Square Peg Capital: Australia’s Most AI-Active VC Fund
Square Peg Capital has quietly become Australia’s most active venture capital investor in AI companies. Founded in Melbourne in 2012 by Paul Bassat — co-founder of SEEK — alongside Tony Holt and Barry Brott, Square Peg manages over AU$2 billion across multiple funds and operates across Australia, Israel, Southeast Asia and beyond.
What sets Square Peg apart is a deliberate, thesis-driven approach to AI investing. While other funds back AI companies opportunistically, Square Peg has built an explicit AI investment thesis and a portfolio to match.
Who They Are
Paul Bassat sold his share of SEEK — Australia’s dominant jobs platform — and used the proceeds to build one of the country’s most globally connected VC firms. The Square Peg thesis from day one was that great technology companies could be built anywhere in the world, not just Silicon Valley — and that founders in Australia, Israel and Southeast Asia were building some of the most interesting ones.
With offices in Melbourne, Tel Aviv and Singapore, Square Peg brings a genuinely global perspective to AU AI investing. Their Israeli connections in particular give them early access to some of the world’s most advanced AI research coming out of units like Unit 8200.
What They Back
Stage: Seed through Series C
Cheque size: AU$500K (seed) to AU$30M+ (growth)
Geography: Australia, NZ, Israel, Southeast Asia
Sectors: AI, fintech, SaaS — with explicit AI fund allocation
Square Peg is unusual among AU VCs in explicitly labelling their portfolio by theme. On their website, you can filter by AI, Fintech, and SaaS — and their AI portfolio is by far the largest of any Australian fund.
Their Australian AI Portfolio
Square Peg has backed a remarkable breadth of AI companies across sectors:
From our 100 Australian AI company profiles:
- Canva — World’s most-used AI design platform; Square Peg backed at seed
- Airwallex — Australia’s most global fintech; Series A investor
- Neara — AI digital twin for power grid infrastructure; Series A
- Athena Home Loans — AI-powered mortgage platform; Series A
- Prospa — AI small business lending; Series B
- Deputy — Workforce management AI; Series B
- Vow Food — Cultivated meat deep tech; seed investor
- Partly — AI auto parts platform; Series A
- Rokt — AI adtech platform; Series A
Additional AI-native portfolio companies (global): Lorikeet (AU, AI customer support), Nimble (AI data), Qodo (AI code quality), GoodWork.ai, Hud (AI real estate), Source (AI procurement), Spiritt (AI), Sumble (AI networking), Retrain.ai (workforce AI), Mindverse (AI content), and more.
Notable Wins
- Canva — seed investment now worth billions; among the greatest VC returns globally
- Airwallex — valued at US$5.5B as of 2024; potential 2026 IPO candidate
- Fiverr — IPO on NYSE; early investor
- PropertyGuru — IPO on NYSE; Series D investor
How to Get in Front of Them
Square Peg invests globally, which means they have high deal flow. The most effective routes are warm introductions from portfolio founders, or through their regional networks in Melbourne, Tel Aviv and Singapore.
They’re particularly drawn to companies solving large, structural problems with AI — not AI for its own sake, but AI that creates genuinely better outcomes for customers in big markets.
Website: squarepeg.vc
Why They Matter for Australian AI
Square Peg’s explicit AI investment thesis — and the scale of their AI portfolio — makes them the closest thing Australia has to a dedicated AI fund. Their Israeli connections bring access to some of the world’s most advanced AI research. Their Southeast Asian presence gives portfolio companies a ready-made path to high-growth markets.
For Australian AI founders, Square Peg represents not just capital but a genuine global network — and a fund that takes AI seriously as an investment category, not just a buzzword.
📄 Explore the full Australian AI ecosystem: Australian AI Companies: The Complete Guide by Industry (2026)
