Startup · $82.8m raised
Sydney, NSW
Programs: AWS (Generative AI Accelerator)
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Leonardo.Ai raised.
| Investor | Rounds | Invested |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | Accelerator | - |
| Blackbird Ventures | undisclosed · Accelerator | - |
| Gaorong Capital | undisclosed | - |
| Samsung Next | undisclosed · Accelerator | - |
| Side Stage Ventures | undisclosed · Accelerator | - |
| Smash Capital | undisclosed · Accelerator | - |
| TIRTA Ventures | undisclosed · Accelerator | - |
Investors whose own portfolio pages list Leonardo.Ai, even though we haven't found any coverage of the round yet.
| Investor | Listed on |
|---|---|
| Glitch Capital | its portfolio page ↗ |
The transaction that ended Leonardo.Ai's run as a startup, per published coverage. It closes the funding history too, where it is the ladder's last rung.
Companies Leonardo.Ai acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
Stories naming Leonardo.Ai. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Side Stage Ventures has reached a $40 million initial close on its $50 million second fund, backed by founders of earlier wins, while principal Elli Hanson steps up to partner.
Blackbird partner Tom Humphrey argues AI panic overstates the threat to software firms, sketching four stages from bolting on models to training them, and pointing to Canva's acquisitions and Springboards' new model as proof.
Canva has bought AI agent platform Simtheory and marketing software Ortto from the Sharkey brothers, who also founded Stayz — its fourth and fifth purchases this year, prices undisclosed.
Canva has bought Sydney AI startup Simtheory and marketing automation firm Ortto, its fifth and sixth acquisitions in ten months, as it repositions from design tool to AI workplace platform; no prices disclosed.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·This Week in Australian Startups
AWS picked 40 startups for its 2025 Generative AI Accelerator, including Australians Pluralis Research and Mary Technology; the piece recalls past raises by alumni Relevance AI, Leonardo.ai and Marqo, and Leonardo.ai's sale to Canva.
Nakatomi, an Australian startup studio, has collected $3.5 million from backers including Scalare Partners and Leonardo.AI's Chris Gillis, cash it will deploy creating several companies each year.
Glitch Capital, a new $50m vehicle led by Leigh Jasper and backed by exited unicorn founders, has completed its first deal, backing Melbourne edtech firm Cadmus.
Year-in-review column on Australian AI in 2024: five startup raises, Canva buying Leonardo.ai, new government AI regulation and a parliamentary inquiry, the Cosmos AI trial backlash, and a national AI capability plan.
Also SmartCompany
A fresh sale of existing shares has lifted Canva's valuation to about $48.7 billion from $38.5 billion in January, boosting the co-founders' wealth and edging the design software firm toward a possible public listing.
SmartCompany's rolling coverage of SXSW Sydney day two, recording Polymath's pre-seed raise and Build Club's recent funding, the Equity Clear launch, Startmate's Demo Day, and women-founded startup pitches at Google's event.
Canva is set to buy Sydney AI startup Leonardo.Ai for an undisclosed sum; the piece also recalls Leonardo's $47 million 2023 raise with Blackbird and Canva's earlier $1 billion Serif purchase.
A Blackbird partner argues AI has revived vertical software by turning hard-to-sell customers into product-led buyers, noting the firm recently backed three such startups and recalling Aconex's sale to Oracle.
Also buildxact.com
Blackbird's annual review counts $229 million deployed in 2024 across 41 companies, $1.15 billion invested over five years, and about $1.14 billion returned to LPs through secondaries, Canva's purchase of Leonardo.ai, and Hivery's collapse.
Roundup of eight local raises totalling roughly $81.5 million: generative AI, sustainable packaging, VR medical training, optical radar, drinks, preventive health and wholesale retail software.
Also Ten13 portfolio·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia
Sydney AI platform Leonardo.Ai has completed a Series A on top of its seed round, taking total backing past $47 million from Blackbird, Side Stage Ventures, Samsung Next, Smash Capital and TIRTA Ventures.
Leonardo.Ai, a Sydney-based AI art platform, has raised $31 million US from Blackbird, Samsung Next and other backers, money it will put toward its enterprise push and hiring.
Also mediaweek.com.au·inaitoday.com·Forbes Australia·ARN (ARNnet)·Forbes Australia·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia
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.
Also Blackbird Ventures portfolio·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia·quadrantpe.com.au·Tech Funding News - Australia·Forbes Australia·Crikey·Forbes Australia·Forbes Australia·Forbes Australia·Women's Agenda·This Week in Australian Startups·techtimes.com·TechCrunch Venture·TechCrunch Venture·TechCrunch Venture