Mike Cannon-Brookes’s Grok Ventures private investment firm halts deals as Atlassian fortune faces carve-up

Negotiations surrounding the Cannon-Brookes divorce are believed to be one of the reasons for a deal-making drought at the $1.5bn climate focused private investment group which saved SunCable from administration.

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The inevitable carve-up of the Cannon-Brookes billions following the separation of Mike and Annie has paralysed their private investment company Grok Ventures from making any major bets and led to the departures of its highest ranking executives.

The Australian has learned uncertainty over the division of the family fortune stemming from the divorce of Mike and Annie Cannon-Brookes contributed to several senior Grok people being made redundant as work dries up, at least in the near term.

Grok’s chief executive Tan Kueh and chief investment officer Jeremy Kwong-Law have both left Grok, and while their exits have previously been reported, the nature of their departure can be linked to ambiguity over the future of its assets.

“They didn’t choose to leave. It was more a case of them being told, ‘we’ve had good relationships over the last nine years but there’s been frustrations over the past six months [with a lack of deals] so we don’t want you to wait around while this [divorce] plays out in court’,” one well-placed source said on the condition of anonymity.

“There’s no visibility on when things are going to be finalised with Annie.”

Grok’s website does not list any major new investments since 2023.

Mr Cannon-Brookes would not comment on the record when approached by The Australian.

A source close to the Atlassian co-founder claimed Grok was still open for capital and played down suggestions its remaining staff had difficulties sourcing deals or funding for potential new investments.

One insider said Mr Cannon-Brookes has, only in recent months, been questioning several of the venture capital investments made by Grok and the returns it has earned.

Among those that have struggled include superannuation platform Spaceship, which the corporate regulator put a temporary ban on taking new money in 2023, while driverless car marker Zoox was sold in 2020 for a third of its previously reported value. Both were Grok bets.

Mr Cannon-Brookes reportedly at least broke even on the Zoox transaction due to a ‘ratchet’ provision preventing a dilution of his shareholding.

Grok Ventures CEO Jeremy Kwong-Law was recently made redundant, sources say.

One investment that has performed well for Grok has been Fleet Space Technologies, which sends satellites into orbit to analyse data and find critical mineral deposits.

Fleet raised $150m in a Series D funding round in December last year to give it a $800m valuation. Its Series C round in 2023, including Grok, valued Fleet at about $350m. Grok was not mentioned publicly as participating in the Series D round.

Annie Cannon-Brookes had stepped back from involvement with Grok before her split with Mr Cannon-Brookes was known in mid-2023.

Their settlement may have implications for Mr Cannon-Brookes’ large Atlassian shareholding, as well as a vast property portfolio he and Annie built together in and around Sydney, as well as Grok, which has been described as being a $1.5bn asset management and philanthropic venture.

Most of Grok’s investments were referred to as “Mike’s passion projects” by another source, which include shareholdings in energy company AGL, SunCable and renewables developer Quinbrook.

SunCable, the $40bn project with ambitions to cable solar-generated energy to Singapore from the Northern Territory, has also been hit by executive departures and redundancies, amid growing concerns a $100m fundraising round for the ambitious green dream has attracted only tepid investor interest.

The Australian reported in late June that several top-level executives had left the business, and sources said close to one-third of SunCable’s Darwin office have recently been made redundant.

SunCable wants to build a pipeline from Darwin to Singapore.

A formal pitch delivered to Australian investors this year failed to secure funding, to date, in its maiden $US100m ($154m) capital raising, fuelling doubts that Mr Cannon-Brookes is capable of delivering one of the world’s largest renewable energy projects.

The Cannon-Brookeses made a $1.5bn pledge in 2021 promising to spend $1bn in renewables and climate change related ventures, and also give away $500m via energy and climate charities and philanthropic organisations.

“Grok has never been a typical investor. We do things that require courage, deep belief, and often gut-wrenching commitment to the outcomes we believe the world needs,” a statement on the company’s website says.

In documentation calling for founders to pitch for Grok capital, Grok says it wants to invest in companies that “remove 100s of megatonnes of CO2 from our planet” and that it is “not here to optimise around the margins”.

In February this year, Mr Cannon-Brookes won a court fight against a trusted executive of the former couple’s private family office.

Atlassian co-founder and CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes has also been embroiled in court action over a former family office employee.

Former company secretary of Cannon-Brookes Services Kevin Chiu was ordered not to destroy any confidential information in his possession, after he allegedly leaked an email containing a folder called “HR back up” to Mr Cannon-Brookes’ estranged wife and the company’s ex-chief financial officer Catherine Manuel.

SunCable, meanwhile, is pursuing its bold strategy after a spectacular fallout three years ago between Mr Cannon-Brookes and another billionaire on The List – Australia’s Richest 250, Fortescue executive chair and green energy evangelist Andrew Forrest.

SunCable was placed into administration in January 2023 after the disagreement between its original backers, who clashed over different views on the optimal funding package and strategic vision for the project.