Folklore Ventures
Venture capitalSydney · Pre-Seed–Seed · 18 people tracked
Find your way into Folklore Ventures
3,572 people in our graph share verified history with the Folklore Ventures team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Investment thesis
Folklore Ventures backs founders pursuing their life's work, acting as a long-term partner for high-ambition technology startups. Made up of investors, founders, and builders, the firm focuses on supporting Australian and New Zealand tech founders and their teams as they build enduring success stories.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 18 people
from the firm's website & curated & public directories
What they invest in
from 26 of 34 portfolio companiesSaaS ×17AI & Machine Learning ×10Fintech ×7Enterprise Software ×5Cloud Computing ×4Deep Tech ×4EdTech ×4Developer Tools ×3
HQs:Australia×8United States×3New Zealand×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 16 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×122 founders×33 founders×1
Where their founders studiedfrom 17 founders with education data
Australian Institute of Company Directors ×3University of Sydney ×3Monash University ×2Stanford University ×2University of Technology Sydney ×2
What their founders studiedfrom 18 founders with field-of-study data
Business & Management ×5Engineering ×5Finance & Accounting ×4Computer Science ×3Economics ×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 19 founders with career history
Telstra ×2
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
Investments · 34 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 12025 · 12023 · 12021 · 14 dated
Freelancer.com is an online marketplace where businesses post jobs and hire freelance workers, including graphic designers, for projects ranging from logos to full website design.
FintechFuture of WorkMarketplacesSydney, AU
Matt Barrie(Founder)in
Visionary Machines develops passive optical sensing systems that produce real-time, georeferenced 3D representations of the environment across multiple spectral bands, including in GPS-denied conditions.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechDefense TechRoboticsSydney, AU
Samson Lee(Founder & Chief Technology Officer)inSonny Foster(Chief Executive Officer)inNick Gibbs(Chief Operating Officer)in
Co-investorsIn-Q-TelOIF VenturesOur Innovation FundSalus VenturesSignificant VenturesThorney Investment Group
Adviser Ratings operates an online platform where Australian consumers can search for, review, and rate financial advisers, along with tools to ask advisers questions and read industry content.
Data & InfrastructureFintechMarketplacesMedia & Entertainment
Angus Woods(Managing Director)inKatie Dukes(Chief Operating Officer)inSivan Atad(Chief Information Officer)in
Co-investorsClinton Capital Partners
Ansarada offers a SaaS platform and AI-powered virtual data rooms for investment banking and advisory teams to manage the end-to-end M&A deal lifecycle, including asset sales, capital raising, and restructuring.
AI & Machine LearningFintechGovTechSaaSSydney, AU
Steven Engel(Founder)in
Co-investorsFive V CapitalUOB Venture ManagementEllerston Capital
Arkeus builds AI-powered sensing systems that combine advanced sensors with onboard AI to give autonomous platforms real-time situational awareness at the edge.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechDefense TechHardwareRobotics
Jonathan Nebauer(Founder)in
Co-investorsMain Sequence VenturesSalus VenturesQIC VenturesR+ VC
Auror operates a Retail Crime Intelligence platform that lets retailers record and share structured crime data and connect with law enforcement to identify repeat and organized offenders.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareGovTechRetail TechSaaS
James C.(Founder)in
Co-investorsGD1MovacNZ Growth Capital PartnersReinventure Group
Featureflow is a feature flag management platform that lets teams gradually roll out, target, and toggle software features across environments without redeploying code.
Cloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsSaaS
Featureflow is a feature-flag and progressive delivery platform that lets teams deploy code independently from releasing features, roll out changes gradually, and disable broken features instantly with a kill switch.
Cloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsSaaS
Australian social-first sports media company behind the Basketball Forever brand, expanding into the US.
Co-investorsYolo Investments
HappyCo builds an operations and AI platform for multifamily property management, covering inspections, work orders, lease audits, and maintenance operations for onsite teams, technicians, and corporate offices.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwarePropTechSaaS
Andrew Mackenzie-RossJindou LeeinJustin MorrisoninMatt Jacobsonin
Co-investors500 GlobalCamber CreekCerity Partners VenturesNavitas CapitalPoint NineSandalphon Capital+3 more
Hullbot operates an autonomous underwater robotics service that frequently cleans ship hulls, propellers, and niche areas to remove biofouling, reducing drag and fuel consumption for fleet operators.
CleantechDeep TechRobotics
Tom Loefler(Founder)in
Co-investorsArtesianClimate Tech PartnersNSW Clean Technology Innovation GrantsRegeneration.VCBandera CapitalTrinity Ventures
Kanopi provides an embedded insurance platform that connects a company's software to a network of global and Australian carriers through a single API, letting platforms offer contextual insurance (auto, home, life, travel, commercial, cyber, pet and more) at high-intent transaction moments.
FintechInsurTechSaaS
Nigel Fellowes-Freeman(Founder)in
Co-investorsAfterWork Ventures
Komodo Wellbeing publishes content on fostering a growth mindset and building resilience in students within the school environment.
