Australia’s venture capital sector looks set to defy the rising caution in global markets, with AirTree Ventures closing the biggest fund yet in the country, banking $700 million to launch three vehicles, including the biggest seed fund in the country and a new fund to back so-called Web3 companies.

The new funding at AirTree is the first of what is tipped to be a bumper year for new local VC funds and comes as new figures showed funding of Australia and New Zealand-based tech start-ups jumped by more than 100 per cent in 2021 to more than $10 billion.