Australia-based venture capital fund Side Stage Ventures has raised $15 million to secure the first close of its SSV Fund I, according to a LinkedIn post by the company.
The firm has also made three investments from the fund, which has a target of $30 million. The vehicle was launched as a founder-led seed fund to back the top 1% of founders in Australia.
Investors in the vehicle include founders of local tech startups Go1, Linktree, and Airtasker, the Australian Financial Review reported.
The VC firm, led by Grabiner and Markus Kahlbetzer, started in 2022 as a collective of founders.
Side Stage Ventures focuses on Australian startups in their early stages and is open to investing across all sectors including finance, education, Web3, media, health, food, property, travel, transport and agriculture among others.