Chris Gillings
Founder at Cut Through Venture · Former at Cut Through Ventures
Chris Gillings founded Cut Through Venture, the newsletter and data platform tracking Australian startup funding that now reaches around 20,000 subscribers monthly and publishes the State of Australian Startup Funding report with Folklore Ventures. He also sits on the venture capital investment team at Five V Capital, working on deal origination, due diligence and portfolio support. Before returning to Australia he spent over a decade in United States venture capital, including on the corporate side at MasterCard, and holds an MBA from Yale. He discussed the state of the Australian deals market on The Startup Retro's Q2 deals surge episode.
Career
- Now Founder · Cut Through Venture
- Earlier Lead, startup investment & engagement program (North America · Mastercard
- Earlier Investor · TDM Growth Partners
- Earlier Mergers & acquisitions team · KPMG
Sources: fivevcapital.com
Key moments
Jump straight to the part of Q2 Deals Surge, AngelClass Launch, Climate Tech, Her Tech Circle you want.
- 0:26 Overview of today's episode topics: Cut Through Venture report, angel investing innovation, climate tech funding, and more.
- 1:07 Discussion on the Cut Through Venture report revealing 99 deals with $1.5B invested in Q2.
- 1:44 Insights on climate tech funding and the need for more support, based on Climate Salad's report.
- 3:32 Analysis of climate tech funding challenges, including early-stage funding and regulatory barriers.
- 10:09 Closure of Girls in Tech and the launch of Her Tech Circle, a rebranded initiative to support women in tech.
- 11:21 Gemma's pick: Fugu, a climate tech startup developing solid direct air capture systems.
- 16:25 Will’s pick: Sircel, focusing on recycling obsolete solar panels and e-waste.
- 20:57 Interview with Chris Gillings from Five V Capital and 20:57: Interview with Chris Gillings from Five V Capital and Cut Through Ventures discussing their Q2 report and insights on the Australian startup ecosystem.Cut Through Ventures discussing their Q2 report and insights on the Australian startup ecosystem.
- 36:58 Knowledge as a Service (KaaS) segment featuring Gemma's pick, the Calling Operator podcast, and Will's pick, Pop Culture by Edward Zitron.
Heard on
Cut Through Venture on Day One
1 person · 1 episode → Connections
Spot something wrong? Suggest a correction Updated 25 September 2026
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