Also Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy
Ignition Lane's weekly technology roundup: climate-tech funding activity, Grok's bid for AGL, King River Capital's digital asset fund, a batch of Australian startup raises, Maropost acquisitions, GigSuper's collapse and a National AI Centre appointment.
Atlassian's Cannon-Brookes, via his family firm Grok Ventures, has invested $200 million in renewables project financier Infradebt days after his AGL bid was rejected; the capital is already funding a Queensland battery project.