Fewer Australian startups are reaching Series B. It fell from 20% of deals in 2021 to 7% in 2025, while pre-seed and seed rounds grew from 38% of deals to 58%.
Only 7% of deals are now Series B
Series B was 19% of Australian startup rounds in 2018 and 20% in 2021. Then it dropped: 15% in 2022, 8% in 2023, 6% in 2024 and 7% in 2025, according to our data.
Series B rounds were never common. Now they are rare.
Australian Startup Funding DatabaseSeries B as a share of Australian startup deals, 2016 to 2026
| Year | Share | Base n |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 18% (16 of 91) | 91 |
| 2017 | 9% (9 of 97) | 97 |
| 2018 | 19% (19 of 98) | 98 |
| 2019 | 13% (16 of 122) | 122 |
| 2020 | 12% (15 of 125) | 125 |
| 2021 | 20% (34 of 174) | 174 |
| 2022 | 15% (35 of 229) | 229 |
| 2023 | 8% (15 of 185) | 185 |
| 2024 | 6% (11 of 189) | 189 |
| 2025 | 7% (11 of 159) | 159 |
| 2026 (YTD) | 10% (13 of 129) | 129 |
Series B fell from 20% of deals in 2021 to 7% in 2025. 2026 so far is 10%.
More startups are starting. Fewer reach B.
While Series B shrank, the bottom of the funnel filled up. Pre-seed and seed rounds were 38% of deals in 2021 and 58% in 2025. Pre-seed alone went from 6% of deals to 27%.
So there are more companies at the start line, and the door to Series B has not got any wider. Of the companies that raised a Series A between 2017 and 2021, about 1 in 4 (25%) went on to raise a Series B. The typical wait was 16 months. More on that in the time between funding rounds.
Australian Startup Funding DatabasePre-seed and seed as a share of Australian startup deals
| Year | Share | Base n |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 60% (55 of 91) | 91 |
| 2017 | 47% (46 of 97) | 97 |
| 2018 | 45% (44 of 98) | 98 |
| 2019 | 48% (59 of 122) | 122 |
| 2020 | 42% (53 of 125) | 125 |
| 2021 | 38% (66 of 174) | 174 |
| 2022 | 50% (115 of 229) | 229 |
| 2023 | 56% (104 of 185) | 185 |
| 2024 | 60% (113 of 189) | 189 |
| 2025 | 58% (93 of 159) | 159 |
| 2026 (YTD) | 44% (57 of 129) | 129 |
Pre-seed and seed grew from 38% of deals in 2021 to 58% in 2025.
Why is this happening? Our view
Our data shows which rounds happened, not why. Here is our read, backed by what investors and analysts have been saying.
Many Series A companies raised at 2021 prices. Cut Through Venture found that startups which raised a Series A in late 2021 and early 2022 are “still struggling to graduate to Series B”. Standard Ledger, citing that analysis, calls it a “valuation trap”: these companies cannot grow fast enough to justify the price of their last round.
Investors also want more proof. The 2025 State of Australian Startup Funding report says investors are writing cheques again, but “with sharper intent and a higher bar for proof”. Will Richards at Overnight Success pulled out the report’s own phrase: a “leaky pipeline” where “early-stage momentum vanishes by Series B+”.
And it takes longer to get there. As I wrote on LinkedIn in May 2026, after reading Cut Through’s first-quarter report:
“Median age at Series B is now 9.7 years. In 2021 it was 5.2! Companies are raising earlier than ever at Pre-Seed, but taking nearly twice as long [to] get to scale up zone.”
By July, Forbes Australia was reporting 11 years. Either way, if you raised a Series A recently, plan for a longer climb to Series B than companies had in 2021.
Who is still raising a Series B
Deep tech took 46% of Series B rounds from 2024 to 2026, up from 15% in 2016 to 2020. Other tech, mostly software, fell from 68% to 37%. If you build software, your Series B pitch now competes with hydrogen, quantum and robotics companies for the same cheques.
Australian Startup Funding DatabaseSeries B rounds by sector, share of each year
| Year | Tech | Deep tech | Fintech | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 88% | 13% | 0% | 0% |
| 2017 | 67% | 11% | 22% | 0% |
| 2018 | 47% | 21% | 32% | 0% |
| 2019 | 63% | 19% | 13% | 6% |
| 2020 | 80% | 7% | 7% | 7% |
| 2021 | 47% | 29% | 12% | 12% |
| 2022 | 51% | 31% | 14% | 3% |
| 2023 | 27% | 60% | 7% | 7% |
| 2024 | 18% | 64% | 9% | 9% |
| 2025 | 64% | 27% | 9% | 0% |
| 2026 (YTD) | 31% | 46% | 15% | 0% |
Deep tech went from 15% of Series B rounds in 2016 to 2020 to 46% in 2024 to 2026.
The big ones made headlines. Wollongong’s Hysata raised a record A$172M Series B for green hydrogen in May 2024. Sydney quantum company Q-CTRL broke records when it extended its Series B in October 2024. In 2025, Relevance AI raised A$37M led by Bessemer, and Melbourne’s Heidi Health raised US$65M led by Point72. AutoGrab opened 2026 with an A$80M round.
The rounds that do happen are bigger, too. The typical Series B was A$30M from 2021 onwards, against A$20M from 2016 to 2020.