EdTechMental HealthWellness & Fitness
Co-investorsBooster Innovation FundCure Kids VenturesFlying Fox VenturesTiger Global Management
Kry10 develops the Kry10 Operating System (KOS), a secure operating system and management environment for internet-connected devices that need secure communications, controls, and flexible management.
CybersecurityDeep TechDeveloper ToolsIoT
Jason Fox(VP Alliances)inBoyd Multerer(CEO/CTO)inKent McLeod(VP Engineering)in
Co-investorsNuance CapitalNZ Growth Capital PartnersIn-Q-TelMovac
Mentorloop is a mentoring software platform that helps organizations run and manage mentoring programs, connecting mentors and mentees.
Future of WorkHR TechSaaS
Lucy Lloyd(Founder)inHeidi Holmes(Founder)in
Co-investorsBlackbird VenturesRampersand
SEQTA (part of Tes) is a cloud-based school learning management system that combines curriculum and lesson planning, assessment, attendance, wellbeing tracking, and parent engagement in one platform.
Cloud ComputingEdTechSaaS
ShippingEasy is a shipping platform for online merchants that provides discounted USPS, UPS, and GlobalPost carrier rates, automatic order import from selling channels, and shipping automation.
E-commerceLogistics & Supply ChainSaaS
Co-investorsSquare Peg Capital
SimConverse offers an AI-based learning tool that uses photorealistic avatars and AI-driven virtual actors to simulate complex encounters, letting learners prepare, reason, and document while receiving immediate personalized feedback.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthEdTechSaaS
Co-investorsArtesian
Snug is a property technology company building a rental platform aimed at reducing costs and improving the renting process for renters, property owners, and property managers.
FintechPropTechSaaS
Justin Butterworth(Founder)inJason(Co-founder)Chirag(Head of Property Ownership Solutions)Kerensa(CFO)
Co-investorsTractor Ventures
Sphere automates tax compliance and trade regulations for cross-border commerce by using AI to read, interpret, and monitor trade law across jurisdictions.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaSSan Francisco, US
Nicholas Rudder(Founder)in
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzFairhaven Capital PartnersFelicis VenturesY CombinatorCoinbase VenturesExpedition Growth Capital
Strong Compute offers software and hardware optimizations that significantly accelerate neural network training and cloud computing tasks, targeting AI development workloads in the broader cloud infrastructure market.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSydney, AU
Co-investorsBlackbird VenturesPi CampusTRAC (Third Round Analytics Capital)Y CombinatorSequoia Capital
Swoop operates global drone transport networks and aircraft to provide seamless aerial access in remote and inaccessible areas, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions and enabling delivery services.
HardwareLogistics & Supply ChainMobility & Transportation
Co-investorsIn-Q-TelRight Click CapitalArtesianGiant LeapMain Sequence Ventures
Uptick builds software for companies that inspect and maintain life, health, and safety assets in buildings, with a focus on fire protection and asset-based compliance.
Cloud ComputingConstruction TechEnterprise SoftwarePropTechSaaS
Aidan Lister(CEO & Founder)in
Co-investorsAccel-KKRLiquidity Capital
Vend, now part of Lightspeed and marketed as Lightspeed Retail (X-Series), is a cloud-based point-of-sale and retail management platform for retailers to manage inventory, sales, customers, payments, and reporting across in-store and online channels.
E-commerceRetail TechSaaS
Co-investorsMovacPoint NinePunakaiki FundQualgroSquare Peg CapitalBlue Heron Capital+2 more
Wonde connects schools with education technology providers by managing secure access to school data.
Data & InfrastructureEdTechSaaS
Co-investorsEmerge Education
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
APPLY FOR FUNDINGHealthEngineLivedProductEngineSUMM
Exits · 3
1 IPOs · 2 acquisitions · showing 1FreelancerOTC: FLNCF
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesKomodo · animalsaroundtheglobe.com · Aug 18, 2026
Vend · finsmes.com · Aug 17, 2026
Sphere · investing.com · Jul 13, 2026
Visionary Machines · afr.com · Jun 21, 2026
Arkeus · optica-opn.org · May 29, 2026
Ansarada · ansarada.com · May 7, 2026
Hullbot · forbes.com.au · Nov 4, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Folklore Ventures made?
- Folklore Ventures has 34 tracked investments, 3 of which have exited, including 2 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Folklore Ventures invest at?
- Folklore Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What sectors does Folklore Ventures focus on?
- Folklore Ventures focuses on Sector Agnostic.
- Where is Folklore Ventures located?
- Folklore Ventures is headquartered in Sydney, AU.
- Does Folklore Ventures lead rounds?
- Folklore Ventures has led 3 of the 8 rounds where its role is on record.
- Who does Folklore Ventures co-invest with?
- Folklore Ventures most often shares deals with Square Peg Capital, Blackbird Ventures, In-Q-Tel, among 50 tracked co-investors.
From the blog
visit blog ↗Folklore has recently invested in Octopusbot, an AI-driven grain market forecasting platform, and Arkeus, an advanced sensing technology company for autonomous defence systems. The firm also announced the addition of Florencia Quinteros as Head of Operations to support portfolio company scaling. AI summary
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamImages
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