Angel investors were named in 7% of Australian startup deals announced in 2026 so far, against 11% to 12% a year from 2022 to 2025, according to the Story Recruitment Australian Startup Funding Database. A fund led four of the five biggest 2026 rounds that included angels.
Angels now show up in the fewest deals in ten years
Angels are the people who put their own money into a startup before the funds arrive. For years they were a steady part of Australian rounds. According to our data, an angel or angel group was named in 11% to 12% of deals every year from 2022 to 2025. In 2026 so far it is 7%, the lowest in ten years. Back in 2017 it was 19%.
Australian Startup Funding DatabaseShare of Australian startup deals naming an angel investor, 2016 to 2026
Angel investors were named in 19% of 2017 deals and 7% of 2026 deals so far.
| Year | Share | Base n |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 21% (36 of 170) | 170 |
| 2017 | 19% (32 of 172) | 172 |
| 2018 | 11% (20 of 185) | 185 |
| 2019 | 15% (29 of 198) | 198 |
| 2020 | 17% (38 of 226) | 226 |
| 2021 | 14% (37 of 273) | 273 |
| 2022 | 11% (35 of 321) | 321 |
| 2023 | 12% (32 of 278) | 278 |
| 2024 | 12% (36 of 290) | 290 |
| 2025 | 12% (30 of 247) | 247 |
| 2026 (YTD) | 7% (14 of 188) | 188 |
Angels were named in 19% of deals in 2017, 11% to 12% a year from 2022 to 2025, and 7% in 2026 so far.
That’s a big fall in one year. We don’t think angels stopped investing. Two other things changed: which rounds made the news, and how angels put their money in.
This year’s announced deals are later-stage
Angels mostly back the first rounds, pre-seed and seed. In 2026 fewer of those made the news. In our data, pre-seed and seed were 58% of rounds in 2025 and only 44% in 2026 so far. Series A rose from 16% to 22% of rounds over the same years, and 2026 has already had more Series A rounds than all of 2025.
Australian Startup Funding DatabasePre-seed and seed as a share of Australian startup rounds
| 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 fell from 58% of rounds in 2025 to 44% in 2026 so far.
Fewer early rounds in the news means fewer chances for an angel to appear. That explains some of the drop. We think the rest comes from how angels now invest.
When angels do invest, a fund usually leads
Take the biggest 2026 rounds that included angels. Of the five largest, a fund led four, and the angels joined in behind it. Angels led only one.
Australian Startup Funding DatabaseThe largest 2026 rounds that named an angel investor
5 of 9 deals, largest first
| Date | Company | Round | Sector | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Technology | Stage not stated | Tech | A$7.0M | theaustralian.com.au | |
| LendUs | Seed | Fintech | A$5.0M | smartcompany.com.au | |
| Cable | Pre-seed | Deep tech | A$4.0M | datapile.co | |
| Ovum | Seed | Tech | A$4.0M | technode.global | |
| Seitec | Seed | Deep tech | A$4.0M | fundup.ai |
Mary Technology, LendUs, Cable and Ovum were led by funds. Seitec was the one round led by angel groups.
Mary Technology, a Sydney legal tech startup, shows the pattern from start to finish. Sydney Angels has backed it three times. In 2024 the angels joined an A$1.35M round led by Empress Capital. In 2025 they led its pre-seed themselves. In March 2026 OIF Ventures led an A$7M round, and Sydney Angels came along again behind the fund.
Australian Startup Funding DatabaseMary Technology rounds that included Sydney Angels
3 deals, oldest first
| Date | Company | Round | Sector | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Technology | Stage not stated | Tech | A$1.4M | smartcompany.com.au | |
| Mary Technology | Pre-seed | Tech | A$2.6M | marytechnology.com | |
| Mary Technology | Stage not stated | Tech | A$7.0M | theaustralian.com.au |
Sydney Angels joined Empress Capital in 2024, led the 2025 pre-seed, then joined OIF Ventures in 2026.
Angel groups can still lead. Brisbane Angels and Sydney Angels led Seitec’s A$4M seed in Canberra in August, and Epic Angels led Enaxiom’s seed round in May. In both cases the lead was a group pooling many members’ money.
Where the angels went: our view
Here is our guess at why, based on what investors and angel platforms are saying.
Angels invest as groups now. Reviewing the 2025 State of Australian Startup Funding report, Overnight Success’s Will Richards wrote that “specialist syndicates have supplanted the lone wolf”. Ventari, the platform formerly called Aussie Angels, says the number of active angel syndicates in Australia has grown from a handful to more than 60. When a syndicate invests through a fund, the press release names the fund. The individual angels disappear from the record even though their money is in the round.
