Investor · 5 deals
Every published round Microsoft took part in, and every parcel of existing shares it bought off another holder. Deals we hold but haven't published yet are not counted, and a place in one of its own programs is under Cohorts.
Everyone Microsoft has named to a program in published coverage. A place in a program is not a raise: the cheque is the figure recorded with the place, which is the program's standard terms where we hold them, and a blank is one we don't.
| Member | Program | Announced | Cheque | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I-VADE | Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub | 6 Jun 2025 | - | Business News Australia, SmartCompany |
Companies Microsoft has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
This is a stake in the fund itself, money that the fund's manager invests, not a stake in the fund manager.
Companies Microsoft has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Microsoft did.
Companies Microsoft acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
Stories naming Microsoft. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Sydney quantum startup Diraq has received an initial US$51 million from DARPA after reaching the final stage of its quantum benchmarking program, with more funding possible; the National Reconstruction Fund earlier invested $20m.
Also Forbes Australia·Forbes Australia·This Week in Australian Startups
Sydney quantum company Diraq has reached the last stage of a US defence quantum program, securing US$51 million with more possible, alongside mentions of PsiQuantum, IonQ and Quantinuum milestones.
Also Forbes Australia
OpenAI's strategy chief, appearing at an Australian parliamentary hearing after a data breach, said he could not account for local scepticism of AI, while Anthropic, Google and Microsoft also gave evidence on regulation and disclosure.
A federal parliamentary inquiry will question OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and Google this week, with its chair warning OpenAI must explain an incident where its AI agent accessed Services Australia Medicare data.
Analysis of OpenAI's completed $122 billion raise at an $852 billion post-money valuation, covering NVIDIA, Amazon and SoftBank participation, a bank credit facility, retail demand, and a delayed IPO plan.
Also forkast.news
Analysis of OpenAI's completed $122 billion raise at an $852 billion post-money valuation, examining its mix of vendor compute, contingent commitments, retail participation and debt, and arguing the company now operates as an infrastructure utility.
Also finance.yahoo.com
San Francisco fleet-operations AI company Motive announced over $1.3 billion in growth funding from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund; the investor's managing director joined its board, and Motive withdrew its S-1 filing.
Also cryptobriefing.com
Quarterly report from the Defender Global Fund flagging an 84.7% portfolio return, profits taken on SharonAI following its February Nasdaq uplisting, SharonAI's GPU collaboration with NVIDIA, and fresh investor subscriptions.
Defender's quarterly newsletter reports an exceptional quarter for its global fund, headlined by portfolio holding SharonAI, which surged after a February Nasdaq uplisting and an NVIDIA GPU deployment partnership.
Also Defender AM portfolio·Startup Daily·AFR Technology·Forbes Australia·Forbes Australia·Dealroom
Canva is pushing productivity tools like Docs and Sheets to win enterprise subscribers from Microsoft and Google, while slowing its AI rollout to control costs and trimming its revenue growth forecast.
Sydney tech services firm Adactin has bought Melbourne Microsoft partner Focus Dynamics Group, keeping all 82 staff and the FDG brand intact to deepen its Dynamics 365 and Azure capabilities; terms undisclosed.
Also CRN Australia
Skalata Ventures unveils its October 2021 seed intake of 13 startups, among them Ardacious and Strength By Numbers, and notes alumnus Preezie recently secured a $5.5 million Series A.
Skalata Ventures uses its recent accolade as Australia's busiest early-stage investor to pitch founders on its hands-on, seed-specialist approach, arguing most VCs overpromise support and underdeliver.
An AFR managed-funds topic page: a star small-caps deputy goes solo with a new Sydney firm, Gigacomm buys rival DGtek, Google plans a multibillion-dollar domestic bond, plus fund manager and market stories.
Roundup of seven raises across the Tasman spanning fintech, marine tech, agtech, defence and AI, plus a first close for an ACT venture fund.
Melbourne GRC startup CyberHeed has released Live Integrations, which continuously pulls configuration signals from tools like GitHub and Microsoft products to assess compliance controls in context, extending its SmartPrep capability.
Bower, an Australian startup, has closed a $2 million pre-seed round led by TEN13 with Admiralty Capital Group, Edale Capital and angel backers, funding ambient AI that captures laboratory work as structured research records.
Ten13 led Bower's A$2m pre-seed round for a voice-first AI assistant that helps scientists capture lab observations hands-free, founded by a four-person team with backgrounds at Microsoft, Google and Atlassian.
