How many investments has Aura Ventures made?

Aura Ventures has 23 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited, including 4 dated in the last 24 months.

What stage does Aura Ventures invest at?

Aura Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.

What is Aura Ventures's typical check size?

Aura Ventures typically writes checks of $330K – $1.3M.

Where is Aura Ventures located?

Aura Ventures is headquartered in Sydney, AU.

Does Aura Ventures lead rounds?

Yes, Aura Ventures leads investment rounds.

Who does Aura Ventures co-invest with?

Aura Ventures most often shares deals with Alberts Impact Ventures, Black Sheep Capital, Breakthrough Victoria, among 37 tracked co-investors.

Aura Ventures

Venture capital

Sydney · Pre-Seed–Series A · 4 people tracked

★ Follow + Add to CRM ⤳ Find an introduction

Find your way into Aura Ventures

768 people in our graph share verified history with the Aura Ventures team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Daniel Sassunlockedknows Mark Esterhuizen · together at University of the Witwatersrand (overlapped)

×2knows the team · via The University of Texas School of Law

×3knows the team · via University of the Witwatersrand

×3knows the team · via Commonwealth Bank

×2knows the team · via University of Technology Sydney

knows the team · via Crosscountry Consulting

✨ Fox Verdict

Investment thesis

Aura Ventures operates as the venture capital arm of Aura Group, which began in 2009 with a vision to build an APAC-focused investment and wealth management firm dedicated to helping investors and entrepreneurs build and preserve generational wealth. From origins in Bondi Junction, Australia, the group expanded into South-East Asian markets, establishing the TNB Aura strategy. Backed by limited partners, the firm manages and advises on assets across its strategies and focuses on backing elite, ambitious founders. Its philosophy centers on the craft of investing and supporting entrepreneurs who aim to create a better world.

Invests inAI & Machine Learning Consumer Data & Infrastructure Digital Health EdTech Enterprise Software Fintech Healthtech Media & Entertainment Mental Health Retail Tech SaaSSector AgnosticAsia-Pacific Australia New Zealand Singapore Sydney

Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.

Stage

Pre-Seed–Series A

Check

$330K – $1.3M

Sydney, New South Wales, AU

Leads rounds

Leads

Instruments

Equity

Founded

2009

Last 12 months

2 investments

AUM

$1.5B

Tracked investments

IPOs

Team · 4 people

from the firm's website & public directories

Calvin Ng· Co-Founder & Partner· Singapore, Singaporein

Calvin Ng is a co-founder and Managing Director of Aura Group, a multi-strategy alternative asset management and wealth platform operating across Australia, Singapore and Southeast Asia, where he heads the Private Equity division based in Singapore. He previously founded and exited several financial and professional services businesses, including mortgage aggregator Finsure (sold to MA Financial in 2022), 1300 Home Loan (exited to Resimac Limited) and Aura Partners Australia (exited via management buyout). He also serves on boards across the banking, consumer, fitness, fintech and philanthropic sectors, including regulated financial institutions, with a focus on risk oversight and capital strategy.

c•••@aura.coreveal

Eric Chan· Co-Founder & Partner· Greater Sydney Areain

Eric Chan is the co-founder and managing director of Aura Group, a global financial services business focused on funds management, wealth management and corporate advisory. The company maintains offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore and Bangkok. He is also a founder and partner at Aura Ventures.

e•••@aura.coreveal

Sabrina Zeng· Corporate Development Manager· Australiain

Sabrina Zeng is Corporate Development Manager at Aura Ventures, with a background spanning economic research, corporate banking, and startup innovation. She spent five years in corporate banking before moving to the Nordic region as Chief Product Officer for a social impact startup and working as a GTM specialist with government-backed venture studios in Norway. After returning to Australia, she served as Head of Ecosystem at Fishburners and lectures part-time at UNSW Business School. She holds a combined Bachelor's degree in Business Information Systems, Philosophy, and Anthropology.

Mark Esterhuizen· Partner· Greater Sydney Areain

Mark Esterhuizen is a Partner at Aura Ventures with a background as a founder, operator and investor focused on scaling venture-backed businesses through capital strategy and operational execution. He previously served as Chief Financial and Operating Officer of Peter Manettas Seafood Group (which includes Manettas Seafood, ShoreTrade and Freshey) and was a founding team member commercialising ShoreTrade, a B2B seafood marketplace, and Freshey, a fresh produce platform. He is a Chartered Accountant CA(SA) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) in Accounting from the University of Johannesburg and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of the Witwatersrand.

m•••@aura.coreveal

Founder mafia

2 people who came through Aura Ventures went on to found or lead other companies.

