Multi-stage VC, Sydney

Blackbird Ventures

Venture capital firm · Sydney · Founded June 2012

Quick read

Blackbird Ventures is a multi-stage VC firm founded in 2012, headquartered in Surry Hills, Sydney. It backs Australian and New Zealand technology founders from seed through growth, with over A$1B under management and a portfolio of 80+ companies including Canva, Airwallex, SafetyCulture, and Culture Amp. Its fifth fund is targeting A$700M, continuing a run of record-sized ANZ fund closes.

Key facts

Founded
June 2012
Founders
Rick Baker
Employees
76
Sectors
generalist, saas, ai
Website
www.blackbird.vc

Investment thesis

Blackbird backs wild-hearted founders with the biggest ambitions across ANZ, writing first cheques from seed and continuing to support companies across every stage — from software to space — with the conviction that the next generation of global technology companies will be born in Australia and New Zealand.

Recent activity

  • Aug 2026investment
    Blackbird Ventures has made 9 new investments in the last 12 months, bringing its total portfolio to 156 companies. Most recently it participated in a Series A round for Vexev. tracxn.com
  • 2026press
    Blackbird's annual revenue reached $33.7 million in 2026, with 329 employees reported. rocketreach.co
  • 2026press
    Dealroom ranks Blackbird Ventures #258 globally among VC investors, citing 145 companies in its portfolio, 11 unicorns, 3 decacorns, and 8 thoroughbreds. Notable co-investment positions include Airwallex and PsiQuantum. dealroom.co
  • 2024fundraise
    Blackbird closed Australia's largest-ever VC fund at over $1 billion, surpassing Square Peg Capital's $861 million raise. linkedin.com
  • Nov 2023press
    At its annual investor day, Blackbird told LPs that portfolio company Canva is ready for an IPO in the second half of 2026, the most concrete timeline signal yet from Canva's earliest and largest investor. capitalbrief.com
  • Nov 2023press
    Blackbird's annual investor day also revealed that it has devalued workplace software unicorns Culture Amp and SafetyCulture, with Airwallex now positioned as its standout portfolio performer alongside Canva. startupdaily.net
  • May 2026investment
    Blackbird has made 8 new investments in the past 12 months, bringing its total active portfolio to 153 companies. Its most recent deal was participation in the Series B round of August Robotics. tracxn.com
  • Sep 2024investment
    Blackbird co-led a $6 million Seed round for Iceberg Quantum, a Sydney-based quantum architecture company, alongside LocalGlobe and DCVC. The round coincided with the release of Iceberg's Pinnacle architecture. zoominfo.com
  • Sep 2025investment
    Blackbird Ventures joined the Pre-Seed round for Alloy, a robotics data platform, alongside Skip Capital, AirTree, and others. tracxn.com
  • Aug 2025investment
    Blackbird participated in Lorikeet's $35 million Series A, led by QED Investors, for the AI customer concierge platform. Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz also joined the round. tracxn.com
  • Apr 2026press
    Blackbird held its annual Sunrise conference, where AI dominated discussion — including an appearance by the new local head of Anthropic. Founders grappled with what the 'SaaSpocalypse' means for software businesses. afr.com
  • Apr 2026investment
    Blackbird led a $10M seed round into Marloo, an AI platform for financial advisers, also participating via the earlier pre-seed. Blackbird now holds 34% of the company. Icehouse Ventures co-invested. thenextweb.com

Notable investments

Key people

Named individuals at the firm. We don't expose direct email or phone — use their LinkedIn for outreach.

  • Rick Baker · Partner & Co-founder
  • Phoebe Harrop · Partner (NZ office lead)
    LinkedIn
  • Niki Scevak · Co-founder & Partner
  • Samantha Wong · Partner
  • Tom Humphrey · Partner

Sources

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Frequently asked

What is Blackbird Ventures?+

Blackbird Ventures is a multi-stage VC firm founded in 2012, headquartered in Surry Hills, Sydney. It backs Australian and New Zealand technology founders from seed through growth, with over A$1B under management and a portfolio of 80+ companies including Canva, Airwallex, SafetyCulture, and Culture Amp.

Where is Blackbird Ventures headquartered?+

Blackbird Ventures is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.

When was Blackbird Ventures founded?+

Blackbird Ventures was founded in June 2012 by Rick Baker.

What sectors does Blackbird Ventures invest in?+

Blackbird Ventures focuses on generalist, saas, ai. They primarily invest in these sectors.

How do I prepare for a meeting with Blackbird Ventures?+

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Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources. Last updated August 12, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

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