Australian startups starved of cash despite big potential returns
Since 2000, Australia has produced 1.22 unicorns for every US$1 billion invested, the highest ratio globally and almost twice the number in the US, according to a study by Side Stage Ventures, Dealroom.co and Amazon Web Services (AWS). China, which has struggled with a private sector crackdown since 2020, does not even appear on the list.
Australia's startup funding trails highs reached a few years ago, and the nation is now trying to revive investment. Its relatively small domestic market and distance from the venture capital hubs of Silicon Valley and Beijing remain challenges, but the local startup community is pointing to global success stories such as Canva and Atlassian as signs of its potential.
'Access to capital remains a big challenge when competing with companies and founders in other countries,' said Ben Grabiner, co-founder of Sydney-based Side Stage Ventures. 'But more people are realising the potential in the startup ecosystem here.'
Software is the most dominant sector among Australia's startups, underscoring founders' focus on products and services that are easier to export beyond the local market. Besides design-app startup Canva and collaboration-programme maker Atlassian, Australian firms, including shipping-software provider WiseTech Global and fintech Afterpay, have reached valuations in the tens of billions of US dollars.
Other key growth areas include energy, health and creative industries, Grabiner said. The region's increasing demand for renewable energy is propelling innovations in solar power, he said.
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Yet the country is grappling with a funding winter. Its startups raised US$3.4 billion in 2024, little changed from the previous year and down sharply from a peak of US$6.5 billion in 2021, according to data from PitchBook.
One challenge is the small pool of local capital and reliance on international investors, Grabiner said. In 2024, 39 per cent of early-stage capital in Australia came from overseas, compared with 21 per cent in the US and 27 per cent in Europe.
Early-stage startups are particularly underserved. Such upstarts attracted just US$1 billion in investment in Australia last year – a fraction of the US$24 billion and US$10 billion their counterparts in the US and China drew, respectively, according to the Side Stage Ventures, Dealroom.co and AWS study.
Yet that also provides an opportunity, said Phil Cummins, managing director at investment adviser StepStone Group. He said seed-stage valuations and fund sizes are smaller in Australia than in the US and Europe, and there's less competition.
'At this point, it's no longer a question of whether startups can survive in Australia, but rather how well they can perform,' said Grabiner. BLOOMBERG
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