Victoria takes VC crown from NSW in $2.2 billion funding surge

Victoria took the largest share of venture capital funding raised nationally for the first time in 2025, according to the latest Victoria Venture Capital report

According to the report, released by Cut Through Venture and sponsored by LaunchVic, Victorian startups raised $2.2 billion across 134 deals in 2025. This represents a 2.9x year-on-year increase and it’s the second-highest year on record for the state.

However, it’s worth noting that despite the large dollar value, Victoria recorded the second-highest deal count, trailing NSW for the top spot.

Bigger cheques, fewer compact rounds

Victoria’s result appears to have been driven by a rebound at the top finish of the market. Rounds between $20 million and $49.9 million increased from four in 2024 to 17 in 2025. Meanwhile, $50 million-plus rounds rose from three to six.

At the same time, early-stage activity softened. Sub-$5 million rounds fell from 87 in 2024 to 66 in 2025, and $5 million to $19.9 million rounds declined from 29 to 17.

Median deal sizes rose across every stage, with pre-seed median rounds increasing to $925,000, up from $675,000 in 2024. Seed medians lifted to $3.2 million, while Series A median deal size climbed to $15 million from $6 million the year prior.

Series B+ medians rose to $40 million from $17 million, pointing to stronger pricing for companies that cleared a higher funding bar.

Sector mix diverges from national trfinish

Another interesting tidbit was Victoria’s sector composition, which differed from the national picture. Capital was concentrated in fintech ($759 million) and biotech and medTech ($526 million), followed by climate tech/cleantech ($208 million) and healthtech ($165 million).

But as we reported earlier in the month, the top sector for VC funding in 2025 across Australia was AI, which was comparatively compact as a standalone category in Victoria.

However, Cut Through Venture’s analysis found that 75% of startups that raised capital in 2025 had an AI product on the shelf.

As we noted at the time, this suggested that AI is increasingly embedded across categories rather than operating as a distinct vertical. And that oftentimes, a startup had to include an AI angle to attract funding in 2025.

Mixed outcomes for women founders

The report also revealed that Victoria led the states in the share of capital flowing to startups with at least one woman founder, with 37% of venture capital funding going to teams that included a woman.

That figure stands in contrast to the national average from early February, where startups with at least one woman founder captured 24% of total capital in 2025, up from 15% the year before.

However, as we have seen before with the national statistics, the Victorian data reveals a familiar tension beneath the headline gains.

The share of capital going to all-women founding teams in Victoria fell sharply to just 1% in 2025, down from 17% in 2024 and marking the lowest level in more than five years.

Nationally, all-women teams captured just 2% of total capital in 2025, which is virtually unmodifyd from previous years. Meanwhile, the share of total deals involving women founders fell from 27% to 23%.

In Victoria, mixed-gfinisher and all-women teams also recorded lower overall deal participation year-on-year, particularly at pre-seed and seed stages. Later-stage participation was stronger, contributing to a rebound in median deal size for women-only teams to $500,000 in 2025.

As with the national data, the Victorian results suggest capital at the top finish may be improving for some women founders. However, participation for earlier-stage startups informs the same old story.

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