Australia’s largest venture capital fund Blackbird Ventures has admitted efforts to improve its support of female-founded start-ups have fallen short, as new figures show a pledge to back more women has stalled.

Data published by Blackbird showed just 33 per cent of the start-ups that pitched to its investment committee in the 2024 financial year had a woman on the founding team, compared to 37 per cent the year before. It had aimed for 40 per cent.