Blackbird has raised A$1.05 billion across new early-stage and growth funds, marking what the venture firm describes as the largest fundraise in the history of the Australia and New Zealand startup ecosystem. The capital is split between a fund designed to make initial investments in founders and a growth vehicle for follow-on investments.
Blackbird emphasized that the larger capital base will not shift it away from early-stage investing. During the past year, its investments ranged from A$149,000 to A$60 million. Of its 20 new company investments last year, 80% were made at the pre-seed or seed stage, while 96% of first investments from its previous early-stage fund were at those stages.
The firm evaluated more than 1,900 founders last year, met with 423 and completed 31 follow-on investments alongside the 20 new-company investments.
Blackbird has also attracted new international investors including Adams Street Partners, Schroders and Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
The firm’s portfolio is now valued at more than A$12 billion. Blackbird said it has returned more than A$2.25 billion in cash to investors on just over A$3 billion invested, generating a 32% net IRR over 14 years. Nine Blackbird funds rank in the global top quartile for their vintage years, including six in the top 5%.
Blackbird’s portfolio includes Canva, Eucalyptus, Heidi Health, Halter, Airwallex and Baseten. The firm said it remains Canva’s largest investor shareholder by a significant margin and has invested in Halter seven times since initially backing the company when it had three customers.
KEY QUOTE:
“A billion dollars buys us the ability to keep saying yes to great founders. Yes before anyone else will, and yes again and again years later.”
Samantha Wong, Partner At Blackbird
