Tidal Ventures

Tidal Ventures is an operator-led, early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Sydney, Australia, founded in 2015. It backs seed-stage B2B software and AI companies across Australia, New Zealand and the United States, typically writing the first institutional cheque into a company and following on through Series A and Series B rounds, and it is willing to lead. The firm positions itself as founders-first and operator-led: its partners come from senior operating roles at scaled technology companies including Atlassian, Yahoo, Macquarie, Inference Solutions, Rackspace and Broadsoft, bringing roughly 30 combined years of operating and investing experience. Tidal was co-founded by Murray Bleach, a former Macquarie Executive Director, Grant McCarthy, a former Yahoo director, and Wendell Keuneman, a former Atlassian product lead, with Andrea Kowalski serving as a General Partner. The firm's third fund is backed by the Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund, managed by Queensland Investment Corporation, the Queensland Government's roughly $100 billion investment arm; the commitment was described as significant, though the fund size and individual check sizes have not been publicly disclosed. Selected portfolio companies include Shippit, FrankieOne, PredictHQ, Operata, Flagship, Minikai and TheLoops, which was acquired by IFS. By pairing deep operating experience with first-cheque conviction, Tidal Ventures backs early-stage B2B software and AI founders across Australia, New Zealand and the US, and supports them through subsequent growth rounds.