TEN13 Research
Investment Thesis
TEN13 is a Brisbane-founded, network-driven venture capital platform that connects a syndicate of 500+ operators, investors, and founders to co-invest in vetted early-stage technology deals. Rather than raising a single blind-pool fund, TEN13 curates opportunities and lets its network of members select which rounds to join deal-by-deal ("You're the pilot, we're the lift"), while the core partnership sources, diligences, negotiates terms, and often takes a board or advisory role. Founded in 2019 by Stew Glynn and Steve Baxter, the firm has deployed more than $125M across 50+ portfolio companies since inception. TEN13 has also published research on AI-Native Services (AINS) and Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (ETA), signaling an active interest in both frontier AI business models and non-traditional company-building paths.
Stage Focus
TEN13 invests primarily at Pre-Seed through Series A, with occasional follow-on participation beyond. It positions itself as an early, network-backed check that can also mobilize its syndicate for later rounds when portfolio companies scale.
Check Size
Typical first checks range from $300K to $2M, sized to the specific round and syndicate demand.
Lead Tendency
TEN13 both leads and follows. It led Bower's A$2M pre-seed round in 2026, while participating as an existing or new investor in larger institutionally-led rounds such as AutoGrab's A$80M Series B (led by Octopus Ventures and Movac) and Arintra's $25M Series B (led by Define Ventures).
Recent Activity
TEN13 has been active through 2026: it participated in AutoGrab's A$80M Series B (January 2026) to fund UK/Europe expansion; led Bower's A$2M pre-seed for an AI lab-observation platform (August 2026); joined Arintra's $25M Series B for autonomous medical coding (August 2026); and joined Vexev's $6M raise to commercialize an autonomous vascular-imaging robotics platform in the US (August 2026). The pace of investment across healthcare AI, automotive data, and lab-science AI in a single month suggests an actively deploying syndicate with broad sector range.
Portfolio Highlights
TEN13's 50+ company portfolio spans fintech (Chipper Cash, Bookipi, Pearler, Raenest, Alts), health & wellbeing (Everlab, Atelier, After, Smileyscope), AI (Arintra, Vexev, Bower, Cova AI, Tiliter, MiLaboratories, Rockfish Data), automotive (AutoGrab, Partly), education (Go1), future of work (Arcade, Drawboard, Vervoe, Officely), entertainment (Clipchamp, Tixel, Audience Republic), and adtech (iion, Amplified, Cartelux). Go1 and Clipchamp (acquired by Canva) are among the firm's best-known portfolio outcomes, reflecting the network's Australian roots with increasingly global reach into Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America (Chipper Cash, Kini, Treinta, Raenest).
Team
- Steve Baxter, Co-founder & Executive Chairman — Australian entrepreneur and former Shark Tank Australia investor, co-founded TEN13 in 2019.
- Stew Glynn, Managing Partner & Co-Founder — leads sourcing and diligence; the public-facing voice behind TEN13's deal write-ups ("Flight Plan" series).
- An Vo, General Partner — investment decision-making across the syndicate.
- Sophie Robertson, Partner, Investor Relations — manages the 500+ member investor network.
- Joel Pobar, Venture Partner — technical venture partner supporting diligence.
- Margot McQueen, Investors & Finance — fund operations and investor finance.
- Melanie Harrison, Product — product for TEN13's own investor-facing platform.
- Alex Barrat, Investment Associate — deal sourcing and diligence support.
Decision Process
TEN13's core partnership (Glynn, Baxter, Vo) sources and vets deals before opening them to the syndicate; individual network members then opt in to specific rounds, giving the firm a hybrid partnership-plus-syndicate decision structure rather than a single GP or formal investment committee.
Founder Preferences
TEN13 favors technical, ambitious founders building real technology businesses (explicitly distancing from speculative AI hype in its own commentary), with a track record of backing first-time and repeat founders across Australia, Southeast Asia, and emerging fintech/healthtech markets.
Geographic Focus
Headquartered in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia, with a portfolio and investor network that spans Australia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and increasing US exposure as portfolio companies like Arintra and Vexev expand into American healthcare markets.