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Everything we hold that Skalata Ventures published.
Every article we hold from Skalata Ventures.
Skalata Ventures, the seed fund and founder-training program led by Paul Little and Rohan Workman, is raising a second vehicle plus growth capital, reporting 30 investments and a 44 per cent IRR.
Touch Ventures' investment lifts commitments in Skalata's second fund beyond $25 million, with Afterpay co-founder Anthony Eisen investing personally; Touch also recently headed a $5.5 million raise for portfolio company Preezie.
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Australian startup capital climbed 30% in early 2024 even as deal counts fell; Skalata Ventures topped investor activity with 13 participations, ahead of Blackbird and Investible.
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Skalata Ventures unveils its October 2021 seed intake of 13 startups, among them Ardacious and Strength By Numbers, and notes alumnus Preezie recently secured a $5.5 million Series A.
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Profile of Skalata Ventures' Rohan Workman and Maxine Lee recounting the firm's founding, pandemic-era restructuring, $7 million raise, second fund deployment, and backing of Flux, Explorate and Preezie.
Skalata announces a $5M allocation from Western Australia's $45M venture capital program to back local startups, recalls its existing WA investments, and plans a permanent WA base from 2025.
Victorian agtech firm Smart Paddock has raised a $1.7m seed round co-led by Breakthrough Victoria and Telstra's muru-D, with Skalata, Twynam and Little Group also investing; Telstra executive Jon Young Flores joins the board.
LaunchVic selected nine Victorian start-ups, including Preezie, for a mentoring bootcamp with executives from Atlassian, Uber, Dropbox, Seek and Canva.
Skalata Ventures uses its recent accolade as Australia's busiest early-stage investor to pitch founders on its hands-on, seed-specialist approach, arguing most VCs overpromise support and underdeliver.
Brisbane logistics-tech firm Explorate has landed A$7.5m from backer EVP and Leigh Jasper, who co-founded Aconex; Paul Little's mentoring through Skalata's program is credited for the young firm's change of direction.
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Skalata's rebrand announcement explains its shift to year-round seed investing, wider cheque sizes and follow-on plans, recaps team hires including a Venture Partner and three associates, and notes portfolio companies' Series A raises.
Skalata Ventures unveils its rebrand to A Tall Order, restating its first-cheque AI investing thesis with cheques up to A$1M and announcing that its Fund III is now raising.
Venture firm Skalata rebrands itself as Tall Order, a first-money-in backer of AI-native operators, and invites investors into Fund III, citing top-quartile performance of its two earlier funds.
Design software company Canva has acquired Melbourne adtech firm Doohly for $30 million, a deal that hands windfalls to the startup's founders and shareholders Skalata Ventures and Archangel Ventures.
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Skalata's profile of portfolio company Strength by Numbers, whose AxIT hardware measures strength for health professionals, covering the four founders' backgrounds and the two investments Skalata made in 2021 and 2022.
Deals recorded from Skalata Ventures's coverage. A round is listed once, however many of their articles mention it.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honey Insurance | Series A | 8 Apr 2024 | $108m | |
| Preezie | Series A | 13 Mar 2024 | $5.5m | |
| Relevance AI | Series A | 11 Dec 2023 | $15m | |
| Explorate | undisclosed | 7 Feb 2022 | $7.5m | |
| Smart Paddock | Accelerator | undated | - |
Companies named in Skalata Ventures's articles, most-covered first.