Calvin NgCo-Founder & PartnerFounded Finsure Annie LiaoInvestment AssociateFounded Build Club

What they invest in

from 17 of 23 portfolio companies

SaaS ×9AI & Machine Learning ×6B2B Marketplaces ×3E-commerce ×3Enterprise Software ×3Fintech ×3IoT ×3Media & Entertainment ×3

HQs:Australia×5United States×3Indonesia×1Singapore×1

Who they back

founder profiles across 11 portfolio companies

64%

solo founders

7 of 11 mapped founding teams

55%

repeat founders

of 11 founders with career history

Founding team size:solo founder×72 founders×4

Where their founders studiedfrom 10 founders with education data

Monash University ×2UNSW ×2

What their founders studiedfrom 10 founders with field-of-study data

Computer Science ×4Finance & Accounting ×3Mathematics & Statistics ×2

Where their founders worked beforefrom 11 founders with career history

Startmate ×2

Investments · 23 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

By year:2026 · 2 2025 · 2 2022 · 1 2021 · 1 2019 · 17 dated

Intuit®intuit.com in 𝕏NASDAQ: INTUAcquired

Intuit develops financial software products—including TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp—for consumers and small businesses to manage taxes, credit, accounting, and marketing.

AI & Machine LearningFintechMarketing TechSaaSMountain View, US

Scott CookinThomas Proulx Sasan Goodarzi(CEO)in

Co-investorsA-Rod Corp AllegisCyber Capital AlphaDrive August Capital Canvas Ventures Crosscut Ventures +8 more

Auraaura.co

Aura Group provides funds management and tailored wealth solutions to wholesale, sophisticated, accredited, and institutional investors across Australia and Southeast Asia.

FintechSingapore, SG

Co-investorsAccel General Catalyst Ten Eleven Warburg Pincus WndrCo

Catapultcatapult.com in 𝕏

Catapult develops wearable tracking devices and software for athlete and team performance monitoring across professional and amateur sports.

AI & Machine LearningHardwareHealthtechIoTSports TechMelbourne, AU

Will Lopesin

Co-investorsOddiyana Ventures

Foodbombfoodbomb.com.au in

The Forage Company distributes healthy food products to venues in Victoria, Australia through the Ordermentum ordering platform.

B2B MarketplacesE-commerceFoodTechSaaSMelbourne, AU

Paul Tory(Founder)inJosh(Co-founder)

Co-investorsEVP Gandel Invest Utiliti Group Athletic Ventures

Gamursgamurs.group inOct 2022

GAMURS Group operates a network of over 16 digital publications focused on esports, gaming, and entertainment content, serving gaming communities and offering advertising solutions to brands.

AdTechGamingMedia & Entertainment

Riad Chikhani(Founder)in

Co-investorsAlium Capital Artesian Cerro Capital Elysian Park Ventures Perle Ventures Pty Ltd.Powerhouse Capital

Haasthaast.io inApr 2026 · $12M

Haast is an AI compliance platform that reviews regulated content and communications before publication, continuously monitors live digital channels, and performs regulatory horizon scanning, all tuned to an organization's specific risk tolerance.

AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareLegalTech

Kunal Vankadara(Founder)inLiam King(Founder)in

Co-investorsAirTree Ventures Black Sheep Capital Peak XV Partners

Harvest Bharvestb.io in

A B2B food technology company building a better plant-based meat system.

Sydney, AU

Kristi Knaack Riordan(Founder)in

Co-investorsAlberts Impact Ventures Breakthrough Victoria Investible Climate Tech Fund Mandalay Venture Partners

Hatchhatch.team in

Hatch is a job marketplace that matches job seekers with opportunities based on personal values and skills rather than traditional resume matching.

B2B MarketplacesFuture of WorkSaaS

Co-investorsSemperVirens Venture Capital Foundation Capital Kleiner Perkins Olive Tree Ventures Tiferes Ventures True Ventures

Jigjig.space in 𝕏

JigSpace enables companies with hardware and physical products to create interactive 3D and augmented reality presentations for investor pitches and customer demonstrations without coding, using CAD files and simple drag-and-drop tools.

Creator EconomyDeep TechDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareMarketing TechSaaSSales Tech

Zac Duff(Founder)in

Co-investorsAnorak Ventures Breakthrough Victoria

Layerlicensinglayerlicensing.com

Layer Licensing facilitates IP licensing partnerships between games and entertainment IP holders, enabling developers and publishers to integrate brand content into games and interactive experiences across multiple platforms.

B2B MarketplacesCreator EconomyGamingMedia & Entertainment

Simon Kay

Co-investorsBlack Sheep Capital Ten13

Mcpaymentmcpayment.id in

iFortepay is an Indonesian payment gateway provider offering online payment acceptance via API integration with 30+ payment channels, payment links, disbursement, e-stamps, and WhatsApp Commerce for businesses.

