Future Secure AI raised US$80 million (A$115 million) on 6 November 2026 through convertible notes, at a valuation of US$1.2 billion (A$1.7 billion). The Future Secure AI funding round makes the three-year-old firm Australia’s newest tech unicorn, and it lands about a year before a planned ASX float.
The money came from Square Peg, Yarra Capital Management, Macquarie Asset Management and Firetrail. Future Secure AI builds AI co-workers for large enterprises: teams of AI agents, each with a name and a face, that report to a human manager. The founders say the cash will pay for winning more customers around the world.
What the Future Secure AI funding round includes
This is the company’s third raise, and the structure matters more than the headline. Investors bought convertible notes rather than priced equity, and Dealroom data puts the round in the 97th percentile by size among convertible rounds in enterprise software, from a sample of 1,021 deals.
Future Secure AI funding history
- 2023: Mehrdad Baghai and Michael Hunter found the company in Sydney.
- June 2025: a second round closes. Its size was never disclosed.
- April 2026: global headquarters move to Austin, Texas.
- November 2026: the US$80 million note round makes it a unicorn.
- Late 2027: a listing on the ASX is planned.
Because the June 2025 amount is private, nobody outside the company can give a total for Future Secure AI funding to date.
Two figures that don’t match
Most reports give the amount as US$80 million. At least one puts it at US$82 million, or roughly A$118 million. The valuation also shows up in two currencies, but US$1.2 billion and A$1.7 billion are the same number. Neither gap changes the story. Anyone citing the Future Secure AI funding figure should pick one currency and stick with it.
Who wrote the cheques
The investor list tells you who this Macquarie-backed AI startup is getting ready for. Square Peg is a Sydney-founded venture firm. Yarra, Firetrail and Macquarie Asset Management are fund managers that buy listed stocks. Holders like these tend to arrive just before an IPO, not at seed stage, which makes the Future Secure AI funding round look like pre-listing positioning.
The founders’ roots in banks and consulting
Baghai and Hunter run the company as co-CEOs. Baghai is a former McKinsey partner who co-led the firm’s global growth practice. He later ran growth and commercialisation at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency. Hunter’s career spans startups and investment banking at Macquarie Capital. That history explains why banks and consulting firms top its customer list, and why fund managers with finance ties led the Future Secure AI funding round.
In April 2026 the company moved its main office to Austin. “The center of gravity for enterprise AI is the United States,” Hunter said in the Austin headquarters announcement. Austin now runs product, engineering, delivery and the executive team. The company also hired Todd Hewlin as president to grow in the US and Canada.
So is it an Australian company? It was founded in Sydney, keeps offices in Sydney and Melbourne, and wants to list on the ASX. Its leaders and its largest market now sit in North America, with more offices in New York, Chicago, Toronto and São Paulo. Both labels are fair, which is why early reports disagree on where it is based.
How AI co-workers for large enterprises differ from copilots
A copilot helps one person draft, analyse or decide. An agent chases an outcome within an approved scope. It moves work across systems and hands exceptions back to a human. In the AI agents vs copilots split, Future Secure AI sits on the agent side, and the Future Secure AI funding round is a bet that large firms will pay for that autonomy.
The company says each co-worker is built from more than 100 agents. It plugs into a client’s core systems and works inside existing approval rules. The company also says its systems are not locked to one AI model or cloud, and that every action leaves an audit trail.
What the co-workers do
Reported tasks include:
- month-end close for finance teams
- tax calculations, including fringe benefits tax
- staff rostering
- outbound customer service
Target industries are investment banking, consulting, healthcare and law. Its boldest claim is about money: the company says its co-workers usually pay for themselves within six months and then return 10 to 20 times their running cost. Those are company figures, not audited results, and no customer has published numbers to back them.
Is $1.2 billion a real valuation?
In a convertible note, investors lend money that later turns into shares. A valuation cap sets the highest valuation at which the note converts. The investor usually converts at whichever is lower: the cap, or the price of the next priced round.
The terms of these notes are not public. If US$1.2 billion is a cap, it is a ceiling on what these investors will pay per share. It is not a price anyone has paid for shares today.
A worked example shows the gap. Say the notes convert at an IPO that values the company at US$2 billion. Holders with a US$1.2 billion cap get shares as if it were worth US$1.2 billion, a large discount. Now say the IPO prices at US$900 million. The cap does nothing, and they convert at the lower price.
That is why a convertible note valuation cap is a softer signal than a priced Series C. It still tells you something real. Four institutional investors agreed that US$1.2 billion was a fair upper bound for the Future Secure AI funding terms. It does not tell you what public buyers will pay.
Why use notes this close to an IPO?
