Triple Bubble reaches first close after USD $10 million

Triple Bubble has reached a first close after raising more than $10 million in nine months.

Backers include x15ventures, the venture scaling arm of Commonwealth Bank, as a cornerstone investor, alongside venture investor Brad Feld, Co-Ventures general partner Maxine Minter, and a group of Australian financial services executives and fintech founders.

The first close gives the Melbourne-based manager fresh backing as it targets a total fund size of $50 million. It comes during a difficult fundraising period for emerging venture firms, when new managers often take well over 18 months to complete a first raise.

Triple Bubble was founded by Dom Pym, Brian Collins and Judy Anderson-Firth. The fund focuses on fintech and takes what it describes as a stage-agnostic approach across private markets, secondary equities, and pre-IPO or public fintech investments.

x15ventures has worked with the fund as a strategic partner since last year. Toby Norton-Smith, Managing Director of x15ventures, said the investment reflects growing pressure on Australia's financial sector to keep adapting as artificial intelligence reshapes the market.

"Five years ago, a partnership like ours might have seemed unlikely," said Toby Norton-Smith, Managing Director of x15ventures. "Today, it reflects the opportunity and urgency ahead of us."

"Australia has a world-leading financial services sector, but we can't afford to stand still - particularly in the AI era. New models of partnership are key to seizing that opportunity and strengthening capability and talent across the ecosystem. That's why we were proud to support Triple Bubble early and continue to back what they're building," he added.

Feld, one of the best-known names in early-stage venture investing, was also among the fund's first investors. His backing adds international weight to the raise at a time when specialist funds are competing for a narrow pool of institutional and wealthy backers.

"Over the last few decades, many of the strongest venture returns have come from first-time managers with a clear, differentiated point of view," said Brad Feld, Partner at Foundry, Co-founder of Techstars, and Author.

"Triple Bubble fits that pattern for me. Focused, domain-specific, and led by people who have built inside the system they're investing in. I'm excited to be an early investor," said Fled.

Investor base

Other investors include Michael Holm, Founder and Executive Chairman of Balmain Corporation, Henry Holm, Ryan Brosnahan of Bendigo & Adelaide Bank, ANZ, and Australian Payments Plus, and Kunal Rastogi of LGT Wealth Management. The fund has also drawn support from fintech and technology founders, including Dan Joveski of WeMoney, Grant Bissett of Caligra, Chris Dahl of Nitro Software, and Tractor Ventures Co-founders Matt Allen and Aprill Enright.

Triple Bubble also opened part of the raise to smaller backers through a partnership with the Euphemia Syndicate on Aussie Angels. It said 44 investors joined through that channel, of whom 38% were fintech founders and 30% were women.

Those figures stand out in a venture market where female participation remains limited. Triple Bubble cited Carta data showing women make up 14% of the investor base by comparison.

Market gap

Pym said the fund was set up to address a gap in Australian fintech finance. He argued that many local fintech businesses still struggle to attract domestic venture capital, despite Australia and New Zealand producing several well-known financial technology companies.

"We didn't just want to start another fund; we wanted to build a force multiplier for the whole Australian ecosystem," said Dom Pym, Co-founder of Triple Bubble. "At Triple Bubble, it's about more than just writing cheques - it's about backing the right founders with the capital to scale, helping the big players actually connect with genuine innovation, and ultimately building a financial world that's way more resilient for everyone."

Pym also pointed to a persistent funding shortage in the sector. He said four out of five Australian fintechs have no venture capital on their cap table, while Australian venture firms hold less than 4% of the local fintech market.

"Australia and New Zealand are known for producing some of the world's best-known fintechs. But four out of five Australian fintechs have no VC on their cap table, and Australian VCs own less than 4% of the local fintech market. According to Fintech Australia, almost one-third of fintechs say access to capital is their single biggest issue," Pym said.

The firm's investment committee is now deploying capital while continuing discussions with larger financial institutions, insurers, and superannuation funds for the next stage of the raise. It is seeking to complete a final close within two years of the first close.

"This is one of the toughest capital-raising markets we've seen in the last decade. Reaching a first close so quickly in this environment reinforces our thesis that Triple Bubble is filling a gap in the market," Pym said.