Australian start-ups defied fears of a slowdown in investment due to COVID-19 in 2020, with a record-breaking sum of more than $2 billion invested in early-stage private businesses by venture capital funds, the first time the milestone figure has been hit.

According to new figures from KPMG’s annual Venture Pulse report, $US1.6 billion ($2.08 billion) was invested in local start-ups across 227 deals (down from 285 in 2019).