Focus on investments: Airtree Ventures

Early and late-stage venture capital investments bring an exciting edge to our investment portfolio. Our partnership with Airtree Ventures (Airtree) aims to harness some of the best growth opportunities from the private equity sector.

About Airtree

Founded in 2014, Airtree was born from the belief that founders can build world-class technology and businesses. Airtree is a venture capital firm with $2 billion funds under management, and a portfolio of more than 110 fast-growing companies.

As one of the largest and most active early-stage investors in Australia and New Zealand, Airtree’s portfolio includes 8 companies that are now valued at over $1 billion. It features many of the region's tech firms including Canva, Employment Hero, Go1, Pet Circle and Linktree.

Image caption: Airtree’s Surry Hills HQ

Our investment

We have invested in Airtree since 2016. As one of its first institutional investors, our support has played a key role in expanding Airtree’s portfolio and helping to position it as a high-performing venture capital firm. Partnering with high-quality managers in private equity is critical, as the difference in performance between top and bottom quartile managers can be vast.

Why we invest in Airtree

We use our size and scale to create a diverse mix of investment opportunities. Investing in Airtree offers:

• An investment with strong return prospects, and access to a diverse range of investments across its portfolio, including emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• The opportunity to invest with a high-performing manager that has demonstrated an ability to deliver strong financial returns and can grow with us as we continue to increase in size and scale.
• An open and transparent partnership, with opportunity for ART to co-invest alongside the firm, allowing us to lower costs and gain increased exposure to investments.

Future focus

Airtree is in an exciting phase of expansion within both the venture capital and growth space, which will present new investment opportunities and enhance the diversification of our portfolio.