Also Startup Daily
Startmate unveils its incoming Winter '26 accelerator intake, profiling AI, aerospace, legal tech, construction and healthcare startups founded across Australian cities, with others based in San Francisco and Christchurch.
The head of neo-cloud firm Sharon AI argues no copyright change is needed to attract data centre investment; the piece recalls its Nasdaq listing raise and a large new financing.
Business Kitz, a Sydney document platform, has secured pre-seed backing from angel investors to grow its SME software and expand overseas.
IREN's board has signed off on long-term share awards worth roughly US$788 million for co-founder chief executives Daniel and Will Roberts, as the Sydney-based green data centre operator capitalises on AI demand.
Forbes Australia interviews Amal Clooney at the Cartier Women's Initiative 2026 celebration in Bangkok, where she mentored female founder fellows, including three Australian award winners, and discussed her justice foundation's legal-aid work.
Quantum chip venture Diraq has struck a US$38m deal with America's Commerce Department to build out its supply chain there, much of it becoming equity; Australia's NRF backed it with $20m in February.
Analysis of OpenAI's record Series F close, its investor lineup, revenue climb, valuation scepticism, earlier rounds, employee share sales, and its path toward a possible public listing.
Sierra, the enterprise AI agent firm started by Bret Taylor and Clay Bavor, has banked a $950 million Series E with Tiger Global and Google Ventures at the helm, plus Benchmark, Sequoia and Greenoaks.
Also TechCrunch Venture·aivy.com.au·cmswire.com·theaiworld.org·faq.com.tw·groundy.com
Adtech startup Manifest has launched with a $2 million pre-seed round, led by Brand Fund with Antler, Icehouse Ventures, Techstars, family offices and industry angels taking part, aiming to replace agency timesheets.
Weekly roundup noting AirTrunk's completed purchase of India-based Lumina CloudInfra, alongside items on Heidi Health's ARR milestone, Techboard's analysis of unannounced 2025 funding rounds, and Microsoft's planned Australian AI investment.
Also TechCrunch Venture
OpenAI has raised a record private financing of $110 billion, with Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank investing, lifting its pre-money valuation sharply, alongside an expanded cloud partnership with Amazon Web Services.
Also cnbc.com·tech-insider.org·forkast.news·finance.yahoo.com·finance.yahoo.com·benzinga.com·The Guardian Australia - Technology
Australian AI infrastructure company SharonAI Holdings has debuted on Nasdaq at a valuation above $1 billion, with a December pre-IPO round, backing from Digital Alpha and USD.AI, and an April ASX float planned.
Weekly agtech and foodtech roundup: several startup raises, BASF's purchase of AgBiTech, three new funds, a Bühler CEO appointment, Microsoft carbon-credit deals, and company shutdowns.
Weekly agtech and foodtech roundup: multiple venture raises, Carbon Direct's purchase of Pachama, two food-focused funds closing, board and C-suite appointments, and an Australian delivery firm shutting down.
IT services firm Entag has bought Rubicon 8, creating a combined 145-person business backed by Anchorage Capital Partners, with both companies recently recognised at the Telstra Partner Awards.
Melbourne AI medical-notes startup Heidi Health has banked a $98 million Series B led by Point72 at a $704 million valuation, adding two senior clinical and commercial hires to its leadership.
Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia
Weekly roundup of eight Australian and New Zealand funding rounds totalling about $53.5 million, led by SwarmFarm Robotics' $30 million Series B for its farm robots.
Funding roundup: eight trans-Tasman startups together secured $53.56 million, topped by SwarmFarm Robotics' Series B, with Amber, Javln, Enhance Labs, Indi, Wych, Lift Women and Ambra Spirits also raising capital.
Ten13 announces its appointment as a manager under Queensland's $130m VCDF, run by QIC, and its first investment through it: co-leading a $2.5m seed round for OneMRI, a Brisbane healthtech company, alongside OIF Ventures.
Column on Atlassian's $935 million takeover of the Arc and Dia developer, arguing the deal fits its workplace software strategy amid intensifying competition in AI browsing tools.
Also Forbes Australia·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia·Tech Funding News - Australia·TechCrunch Venture
Opinion column argues Canva's fresh $65 billion valuation from a recent raise looks cheap against Figma's listing multiples, with looming competition from Microsoft, Adobe and Google shaping the design software market.
Accenture plans to buy Melbourne cybersecurity firm CyberCX, a transaction reported at over a billion dollars that still needs foreign investment approval. CyberCX was co-founded by John Paitaridis and Alastair MacGibbon.