AI leads Australian start-up $5b funding boom

Funding for Australian technology start-ups surged by $1 billion last year, fuelled by a gold rush into artificial intelligence, as local investors hit back at suggestions they are inflating a speculative bubble.

New numbers compiled by research firm Cut Through Venture and venture capital investors Folklore Ventures for the State of Australian Start-up Funding report show local funding rounds totalled $5.1 billion last year – $1 billion more than 2024.