Ledger.

Angel investor · co-CEO · Founder, Atlassian

Mike Cannon-Brookes

Coverage

Stories naming Mike Cannon-Brookes. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.

9 deals

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #181, 11th October 2026

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.

Also @AuManufacturing·Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Unnamed stage

PEP buys 30% of Grok Ventures-backed Energy Bay

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.

Also This Week in Australian Startups

12 deals

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #173, 9th August 2026

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.

Also Dealroom·RenewEconomy·RenewEconomy

13 deals

Cheque-in: 8 startups gobbled up $572.12 million in funding this week

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

Funding announcement

From 0 to 4.5 billion: how the Startmate pay-it-forward mentorship model built a startup powerhouse

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.

Unnamed stage US$50m

Neural Notes: Why Atlassian joined the AI browser war

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

6 deals

Renewables virtual power plant startup charges up with $17 million Series A

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

3 deals

Series A-focused climate tech VC hits $50 million for fund’s 1st close

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.

Exit / M&A

Looking Back to Look Forward

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

Key hire

“Shell companies for rent seekers:” Coalition attacks solar innovators, including Turnbull-backed SunDrive

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.

5 deals

Agtech VC Tenacious Ventures plants $18 million in first close for Fund II

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

Fund close $200k

Startmate’s top 20 most valuable investments

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.

News

Students are getting into VC with NextGen Ventures to back uni-founded startups

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.

Funding announcement

Mike Cannon-Brookes names former Macquarie banker Tan Kueh as Grok's CEO

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.

Key hire

SunCable poaches solar and gas industry execs to lead baseload renewables project

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.

12 deals

The 10 biggest capital raises by Australian startups in 2023

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.

13 deals

Nine Aussie startups that raised $40.5 million this week

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

2 deals

“New era:” SunDrive wins funds to scale up Australia made solar cell production

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

Exit / M&A

Atlassian bets $1.5 billion on the future of hybrid work with Loom acquisition

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

8 deals

DOG'S BREAKFAST: Pet Circle's $75m raise from US VC a rare highlight for Australian startups amid a 42% fall in funding for September quarter

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.

Also SmartCompany·RenewEconomy·@AuManufacturing

3 deals

Mike Cannon-Brookes gets his hands on the $30 billion SunCable project

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

2 deals

Cannon-Brookes-backed food waste recycling startup banks $10 million bridging round

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

Exit / M&A

Sun Cable: Cannon-Brookes wins battle for world's biggest solar and battery project

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.

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