New holding company to acquire AI startups
Misha Saul and Benjamin Plummer have launched Dragonfly, a new AI-native holding company. The firm plans to acquire and build a portfolio of AI companies, signaling an alternative path for technical founders beyond single-product startups or traditional venture capital.
- Dragonfly's strategy is to acquire established, stable businesses in sectors like property services, financial services, and accounting, with valuations between $20 and $30 million AUD. - Co-founder Benjamin Plummer was recently the CEO of Invisible Technologies, a Silicon Valley services company that worked with major AI labs like OpenAI, Google, and Meta, growing its recurring revenue to over $150 million. - Co-founder Misha Saul has a background in investment management, having worked at firms like Potentia Capital and Allegro Funds, focusing on software and technology companies in Australia and New Zealand. - The firm has secured an initial $2 million in funding from investors including Side Stage Ventures, Marbruck Investments, and several angel investors. - This "buyout and transform" model is gaining traction in the U.S., where venture firms like General Catalyst and Thrive Capital are also backing startups that roll up traditional service businesses and modernize them with AI. - Misha Saul was previously a public figure in a controversy involving a former portfolio company, pharmacy software startup Strongroom AI, where he raised alarms about an alleged fraud. - The founders believe that AI can overcome the traditional scaling challenges of service-based businesses, which historically required a linear increase in headcount to grow revenue.
