Fundraising Fox
Darcy Naunton
Venture capitalSydney · Pre-Seed–Series A · 33 people tracked
Find your way into Darcy Naunton
378 people in our graph share verified history with the Darcy Naunton team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Investment thesis
Black Nova invests in ambitious founders solving acute problems within the B2B SaaS industry. The firm looks for teams with deep domain expertise and determined, ambitious founders, and backs companies from Pre-Seed through Series A. Positioning itself as a founder-focused fund with a transparent, supportive approach, it primarily targets Australian technology companies. Its team comprises founders, investors, experts, and executives who aim to help startups along their journey.
Source: firm website, verified Sep 26, 2026.
Team · 33 people
from the firm's website & curated
Founder mafia
2 people who came through Darcy Naunton went on to found or lead other companies.
What they invest in
from 15 of 27 portfolio companiesSaaS ×10AI & Machine Learning ×7Enterprise Software ×6Data & Infrastructure ×3Climate Tech ×2Future of Work ×2GovTech ×2Healthtech ×2
HQs:Australia×6United States×2United Kingdom×1Ireland×1
Investments · 27 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBrazeAI Decisioning Studio is an AI platform that helps marketers make personalized 1:1 customer decisions by optimizing channel, offer, creative, and timing across hundreds of customer attributes.
AI & Machine LearningMarketing TechBoston, US
George Khachatryan(Executive Officer, Director)Victor Kostyuk(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardMike Ghaffary(Director)in
Co-investorsAfterWork VenturesBlack Nova VCCanvas VenturesCarbide VenturesHarmony PartnersMenlo Ventures+2 more
Black Nova is a venture capital firm providing strategic support to portfolio companies through experienced venture partners.
Sector AgnosticSydney, AU
Anthony Woodward(Founder Operator and Venture Partner)
BoardRob Skillington(Venture Partner)Alok Kulkarni(Venture Partner)Elon Aizenstros(Venture Partner)
CipherStash provides queryable, field-level encryption for Postgres databases, keeping data encrypted while applications use it and allowing decryption only under identity-bound access policies.
CybersecurityData & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsBrooklyn, US
Dan Draper(Founder)in
Co-investorsAirTree VenturesBlack Nova VCOlima VenturesSixThirty Ventures
Functionly provides a platform for visualizing and managing organizational structures by unifying people data across systems.
Enterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkHR TechSaaS
Damian Bramanis(Founder)in
Co-investorsAfterWork VenturesBlack Nova VCRampersandStartmateYuuwa Capital
GovConnex provides research and intelligence tools for public affairs professionals, delivering access to political and industry stakeholder databases, search functionality across hundreds of sources, and analytics to support strategic decision-making.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareGovTechSaaS
Co-investorsBlack Nova VC
Kismet operates a digital marketplace connecting users with disability and healthcare services.
Digital HealthHealthtechMarketplacesAustralia, AU
Co-investorsAirTree VenturesBlack Nova VCCrane Venture PartnersFlying Fox VenturesProsus Ventures
Lodgicl provides an integration-first intelligence layer for property insurers and their suppliers, structuring data already collected to sharpen policy coverage reads, build preliminary repair scopes, and speed claims decisions.
AI & Machine LearningInsurTechSaaS
Co-investorsBlack Nova VC
Notiv builds an AI-powered meeting solution that uses speech recognition and natural language processing to improve conversations and help teams share information more effectively.
AI & Machine LearningFuture of WorkSaaS
Chris Raethke(CEO)Jaco Du Plessis(AI Lead)Dr Iain McCowan(Engineering Lead)
Co-investorsBlack Nova VCBlack Sheep CapitalTransition Level Investments
Operata provides a real-time CX Insights Graph that correlates technical, operations, and experience data to surface performance anomalies and actionable recommendations for contact center and customer experience teams.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Romilly Blackburn(Founder)in
Co-investorsBlack Nova VCFlying Fox VenturesTidal Ventures
Pathzero offers a climate intelligence platform that helps financial institutions and companies manage carbon emissions data from ingestion to disclosure, including a private markets disclosure network connecting asset owners with fund managers.
Climate TechFintechSaaSSydney, AU
Carl Prins(Co-Founder & CEO)inCharbel Ayoub(Co-Founder & CTO)inAlex De Muelenaere(COO / CFO)in
Co-investorsAntler AustraliaBlack Nova VCAntlerCarthona Capital
Phantm develops solutions for managing packaging materials and regulatory compliance in the materials industry.
Circular EconomyClimate TechData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Elliot Costello(Cofounder and CEO)inSimon Taylor(Cofounder and Director)inSean Bonadeo(Cofounder and Director)inMatt Kendallin
Co-investorsBlack Nova VCSalus Ventures
Protex AI applies computer vision and generative AI to analyze video footage from industrial sites, identifying operational patterns and safety risks in real time.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareIoTLogistics & Supply ChainLimerick, IE
Dan Hobbs(Founder)inCiarán O'Mara(Founder)inCiaranin
Co-investorsBlack Nova VCfirstminute capitalNotion CapitalY CombinatorFlexportHedosophia+3 more
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Australian online marketplace connecting prospective dog owners with vet-approved, responsible breeders.
Sydney, AU
Nathan Olivieri(Founder)in
Co-investorsBlack Nova VC
RoseRx is a conversational AI platform for the pharmaceutical industry that converts approved content into compliant, always-on conversations with healthcare professionals and patients.
AI & Machine LearningHealthtechSaaS
Co-investorsBlack Nova VC
Shaparency provides a cloud-based board management and collaboration platform for boards and committees, letting teams build board packs, prepare agendas, take minutes, sign documents, and manage action items in one secure place.
Enterprise SoftwareGovTechSaaS
Ben Nowlan(Founder)in
Co-investorsBlack Nova VC
Skoutli operates an online platform for finding and booking locations (such as homes and spaces) for creative projects and productions, connecting space owners with producers and other creative professionals.
Creator EconomyMarketplacesMedia & Entertainment
Caroline Lepron Aguesse(Founder)in
Co-investorsBlack Nova VC
Varicon provides civil construction software aimed at civil contractors and construction firms.
Construction TechSaaS
Ofer Assor(Founder)in
Co-investorsBlack Nova VCArtesianGalileo VenturesTidal Ventures
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
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Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesRightPaw · help.rightpaw.com.au · Feb 10, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Darcy Naunton made?
- Darcy Naunton has 27 tracked investments.
- What stage does Darcy Naunton invest at?
- Darcy Naunton invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
- What is Darcy Naunton's typical check size?
- Darcy Naunton typically writes checks of $100K.
- What sectors does Darcy Naunton focus on?
- Darcy Naunton focuses on Enterprise Software, SaaS.
- Where is Darcy Naunton located?
- Darcy Naunton is headquartered in Sydney, AU.
- Who does Darcy Naunton co-invest with?
- Darcy Naunton most often shares deals with Black Nova VC, Flying Fox Ventures, AirTree Ventures, among 7 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamAbundance mindset - Stuart Richardson & Darcy Naunton (Adventur.e Capital) | Startup Playbook Ep040
Rohit Bhargava · Darcy Naunton
The Best Advice I Ever Received... Darcy Naunton | YBF Ventures
YBF Ventures · Darcy Naunton
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