| Company | What it does | Articles |
|---|---|---|
| Preezie | Fast-growing Australian tech company backed by Skalata | 6 |
| Explorate | Fast-growing Australian tech company backed by Skalata | 5 |
| Blackbird Ventures | 3 | |
| Canva | Online design and visual communication platform | 3 |
| 4DMedical | ASX-listed medical imaging company | 2 |
| Aconex | Construction and infrastructure collaboration software company | 2 |
| Flux | financial literacy platform | 2 |
| Microsoft | 2 | |
| Monash University | University partnered on Remagine Labs spin-out | 2 |
| PwC | Professional services and accounting firm | 2 |
| Square Peg Capital | 2 | |
| Strength by Numbers | Digital health company making portable strength testing hardware and app for physios, tra… | 2 |
| Toll | Logistics company formerly led by Paul Little | 2 |
| University of Melbourne | University operating the Melbourne Connect innovation precinct | 2 |
| Adobe | Public software company mentioned as example of falling valuations | 1 |
| Affinity | British design software company | 1 |
| Afterpay | Buy now pay later company | 1 |
| AirTree Ventures | 1 | |
| Apple | 1 | |
| Archangel Ventures | 1 | |
| Atlassian | Australian software company referenced as Accel's earlier investment. | 1 |
| Azure Healthcare | 1 | |
| Bailador Technology Investments | 1 | |
| Bell Potter | 1 | |
| Bugcrowd | Cybersecurity firm | 1 |
| Carsales | Online car sales marketplace | 1 |
| Cavalry | British animation software business | 1 |
| CO-Architecture | 1 | |
| Cut Through Venture | Publishes market data on Australian startup deals | 1 |
| Doohly | Software platform running information and advertising screens in offices and retail outle… | 1 |
| Dropbox | Cloud storage company providing mentors for the 30x30 program | 1 |
| Employment Hero | Another Australian company backed by TCV | 1 |
| Enrola | 1 | |
| Finch | Fintech scale-up | 1 |
| Flying Fox Ventures | 1 | |
| Future Fund | 1 | |
| Gilmour Space | Queensland rocket builder and launchpad scaleup | 1 |
| Hearables | 1 | |
| Honey Insurance | Insurance company | 1 |
| Intrepid Group | 1 | |
| Investible | 1 | |
| Kelly Angus | Cattle farm in Yea where the Bluebell smart ear tag technology will be trialled | 1 |
| Leonardo.Ai | AI art production platform for consumers and enterprise users | 1 |
| LiquorLand | 1 | |
| Magic Brief | AI marketing firm | 1 |
| McGrath Nicol | Insolvency firm | 1 |
| Me&U | 1 | |
| Meta | 1 | |
| Mitre 10 | 1 | |
| Mobil | 1 | |
| Monash Ventures | Monash University's new venture investing identity | 1 |
| NetNada | Startup recently added to Skalata's portfolio | 1 |
| Nola | 1 | |
| Omni Biotech | 1 | |
| Optomni | Startup recently added to Skalata's portfolio | 1 |
| Pro Medicus | 1 | |
| Rebel Sport | 1 | |
| Relevance AI | 1 | |
| RelevanceAI | Emerging global leader in enterprise AI | 1 |
| Reserve Bank of Australia | Australia's central bank | 1 |
| RMIT | 1 | |
| RosterCloud | Cloud-based staff management tool for events and catering businesses | 1 |
| SEEK | Online employment marketplace co-founded in 1997 | 1 |
| Siteminder | Another Australian company backed by TCV | 1 |
| Smart Paddock | Agricultural tech company making a reusable, battery-free smart ear tag for livestock mon… | 1 |
| Swinburne University | Australian university partnering with Infleqtion on quantum sensing research | 1 |
| Telstra | Telecommunications company | 1 |
| Titanium Ventures | 1 | |
| Uber | Ride-hailing and delivery platform | 1 |
| UTi Worldwide | Logistics company where Explorate founders previously worked | 1 |
| Victorian Government | 1 | |
| WiseTech | Logistics software company | 1 |
Investors named in Skalata Ventures's articles, most-covered first.
| Investor | What it does | Articles |
|---|---|---|
| Skalata Ventures | 14 | |
| LaunchVic | Victorian government agency supporting startup ecosystem | 3 |
| Little Group | 2 | |
| Breakthrough Victoria | 1 | |
| EVP | 1 | |
| King River Capital | 1 | |
| muru-D | 1 | |
| Touch Ventures | 1 | |
| Twynam | 1 | |
| WA Government | 1 |