The company has not said why it chose notes. The general trade-off is well known, though. A note closes faster than a priced round, because nobody has to agree a share price today. It also avoids setting a private price that a later IPO might undercut. For investors, the cap and any discount reward them for buying in before the listing. For the founders, the cost shows up later: if the float prices well above the cap, note holders end up with more of the company than the headline Future Secure AI funding number suggests. Reading the Future Secure AI funding terms in the prospectus will be the only way to see that dilution.
The revenue behind the Future Secure AI funding bet
The company projects annual recurring revenue (ARR) of close to US$100 million by the end of 2026. If it hits that, US$1.2 billion works out to about 12 times forward ARR. That multiple is normal for a fast-growing software firm. The real test is whether investors value Future Secure AI as software or as services.
Its sales model leans toward services. The company sells straight to CEOs and boards. It then sends consultants and engineers to scope, build and run each system. One review found no disclosed sales chief or sales team, and staff estimates range from 201 to 1,000 across databases. Custom delivery wins big contracts. It also tends to mean thinner margins and slower growth than self-serve software. Public investors will ask for gross margin as well as ARR.
That tension is the core of the Future Secure AI funding case. Investors are paying a software-style price for a business that, today, delivers much of its value through people. The bet is that each new client gets cheaper to serve as the agents improve and the delivery team reuses what it has built. For a Macquarie-backed AI startup with finance roots, that is a familiar pitch: a high-touch service first, then a product.
What the planned ASX float has to prove
With the Future Secure AI funding round closed, the company expects to pick banks within months and list in late 2027. It will meet a nervous market. Data-centre firm Firmus dropped a proposed ASX float last month after investors balked at the price. It was one of several tech listings pulled in 2026 over doubts about AI valuations.
Future Secure AI pitches itself as the only Australian AI unicorn outside data-centre plays such as AirTrunk and Firmus. It joins a long list: Dealroom tracks 44 unicorns headquartered in Australia as of November 2026. That pitch cuts both ways. A strong listing would show Australian public markets will fund AI software. A weak one would suggest doubts about AI hardware also apply to the software built on top.
When an AI co-worker is the wrong buy
The model suits work that is high-volume, rule-bound and costly when people do it: reconciliations, tax sums, roster planning. It is a poor fit when the task changes every week, when judgement carries most of the value, or when volume is too low to repay a custom build. In those cases a copilot that helps one employee work faster is cheaper and easier to control. The AI agents vs copilots choice is less about which is smarter and more about how much of a process you are ready to hand over.
There is also a lock-in risk. A system the vendor builds, runs and upgrades for five to ten years is hard to replace. Buyers should ask who owns the workflows, the prompts and the audit logs if the contract ends.
What to watch after the Future Secure AI funding round
Three markers will show whether the unicorn label holds. First, whether ARR reaches US$100 million by December and later appears in audited accounts. Second, the conversion terms of the notes, which any prospectus will have to reveal. Third, the choice of banks and the timing of the planned ASX float.
For founders, the Future Secure AI funding round is a useful case study. A services-heavy AI business, sold at board level, raised a nine-figure sum without a priced round. If you are weighing a note before an IPO, ask for the convertible note valuation cap and discount in writing, then model the conversion at three or four listing prices before you sign. The cap decides who gains when the company grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Future Secure AI’s agents work with staff?
Each AI co-worker is a team of AI agents that completes a full business process, such as month-end close or rostering, inside a company’s own systems. Future Secure AI gives each one a name and a face and has it report to a human manager, who handles exceptions and signs off on results.
Who founded Future Secure AI?
Mehrdad Baghai and Michael Hunter founded the company in Sydney in 2023 and lead it as co-CEOs. Baghai is a former McKinsey partner who later worked at CSIRO, and Hunter has a background in startups and investment banking at Macquarie Capital.
Who invested in Future Secure AI?
Square Peg, Yarra Capital Management, Macquarie Asset Management and Firetrail backed the November 2026 round. Square Peg is a Sydney-founded venture firm, while the other three are institutional fund managers, a mix that often appears in the year or two before a public listing.
When will Future Secure AI list on the ASX?
The company plans to list on the Australian Securities Exchange in late 2027 and expects to appoint banks within months. Nothing has been filed yet, so the timing, size and price of the offer could all change with revenue growth and market conditions.
Where is Future Secure AI headquartered?
Its global headquarters has been in Austin, Texas, since April 2026, although the company was founded in Sydney. It also runs offices in Sydney, Melbourne, New York, Chicago, Toronto and São Paulo, which is why reports differ on whether it is Australian or American.
How many unicorns does Australia have?
Dealroom tracks 44 unicorns headquartered in Australia as of November 2026, counting private, listed and acquired companies that reached a verified valuation of US$1 billion or more. Future Secure AI is the newest addition, and Canva remains the most valuable name on the list.
