Blackbird Ventures

Investment decisions are led by Co-Founders Rick Baker and Niki Scevak alongside a growing partnership that includes Phoebe Harrop, appointed Partner in 2024. The firm operates a consensus-driven partnership model, not a single-key-man structure, with investment committee decisions made by the senior partnership group.

Canva is widely considered the portfolio's most valuable holding, last valued at $26 billion in a secondary share sale (per Bloomberg, 2024). While Blackbird has not disclosed its exact ownership percentage, the firm led Canva's seed round in 2013 and holds a material stake. Other notable exits include the public listing of Zoox acquisition by Amazon, and SafetyCulture's ongoing growth trajectory.

Startmate is a startup accelerator founded by Niki Scevak that runs parallel to Blackbird's core funds. It operates a systematic early-stage pipeline: twice-yearly cohorts, a student fellowship, and a founder network that feeds Blackbird's pre-seed and seed deal flow. Many Startmate graduates later raise capital from Blackbird, but the accelerator evaluates founders independently of the fund's investment committee.

Blackbird's limited partner base is anchored by Australian superannuation funds such as Hostplus, First State Super, and AustralianSuper, but the firm has also attracted international LPs. Its 2021 fund included commitments from US endowments and European family offices seeking dedicated ANZ technology exposure alongside a manager with demonstrated early-stage access.

Blackbird maintains a follow-on fund alongside its early-stage vehicles, allowing the firm to double down on portfolio winners without forcing liquidations. This structure addresses a historical gap in the Australian market — insufficient local reserves to bridge Series C and later rounds — and gives Blackbird the option to lead or co-lead internal rounds as companies scale.

Blackbird has publicly stated the firm does not invest in gambling, tobacco, or weapons. While its mandate covers broad technology bets, the firm has never invested in extractive industries, real estate development, or traditional infrastructure deals, remaining squarely focused on digitally-enabled businesses and deep technology.

The Blackbird Foundation is a separate charitable entity funded by carry donations from Blackbird partners. It runs grant programs for youth creativity, runs a 'Protostars' program for deep tech student projects, and maintains an arm's-length governance structure from the venture funds, with its own board and program team.