The recent global tech downturn has significantly impacted Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-founder of Atlassian. His fortune, which was nearly $15 billion last year, has now plummeted to around $7.7 billion amidst a challenging divorce.

In the past year, shares of the Australian software company have fallen by over 70%. Once soaring above US$320, they now sit below US$85. This decline stems from investor concerns that the rise of artificial intelligence may lead to reduced corporate workforces, diminishing the demand for workplace software.

Back in 2021, Atlassian’s value had skyrocketed to US$162 billion during the tech boom fueled by the Covid-19 remote work surge. However, its market valuation has since dropped dramatically to roughly US$22.25 billion.

Atlassian is not alone in this trend. Many software companies worldwide have been hit hard by a widespread market sell-off. Investors fear that AI advancements could lower the need for human workers.

The company generates a substantial portion of its income by charging businesses on a per-user basis.

With AI potentially enabling companies to achieve the output of ten employees with just two, businesses might require far fewer licenses, possibly reducing revenue from affected clients by as much as 80%.

Newer AI agents can also complete multi-step tasks such as researching a problem, writing code to solve it, testing the result and refining it without constant human input.

A global tech rout has halved Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes’ fortune, with the billionaire’s wealth tumbling from nearly $15bn to $7.7bn as shares plunge and AI fears rattle investors

Investors fear that if AI allows large companies to operate with smaller teams, demand for many workplace software tools could slow across the tech sector, dragging down company valuations.

As his company faces growing market pressure, Cannon-Brookes is also navigating a complex divorce from his ex-wife Annie after they split in July 2023.

Beyond Atlassian shares, the couple’s reported asset pool totals about $10 billion, including a property portfolio valued at roughly $360 million.

Some of those holdings include high-profile sporting investments. Cannon-Brookes became the youngest current owner of a US NBA franchise in 2020 after spending hundreds of millions to become co-owner of the Utah Jazz.

In 2021, he also acquired a 25 per cent stake in NRL club the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Neither Cannon-Brookes nor his wife have publicly commented on the breakdown of their relationship or how their shared investments will ultimately be divided.

Financial settlements after separation often take years to resolve. ABS data shows divorce proceedings take nearly four years on average, and cases involving very large asset pools can take even longer due to complex ownership structures and negotiations.

Despite the market and marriage turmoil, Cannon-Brookes insisted Atlassian was building a ‘f****** great business’ during a quarterly earnings investor meeting.

Annie Cannon-Brookes and Mike Cannon-Brookes in happier times

The pair got married in 2010 and went on to have four children together before their divorce

But in the month leading up to the results, he continued selling roughly 7,665 shares a day, at prices ranging from US$161.11 per share on January 8 to US$105.14 by February 4. 

‘I’m convinced AI is great for Atlassian. Others think software is dead,’ Cannon-Brookes told shareholders.

‘In this environment it seems that noise swamps signal, nuance gets lost.

‘AI is the most important technology of our generation. 

‘And you’ve heard me say AI is the best thing to happen to Atlassian. At the same time you’ve probably heard a lot of people say SaaS (software-as-a-service) is over, and software is dead.

‘Well I want to take the opportunity to share a few thoughts about why AI is great for Atlassian… For most people AI becomes most valuable when it shows up inside the workflows, business processes and applications that they run their business on, or choose to run their business on, and that’s exactly what we’re doing today.’

With its share price sliding, Atlassian has paused hiring across engineering roles, with some candidates saying offers were withdrawn and others claiming communication stopped entirely.

‘Got an [engineering] offer … After three weeks of silence I finally messaged the hiring manager on LinkedIn. They told me it’s a hiring freezing [sic],’ one person posted on employee forum Blind.

‘Same, my interview in 6 hours was just cancelled and all I was told was the position is no longer available. Very frustrating as I’ve been prepping for weeks,’ another post from last week reads.

Despite employing more than 12,000 people globally, Atlassian’s careers site now lists only 40 sales openings and roughly a dozen roles for interns and graduates.