Australia VC player Blackbird closes $647m fund
Blackbird Ventures has raised AUD 1bn (USD 647m) for its latest fund, which will invest in “generational” technology companies in Australia and New Zealand. It is the largest ever VC fund raised by an Australia-based manager.
The fund comprises three separate pools of capital: a core fund of AUD 284m, a AUD 668m follow-on vehicle that will participate in growth rounds for existing portfolio companies, and a NZD 275m (USD 163m) dedicated New Zealand fund. When Blackbird last came to market in 2020 with its fourth fund, it raised AUD 350m in core equity and a New Zealand-only pool of NZD 60m.
LPs in the current vintage include Future Fund, AustralianSuper, Hostplus, HESTA, Telstra Super, Aware Super, and NGS Super. The first five were previously identified as LPs in Fund IV.
They are joined by Elevate NZ Venture Fund, which is controlled by government fund-of-funds New Zealand Growth Capital Partners and Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), an insurer backed by the New Zealand government. Elevate NZ Venture Fund was also an LP in the first New Zealand fund.
Blackbird’s final close comes days after Square Peg Capital, announced it had raised USD 550m for its fourth flagship early-stage fund and a follow-on vehicle. In January, AirTree Ventures secured AUD 700m (USD 494m) across three vehicles: a core fund of AUD 450m, a seed vehicle of AUD 200m, and a AUD 50m web3 fund that targets crypto-related opportunities.
AustralianSuper is an investor in Square Peg and AirTree as well as Blackbird. Square Peg also signed up Hostplus, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Roc Partners, while AirTree secured support from Sunsuper, Telstra Super, and Statewide Super.
This fundraising activity also coincides with a slowdown in growth-stage investment amid market volatility and uncertainty around valuations. Blackbird, Square Peg, and AirTree are also investors in Canva, an Australian design services marketplace that has seen significant erosion in its valuation.
The company was worth USD 40bn last year, but several investors have since disclosed sizeable markdowns. In July, Blackbird revised the valuation to USD 25.6bn.
Nevertheless, the firm remains bullish in its market outlook, noting in a statement that five of the most valuable companies in Australia and New Zealand are technology businesses and one-fifth of Australia’s GDP comes from technology. “Australia and New Zealand as countries have, quite simply, succeeded, punching far above our weight on the world stage,” it added.
Blackbird raised AUD 30m for its debut fund in 2012, AUD 200m for its second in 2015, and AUD 261m for its third in 2018. Other portfolio standouts include SafetyCulture, a software provider for safety compliance inspectors, and Culture Amp, an enterprise technology supplier focused on human resources.
More on Australasia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.