Angel investor · Director and Founder, Boundless
Every published round Mike Cannon-Brookes 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 Mike Cannon-Brookes has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SunCable | Ambitious renewable energy transmission project | 21 Mar 2022, Series B | 2 | 1 |
| Loam | 16 Feb 2023, Series B | 1 | 0 | |
| Loam Bio | Agtech company developing microbial soil-carbon technology and farmer carbon projects | 13 Feb 2023, Series B | 1 | 0 |
| Milkrun | 20 Jan 2022, Series A | 1 | 0 | |
| SafetyCulture | Workplace safety and operations software company. | 2013, Seed | 1 | 0 |
| SunDrive | 13 Oct 2022, Series B | 1 | 0 | |
| Who Gives A Crap | 20 Sep 2021 | 1 | 0 |
This is a stake in the fund itself, money that the fund's manager invests, not a stake in the fund manager.
Companies Mike Cannon-Brookes has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Mike Cannon-Brookes did.
| Company | Bought by | Kind | Announced | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SunCable | Helietta Holdings | Acquisition | Sep 2023 | - |
| Milkrun | Woolworths | Acquisition | 26 May 2023 | ~$10m |
| SunCable | Grok Ventures | Acquisition | May 2023 | - |
Stories naming Mike Cannon-Brookes. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Fuel retailer Ampol has proposed acquiring EV charging network Evie Networks for $225 million, pending regulator approval, while the article recalls the charging company's seed, Series A, government grant and debt funding history.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
Household virtual power plant platform NRN has secured a $17 million Series A led by Investible and Virescent Ventures, plus $50 million debt from Infradebt, with Ecotone Partners newly joining via its Planet Fund.
Also Startup Daily
The children's fintech Spriggy will retire its investment app in August 2025 and refund users, keeping its main pocket money service while it builds a replacement due in 2026.
Climate Tech Partners has reached a $50 million first close on its debut climate tech fund, backed by Australian Ethical, the CEFC, Qantas, Airbus and Daniel Besen's family office.
Blackbird partner Samantha Wong reflects on a decade of the firm's Sunrise conference and Australia's startup ecosystem, recalling Atlassian's Nasdaq listing and Aconex's float and sale to Oracle.
Also OIF Ventures portfolio·OIF Ventures portfolio·thelawyermag.com·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·LaunchVic·LaunchVic
Long-time SafetyCulture chief Luke Anear hands the reins to Kelly Vohs while moving to the chair; the piece also recaps the firm's recent raises, valuation dip and backer changes.
A federal opposition senator attacks Labor's solar manufacturing program and SunDrive, which has cut staff and changed CEO while pursuing partnerships with AGL and Trina Solar to localise panel production.
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
A profile of Startmate ranking the twenty most valuable companies it has backed, noting their valuations, past raises and founders, plus Bugcrowd's newly announced purchase of Informer and its climate focus.
TCA chair Robyn Denholm praises departing Atlassian co-CEO Scott Farquhar, crediting his role building the software firm and his service on the council's board as an inspiration to Australian founders.
Atlassian's co-founder Scott Farquhar will vacate the co-CEO seat on August 31, staying on in governance and advisory roles, with Mike Cannon-Brookes set to lead alone from September.
An interview with Sun Cable's co-founder about his advisory firm's new report urging Australian investment in solar recycling, aviation fuel, and clean export industries.
Student-run fund NextGen Ventures launches to back university-founded startups, training student investors with partner VC firms and seeking its own capital; its report counts over $1.2 billion raised by student-founded startups since 2012.
Profiles Australia's ten wealthiest women from the AFR's new list, alongside Canva's in-progress share sale, a large gift to a global gender-fund vehicle, and one backer's earlier healthtech round.
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.
A year-end SmartCompany roundup counting down 2023's ten largest Australian startup raises, headed by Employment Hero's $263m Series F, with investor details and commentary on fewer mega-rounds and continued under-representation of women co-founders.
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.
Sun Cable has picked Bell Bay in Tasmania for a potential cable factory to serve its planned solar power exports to Singapore, though the idea remains at an early stage.
Weekly roundup covering nine Australian startups' new capital totalling $40.5 million, across solar, quantum computing, marketing tech and crowdfunding, plus a look back at Aconex's $1.6 billion Oracle sale.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Wholesale Investor
SunDrive secured an A$11 million ARENA grant to take its copper-metallised solar cell manufacturing from prototype to commercial scale in Sydney, with plans targeting up to 5GW of yearly capacity.
Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy·@AuManufacturing·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy
Atlassian is buying video messaging company Loom for US$975 million, giving its venture backers an exit, in a week when a Confluence security flaw was exploited by a nation-state actor.
Atlassian is buying US video-messaging firm Loom for $1.5 billion in a mostly-cash deal, folding its async video tool into Jira, Confluence and Trello while it stays standalone; regulatory sign-off still pending.
Also Startup Daily·ARN (ARNnet)·Forbes Australia·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
Cut Through Ventures' quarterly analysis shows Australian startup funding down 42% year-on-year at A$739 million over 77 deals, with Pet Circle's $75 million Series D from Prysm Capital the period's largest round.
Renewables investor Quinbrook has completed fundraising for its UK-focused Renewables Impact Fund, securing £620 million in commitments (A$1.2 billion), more than a fifth above its £500 million target.
Startup Daily covers Startmate's Winter 2023 accelerator intake of 13 startups, the accelerator's reported fund performance, its backer returns, and an upcoming Demo Day alongside SXSW Sydney.
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
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