Partner, Blackbird Ventures
Stories naming Samantha Wong. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Sydney fintech OpenDebt, which applies AI agents to debt recovery, has secured $2 million in pre-seed backing from Blackbird and Antler to grow its team and explore US partnerships.
Also Australian FinTech·Business News Australia·This Week in Australian Startups·Dynamic Business
Blackbird announces its new early-stage and growth funds have brought in A$1.05 billion, reflecting on early cheques, portfolio outcomes like Eucalyptus's sale, and new international backers.
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AI startup Marloo, built for financial advisers, raised a Seed round led by Blackbird Ventures, bringing total funding to over $18m in under a year.
Financial-advice AI startup Marloo has closed a US$10 million seed round led by returning backer Blackbird Ventures, lifting its total funding beyond A$18 million.
Also Blackbird Ventures portfolio·marloo.com·marloo.com·Fintech News Australia·Business News Australia·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany
Blackbird's investment note explains why it backed Halter's US$220 million Series E at a US$2 billion valuation, recounting the farm-collar company's growth since the firm led its Series B in 2021.
Blackbird's annual letter recaps its 2025 deployment, cash returns, community programs and foundation grants, and introduces Jessica Tulp as the newest addition to its investing team.
Blackbird partners reflect on their early pre-seed backing of AI entertainment studio Wonder Studios, covering its client projects, original shows and StoryEngine tooling since that first investment.
Blackbird partners recount backing Marloo's founders before they had settled on an idea, having led its 2024 pre-seed and now announcing its seed round.
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Blackbird's investment note announces it joined Halter's US$100 million Series D, a round Bond led with NewView also coming aboard, praising Halter's growth and market position across three countries.
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
Tim Doyle, cofounder of health startup Eucalyptus, tells a Blackbird Sunrise audience that solving his warehouse of returned sex toys is the route to a job, and offers blunt views on local venture capital.
Blackbird's New Zealand chief Samantha Wong is heading home to Australia, with partner Phoebe Harrop taking over the Kiwi business in May, backed by the existing team plus a new associate.
Blackbird partner Samantha Wong is handing leadership of the firm's New Zealand arm to Phoebe Harrop and reflects on building Blackbird Aotearoa, its fundraising, portfolio and lessons from Kiwi founders.
Subletting app Kiki relaunches its original service months after a controversial switch to a members-only women's club in New York, with its main backer Blackbird publicly endorsing the move.
Kiki co-founder Toby Thomas-Smith apologised for the startup's girls-only club announcement in New York, while Blackbird general partner Samantha Wong defended the firm's earlier investment and addressed venture capital's gender imbalance.
Blackbird partner Samantha Wong responds to recent press about Kiki, explaining why the firm backed the subletting marketplace, how it supports founders through pivots, and its work on funding gender diversity.
Blackbird partners explain why the fund led a seed round in Kiki, a subletting marketplace born in New Zealand, profitable during its Sydney phase, now launching in New York.
Weekly roundup covering 14 startup raises totalling over $260 million, headlined by Synchron's $110 million round, plus Roller's shareholder liquidity payout, Partly's record New Zealand Series A, and several government grants.
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Australian cultured meat company Vow has raised a Series A led by Blackbird and Prosperity7 Ventures, funding a second factory and the Singapore launch of Morsel, its fine-dining brand.
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Blackbird's investment note announces it led Foundry Lab's Series A. The New Zealand startup uses microwave-based digital metal casting to make cast metal parts in hours, founded by David Moodie, and is now recruiting specialist staff.
Blackbird's investment note sets out why the firm led identity-verification software maker First AML's Series B, citing its years as a customer and the data network effect building in First AML's onboarding platform.
Also Startup Daily
Vehicle parts data startup Partly, based in New Zealand, has closed a pre-Series A round led by Blackbird Ventures, with angel backers including Peter Beck, Dylan Field and Akshay Kothari, valuing it highly.
Blackbird's investment note announces its participation in Mint Innovation's Series B. The New Zealand company uses microbes to recover precious metals from e-waste, and plans full-scale biorefineries and international expansion.
Blackbird's investment note explains why it led Halter's NZD32 million Series B, profiling founder and CEO Craig Piggott, the smart cattle collar product, and its dairy farming potential.
Also Blackbird Ventures portfolio·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany
Blackbird announces Phoebe Harrop joining as a Principal to build its New Zealand presence, and recalls opening its NZ office in 2019 and raising a $60M fund for Kiwi startups.
Blackbird announces it followed on in cultured meat startup Vow's Series Seed round, led by Square Peg, having earlier backed Vow's 2019 pre-seed round, and profiles the company's approach.
Also Square Peg Capital portfolio·Square Peg Capital portfolio·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Cut Through Venture·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·AgFunderNews·AgFunderNews·TechCrunch Venture
Blackbird's investment note explains why it led the Series Seed round in Partly, a Christchurch company building fitment-data software and a marketplace for the auto parts industry.
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Startmate appoints Lauren Capelin from Reinventure as its first Principal and Blackbird's Samantha Wong to its board, replacing Nick Crocker, as it launches its first New Zealand accelerator cohort.
Blackbird announces the close of its fourth fund at $500 million, bringing total committed capital to $1.24 billion, and separately announces Mike Cannon-Brookes joining its board as chair.
Also Blackbird Ventures portfolio·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily
Blackbird Ventures announces its first investment from its inaugural New Zealand fund into Ao Air, describing the ATMOS wearable respirator, its air-pressure sealing approach, and the founding team behind it.
Blackbird introduces seven new team members for 2020 across legal, operations and investment roles, while recalling a $100 million GP-led secondary, a raised New Zealand fund, and its earlier Startmate investment in Perx.
AI healthcare startup Harrison.ai, founded by brothers Aengus and Dimitry Tran, raised $29 million in its first outside round, led by Blackbird Ventures with Horizons Ventures, Skip Capital and Ramsay Health Care taking part.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia
Blackbird, the Australian venture firm, says it will expand to New Zealand with a new early-stage fund, an Auckland office, and its Sunrise conference, while recalling its early backing of companies including Canva.
Blackbird's note explains its backing of Incodocs' fresh seed funding supported by Maersk, covering the founders' trading background, the team's origins, and the market for digitising export paperwork.
Also SmartCompany
Blackbird's retrospective of its 2018: a third fund launched, new partners and staff hired, Startmate cohorts run, numerous portfolio raises led, Shape Analytics sold, and Shoes of Prey shut down.
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Blackbird partner examines plant-based and cultivated meat startups, announcing the firm's recent backing of Brisbane's Heuros and recalling its investment in New Zealand's Sunfed, arguing Australia can lead this space.
Blackbird's investment note explaining why it led Sunfed's Series A, covering the plant-based meat market, the founders' story, and the company's products and expansion plans.