He pointed to Afterpay’s proposed acquisition,Atlassian’s results last week that saw itreach $100 billion market capitalisation and reports that Canva is raising new funds valuing it at $40 billion as all signs of the strength of Australia’s technology ecosystem.
“That makes them three of the very largest companies in Australia and they are all young companies or tech companies all founded here in Australia,” he said. “Then add the emerging companies,AirWallex,Rokt,Deputy,Safety Culture and Culture Amp,it’s incredibly fast.”
Mr Bassat said while it was a “bit of a shame” Afterpay wouldn’t continue to be an independent Australian company,the proposed joint listing on the ASX of Afterpay and Square reflected how globally relevant Australia’s technology sector was becoming.
“You do hopefully get this flywheel effect where you know success creates more success and that’s really,really exciting,” he said.
Billionaire investor Alex Waislitz,who holds shares in Afterpay through his investment vehicle Thorney Investments,said the deal held broad implications for the local tech sector.