Angel investor · co-CEO · Founder, Atlassian
Every published round Mike Cannon-Brookes 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.
Companies Mike Cannon-Brookes has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighte | May 2018, Series B | 1 | 0 | |
| CultureAmp | 4 Sep 2019, Series D+ | 1 | 0 | |
| Fable | 12 Dec 2019, Seed | 1 | 0 | |
| Fleet Space Technologies | 2017, Series A | 1 | 0 | |
| Loam Bio | 13 Feb 2023, Series B | 1 | 0 | |
| Milkrun | 20 Jan 2022, Series A | 1 | 0 | |
| SafetyCulture | 2013, Seed | 1 | 0 | |
| Spaceship | 20 Aug 2020, Bridge / extension | 1 | 1 | |
| SunCable | 21 Nov 2019 | 3 | 1 | |
| SunDrive | 13 Oct 2022, Series B | 1 | 0 | |
| Who Gives A Crap | 20 Sep 2021 | 1 | 0 | |
| Zoomo | Nov 2022, Series B | 1 | 0 | |
| Zoox | Jul 2018, Series B | 1 | 1 |
This is a stake in the fund itself, money that the fund's manager invests, not a stake in the fund manager.
Companies Mike Cannon-Brookes has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Mike Cannon-Brookes did.
| Company | Bought by | Kind | Announced | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SunCable | Helietta Holdings | Acquisition | Sep 2023 | - |
| Milkrun | Woolworths | Acquisition | 26 May 2023 | ~$10m |
| SunCable | Grok Ventures | Acquisition | May 2023 | - |
| Zoox | Amazon | Acquisition | 29 Jun 2020 | $1.3b |
Stories naming Mike Cannon-Brookes. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Weekly digest: Firmus withdraws its planned listing, Square Peg reaches a billion-dollar close on two vehicles, MUFG clears regulators to buy Grow Inc, and Lubdub, RocketDNA, Energy Bay and Metal all raise.
Pacific Equity Partners has agreed to take a 30 percent stake in Australian on-site renewables firm Energy Bay, mainly via new shares; existing backers include Skip Capital, Grok Ventures and Soletto. Value undisclosed.
Fuel retailer Ampol has proposed acquiring EV charging network Evie Networks for $225 million, pending regulator approval, while the article recalls the charging company's seed, Series A, government grant and debt funding history.
Blackbird and Airtree mark Canva's worth down sharply, the employee share price falls too, and commentators question whether a 2027 sharemarket float remains realistic amid sliding confidence in AI-era software.
Weekly roundup: Firmus completes its $2.85b round; Procore acquires DroneDeploy; Atlassian rebounds while Canva cuts guidance; plus fresh raises for Zabidou, BioScout, Vexev, Enrola, Spacetalk and others.
The CEFC recounts a decade of project financing behind Australia's landmark grid batteries — DeGrussa, Hornsdale, Victorian Big Battery and Capital Battery — showing how early public capital helped storage reach mainstream markets.
Weekly roundup of eight raises totalling $572.12 million, led by Firmus's $500 million round; RAGE Biotech, SunDrive, Number 8 Bio, Fabra, Keeyu, MyGig and Drone-Hand also funded, plus two RAGE Biotech executive appointments.
Also Tech Funding News - Australia·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation is putting up to $40m into Brighte through a federal program, letting the home-energy fintech offer cheaper green loans for solar, batteries and other household upgrades.
Startmate reflects on a decade of backing founders, profiling breakout alumni across its cohorts and describing how its mentors reinvest in newer startups, alongside its fund model and returns.
Atlassian is acquiring US developer-analytics firm DX for US$1 billion — its second purchase this month, following The Browser Company and earlier deals for Loom and AirTrack.
Also Forbes Australia
Atlassian has agreed to buy DX, a tool that measures engineering team output, for $1 billion — its biggest deal yet — after also announcing The Browser Company purchase this month.
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
Atlassian has agreed to buy The Browser Company, maker of browsers Dia and Arc, for roughly $610 million, aiming to build an AI browser for workplace use.
Also Dealroom
SunCable denies reports its huge Northern Territory project is faltering, saying its fundraising is on track with healthy investor interest, while Grok Ventures reportedly weighs selling part of its stake.
Household virtual power plant platform NRN has secured a $17 million Series A led by Investible and Virescent Ventures, plus $50 million debt from Infradebt, with Ecotone Partners newly joining via its Planet Fund.
Also Startup Daily
Climate Tech Partners has reached a $50 million first close on its debut climate tech fund, backed by Australian Ethical, the CEFC, Qantas, Airbus and Daniel Besen's family office.
