Atlassian

Atlassian

Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar launched Atlassian in 2002 after graduating from the University of New South Wales, bootstrapping the company to a 2015 NASDAQ listing without venture capital. The collaboration-tools business — known for Jira, Confluence, and Trello — generated fortunes for both founders, with Cannon-Brookes's net worth pegged at roughly $12 billion by the Australian Financial Review's 2025 Rich List. While Farquhar largely invests through Skip Capital, Cannon-Brookes channels the majority of his capital and attention through Grok Ventures, a Sydney-based family office that operates with a concentrated, high-conviction mandate. Grok Ventures manages a multi-billion-dollar portfolio spanning venture capital, public equities, private credit, and direct infrastructure stakes. The firm's most visible commitment is decarbonization: Cannon-Brookes led a contested $5.4 billion takeover bid for AGL Energy alongside Brookfield in 2022 to accelerate the utility's coal exit, then acquired a significant stake in Sun Cable, the world's largest solar-energy export project, out of administration in 2023 (per the Australian Financial Review, 2023). Grok has also backed Australian fintech unicorn Zeller, cultivated-meat company Vow, and advanced computing player Psivant, while maintaining a concentrated position in Atlassian stock that serves as the portfolio's liquid anchor. Geographic focus tilts heavily toward Australia, with selective US and Southeast Asian exposures. Cannon-Brookes operates Grok Ventures with a lean team that includes professionals drawn from investment banking, energy markets, and technology operations. The office shares DNA with the Atlassian operating culture — highly autonomous, anti-bureaucratic, and skeptical of traditional asset-management conventions. In September 2024, Scott Farquhar stepped away from day-to-day responsibilities at Atlassian, further distinguishing the two founders' post-operating trajectories: Cannon-Brookes remains Co-CEO of the software company while actively steering Grok's direct-investment agenda and climate philanthropy. Grok Ventures is structurally distinct from most tech-derived family offices in two respects. First, it acts as a private, hybrid investment platform — both a direct investor capable of leading complex infrastructure syndicates and a limited partner in Australia's emerging venture- capital ecosystem. Second, Cannon-Brookes's approach fuses operating, balance sheet, and policy influence: the AGL/Sun Cable campaigns were not passive bets but active interventions in Australia's energy transition, blurring the line between asset management and civil-society pressure.