FintechSaaS

Sahhamarqo.ai in 𝕏Jul 2025 · $1.2M

Marqo provides an AI-powered onsite search product for ecommerce that uses an LLM trained on a retailer's catalog to interpret shopper intent, support conversational and image-plus-text queries, and personalize results in real time.

AI & Machine LearningE-commerceRetail TechSan Francisco, US

Jesse N. Clark(Founder)inTom Hamer(Co-founder)

Co-investorsBlackbird Ventures

Sahhasahha.ai in 𝕏Jul 2025 · $1.2M

Sahha provides behavioral archetypes derived from smartphone and wearable data, generating stable human-readable labels about users' sleep, exercise, and mental wellness patterns for personalization and segmentation.

AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureDigital HealthHealthtechSaaS

Co-investorsGandel Invest NZVC R/GA Ventures Startup Dunedin Distiller Supermoon Capital Antler +1 more

Scannablescannable.ioMar 2026

Scannable provides a platform for tracking equipment records and product traceability, giving safety teams and equipment owners centralized, up-to-date information on every piece of kit without manual data entry.

Advanced ManufacturingIoTSaaSWanaka

GENE DOWER(Executive Officer, Director)

Co-investorsStartup Dunedin Distiller

Shippitshippit.com inDec 2019 · $5.3M

Shippit is a multi-carrier shipping platform for ecommerce and logistics teams, giving access to 100+ carriers with tools to automate fulfilment, optimise last-mile delivery routes, and analyse delivery performance.

E-commerceLogistics & Supply ChainSaaSSydney, AU

Rob Hango-Zada(Founder)in

Co-investorsGrand Prix Capital OneVentures Perennial Partners Tidal Ventures Aura Group Global Founders Capital +2 more

Tixeltixel.com 𝕏

Tixel operates an online marketplace for reselling event tickets, with price caps and a buyer guarantee to protect fans purchasing or selling tickets to concerts and festivals.

ConsumerMarketplacesMedia & EntertainmentMelbourne, AU

Zac Leigh(Founder)inJason Webb(Founder)in

Co-investorsAlberts Impact Ventures Galileo Ventures Lalotte Ventures Ten13 Touch Ventures

Ynomiaynomia.io in

Ynomia provides a track, trace, and digital twin platform for the construction industry, focused on real-time digital progress monitoring and tracking on building projects.

Construction TechIoTPropTech

Matthew Barbuto(Founder)in

Co-investorsBrick Mortar Ventures

Zenphizenphi.com in 𝕏

Zenphi is a workflow automation platform that combines rule-based steps with AI for tasks such as classification, data extraction, generation, and anomaly detection, with centralized governance, logging, and audit trails.

AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSDover, US

Vahid Taslimi(Founder)in

Co-investorsAfterWork Ventures

Other

Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.

AI Builders ClubArcgxBusinessnewsaustraliaJigSpaceThe Iconic

Exits · 1

1 IPOs

Intuit®NASDAQ: INTU

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Director Sells $4,644,634.47 in Stock - Defense World

Aura · defenseworld.net · Sep 13, 2026

Catapult Trade Names Its Backers as Total Raised Reaches $6.6 Million Ahead of $PULT TGE

Catapult · crypto.news · Aug 31, 2026

Haast raises $12M Series A led by Peak XV Partners | SaaS M&A and VC Deals

Haast · saasrise.com · Jul 29, 2026

Zenphi Product Details | Reviews, Pricing and Alternatives | 2026

Zenphi · serchen.com · Jun 19, 2026

Stages of VC Funding: Cap Table & Dilution at Each Round

Intuit® · qubit.capital · May 14, 2026

Sell or Invest in Hatch Stock Pre-IPO

Hatch · nasdaqprivatemarket.com · Oct 21, 2025

Hybrid protein innovator Harvest B raises $5.6m

Harvest B · businessnewsaustralia.com · Sep 12, 2025

Sahha Raises $1.2M to Scale Health and Wearable Data Engagement API | Sahha

Sahha · sahha.ai · Jul 21, 2025

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has Aura Ventures made?: Aura Ventures has 23 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited, including 4 dated in the last 24 months.
What stage does Aura Ventures invest at?: Aura Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
What is Aura Ventures's typical check size?: Aura Ventures typically writes checks of $330K – $1.3M.
What sectors does Aura Ventures focus on?: Aura Ventures focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Consumer, Data & Infrastructure, Digital Health, EdTech, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Healthtech, Media & Entertainment, Mental Health, Retail Tech, SaaS, Sector Agnostic.
Where is Aura Ventures located?: Aura Ventures is headquartered in Sydney, AU.
Does Aura Ventures lead rounds?: Yes, Aura Ventures leads investment rounds.
Who does Aura Ventures co-invest with?: Aura Ventures most often shares deals with Alberts Impact Ventures, Black Sheep Capital, Breakthrough Victoria, among 37 tracked co-investors.

Images

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