Australian startup funding
Why investors say no to almost everyone
A founder's guide to Australian startup money. Accelerators kit you out, angels back you from the pub, seed funds read the ground, and every backer needs the seam that pays for every empty hole.
- Status
- In production
- Claims checked
- 14
- Sources
- 14
In production. The script and its 14 checked facts are done, and the look is being approved as stills. Until the film is out, this page tells its story in charts, from the same research.
- 01Cold open: the inbox
- 02The road in
- 03The hill of holes
- 04The outfitters: accelerators
- 05The pub: angels
- 06The creek: seed funds
- 07The deep mines: growth
- 08The government's tent
- 09Back on the road
- Of deals made about 60% of the money
- ~6%
- Raised by Australian startups in 2025
- $5.1bn
- Of it went to the 20 biggest deals
- 58%
- Startups in Startmate's winter 2026 cohort
- 17
The hill of holes
Venture funds do not win by picking mostly winners. A few deals pay for every empty hole.
The few deals that pay
How most deals end
- Returned less than went in65
- Returned at least the money in35
Who writes the cheque, and how big
- 1Accelerators kit you out
- 2Angels back you from the pub
- 3Seed funds read the ground
- 4Growth funds work the deep mines
Early cheques, in Australian dollars
- Startups in Startmate's winter 2026 cohort
- 17
- Sydney Angels rounds a year
- 6
- Startups applying to each round
- ~40
- Of an eligible investment back as a tax offset
- 20%
More gold, fewer claims
Australian startup funding, 2025
- The 20 biggest deals58%
- Every other deal42%
Deals done in Australia
Of every $100 of venture investment in OECD-covered markets, 2025
- United States86.7%
- United Kingdom2.9%
- Canada1.9%
- Germany1.2%
- 28 other markets7.3%
The next ten markets, 2025
One seam
Blackbird's first fund was about $29 million. In 2013 it put $250,000 into Canva's seed round.
Blackbird's portfolio value, late 2025
- Canva60%
- Every other company40%
Back from government, per dollar
Who is in the field
- Investor and agency profiles
- 55
- Programmes
- 27
- Linked companies
- 453
- Registered legal vehicles
- 305
What Australian investors say they back
The 305 registered vehicles
Accelerator places in captured rosters
What happens next
YC Summer 2022, four years on
- Active183
- Acquired14
- Inactive36
- Unresolved7
What we verified
Every claim the film makes, where it comes from, and how far the source lets it go.
| Claim in the film | Source | How far it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Melanie Perkins pitched more than 100 investors before Canva's 2013 seed round | SmartCompany; Fortune | Secondary sources |
| About 6% of Horsley Bridge's fund investments since 1985 made about 60% of returns | Chris Dixon, a16z, 2015 | The original gives no deal count |
| 65% of 21,000+ US financings returned less than 1x | Correlation Ventures, via Seth Levine, 2014 | US, 2004 to 2013 |
| Startmate: $120k at a $1.5m post-money cap, about 8% | Startmate investment terms | Primary |
| Antler residency: up to $260k for 12% | Antler blog | Its $75k fee is not in the script |
| Startmate winter 2026: 17 startups | Startup Daily, 30 Jul 2026 | Secondary, confirmed |
| Sydney Angels: 6 rounds a year, about 40 applicants each | UNSW BusinessThink | 2014 to 2021 figures |
| ESIC: a 20% non-refundable tax offset | ATO | Capped at $200k; $50k invested for retail investors |
| 2025 median angel or pre-seed round: $1.0m | Overnight Success, 6 Feb 2026 | Summarising the 2025 funding report |
| Blackbird's first fund about $29m; $250k into Canva's 2013 seed | business.gov.au; Wikipedia | AIC reports US$250k |
| Canva is more than 60% of Blackbird's $10bn+ portfolio value | Startup Daily, 25 Nov 2025 | Secondary, confirmed |
| 2025: $5.1bn raised, 390 deals (470 in 2024), top 20 deals 58% | SmartCompany; Overnight Success | Two sources agree |
| R&D tax incentive: company tax rate plus 18.5 points under $20m turnover | ATO | 43.5c at the 25% rate |
| OECD 2025: the United States took 86.7% of covered venture investment | OECD market statistics, saved 26 Oct 2026 | 32 covered markets only |
What we left out, and why
A 7,000 deal count for Horsley Bridge
Secondary write-ups add it; the original never gives it.
About 1,000 Startmate applications
Found in only one secondary source.
The 2025 seed median
Sources conflict: $2.5m against about $3m.
A $5.48bn total for 2025
One source alone; two others agree on $5.1bn.
A ranking of countries by investor returns
No comparable fund cash-flow data has been collected.
How it was made
- Research
- A data atlas firstInvestors, programmes, cohorts, registers and OECD statistics, saved as a dated snapshot on 26 October 2026.
- Script
- 531 words, 14 checked factsEvery number cites a ledger row, each checked on 21 October 2026. Three numbers no original supports were cut.
- Story
- From a casino to a goldfieldThe first treatment was judged "kind of good, but not coherent". The goldfield keeps one question and one walk through one world.
- Look
- Every figure sits on an objectDusk light, gold the only warm colour, and no stand-alone cards: each number appears on a sign, a ledger or a scale as the camera reaches it.
- Next
- Stills, then the renderThe look is approved as stills before the 12 plates are rendered, then the score and the mix.
Sources
- 1.Performance data and the Babe Ruth effect in venture capital · a16z
- 2.Venture outcomes are even more skewed than you think · Seth Levine
- 3.Accelerator investment terms · Startmate
- 4.Antler's 14th Australian residency · Antler
- 5.Startmate backs 17 startups for its winter intake · Startup Daily
- 6.Angel investors and Australian startup funding · UNSW BusinessThink
- 7.Tax incentives for innovation · ATO
- 8.Nine interesting things from the 2025 State of Startup Funding report · Overnight Success
- 9.Blackbird Ventures customer story · business.gov.au
- 10.Australian startups' 2025 funding report · SmartCompany
- 11.Rates of R&D tax incentive offset · ATO
- 12.Venture capital investments: market statistics · OECD
- 13.Early stage venture capital limited partnerships register · business.gov.au
- 14.Meet the YC Summer 2022 batch · Y Combinator
Independent explainer. Not affiliated with, or paid by, any investor, accelerator or programme named here.
