Blackbird Ventures

Blackbird Ventures is an Australian venture capital firm that provides seed and early-stage funding to Australian and New Zealand startups, including Canva, Airwallex, Zoox, and VeVe. It has raised over $1 billion in capital and as of April 2023, manages 5 funds. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

History

Blackbird Ventures was founded in 2012 by Niki Scevak and Rick Baker, their initial fund was worth AU$30 million. ^{[4] [5]}

In November 2022, Blackbird raised the largest Australian venture capital fund worth AU $1 billion. ^{[6] [7]}

Their 5th fund included investments from superannuation funds including AustralianSuper, Hostplus, HESTA, Aware Super, and also Australia's sovereign wealth fund, the Australian Government Future Fund. ^[8]

Investments

Blackbird Ventures provides capital and advisory services to seed-stage startups and growth-stage companies. It's investments include Canva, Airwallex, Zoox, SafetyCulture, CultureAmp, Redactive AI, and VeVe. ^{[9] [10] [11] [12] [13]}

References

1. "Blackbird Ventures – supercharging Australia's most ambitious founders". business.gov.au. 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
2. Waters, Cara (2020-08-04). "Blackbird raises $500m fund, taps Cannon-Brookes to drive expansion". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
3. Santoreneos, Anastasia (2022-11-02). "Blackbird launches $1 billion VC fund". Forbes Australia. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
4. Russell, Jon (2013-03-14). "BlackBird's $30m Fund Takes Flight in Australia". TNW | Au. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
5. "Blackbird Ventures – supercharging Australia's most ambitious founders". business.gov.au. 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
6. "Blackbird closes biggest ever Aussie VC fund at $1b". Australian Financial Review. 2022-11-01. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
7. "Australia's Blackbird raises $640m in nation's largest VC fund". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
8. Clune, Bronwen (2025-03-24). "Blackbird Ventures kicks off process to raise sixth fund". Capital Brief. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
9. Palmer-Derrien, Stephanie (2020-08-04). "Blackbird has $500 million to invest in the "most ambitious and the most courageous" Aussie startup founders". SmartCompany. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
10. "Good luck, rich parents and Canva: how Blackbird made millionaires". Australian Financial Review. 2023-10-22. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
11. Bonyhady, Nick (2022-06-05). "Australian tech investors' mega bet on unicorn Canva is about to be tested". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
12. Sabin, Sam (2024-07-02). "Exclusive: Felicis, Blackbird lead $7.5M seed round in Aussie AI startup". Axios. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
13. Field, Shivaune (2024-07-03). "Australia's Redactive AI bags $11.5 million to grow 'virtual AI engineer'". Forbes Australia. Retrieved 2025-06-25.