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Venture capital (VC) investment in Australian companies hit a record US$2.5 billion (AUD$3.4 billion) in the year to 1 July 2021, up from US$1.95 billion (AUD$2.7 billion) in the previous year, according to a new KPMG report.
The firm's Venture Pulse Report, which captures investment in startups across the world, reported a record 327 Australian VC investment deals over the financial year, which according to KPMG head of high growth ventures Amanda Price means the environment "has never been stronger".
"The investment environment for Australian high growth ventures has never been stronger with VC firms continuing to attract and deploy capital at a record rate," Price said.
"Alongside the continued progression of Australia's new unicorns, startups that have achieved a valuation of over $1 billion, we have also seen record seed rounds raised. Startups like Honey, Nourish Ingredients and Carted have attracted over $10 million of early stage funding.
"As we look to Australia's post-pandemic future, the emergence of these digital disruptors has massive potential to contribute to the nation's economy. You only have to look at the influence of their predecessors such as Atlassian to view the positive impact of home-grown Australian tech giants, creating jobs and wealth for the country."
In addition, the past three months have seen record levels of startup funding globally, with $157.1 billion raised across 7,687 deals.
"Worldwide, the past quarter has seen capital flow into startups at record levels," Price said.
"While fintech was the most attractive sector of investment in all regions of the world, health and biotech continued to see significant investment activity, in addition to areas such as EdTech, gaming and food delivery.
"With a significant amount of cash looking for investments, the VC market is expected to remain very robust over the coming quarters."
The top 20 Australian startup investment deals (1 July 2020 - 1 July 2021) (US$Mil)
| Airwallex | 100 |
| Brighte | 100 |
| Athena | 90 |
| SafetyCulture | 73 |
| Canva | 71 |
| V2 | 55 |
| Gilmour Space Technologies | 46.7 |
| Linktree | 45 |
| Horizon Power | 44.5 |
| Zeller | 38.8 |
| Avenue | 37 |
| Sendle | 35 |
| Employment Hero | 34.9 |
| RayGen | 32.5 |
| Integrity | 31 |
| Stake | 31 |
| Baraja | 31 |
| Morse Micro | 30.3 |
| Elenium Automation | 26 |
| Sea Forest | 25.5 |
The top 20 Australian seed round deals (1 July 202 - 1 July 2021) (US$Mil)
| Honey | 12 |
| Nourish Ingredients | 11 |
| Vop | 10 |
| Pyn | 8 |
| XY Sense | 6.3 |
| JigSpace | 6.1 |
| Vitruvian | 6 |
| VOW Foods | 6 |
| Hysata | 5 |
| Illuvium | 5 |
| myInterview | 5 |
| Okendo | 5 |
| Mindset Health | 5 |
| mod.io | 4 |
| PaidRight | 3.8 |
| Robobai | 3.6 |
| Ultra HPQ | 3.5 |
| Provectus Algae | 3.24 |
| Handdii | 3 |
| Unhedged | 2.3 |
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