Atlassian launches $50 mn fund to back cloud-based startups

Sydney-based software solutions provider Atlassian has launched a $50 million fund to support cloud-based solutions and back firms building products in the overall Atlassian ecosystem. 

With the fund, dubbed Atlassian Ventures, the firm looks to tap into the Indian startup and developer community, a statement said.  

The Australian firm will back early-stage startups building apps for Atlassian’s cloud products such as Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket and Trello, the statement said. It also aims to partner with institutional investors to back larger, more established ecosystem product partners looking to scale their businesses, targeting post Series A rounds. 

Existing sales channel partners looking to step up their cloud services and create new products that support the future of teamwork will also receive capital from Atlassian Ventures, the statement added. 

Read: Atlassian plans to set up R&D hub in Bengaluru

India is a significant market for Atlassian, Dinesh Ajmera, site lead and head of engineering for the firm in Bengaluru, said.

“With India’s cloud market among the largest in the Asia Pacific region, we believe this fund will be an ideal opportunity for up-and-coming startups in India to access funding when building apps for our cloud products,” he said. 

Read: Atlassian's Viswanath on the firm's cloud model and impact of R&D spends on revenue 

With a clientele of 1,74,000 worldwide, the company claims to have more than 4,200 apps available in its marketplace, offering integration with tools such as Slack, Zendesk and GitHub.  

To consolidate its offerings and capabilities, the company recently acquired a slew of companies in the ecosystem, which include Code Barrel, Mindville and Halp.