Ledger. Australian venture funding, tracked

Startup · $226m raised

Linktree

Melbourne, VIC

Coverage

Stories naming Linktree. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.

Fund close $650m

Airtree's Fund V: $650m to back Aussie and Kiwi founders from idea to global household name

AirTree closes its $650m Fund V across seed and growth vehicles, backed mostly by international institutional capital, and promotes three early-career investors to Principal.

3 deals

Gabby and Hezi Leibovich-backed Fingertip acquired by rival Linktree – and will close

Linktree has bought Melbourne rival Fingertip and will shut it down in 2026, with its cofounders joining; the piece also recaps Linktree's earlier acquisitions and the Leibovich brothers' failed ventures.

Also Dealroom·Forbes Australia

2 deals

Airtree Ventures closes $650M fund with international backing, fueling ANZ startup growth

Sydney venture firm Airtree has completed the close of its fifth fund at $650 million, drawing backing from US institutional investors and Australian superannuation funds, with allocations set for early and growth stages.

3 deals

AI customer support startup Lorikeet has now raised $75 million in just 10 months

Sydney AI customer-support startup Lorikeet has closed US$35 million in a Series A led by QED Investors, its third round in under a year, lifting total funding beyond $75 million.

Also SmartCompany·Cut Through Venture·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Pre-seed $2m

Canva acquires Sydney AI marketing tech startup MagicBrief

Canva has bought Sydney marketing-analytics startup MagicBrief. Terms undisclosed. The deal follows the startup's 2023 pre-seed raise led by Blackbird and Archangel Ventures.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Women's Agenda·TechCrunch Australia

13 deals

Meet the Aussies on the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list

Pre-seed $600k

WhyHive, the 'Canva for data', shutting down after pre-seed round

Melbourne data startup WhyHive is closing next month; founders T Guthrie and Matt Cohen couldn't sustain growth despite a $600,000 pre-seed round revealed last August with backing from Skalata Ventures and several tech founders.

Also Startup Daily

Seed $3.5m

Investment Notes: Index

Blackbird's investment note explains why it led Index's A$3.5 million seed round with Bain Capital Ventures, Y Combinator and industry angels, profiling the planning platform built by two former Canva and Atlassian staff.

Also Startup Daily·Forbes Australia

Fund close $104m

VC Airtree brings in new US investors for fifth fund with $650 million target

Airtree Ventures has reached a first close on its fifth fund, drawing commitments from three US institutions plus returning local super funds, against a $650 million target.

6 deals

Four Aussie startups that raised $44.6 million this week

Weekly round-up of four Australian raises: Shift's $35 million Series D, Inform Ag's $7 million Series A, Cropify's $2 million round and WhyHive's $600,000 pre-seed.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily

3 deals

H1 2024 in Review: $100m invested

TEN13's investor letter celebrates passing $100 million deployed, plus fresh backing for iion and Switchboard, team promotions, AutoGrab's overseas growth and NZ-arm sale, and the Mr Yum–Me&U merger.

Also Startup Daily·thetimes.com.au·SmartCompany

3 deals

Casual worker management platform Deputy is back from the brink to become a shy unicorn

Deputy says it is now worth more than A$1.1 billion after US staffing group Express Employment Professionals put in A$37 million, making the Sydney workforce-tech firm Australia's newest unicorn.

Also Forbes Australia·Crunchbase News

7 deals

Chipper Cash Becomes A Unicorn & Mr Yum raises US$65m Series A led by Tiger Global

TEN13 newsletter reporting Chipper Cash's US$150m unicorn round, Mr Yum's Tiger Global-led Series A, and new investments in Payhippo, Preezie, Pushas and Heaps Normal, plus portfolio updates.

Also Skalata Ventures·Skalata Ventures·Archangel Ventures portfolio·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Beef Central / Grain Central·Forbes Australia·SmartCompany·LaunchVic

Series A $12.5m

Melbourne AI startup set for global expansion after $12.5 million raise

AI search startup Marqo has landed a $12.5 million Series A and is relocating its headquarters to San Francisco, while LaunchVic statistics show Victoria's ecosystem grew in value despite a funding drop.

Fund close $15m

Linktree cofounders back new $15 million VC fund

Founder-backed syndicate Side Stage Ventures has become a $15 million seed fund, with LocalGlobe and several founders as limited partners, three startups already backed, and portfolio company Joyn acquiring event firm Arinex.

Fund close $15m

Side Stage Ventures secures $15 million for its launch fund with support from Linktree, Airtasker

SmartCompany reports Side Stage Ventures has completed a $15 million first close of its debut fund, backed by founders of Airtasker, Linktree and Go1 plus LocalGlobe, targeting $30 million and already backing early startups.

Also Startup Daily·Australian FinTech

8 deals

Five startups that raised $109.8 million this week

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

4 deals

The Ignition Lane Wrap: Life in the fast lane. And calling road service

Ignition Lane's weekly wrap: Tiger Global's losses and past Australian bets, MilkRun and TradeSquare closures, Cyara's Spearline acquisition, a Co Ventures pre-seed fund, Square Peg's partner promotion and LaunchVic's 30×30 picks.

6 deals

Rovers, hypnotherapy and pocket farms: Five Aussie startups that scored $20 million this week

A weekly funding roundup covering Mindset Health's Series A, grants for two lunar rover consortiums, Pivot's raise, and Invest Inya Farmer's seed round.

3 deals

Software development platform Buildkite raises $31 million Series B

Devops startup Buildkite has raised a US$21 million Series B led by OneVentures and AirTree, with General Catalyst and angel Dom Pym participating, to build new developer products and grow teams.

Also Startup News (WA)·SmartCompany·Techboard·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Capital Brief

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