A New Zealand entrepreneur who developed virtual reality software to treat anxiety and phobias is heading to Australia as part of a bid to source additional funding to help further enhance his product. oVRcome founder Adam Hutchinson, from Christchurch, will pitch to investors at the Digital Health Festival in Melbourne starting June 6. Funding will… Read more »
While startup funding globally fell last year, New Zealand venture capital investment was still on the rise, with NZ$726 million poured into 154 deals in 2022, according to the Technology Investment Network (TIN). The Technology Investment Report, launched in Auckland as part of Techweek 2023, covers funding Pre-Seed to Series C+, tracking record levels of funding… Read more »
A New Zealand deep tech manufacturing startup helping produce cleaner hydrogen with fewer precious metals has raised NZ$2.5 million (A$2.3m) in a Seed round. Bspkl has developed a new, more sustainable way to produce catalyst coated membranes (CCMs) for the hydrogen industry. CCMs typically use platinum and iridium in solid membranes to maximise hydrogen production.… Read more »
Three years ago, Kiwi entrepreneur Mahesh Muralidhar (an early leader at Canva, the COO at Simply Wall St. and a senior exec at Airtasker) announced that he’d returned to NZ with a bold vision: to produce 10 New Zealand technology unicorns (or ‘kiwicorns’) by 2026 through a brand-new incubator program. Phase One Ventures has had… Read more »
New Zealand agtech startup, which developed a GPS-enabled solar collar that “guides” cows around pastures using sound and vibrations, has raised NZ$85 million (A$79.5m) in a Series C. The round was led by US VC Bessemer Venture Partners with existing backers Blackbird, Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck Kiwi VC Icehouse Ventures and DCVC. Mechanical engineer Craig… Read more »
Move over cows, a clinical trial of older Kiwis drinking deer milk has found it’s good for their health. The New Zealand study, by Massey University and commissioned by the government-owned farming business Pāmu, found drinking the company’s deer milk improved the nutritional status, muscle mass and physical performance of women aged 65 and above.… Read more »
A New Zealand medtech startup that’s developed a world’s first wireless brain monitor to remotely manage chronic illness has raised NZ$6 million (A$5.6m) to take the device to clinical trials. Kitea Health spun out of the University of Auckland Bioengineering Institute after developing the implantable long-term brain pressure sensor, which could save the healthcare system… Read more »
New Zealand brand tracking startup Tracksuit has raised NZ$7.5 million (A$6.8m) in Seed round. The raise was led by Blackbird, which chipped in $3.6 million, supported by Kiwi VC Icehouse Ventures, Ascential, Shasta Ventures and veteran brand consultant Mark Ritson. Tracksuit helps companies measure and understand brand value via weekly global surveys to track consumer… Read more »
New Zealand liquid hydrogen tech company Fabrum has raised NZ$23 million (A$21m) in a Series A The round was led by London VC AP Ventures, with participation from Dr Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries, Japan’s Obayashi Corporation and New Zealand VC K1W1. The Christchurch-based venture, founded in 2004, is considered a world leader in industrialised… Read more »
Aotearoa data startup Partly, which makes it easier to source vehicle parts, has raised NZ$37 million (A$34m) in a Series A. It’s a national record for a Series A and follows a NZ$3.7 million pre-series A in October 2021. The latest round was led by European VC Octopus Ventures, with Blackbird’s Kiwi wing tipping in… Read more »
Kiwi tech company Blackpearl Group (BPG) will list on the New Zealand stock exchange next month – the only IPO for the NZX in the second half of 2022. Blackpearl builds, acquires, and markets data-driven cloud services involving productivity and demand generation applications for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB). Its proprietary data platform, the Pearl… Read more »
New Zealand’s top 200 technology export companies generated NZ$15.117 billion in total revenue for the 2022 financial year, up 9% ($1.247bn) on 12 months earlier, according to the annual Technology Investment Network (TIN) Report. Tech is now the country’s second largest export earner behind dairy and accounts for 14% of NZ’s total export revenue in… Read more »
New Zealand impact startup Kara Technologies has raised NZ$1.3 million in Seed funding to make sign language more accessible in the media for deaf people. The round was led by Sydney VC Investible and with Kiwi VCs Te Pae ki te Rangi, Quident Ventures, Icehouse Ventures, as well as Startmate. Kara is building a more… Read more »
An artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled digital assistant called Aimer has raised NZ$1 million to help dairy farmers with pasture management Kiwi startup Aimer Development was backed by food and agritech accelerator Sprout in the fifth of 30 $1 million investments the VC plans to make. Aimer founder and Chief Technical Officer Jeremy Bryant has spent more than… Read more »
New Zealand martech startup eVouch has raised NZ$500,000 (A$450,000) in a pre-Seed round. The raise was backed by leading NZ VC GD1, along with Phase One and Uniservices and several others. The capital will support growing international demand, and to bring on more developer support. Founder Eugene Yao initially launched eVouch as a way to help local… Read more »
The lessons from Uber, Ola and rideshare’s disruption is that in the end, the consumer still pays 
Unicorn dehorned: Nasdaq-listed Brisbane EV charging venture Tritium collapses into receivership 
Here are the finalists in Fintech Australia’s 2024 Finnies awards 
Atlassian cofounder Scott Farquhar steps down as co-CEO 
Daily startup news and insights, delivered to your inbox.
