Airtree Launches $650m Fund V, With Global Investors Backing ANZ Tech Ambitions

Airtree has announced its next chapter with Fund V, building on a portfolio that includes Canva, Linktree, Employment Hero, and Go1 — names that have helped define Australia’s scale-up decade. The firm is again reserving meaningful firepower for seed-stage deals, extending its habit of leading early and staying in for the long haul.

Global capital meets local ambition

Fund V totals $650 million, split between a $250 million seed fund and a $400 million growth fund. More than half of the capital is from tier-one global institutional investors — many backing Australian venture for the first time — a shift Airtree frames as a marker of confidence in ANZ founders.

“Now that they’re tapped into the opportunity set, we’re sure that much more international capital will start flowing toward the best Aussie and Kiwi companies both directly and through funds. This is fantastic news for our ecosystem,” Airtree Partner John Henderson said.

The firm’s recent and legacy investments sketch the strategy: lead early rounds, then keep backing breakout performers. Alongside headline unicorns, Airtree points to newer bets such as ProcurePro, Constantinople, Fetch, Human, and Haast — a cohort building for global markets from day one. The fund’s thesis leans into AI as a “why now” catalyst, with enterprise customers under pressure to adopt credible AI roadmaps and seeking tools that solve previously stubborn problems.

Co-founder Craig Blair added that Australia’s operating environment has matured, noting repeat founders, secondaries, larger growth rounds, and credible liquidity events now in the mix — the sort of dynamics that reward patient early-stage investors. Airtree’s first fund launched in 2014 at $60 million; this raise underscores just how far the firm and the broader ecosystem have come.

More capital opportunities for Perth?

While Airtree hasn’t historically made many investments in Perth-based founders or startups, this fund could open the door for more. That possibility is strengthened by the promotion of Perth-raised investor Dan Coughlan to Principal, alongside Sid Kasbekar and Raaj Rayat.

Seed remains a clear focus. In the previous fund, 83% of Airtree’s investments were at seed stage and nearly half were pre-revenue — a stance the firm intends to maintain. The $250 million seed pool is built to lead from the first cheque, while the $400 million growth vehicle will back standout companies as they scale, whether they started in the Airtree portfolio or entered later.

For WA founders, the timing could be significant. Airtree’s network initiatives have been making more deliberate inroads into the Perth market, and the combination of a larger seed pool with a local Principal creates a clearer path for conversations with the firm.

Airtree’s track record remains one of its strongest calling cards. The team counts nine unicorns and eleven companies that have surpassed $100 million in annual revenue, and it continues to cite AI-native products, capital efficiency, and high-conviction founding teams as the traits most likely to succeed. With Fund V, Airtree is signalling that its appetite for early-stage partnerships remains high — and that its reach could extend further west than before.