Starfish Ventures
Venture capitalMelbourne · Pre-Seed–Growth · 2 people tracked
Investment thesis
Starfish Ventures backs high-growth technology businesses from an Australian base, with an investment focus spanning information technology and life sciences. The firm emphasizes partnering with entrepreneurs and investing in people rather than technology alone, taking a company-growth approach that helps founders expand teams, build product, scale globally, and achieve successful exits. Its investment philosophy targets novel technologies that create new markets or supply new products and services to existing markets, with an emphasis on preparing for exits from the outset in order to deliver superior returns to investors.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 2 people
from the firm's website
What they invest in
from 11 of 48 portfolio companiesHealthtech ×5SaaS ×5Medical Devices ×4AI & Machine Learning ×3Enterprise Software ×3Biotech ×2Digital Health ×2Hardware ×2
HQs:Australia×7United States×2
Investments · 48 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2017 · 12015 · 12 dated
Protagonist is a company that emphasizes a diverse and inclusive corporate culture as central to its innovation, with stated goals of creating wins for its organization and for patients.
BiotechHealthtechMilpitas, US
Dinesh V. Patel, PhD(Executive Officer, Director)Dinesh Patel(President & Chief Executive Officer)
BoardAsish K. Xavier, Ph.D.(Director)Michael Panaccio, Ph.D.(Director)Armen Shanafelt, Ph.D.(Director)Paul F. Truex(Director)
Co-investorsAisling CapitalCanaan PartnersJJDCLilly Ventures
H3D builds an AI platform called AutoDesign that automates the design of custom-fit products, replacing manual CAD work for hearing labs (hearing aids, hearing protection, consumer audio) and dental labs.
AI & Machine LearningHealthtechMedical DevicesSaaSAnn Arbor, AU
Philip Kinsella(Co-founder & CTO)Iain Mcleod(Co-founder & CEO)Zhong He(Executive Officer, Director)John Yu(Director)Feng Zhang(Director)
Co-investorsSignificant VenturesSkalata
Aktana provides a real-time orchestration platform for pharmaceutical marketing that coordinates digital and field engagement across channels to reach healthcare professionals at optimal times.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSales TechSan Francisco, US
David J. Ehrlich(Executive Officer, Director)Derek Choy(Executive Officer, Director)Jin Huang(Executive Officer)Rob Willson(Executive Officer)Marc-david Cohen(Executive Officer)
BoardAnthony Glenning(Director)
Co-investorsHLM Venture PartnersNorwest Venture PartnersUpfront VenturesB4 CapitalTRANSFORMATION CAPITAL
Bubble Gum Interactive is a games studio that develops video games and interactive experiences for children and general audiences, including mobile games, educational games, and augmented/virtual reality applications.
EdTechGamingSydney, AU
Co-investorsSydney Angels
DesignCrowd is an online creative marketplace connecting businesses and startups with a global network of designers for custom graphic, logo, web, and print design projects.
Creator EconomyMarketplacesSaaSMelbourne, AU
Alec Lynch(Founder & CEO)
Co-investorsRight Click CapitalAirTree VenturesAlium Capital
Co-investorsHigh Alpha
ReNerve develops nerve repair products, including cuffs, grafts, and bionic nerve structures, to treat transected nerves and improve patient outcomes.
BiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesNew MaterialsMelbourne, AU
Julian Chick(Director)David Rhodes(Director & CSO)Maja McGuire(Independent Chair)Paul Savage(Independent Non-executive Director)Alex Adamides(Chief Medical Officer)
Co-investorsAugust Capital
Exits · 1
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioProtagonist TherapeuticsNASDAQ: PTGX
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesNitro · uk.investing.com · Aug 17, 2026
ReNerve · kalkinemedia.com · Aug 12, 2026
Protagonist Therapeutics · sahmcapital.com · Aug 6, 2026
Aktana · funderintel.com · Jul 16, 2026
Impedimed · tipranks.com · May 4, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Starfish Ventures made?
- Starfish Ventures has 47 tracked investments.
- What stage does Starfish Ventures invest at?
- Starfish Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth stages.
- What is Starfish Ventures's typical check size?
- Starfish Ventures typically writes checks of $2M – $3.3M.
- What sectors does Starfish Ventures focus on?
- Starfish Ventures focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Deep Tech, Enterprise Software, Healthtech, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is Starfish Ventures located?
- Starfish Ventures is headquartered in Melbourne, AU.
- Who does Starfish Ventures co-invest with?
- Starfish Ventures most often shares deals with August Capital, High Alpha, Norwest Venture Partners, among 8 tracked co-investors.
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