ASX-listed Scalare Partners has bought the brand, programs and community assets of Sydney startup hub Fishburners for an undisclosed cash sum, less than a month after the not-for-profit entered voluntary administration in May 2026. The deal completed on 2 June 2026, Business News Australia reported.
Fishburners was one of Australia’s longest running startup communities. Founded in 2011 by Mike Casey and Pete Davison, it says it supported more than 35,000 entrepreneurs over 15 years, who went on to raise more than $600 million in investment. Its collapse put a spotlight on how the community layer of the startup ecosystem is funded, and how exposed it is to decisions about property and government programs.
Why it collapsed
Fishburners pointed to unresolved legacy rental debt from the NSW Government’s Sydney Startup Hub program, along with operating losses that followed. The government hub itself is moving from Wynyard to the Tech Central precinct.
KPMG partners Gayle Dickerson and Phil Quinlan were appointed administrators and called for expressions of interest in the business.
What Scalare bought
Scalare Partners, which runs the coworking and startup support brand Tank Stream Labs, acquired the Fishburners brand, programs, intellectual property and community assets. It did not take on any employees or liabilities, and described the deal as not material to its financial position, according to Business News Australia.
Scalare said Fishburners members would gain access to Tank Stream Labs locations nationally, and that a dedicated Fishburners hub would open at its Kent Street campus in Sydney. It plans to relaunch Fishburners pitch nights and founder showcases across the country, and to set up a Fishburners investment vehicle to back selected startups from the pitch night program.
“Fishburners has been an important part of Australia’s innovation ecosystem for more than 15 years,” Scalare chief executive Carolyn Breeze said.
The acquisition follows Scalare’s purchase of Planet Startup in late 2025. The company said the combined group now counts more than 40,000 founders and startup participants.
Jack’s take
The Fishburners team got handed a problem that wasn’t theirs to solve. Australia is minting billionaires at a serious clip, yet the community infrastructure that helped many of them get started is fragile. It is good that the brand lives on, but the question of who funds this layer of the ecosystem hasn’t gone away.