Atlassian drives the SaaS ecosystem by doubling down on its VC funding

Atlassian Corporation has deployed over US$110 million in VC funding and now supports over 30 organisations, just shy of 18 months since launching Atlassian Ventures. 

The global funding provides an opportunity for SaaS startups looking to work with Atlassian’s best-in-class cloud products and platform. The company which is passionate about the future of work and new ways to collaborate in the cloud will also look to tap into India’s growing SaaS startup ecosystem and the country’s rich talent pool. Globally, it considers India a key market for innovation, having grown its office in Bengaluru into a world-class R&D center employing over 1,000 in India across engineering, design, product management and more. 

Established in late 2020 with an initial investment of US$50 million, the Atlassian Ventures team invest in companies across three focus areas where it can uniquely accelerate growth. Firstly - the early-stage startups, who are building apps for Atlassian’s cloud products. Secondly - larger, growth-stage startups deepening their partnerships with Atlassian; and thirdly, Atlassian channel partners creating new cloud products and services that support the future of teamwork. 

Matt Sonefeldt, Head of Atlassian Ventures, says, “Our goal for Atlassian Ventures is to build a world-class venture capital fund, not just a great corporate venture program. We measure our success by how well we help founders grow their companies through Atlassian, and we’re excited about supporting awesome companies that are driving collaboration for teams on the cloud. This year we’ve built a dedicated team inside Atlassian to support Ventures and our portfolio founders as we set our sights on a much bigger goal, several times larger than the $110 million invested today.” 

Atlassian Ventures portfolio companies receive mentorship from the Atlassian team and global exposure at its events, in addition to the capital they receive. The mentor meets them regularly to check in on progress, give advice based on their experience in the ecosystem, and help with any roadblocks they may be facing. 

Highlighting the success of the venture fund, Dinesh Ajmera, Site Lead and Head of Engineering, India, Atlassian says, “One and a half years later, we've really seen first-hand the impact this funding has had on the global ecosystem. We’ve seen wonderful growth across the portfolio whether its partners seeing more integrated users, teams hiring talent or growing revenue, and developers turning side projects into full-time jobs. With the increasing focus on cloud and India being one of the biggest startup hubs in the world, we’re committed to doing our part to ensure a vibrant ecosystem. We’ve been amazed at how our ecosystem has innovated on top of Atlassian products and we want to continue enabling their success and growth.” 

Atlassian Ventures' three core focus areas are agile development, work management and IT service management. Outside of these fields, the corporate VC would also consider investing in start-ups playing in spaces such as product-led growth, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).