Australian Startup Funding DatabaseAustralian Series B rounds, 2024 to 2026, largest first
5 of 35 deals, largest first
| Date | Company | Round | Sector | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hysata | Series B | Deep tech | A$172M | startupdaily.net | |
| Q-CTRL | Series B | Deep tech | A$167M | smh.com.au | |
| Heidi Health | Series B | Tech | A$101M | techcrunch.com | |
| Heidi | Series B | Tech | A$101M | heidihealth.com | |
| Jun 2025 | Zeller | Series B | Fintech | A$100M | linkedin.com |
Hysata, Q-CTRL, Heidi Health and Zeller are the biggest Series B rounds since 2024.
Raising a Series B? Get your finance lead in first
Series B usually brings institutional investors onto the cap table, and they check the numbers harder than anyone before them. As I wrote on LinkedIn in June 2026, the finance person who builds your foundations can often take you to Series A:
“But once you’re moving towards raising a Series B with institutional investors involved, they have very different requirements.”
Our recommendation: hire your CFO, or the person who will grow into the role, before the raise starts, not after the money lands. A longer climb to Series B means more time to prove the numbers, and you want someone who has been through a raise owning them. In the same post I put it this way: “Hire for the next 24 months, not the next 24 weeks.” To see when startups make finance hires relative to each round, read when Australian startups hire finance.
For the signs it is time, and what a first CFO costs, read when to hire a CFO.
Raising a Series B? Your investors will expect a CFO who has done this before. We'll find you the best person.
Tom calls you back, usually within one business day. Or call 02 9099 7619.
2026 so far: 10%
Series B is 10% of deals so far in 2026, up from 7% last year. If it holds to December, it will be the first sign the squeeze is easing. Don’t plan your raise around it yet. Related reading: seed is the new Series A and fewer deals, bigger cheques.
Sources and notes
Data. All figures come from the Story Recruitment Australian Startup Funding Database: 2,548 announced Australian startup rounds from January 2016 to early October 2026. 2026 runs from January to early October.
Shares by stage use deals where the stage was announced (pre-seed, seed, Series A to D+, growth or bridge) as the base. Series B was 19 of 98 such deals in 2018, 34 of 174 in 2021, 11 of 189 in 2024, 11 of 159 in 2025 and 13 of 129 in 2026 to date. Pre-seed and seed were 66 of 174 in 2021 and 93 of 159 in 2025. Pre-seed alone was 11 of 174 in 2021 and 43 of 159 in 2025 (6% and 27%, our division of those counts). The 2026 figure of 10% rests on 13 rounds, so one strong quarter could explain the rise.
Series A to B. Companies whose first Series A in the database was announced in 2017 to 2021, later seen raising a Series B. Coverage is partial, so some companies will have raised a B we did not record. Treat 1 in 4 (31 of 124, 25%) as a floor. The typical wait is the median, 16 months.
Sector mix counts Series B rows by sector: 16 of 35 deep tech and 13 of 35 tech in 2024 to 2026, against 11 of 75 and 51 of 75 in 2016 to 2020. Counts are rows, so a round reported twice (Heidi Health appears as two rows in October 2025; Q-CTRL’s Series B extension as two in October 2024) counts twice. Median Series B is A$20.0M across 73 rounds with an amount in 2016 to 2020 and A$30.0M across 117 in 2021 to 2026. Amounts in US dollars are converted to approximate Australian dollars.
Coverage. The database covers about two thirds of the market: 247 deals in 2025, against 390 in Cut Through Venture and Folklore Ventures’ 2025 State of Australian Startup Funding. It leans towards rounds that got press coverage. Series B counts are under 30 in every year except 2021 and 2022, so read single years as direction only. Dates come from announcement coverage, and in a spot check about 1 in 7 rows sat in a neighbouring year or month. The median Series B ages (9.7 and 11 years) are Cut Through Venture figures as reported by Tom Hunter and Forbes Australia, not from our database. The sector snapshot charts each year’s sector share of Series B rounds; the 46% and 15% figures pool the years. The largest-rounds snapshot lists rows, so Heidi Health’s round shows twice. The full method is in the explainer on how we built the database.
How to cite this: Source: Story Recruitment Australian Startup Funding Database (2016 to 2026), storyrecruitment.com.au/insights/australian-startup-funding, CC BY 4.0.
Common questions
How many Australian startup deals are Series B?
Only 7% in 2025, according to the Story Recruitment Australian Startup Funding Database. It was 19% in 2018 and 20% in 2021. So far in 2026 it is 10%.
Why are fewer Australian startups raising a Series B?
Our view: many companies raised their Series A at 2021 prices and have not grown into them, investors now want more proof before they write a growth cheque, and the climb from Series A to B takes longer than it did. Standard Ledger, citing Cut Through Venture, says Series A companies from late 2021 and early 2022 are caught in a valuation trap.
How many Series A companies go on to raise a Series B?
About 1 in 4. Of the Australian companies that raised a Series A between 2017 and 2021, 25% went on to raise a Series B. The typical gap was 16 months.
Which Australian startups are still raising Series B rounds?
Deep tech is taking a much bigger slice. It was 46% of Series B rounds from 2024 to 2026, up from 15% in 2016 to 2020. Recent examples include Hysata (A$172M, May 2024), Q-CTRL (October 2024), Heidi Health (US$65M, October 2025) and AutoGrab (A$80M, January 2026).
When should a startup hire a CFO?
Before the Series B process starts, not after the money lands. Series B investors are usually institutions, and they expect board-grade reporting, forecasting and a finance lead who has been through a raise before.
These guides set out how we see it, drawn from the searches we run and the finance leaders we work with. They are general information about the market, not financial, accounting or legal advice, and they are no substitute for advice on your own circumstances.