About
I spent 8 years as CEO of Startmate, Australia and New Zealand's largest startup accelerator. Reviewed 7,000+ applications, backed 228+ companies, raised $50M+ in fund capital, and built a portfolio now worth $4.5B+.
I now work directly with early-stage founders through coaching on batko.ai, a product suite I built for founders. That's where my deal flow comes from - I see what founders are building before anyone else does.
What I invest in:
Productivity, automation, and AI are where I go deep. But I'm founder-first, not thesis-first. If the founder is exceptional and the opportunity is real, I'm in.
Geography: Primarily Australia and New Zealand, selectively global.
Portfolio highlights (2018-2025, my tenure):
- Morse Micro - Wi-Fi HaLow semiconductors, raised $200M+
- Amber Electric - smart energy / wholesale electricity, raised $96M
- Sicona Battery Technologies - battery materials, raised $54M
- 5B - rapid solar deployment (BP-backed), raised $45M+
- Edrolo - edtech / curriculum, raised $40M
- Andromeda - AI companion robots, raised $27M
- Mindset Health - digital therapeutics (YC-backed), raised $19M
- Propeller Aero - drone survey / mining tech, Series B
- Heaps Normal - non-alcoholic beer, raised $8.5M
- Lyrebird Health - AI clinical notes, fastest to $1M ARR in AUS
- Sitemate - construction SaaS
Team
Michael Batko spent 8 years as CEO of Startmate, Australia's largest startup accelerator.
During that time he backed 228+ companies, raised $50M+ in fund capital, and built a portfolio now worth $4.5B+.
He grew Startmate from a 2-person team doing $200K in revenue to a 20-person operation doing $3.5M - profitable and independent.
During his time at Startmate, Batko founded and sold two companies as side-gigs.
Now he's investing independently through Batko Ventures, backing exceptional founders at the earliest stage.