Mike Cannon-Brookes

Mike Cannon-Brookes graduated from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in information systems (class of 2002). He met Scott Farquhar while both were studying at UNSW.⁠[1][2]

In 2002 the two started the software company Atlassian on about $10,000 of credit card debt and avoided venture funding for about a decade; the company was profitable from the start and brought in about US$1.3 million in 2003.⁠[2]

In 2010 Atlassian took its first major outside money, a US$60 million investment from AccelAccelAccel is a venture capital firm co-founded in 1983 by Arthur Patterson and Jim Swartz. It invests through regional teams and early-stage, growth and late-stage funds, with operations in the United States, Europe, Israel and India. Its investment history includes Facebook, Flipkart, Atlassian, Slack and other technology businesses. Fundraising totals, regulatory assets under management and portfolio-company transaction values are distinct measures.Open the full entry.⁠[2]

In April 2014 UNSW appointed Cannon-Brookes, then co-CEO of Atlassian, an adjunct professor in its School of Computer Science and Engineering, initially for three years, to advise the school on encouraging students to “explore and act on their start-up ideas.” UNSW noted that he and Farquhar had become, in 2013, the first technology entrepreneurs to top the BRW Young Rich list.⁠[1]

On December 9, 2015, Atlassian announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 22,000,000 Class A ordinary shares at $21 per share; the shares began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker TEAM on December 10.⁠[3]

In 2022 Cannon-Brookes, through his investment company Grok Ventures, spent about A$650 million on an 11.3 per cent stake in the Australian energy company AGL Energy, becoming its largest shareholder, and opposed its planned demerger. At the end of May 2022 AGL’s board dropped the demerger proposal, and chief executive Graeme Hunt and chairman Peter Botten were among those who announced their departure.⁠[4]

On April 25, 2024, Atlassian announced that Scott Farquhar would leave the co-CEO role on August 31, 2024, remaining on the board and taking a special advisor role, while Cannon-Brookes would continue to lead the company as CEO. Cannon-Brookes said: “I am truly grateful to have had him by my side every day for the last 23 years.”⁠[5]

Atlassian’s leadership page lists him as CEO and co-founder and as a member of the board of directors.⁠[6]

On March 6, 2026, The a16zAndreessen HorowitzAndreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. It invests from the seed stage through the growth stage and provides operational support to its portfolio companies.Open the full entry Show from Andreessen Horowitz released “Atlassian CEO on the SaaS Apocalypse, AI Agents & What Comes Next,” in which Andreessen Horowitz general partners Alex RampellAlex RampellAlex Rampell (Alastair Rampell) is an entrepreneur and investor, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and leader of its Apps practice. He co-founded TrialPay and Affirm and serves on the boards of Wise and Rocket Companies.Open the full entry and Erik TorenbergErik TorenbergErik Torenberg is a tech entrepreneur, investor, and podcast host who is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), where he invests and is responsible for marketing and the ecosystem network. He was the first employee of Product Hunt and founded or co-founded On Deck, Village Global, and Turpentine, long combining founder communities, expert content, and early-stage investing.Open the full entry spoke with Cannon-Brookes; the video was uploaded to the a16z YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry channel the same day.⁠[7][8]

The conversation covered how to interpret the recent selloff in SaaS stocks, why AI-driven risk varies across software companies, Atlassian’s approach to shifting from systems of record to systems of process, and the design challenge of getting everyday users to trust and benefit from AI agents in enterprise workflows.⁠[7]

Atlassian: Official website: https://www.atlassian.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[6]

X: Public account: https://x.com/mcannonbrookes (opens in a new window).⁠[8]