Victoria raised $2.2 billion across 134 venture capital deals in 2025, claiming the top state spot for the first time, according to Cut Through Venture's latest report.
The numbers look strong until you break them down. Rounds between $20M and $50M jumped from 4 to 17. Deals above $50M doubled from 3 to 6. Meanwhile, sub-$5M rounds fell from 87 to 66, a 24% drop. The $5M to $20M bracket dropped from 29 to 17.
Median deal sizes rose across every stage. Pre-seed climbed to $925k from $675k. Seed hit $3.2M. Series A reached $15M, up from $6M. Series B+ median rounds hit $40M, more than double the $17M in 2024.
NSW still recorded more total deals at 160, but Victoria's larger round sizes pushed total capital higher. The shift reflects broader market dynamics: investors are backing proven performers with revenue traction while early-stage funding tightens.
What this means for sales teams: Late-stage companies expanding in Victoria are hiring. Series B+ rounds typically trigger AE and AM expansion. If you are tracking Melbourne or Sydney sales roles at venture-backed companies, watch for hiring announcements in the next 90 days.
Breakthrough Victoria, the state's primary innovation fund, has backed 88% of early-stage investment and 76% of all venture-stage deals. The fund committed $480M across 69 investments and leveraged over $1.3B in co-investment.
The early-stage contraction matters for SDR and BDR roles. Seed-stage companies typically hire 1 to 3 SDRs. With 21 fewer sub-$5M rounds, that is 20 to 60 fewer early-career sales jobs hitting the market.
AI drove $1B in funding nationally, accounting for 61% of capital flow. If you are prospecting into AI startups, Victoria is where the cheques are being written.
The report, sponsored by LaunchVic, tracks a market increasingly split between companies that can raise big rounds and those struggling to close smaller ones. For sales professionals, that means fewer early-stage opportunities but more enterprise AE roles at scale-ups with real budgets.