A New Zealand startup offering to train 1000 students in the entry-level AWS certification for free has raised $2.3 million in pre-Seed funding The round for NextWork was led by Kiwi VC GD1 with support from Blackbird, Icehouse, Phase One Ventures and the founders of Eucalyptus. The Wellington-based online education startup has set out to… Read more »
Blackbird partner Phoebe Harrop will take the helm of VC fund’s Kiwi out as its founding head, Samantha Wong, returns to Australia pending the birth of her second child. Wong announced the move back across The Ditch on Blackbird’s blog, saying “I’ve decided this is the right time for me and my family to move… Read more »
New Zealand lawtech startup VXT has raised NZ$1.8 million (A$1.65 million) in a pre-Series A. The round was led by existing investor GD1 with follow on-investments from Startmate and Phase One too as well as Silicon Valley entrepreneur and former Lattice boss J Zac Stein joining the cap table. VXT has developed an AI-powered communications… Read more »
A New Zealand data analytics startup using machine learning to detect suspicious activity by vessels at sea has raised a NZ$5 million (A$4.6m) in a Seed round. The round for Starboard Maritime Intelligence was led by Kiwi VC Altered Capital, supported by Icehouse Ventures, Invest South, Soul Capital, and Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation, as well as marine-focused… Read more »
A New Zealand lake will be home to the world’s first electric hydrofoiling ferry, used to transport workers to a hydro power station. The Swedish-made Candela P-12 electric hydrofoil ferry will offer daily transport for workers at Manapōuri Power Station, Aotearoa’s largest hydro plant, on World Heritage-listed Lake Manapōuri, voted the country’s most beautiful lake. The… Read more »
New Zealand wine analysis startup Marama Labs has raised €1.75m (A$2.85m) in Seed funding to expand its global footprint. The round was led by European agritech VC The Yield Lab, supported by New Zealand Growth Capital Partners, Icehouse Ventures, Quidnet Ventures, DeepIE, Radar Ventures, NZVC, and Kiwi angel groups, plus high-net-worth’s from Ireland and Germany.… Read more »
New Zealand customer insights innovation platform Ideally has raised $2 million in a Seed round as it looks to expand its presence in the Australian market. Auckland VC Icehouse Ventures backed Ideally, which emerged from TRA Labs and Previously Unavailable – the partnership behind brand tracking phenomenon Tracksuit. Ideally’s self-service platform tests product-market fit, delivering… Read more »
New Zealand’s most active venture capital firm Icehouse Ventures, says it has “VCed itself” after raising NZ$10 million (A$9.3m) in equity capital. The raise was supported by business leaders and family offices across Aotearoa, as well as Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, and the US. Icehouse’s backers are a who’s who… Read more »
New Zealand funds management software startup Caruso has raised A$3 million in Seed funding as it looks to cross the ditch as establish an Australian office. The round was led by Kiwi VC Icehouse Ventures, with support from GD1, Chris Heaslip, founder of Pushpay, and the Rae family of Gull Oil. Caruso plans to add… Read more »
New Zealand healthtech startup Carepatron has raised A$6 million in a Seed round co-led by existing backer Blackbird Ventures and US-based TQ Ventures: Carepatron, launched in late 2021 by David Pene and Jamie Frew. It practice management software helps healthcare practitioners deal with administration, cutting the time spent dealing with it by around 8 hours… Read more »
As anticipation for SXSW Sydney builds, all eyes are on the vibrant lineup of innovators, entrepreneurs, and creatives set to grace the event. Described as a ‘premier destination for discovery’, SXSW which offers a unique blend of music, film, entrepreneurship and innovation, is for the first time being hosted by Sydney. Among the trailblazers, the… Read more »
Auckland-based insurance premium payments platform Simfuni has raised NZ$2.8 million in a Series A to save brokers time and money. The round was led by Kiwi VC funds Icehouse Ventures and GD1, with support from K1W1 and NZVC. The insurtech platform integrates with any insurer, broker group or premium funder’s quoting and invoicing software in… Read more »
A Kiwi B2B marketplace for the hospitality and food service industry developed by a cofounder Xero has crossed the ditch to Australia after raising NZ$6 million (A$5.5m). Upstock is the brainchild of Duncan Ritchie and Philip Fierlinger, who was part of the 2006 founding team of ASX-listed accounting platform Xero. The raise was backed by Icehouse… Read more »
New Zealand carbon footprint management fintech Cogo, which works with banks to help their customers measure and reduce their carbon impact, has raised NZ$1 million (A$910k) from existing impact investor Soul Capital. Soul’s NZ$20 million ‘Te Pae ki te Rangi’ Fund is focused on helping Kiwi startups with their global expansion. Cogo currently operates in… Read more »
The skills needed to thrive in an uncertain future are often thought to fall under the term “entrepreneurial mindset” but New Zealand researcher Darsel Keane has found that there’s little clarity about what an entrepreneurial mindset actually is. While the phrase is cited with increasing popularity in recent years, Keane, director of the Centre for… Read more »
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