Corporate / CVC · 4 deals
San Francisco
Every published round Telstra Ventures 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.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Role | Alongside | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenSolar | Series B | 13 Jan 2023 | $22m | Lead | Startup Daily (Fri 10 Oct 2025), SmartCompany (Fri 10 Oct 2025), SmartCompany (Fri 13 Jan 2023), Startup Daily (Thu 12 Jan 2023) | |
| Forage | Series B | 20 Aug 2021 | $35m | Participant | Startup Daily (Tue 9 Apr 2024), Forbes Australia, Startup Daily (Tue 21 Sep 2021), Blackbird Ventures portfolio, Startup Daily (Fri 20 Aug 2021), Blackbird Ventures portfolio | |
| Movus | Unnamed stage | 19 May 2020 | $2.5m | Participant | @AuManufacturing, Blackbird Ventures portfolio | |
| Movus | Series A | Apr 2018 | $4.8m | Participant | @AuManufacturing (Tue 19 May 2020), @AuManufacturing (Wed 10 Jul 2019), SmartCompany, @AuManufacturing (Fri 8 Feb 2019) |
Companies Telstra Ventures has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
Fund closes reported for Telstra Ventures, as distinct from the investments it has made.
| Fund | Announced | Committed | Target | Close | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund III | 13 Sep 2022 | $500m | - | Final | Techboard, Startup Daily (Mon 3 Oct 2022), Startup Daily (Tue 13 Sep 2022) |
Investors that coverage says has money in a fund Telstra Ventures runs. This is a stake in the fund, not in any company the fund has backed.
Companies Telstra Ventures has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Telstra Ventures did.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Cynthia Scott | Chair (former) | Australian FinTech |
Stories naming Telstra Ventures. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Australian job-simulation edtech Forage has been bought by US education company EAB on undisclosed terms; the story also recalls its accelerator days and earlier venture raises.
Also Startup Daily
Newsletter roundup covering Australian raises by Gilmour Space, BlockTexx, FirstWave and Bandicoot, acquisitions of Alumina, Cyanco, Quality Air Equipment and Amentco, plus takeover interest in CSR and Prospa.
Techboard's September 2022 roundup reports Australian raises led by Morse Micro's $140m Series B, several acquisitions including ResApp Health to Pfizer, fund closes by Telstra Ventures, OIF and Main Sequence, and open raises.
Early-2023 roundup of startup raises: a solar software company closed a Series B, an adventure-tech firm landed Series A money, and an angel investing platform raised seed capital.
Solar design platform OpenSolar has closed a Series B led by Telstra Ventures with 2150 and existing backers, funding expansion of its free contractor software used across more than 130 countries.
Ignition Lane's weekly tech roundup covering fresh Australian startup raises, new venture funds and closes, a wave of acquisitions, delistings and a liquidation, executive moves, and Canva's product launch.
Also Centerstone Capital portfolio·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·6clicks.com·ARN (ARNnet)·Centerstone Capital portfolio·Techboard·Startup Daily
Telstra Ventures has completed a third fund worth half a billion dollars, drawing on dozens of new and existing backers, with early cheques already written into fifteen companies including FTX and Forage.
Also Startup Daily·Techboard
Victoria's startup agency has picked a new fund-of-funds firm started by two ex-Hostplus investors to build a state-backed vehicle, with the government cornerstone committed and a matching private raise still to come.
Perth healthcare booking platform HealthEngine has completed its Series E round, securing up to $30 million from Inspire Impact's newly launched $350 million impact fund, with board representation and impact targets attached.
Also Startup Daily
Payments company Zip has hired Cynthia Scott, previously a senior executive at Scentre Group and Telstra, to run its Australian and New Zealand operations and join its global executive team.
Blackbird's investment note announcing it led Forage's US$25 million Series B alongside Lightspeed, Funders Club and new backers, with Tom Humphrey joining the board, plus a profile of Forage's preskilling platform.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia
Skills-training platform Forage, which builds virtual work experience programs with employers, has raised a US$25 million Series B led by Blackbird Ventures, roughly a year after its US$9.3 million Series A.
Also Startup Daily
Singapore data firm Near hires Ed Lowther-Harris as Australia and New Zealand managing director and David Raitt as general manager; it has also recently acquired data intelligence specialist UM, formerly UberMedia.
Weekly roundup covering ANZ trade sales including A Cloud Guru's multibillion-dollar sale, several Australian raises, Tenacious Ventures' agritech fund close, Xero and Cochlear appointments, and global deals such as Etsy buying Depop.
Also SmartCompany
BigCommerce, a Sydney-founded e-commerce platform now based in Austin, listed on Nasdaq, raising US$216 million as its shares almost quadrupled on debut, valuing it near US$6.1 billion.
Brisbane IoT firm Movus has raised $2.5 million, with Telstra Ventures, Skip Capital and Blackbird Ventures reinvesting, following its 2018 series A as it expands manufacturing.
Singapore data firm Near raised a $143 million Series D from Greater Pacific Capital, partly to grow its Australian operations, a week after German SaaS firm Signavio raised $254 million with similar plans.
Legaltech startup Josef has raised $1 million in seed funding from Jelix Ventures and individual investors, with the founders valuing the investors' expertise as they expand into the US.
Profile of Movus, a condition-monitoring technology venture, recalling its $4.8 million Series A backed by Blackbird Ventures, Skip Capital and Telstra Ventures, and charting its growth, partnerships and assembly arrangements since.