Blackbird partner Samantha Wong reflects on a decade of the firm's Sunrise conference and Australia's startup ecosystem, recalling Atlassian's Nasdaq listing and Aconex's float and sale to Oracle.
Also SmartCompany
Long-time SafetyCulture chief Luke Anear hands the reins to Kelly Vohs while moving to the chair; the piece also recaps the firm's recent raises, valuation dip and backer changes.
A federal opposition senator attacks Labor's solar manufacturing program and SunDrive, which has cut staff and changed CEO while pursuing partnerships with AGL and Trina Solar to localise panel production.
Agtech investor Tenacious Ventures reached an $18 million first close on its second fund, which has a $50 million target; backers include Trawalla Group, Wollemi Capital Group and Macdoch Ventures.
Also Forbes Australia
A profile of Startmate ranking the twenty most valuable companies it has backed, noting their valuations, past raises and founders, plus Bugcrowd's newly announced purchase of Informer and its climate focus.
TCA chair Robyn Denholm praises departing Atlassian co-CEO Scott Farquhar, crediting his role building the software firm and his service on the council's board as an inspiration to Australian founders.
Atlassian's co-founder Scott Farquhar will vacate the co-CEO seat on August 31, staying on in governance and advisory roles, with Mike Cannon-Brookes set to lead alone from September.
An interview with Sun Cable's co-founder about his advisory firm's new report urging Australian investment in solar recycling, aviation fuel, and clean export industries.
Student-run fund NextGen Ventures launches to back university-founded startups, training student investors with partner VC firms and seeking its own capital; its report counts over $1.2 billion raised by student-founded startups since 2012.
Mike Cannon-Brookes' investment vehicle Grok Ventures has hired Tan Kueh, ex-Macquarie, UBS and BlackRock, as CEO, joining CIO Jeremy Kwong-Law, as it sharpens its strategy around climate investing.
SunCable appoints two industry executives — Cameron Garnsworthy as Australian managing director and Martin Hay as chief development officer — to drive the onshore component of its Northern Territory baseload solar and storage project.
A year-end SmartCompany roundup counting down 2023's ten largest Australian startup raises, headed by Employment Hero's $263m Series F, with investor details and commentary on fewer mega-rounds and continued under-representation of women co-founders.
SunCable has picked Bell Bay in Tasmania for its manufacturing facility after a two-year site search; the piece also recalls the administration fight that left Cannon-Brookes' consortium in control.
Sun Cable has picked Bell Bay in Tasmania for a potential cable factory to serve its planned solar power exports to Singapore, though the idea remains at an early stage.
Weekly roundup covering nine Australian startups' new capital totalling $40.5 million, across solar, quantum computing, marketing tech and crowdfunding, plus a look back at Aconex's $1.6 billion Oracle sale.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Wholesale Investor
SunDrive secured an A$11 million ARENA grant to take its copper-metallised solar cell manufacturing from prototype to commercial scale in Sydney, with plans targeting up to 5GW of yearly capacity.
Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy·@AuManufacturing·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy
Atlassian is buying US video-messaging firm Loom for $1.5 billion in a mostly-cash deal, folding its async video tool into Jira, Confluence and Trello while it stays standalone; regulatory sign-off still pending.
Also Startup Daily·ARN (ARNnet)·Forbes Australia·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
Cut Through Ventures' quarterly analysis shows Australian startup funding down 42% year-on-year at A$739 million over 77 deals, with Pet Circle's $75 million Series D from Prysm Capital the period's largest round.
Renewables investor Quinbrook has completed fundraising for its UK-focused Renewables Impact Fund, securing £620 million in commitments (A$1.2 billion), more than a fifth above its £500 million target.
Startup Daily covers Startmate's Winter 2023 accelerator intake of 13 startups, the accelerator's reported fund performance, its backer returns, and an upcoming Demo Day alongside SXSW Sydney.
Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, via a Grok-linked joint venture with Quinbrook, has completed the buyout of SunCable out of administration; the article also recalls earlier raises and names an interim CEO.
Also RenewEconomy·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing
Goterra, a Canberra venture that recycles food scraps with maggots into animal feed, has banked a $10 million bridge to grow its waste plants serving Woolworths, with a Series B planned this year.
Also AgFunderNews·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·AgFunderNews·AgFunderNews
Sun Cable cuts scores of jobs and its three founders step back from executive roles as buyers Grok Ventures and Quinbrook finalise the takeover agreed in May.
Also RenewEconomy
A Grok Ventures-led consortium with Quinbrook has agreed to acquire Sun Cable out of administration, reviving plans to ship solar power to Singapore, after Andrew Forrest's side stayed out of the final bidding.