Steinberg family-backed fund Purpose Ventures has reached across the globe for its latest investment, a UK-based platform for software engineers founded by entrepreneurs from Perth.
Steinberg family-backed fund Purpose Ventures has reached across the globe for its latest investment, a UK-based platform for software engineers founded by entrepreneurs from Perth.
Founded in 2023 by Grant Bissett and Ben Giles, their London-headquartered Caligra has developed specialist hardware for technical professionals, in the form of a workstation with its own operating system.
Purpose joins Australian venture capital firms Blackbird and Euphemia as an institutional backer of Caligra, which was launched three years ago.
Euphemia’s founder Dominic Pym was a co-founder with Mr Bissett of Perth-based Pin Payments which was sold to UK-based Checkout.com in 2020 for an undisclosed sum at the heights of the Covid-19 pandemic’s earliest stages.
Mr Giles was also involved in Pin Payments, Australia’s first all-in-one online payment gateway, which launched in 2013, at which time he was engineering manager.
In 2024, UK company records show Blackbird made a 1 million pound investment in Caligra, taking about 25 per cent of the equity, valuing the business at 4 million pounds at the time.
The latest filings show Caligra recently raised almost 607,000 pounds through series pre-seed B-1 and B-2 shares which collectively represent close to 18 per cent of the firm’s equity.
Caligra said it was targeting what it calls the "prosumer gap", being the mismatch between equipment manufactured by the likes of Apple and the needs of specialist users.
“Engineers built the modern world, but they've been left behind by the platforms they depend on every day,” Mr Bissett said.
“We're reclaiming the developer workstation, and with Purpose Ventures alongside Blackbird and Euphemia, we have the backing to do it at scale.”
The company’s key product is a bespoke developer workstation designed in partnership with Pentagram, paired with its Workbench proprietary Linux-based operating system.
Built around a full-size mechanical keyboard, with tool storage and a removable lid, the c100 workstation folds with a magnetic hinge for closed operation or reclaiming bench space.
Caligra said it was making its first shipments of its workstations, which sell for US$1,999 apiece.
“At Purpose Ventures, we back founders who are willing to innovate against the status quo,” said Purpose Ventures managing director Derek Gerrard.
“Caligra has identified a genuine and costly gap in the market — one that affects tens of millions of professionals every single day.
“I’ve known Grant for over ten years and watched him execute successfully before, so it’s great to back him and the team to build the hardware and software that engineers actually deserve, and we're proud to support that mission."
Launched three years ago and with about $64 million in funds under management, Purpose has $23m invested across 12 companies, of which three quarters are based in WA.
