Founder & Lead Investor, Beaten Zone Venture Partners · angel in 2 deals
Every published round Steve Baxter 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.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Role | Alongside | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Go1 | Accelerator | 2015 | $1.4m | Lead | Forbes Australia, Startup Daily, TechCrunch Australia, Our Innovation Fund (6 Jun 2022), Our Innovation Fund (21 Jun 2021), SmartCompany | |
| HEO Robotics | Series A | 22 Aug 2023 | $12m | Participant | Startup Daily (21 Sep 2026), SmartCompany, Startup Daily (22 Aug 2023), Forbes Australia, Business News Australia |
Companies Steve Baxter has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Go1 | Startup that reached unicorn status in 1H 2021 | 2015, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
| HEO Robotics | 22 Aug 2023, Series A | 1 | 0 |
Fund closes reported for Steve Baxter, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies Steve Baxter has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Steve Baxter did.
Stories naming Steve Baxter. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Profiles space investor Will Scully-Power, whose Pine Gap firm backs Australian space startups and plans a larger US fund with partners; defence VC Beaten Zone has also wrapped up a $26 million fund.
Steve Baxter's Brisbane defence-tech venture firm Beaten Zone has wrapped its first fund at $26 million, with Baxter the largest backer at $6 million of his own money.
Beaten Zone Venture Partners announces Fund 1 joined Activate Capital and UNSW in a seed round for Seitec, a Canberra defence startup whose seismic sensors find unexploded ordnance and hidden drones.
Also Dealroom·Business News Australia·Defence Connect·Startup Daily
Wholesale Investor's news listing spanning Australian private capital: deep-tech and biotech company profiles, property and crypto commentary, Q1 2026 venture funding totals, and guides to wholesale investor qualification.
Brisbane defence-tech VC Beaten Zone Venture Partners has passed A$20 million committed toward its A$60 million debut fund; investor Robin Levison has joined its investment committee.
Roundup of three trans-Tasman raises: Ordermentum landed $55m from Five V Capital, defence-tech firm Arkeus closed $25m, and music platform Lume gathered NZ$1.3m from well-known backers before its launch.
Also Startup Daily
Arkeus has closed a A$25 million Series A with QIC Ventures leading, as early backer Beaten Zone Venture Partners returns alongside other existing backers; proceeds fund Queensland manufacturing and a doubled team.
Also Startup Daily·Defence Connect·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia·@AuManufacturing
Brisbane defence and space VC Beaten Zone Venture Partners appoints Robin Levison and Charlie McGillis to its BZVF1 investment committee, joining existing members Steve Baxter, Heather Richman and Sean Singleton.
Beaten Zone Venture Partners says its defence-tech fund now has $17m committed, $2.6m of it added during March, with founder Steve Baxter commenting on sovereign investment trends in Forbes Australia.
Beaten Zone's blog touts Australia's space sector, citing CEO Steve Baxter and reporting Gilmour Space Technologies' $217 million Series E from National Reconstruction Fund Corporation and Hostplus, plus its investments in HEO and Zendir.
Also SmartCompany·Dealroom·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Business News Australia
Blog post relays a newspaper feature about the firm's space-sector investing; the headline cites a $4m backing of local firms but names no recipient company.
Beaten Zone Venture Partners will host ten Australian defence startups pitching to a judging panel in Sydney this November, with prizes including a SHOT Show trip and Reveille tickets.
Ten13 announces its appointment as a manager under Queensland's $130m VCDF, run by QIC, and its first investment through it: co-leading a $2.5m seed round for OneMRI, a Brisbane healthtech company, alongside OIF Ventures.
BZV's post announcing it co-led Zendir's oversubscribed seed round with Investible, joined by Galileo Ventures, TEN13, Jelix Ventures and Innovation Bay, to fund overseas growth of the spacecraft digital-twin platform.
Steve Baxter's Brisbane defence-tech fund announces it now holds unconditional early-stage venture capital registration, giving investors tax breaks; it has put A$4.45m into four companies so far.
Beaten Zone's defence-tech fund has won full ESVCLP status, unlocking tax breaks for its backers; the Brisbane vehicle has backed four companies with $4.45m and screens a deep pipeline of defence deals.
Arkeus has raised an oversubscribed AU$5 million round joined by Beaten Zone Ventures, Main Sequence and Salus Ventures to scale its autonomous optics and AI surveillance technology for defence.
Also Beaten Zone Venture Partners portfolio·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia
Brisbane defence-tech VC Beaten Zone Venture Partners has reached a first close of over $10 million toward a $60 million target, with early investments in three startups and a new general manager.
Brisbane defence-tech fund manager BZV says Fund I has drawn over A$10 million in commitments, meeting its ESVCLP condition, with A$60 million targeted and a final close expected inside 18 months.
Also Startup Daily
Defence-focused VC firm Beaten Zone Venture Partners adds two people: ex-Army general Mick Ryan as advisor, and Peta Ellis rejoining Steve Baxter's team alongside existing staff.
Interview with angel investor Carl Hartmann covering his Temando exit, co-founding Compono and Lyre's, what he looks for in founders, and his early-stage portfolio strategy.
Roundup of eight local raises totalling roughly $81.5 million: generative AI, sustainable packaging, VR medical training, optical radar, drinks, preventive health and wholesale retail software.
Also Ten13·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia
Sydney spacetech firm HEO Robotics has closed a $12m Series A led by AirTree Ventures, with Salus, In-Q-Tel, Y Combinator and angels also in, as federal cutbacks hit Australian space programs.
Also Business News Australia·Forbes Australia·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
Sample rebranded as Mercu, pivoting from a professional network for essential workers to employee engagement software for deskless staff, and raised a $2.4 million seed round with Sequoia Capital India returning alongside new backers.
Also Startup Daily
Perth fitness company Vitruvian has banked a Series A led by Larsen Ventures and Ten13, with the money set for hiring and scaling production of its AI-driven home gym hardware.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany
Flood forecasting startup FloodMapp has raised a record Australian seed round, with US venture capital backing, to scale its real-time flood intelligence products and expand into new markets.
Car-sharing platform Car Next Door has been bought by Uber for undisclosed terms. The piece retraces the company's decade-long journey, including a 2016 Shark Tank pitch and backing from Hyundai, Caltex and Investible.
Republished AFR report recalls Go1's earlier backing and Series C investors, including OIF, while its reported Series D at a billion-dollar valuation remains in progress and a listing is flagged.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany
GO1 raised a Series B round above $30m, led by Microsoft's venture fund M12, with SEEK, Y Combinator and newcomer Larsen Ventures investing; M12 takes a board seat.
GO1, a workplace training marketplace, has banked a $10 million Series A led by recruitment company Seek; earlier raises of $1.36 million in 2015 and $4 million in January 2017 are recalled.
Car Next Door closed a $5 million Series B led by Caltex and Investible, with Steve Baxter, Roger Allen, Macquarie Group, Hollard and Larix VC also backing, plus a crowdfunding tranche via Equitise.
Peer-to-peer car-sharing platform Car Next Door has raised $2.3 million from existing backers Caltex and Investible, and is planning an Equitise-run crowdfunding campaign targeting as much as $1.5 million to fund growth.