Most small rounds are never announced. Ventari says about 1,100 Australian startups raised money in 2025 and only about a third of those deals were made public. Our guess is that small angel rounds are the ones that stay quiet.
Funds are picky about leading early. In the same review, Kylie Gerrard of Purpose Ventures warned that in early-stage rounds “the bottleneck is finding the lead”. So an angel group willing to lead, like Brisbane Angels or Epic Angels, is worth a lot to a founder.
What this means for your first raise
Our advice: don’t plan your first round around a single angel. Pitch the syndicates, and expect a fund to lead and set the terms. The angels you meet are more likely to follow that fund than to write the first cheque alone.
A fund as your first investor changes what you need to have ready. An angel might back you on a spreadsheet and a good conversation. A fund will check how the numbers were built, then ask for them again every month. As I wrote on LinkedIn in August, the announcement is the small part of a raise:
“It’s months of accurate monthly reporting, a financial model that holds up under scrutiny and a data room built early rather than thrown together the week diligence starts.”
You don’t need a CFO for that at seed. As I said on the Builders & Doers podcast, early on the job is simpler:
“What you do need is good governance, good controls, and good visibility with your cash flow.”
That can be a fractional finance lead a few days a month, or a first finance hire if the business is complex. To see when funded Australian startups make that hire, read when Australian startups hire finance. And if your first round will be bigger than you expected, read how Australia’s seed round more than doubled.
Raising from a fund soon? You’ll need a finance lead to get you through it. We’ll find you the best person.
Tom calls you back, usually within one business day. Or call 02 9099 7619.
Not raising yet? Open the angel view in the database and see which rounds named an angel.
Common questions
Are angel investors leaving Australian startups?
Probably not. Angels were named in only 7% of Australian startup deals announced in 2026 to early October, down from 11% to 12% a year from 2022 to 2025, according to the Story Recruitment Australian Startup Funding Database. Our view is that angels now invest through syndicates and funds, which get named instead, and that many small angel rounds are never announced.
Who leads early rounds in Australia now?
Mostly funds. Of the five largest 2026 rounds in our database that named an angel or angel group, four were led by a fund. Angel groups still lead some rounds: Brisbane Angels and Sydney Angels led Seitec's A$4M seed in August 2026.
How do I find angel investors for my startup?
Go through the syndicates. Groups such as Sydney Angels, Brisbane Angels and Epic Angels pool their members' money and often invest alongside a fund. Platform operator Ventari says Australia now has more than 60 active angel syndicates.
What do fund investors expect that angels might not?
Regular reporting, a financial model that holds up when someone checks it, and a data room ready before diligence starts. If a fund is likely to lead your first round, have someone running your numbers before the raise, even part time.
Sources and notes
- All deal counts and shares come from the Story Recruitment Australian Startup Funding Database (2,548 announced rounds, January 2016 to early October 2026). 2026 is January to early October, so its figures are a part year.
- The yearly angel shares (7.4% of 188 deals in 2026, 10.9% to 12.4% a year from 2022 to 2025, 18.7% in 2017) come from the database’s yearly totals, where a deal counts if its announcement names an angel investor or angel group. They measure how often angels are named, not how many invest; many angels are never named, so the true share is higher. The deal list in the database view, and the downloadable rows, match a narrower test: investor names containing the word “angel”. That is why the view lists fewer deals than the yearly shares imply.
- Pre-seed and seed shares (58.5% in 2025, 44.2% in 2026) are a share of deals with a named stage (159 in 2025, 129 in 2026). Series A was 25 of 159 in 2025 (16%) and 29 of 129 in 2026 to date (22%).
- “Four of the five largest 2026 rounds naming an angel were led by a fund” is counted from the database rows: the five 2026 rows of A$4M or more whose investor list mentions an angel group or angel investors (Mary Technology, LendUs, Cable, Ovum, Seitec) and their named lead investors. Three of them tie at A$4M.
- The database covers about two thirds of the market: 247 deals in 2025 against 390 in Cut Through Venture and Folklore Ventures’ count. It is likely weighted to deals that got press coverage. Counts under 30 show direction only. Dates come from announcement coverage, and about 1 in 7 spot-checked rows sat in a neighbouring year or month.
- Syndicate counts and the share of deals made public are Ventari’s own figures, as reported by IT Brief in July 2026.
- The “why” section is our interpretation, not a finding from the data.
- Full method: 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.
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.