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Leonardo AI Founders Pour Canva Money into Side Stage Ventures

The Australian Financial Review

ENRICHED

Details

Date Published
30 Apr 2026
Priority Score
1
Australian
Yes
Created
30 Apr 2026, 04:00 am

Authors (1)

Description

They made a fortune selling to Canva and are now pouring money back into one of their earliest backers, Side Stage Ventures, as part of a new $50 million fund.

Summary

This reporting tracks the reinvestment of capital from the Leonardo AI acquisition into Side Stage Ventures' new $50 million early-stage fund. While highlighting the maturity of the Australian AI ecosystem, the article focuses exclusively on venture capital flows and financial transactions rather than safety benchmarks or technical risk mitigation. The development indicates a strengthening of regional AI commercialization pathways but lacks specific details on safety-oriented investment mandates or frontier model governance. Its primary relevance lies in the economic scaling of generative AI capabilities within the Australian tech sector.

Body

TechnologyVenture capitalPrint articleTess BennettTechnology reporterApr 30, 2026 – 9.00amThe founders of artificial intelligence image-generation start-up Leonardo AI have joined a group of tech entrepreneurs backing one of its earliest investors, Side Stage Ventures, two years after selling their company to Canva for $US250 million ($349 million).Side Stage Ventures has secured $40 million for its second fund, which it intends to close at $50 million. Leonardo AI co-founders JJ Fiasson, Christopher Gillis, Jachin Bhasme, Peter Runham and Sami Ede have invested in the new fund.Loading...SaveLog in or Subscribe to save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? LoginLicense articleFollow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.Find out moreRead MoreVenture capitalStart-upsFundingCanvaAIAirtasker AppleFetching latest articles