CEO · Founder, Marloo

Shakeel Lala

Roles

Role	Organisation	Sources
CEO · Founder	Marloo	Startup Daily (5 Aug 2026), Startup Daily (1 May 2026), SmartCompany (1 May 2026), Startup Daily (29 Apr 2026), Blackbird Ventures (29 Apr 2026), Startup Daily (12 Sep 2025), SmartCompany (12 Sep 2025), Blackbird Ventures (12 Sep 2025), Business News Australia, marloo.com (8 Sep 2025), marloo.com (8 Sep 2025)
Product Lead and Data Scientist (former)	Sharesies	Startup Daily, SmartCompany, Blackbird Ventures

Coverage

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

Seed $14m

Blackbird leads $14 million Seed round for the 'Canva of financial advice'

AI startup Marloo, built for financial advisers, raised a Seed round led by Blackbird Ventures, bringing total funding to over $18m in under a year.

Startup Daily 5 Aug 2026 Marloo Blackbird Ventures Ben Robertson Hardy Michel Samantha Wong Shakeel Lala

2 deals

Blackbird leads $14 million Seed round for the 'Canva of financial advice'

Financial-advice AI startup Marloo has closed a US$10 million seed round led by returning backer Blackbird Ventures, lifting its total funding beyond A$18 million.

Startup Daily 29 Apr 2026 Marloo Canva Blackbird Ventures Ben Robertson Hardy Michel Samantha Wong Shakeel Lala

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

Seed US$10m

Announcing Marloo’s $10M Series Seed

Blackbird Ventures portfolio 29 Apr 2026 Marloo Canva Halter Heidi Health Blackbird Ventures Hardy Michel Samantha Wong Shakeel Lala

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily

10 deals

Cheque-in: 19 ANZ startups that raised $69 million this week

Weekly roundup covering 19 Australian and New Zealand raises, headlined by Andromeda Robotics' $23m Series A, plus Freckle, Marloo, X-Hemp, Harvest B, Wable, Starboard and Techstars Sydney's 12-startup cohort.

Startup Daily 12 Sep 2025 Andromeda Robotics Briefcase CorFin.AI Crystal aOS Freckle Harvest B Juxtabyte Marloo MuseAI OncoRevive Onsite Our Leg Up Slice Starboard Maritime Intelligence SurfLab VetNotes Wable X-Hemp Zipline AI Airbnb Alberts Canva Clay Google Halter Heidi Health Investment NSW Mecwacare Revolut Sharesies Stake Taurus Capital Techstars Sydney Xero 1984 Ventures Altered Capital Artesian VC Blackbird Ventures Brand Fund Breakthrough Victoria CoAct Capital CoVentures Danehill Group Forerunner Ventures Gradient Icehouse Ventures Industry Growth Program King River Capital Liquid2 Main Sequence Ventures Mandalay Venture Partners Mintaka OIF Ventures Purpose Ventures Rethink Impact Startmate trampoline Visible Ventures Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation Craig Piggott Leighton Roberts Matt Leibowitz Paul Sharbanee Philip Fierlinger Tom Hambrett Dr Tom Kelly Amy Stevens Andi Lucas Antony Arena Ben Robertson David Stephen Sta.Maria Grace Brown Hardy Michel Holly Fowler Hugh Le Jad al Masri Jesse Morse Joni Pirovich Kirk Simmons Kristi Riordan Michael Ragavan Michael Theo Michelle Reeves Mitch Sigley Mohammad Tavakkoli Yaraki Nathan Croxton Nathan Merzvinskis Rod Bristow Dr Samira Sadeghi Shakeel Lala Silven Victor D. Epistola Trent Fulcher

Also SmartCompany

9 deals

19 ANZ startups that raised $66.7 million this week

SmartCompany 12 Sep 2025 Andromeda Robotics Briefcase CorFin.AI Crystal aOS Freckle Harvest B Juxtabyte Marloo MuseAI OncoRevive Onsite Our Leg Up Slice Starboard Maritime Intelligence SurfLab VetNotes Wable X-Hemp Zipline AI Airbnb Alberts Canva Clay Google Halter Heidi Health Investment NSW Mecwacare Revolut Sharesies Stake Taurus Capital Techstars Sydney Xero 1984 Ventures Altered Capital Artesian VC Blackbird Ventures Brand Fund Breakthrough Victoria CoAct Capital CoVentures Danehill Group Forerunner Ventures Gradient Icehouse Ventures King River Capital Liquid2 Main Sequence Ventures Mandalay Venture Partners Mintaka OIF Ventures Purpose Ventures Rethink Impact Startmate trampoline Visible Ventures Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation Craig Piggott Leighton Roberts Matt Leibowitz Paul Sharbanee Philip Fierlinger Tom Hambrett Dr Tom Kelly Amy Stevens Andi Lucas Antony Arena Ben Robertson David Stephen Sta.Maria Grace Brown Hardy Michel Holly Fowler Hugh Le Jad al Masri Jesse Morse Joni Pirovich Kirk Simmons Kristi Riordan Michael Ragavan Michael Theo Michelle Reeves Mitch Sigley Mohammad Tavakkoli Yaraki Nathan Croxton Nathan Merzvinskis Rod Bristow Dr Samira Sadeghi Shakeel Lala Silven Victor D. Epistola Trent Fulcher

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Seed

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.

Blackbird Ventures portfolio 12 Sep 2025 Marloo Atlassian Canva Rocket Lab Sharesies TransferWise Wise Xero Blackbird Ventures Georgia Robertson Hardy Michel Samantha Wong Shakeel Lala

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

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