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Blackbird Ventures
Rick Baker and Niki Scevak built Blackbird Ventures into Australia's largest dedicated VC firm, backing Canva, SafetyCulture, and over 100 ANZ startups.
Blackbird Ventures
Blackbird Ventures was founded in 2012 by Rick Baker and Niki Scevak, who moved from the US to plant a seed-stage venture model in a market then dominated by resources and real estate. The firm raised its first A$29 million fund with backing from institutional investors including First State Super and Hostplus, signaling early pension appetite for Australian technology. Blackbird structured itself as a traditional venture partnership but distinguished its approach through a community-building ethos that treats founders, not just portfolio companies, as the asset class. The firm invests from pre-seed through Series B, with a multi-sector mandate weighted toward enterprise software, AI, and deep tech. Confirmed portfolio companies include design platform Canva (valued at $26 billion per Bloomberg, 2024), workplace safety software maker SafetyCulture, and HR analytics platform Culture Amp. Blackbird has backed over 100 startups and runs a follow-on fund to continue writing checks at later stages. Its geographic footprint centers on Australia and New Zealand, with investments that also reach into Silicon Valley-connected companies seeking global scale from the southern hemisphere. Blackbird manages multiple fund vintages and operates offices in Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland. The firm launched its largest vehicle, Blackbird 2021 LP, targeting A$1 billion. In early 2024, Blackbird appointed Phoebe Harrop as a Partner, deepening its investment team bench. Beyond the core funds, the firm runs the Startmate accelerator — a parallel community that feeds the early-stage pipeline and has seeded over 180 companies — and operates the Blackbird Foundation, a philanthropic initiative supporting youth creativity and deep tech education. Blackbird's structural differentiator lies in how it fuses an unapologetically conviction-led VC strategy with an accelerator community and a follow-on reserve that together reduce the capital-timing frictions that kill Australian startups. Unlike generalist Australasian managers, Blackbird has resisted branching into infrastructure or credit, remaining liquid enough to bridge companies from accelerator demo days through to late-stage rounds inside the same firm.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2012
AUM
Under $1B (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
Oceania
Country
Australia
City
Sydney
Corporate office
Sydney, NSW, Australia
Additional offices
Melbourne, VIC, Australia · Auckland, New Zealand
Principals
Rick Baker
Co-Founder & Partner
Niki Scevak
Co-Founder & Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at 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.
Which exit from Blackbird's portfolio has returned the most capital to date?
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.
How does Startmate relate to Blackbird's strategy?
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.
Does Blackbird raise capital only from Australian LPs?
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.
What is Blackbird's approach to follow-on capital?
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.
Which sectors does Blackbird explicitly avoid?
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.
How is the Blackbird Foundation structured relative to the fund?
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.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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