Cardinia Ventures

Cardinia Ventures is a Sydney-based venture capital firm founded in 2016 by Edward Hooper, who serves as Managing Partner. The firm backs ambitious technology founders across Australia, the United States, and Southeast Asia, investing in software and hardware companies from Pre-seed through Series A. With a focused team of four and co-investors including Picus Capital, Blackbird Ventures, Basis Set Ventures, and Asymmetric, Cardinia operates at the early end of the capital stack where operational support matters most. The firm typically deploys checks of $100,000 to $1 million across 18 portfolio companies in SaaS, software, hardware and robotics, data analytics, and advertising technology. The portfolio includes one unicorn — Chronosphere, a monitoring platform valued at $1.6 billion. Other notable investments include NextRoll/AdRoll, Edrolo, Alariss Global, Select Star, TRIBE, and Spice AI. The most recent acquisition exit was Nura, an audio technology company acquired by Masimo in April 2023. Cardinia Ventures provides hands-on support that extends into accounting, financial planning and analysis, and ongoing financial performance review — going considerably deeper than a typical early-stage check. Hooper's model reflects the conviction that founders in Australia and Southeast Asia benefit from an investor who understands both the local ecosystem dynamics and the operational challenges of building globally from a regional starting point. That combination of presence and practical expertise defines the Cardinia partnership.