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Fund profile / Australia

AO Ventures (Tennis Australia's venture capital fund)

Geography
Australia
Stage
Seed
Fund size
$30M
Focus
AI/ML and Digital Health
Signals
Published
Share
N°01 / About

About AO Ventures (Tennis Australia's venture capital fund)

AO Ventures (Tennis Australia's venture capital fund) is a venture capital firm based in Australia, focusing on Seed stage investments. The fund actively supports founders building innovative solutions in AI/ML, Digital Health, providing strategic guidance and capital to help startups scale.

N°02 / Thesis

Investment Focus

Location / RegionAustralia
Funding StageSeed
Industry Focus
AI/ML
Digital Health

Investor Signals Profile

active

Sweet Spot

Global sports/media tech + immersive experiences, youth-focused

sports tech
immersive video tech
fan engagement
digital experiences
entertainment & media
health (non-medical)
youth engagement
seed & series A
global founders
inclusive sports
adaptive sports tech

Bullish Signals

Official VC arm of Australian Openexternal
Advisors: Feld, Cohen, Settle — top tierexternal
Built-in pilot program for portfolio cosexternal
Global mandate, no geo restrictionsexternal
2026 mid-year intake now openlinkedin
Sustainability/circular economy in scopelinkedin
Portfolio co bettercup live at AO eventslinkedin
Tennis Australia actively promoting programlinkedin
Wimbledon networking — extends to global eventstennis_australia_social
High-level political/business network accesstennis_australia_social
Ready2Rally: youth social tennis co-design successtennis_australia_social
Gender-inclusive youth engagement proven track recordtennis_australia_social
Adaptive/wheelchair tennis featured at Grand Slamstennis_australia_social
Inclusive sports ecosystem — underinvested VC categorytennis_australia_social
VnearX: digital twins + immersive video livelinkedin
Real-time social interaction at scalelinkedin

Contrarian Signals

Never leads rounds ($300k–$1.5m)external
Warm intro strongly preferredexternal
8-stage process — slow for early stageexternal

Founder Do's

Have global ambition + big vision
Solve real-world sports/media/health problems
Seek strategic platform, not just capital
Target youth/grassroots sports engagement models
Apply AO Startups 2026 mid-year intake (closes 11 May)
Warm intro preferred for first contact
Consider adaptive/inclusive sports solutions — fund active here
Build immersive/digital experiences for live events

Founder Don'ts

Don't pitch medical/healthcare (excluded)
Don't expect to be lead investor
Don't pitch niche tennis-only solutions

38 signals on AO Ventures (Tennis Australia's venture capital fund)

16 bullish · 3 contrarian · 8 pitch do's · 3 don'ts · 8 GP profiles, each with its source. From €9/month, cancel anytime.

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Facts

Fund Overview

Fund Size$30M
Saves0
Website
LinkedIn
People

Key People

Todd Deacon, Machar Reid

Todd DeaconGeneral Partner
Machar ReidGeneral Partner
Brad FeldAdvisor
David CohenAdvisor
Dana SettleAdvisor
Nick CrockerAdvisor
Paul NaphtaliAdvisor
Jay WeatherillNetwork Partner
N°04 / See also

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