New Zealand VC Global From Day 1 banks $130 million for new fund

New Zealand G venture capital firm Global From Day 1 (GD1) has raised NZ$130 million (A$124m) for its Fund 3, more than double its original first close target

​​The Auckland-based VC is now pushing on to a cap of $160 million to back local startups with global ambitions as one of the country’s leading investors.

The first close was led by large institutional funds and top tier investors. New Zealand Growth Capital Partners tipped in $45 million from the Elevate NZ Venture Fund, the fifth and largest allocation the Government entity has made to a VC fund manager. Harbour Asset Management, community trusts and local family offices. 

GD1 partner Vignesh Kumar that since 2012, their focus has been on supporting New Zealand B2B technology companies that are focused on global expansion.

“The ultimate goal is to create an ecosystem that continuously fuels the New Zealand economy. Fund 3 builds on this core mission and represents one of the largest injections of capital into the New Zealand start-up landscape so far this year,” he said. 

“We believe our growing track record of success is a testament to one of our driving values: We dive in deep to support our portfolio companies. With Fund 3, we’ve added new, top-tier talent to the team covering investment, operating expertise, and ESG, as well as best in class domestic and international advisory boards which we believe will be extremely valuable to our founders and management teams in their growth journeys.”

Fund 3 capital’s has already been earmarked for investments in local startups Runn.io, Dawn Aerospace, and JunoFem.

GD1’s Fund 3 is led by partners Chintaka Ranatunga, John Kells and Vignesh Kumar. Fund 2 which was backed by NZ Growth Capital Partners’ Venture Investment Fund in 2016.

Kumar said GD1 is a generalist fund and its pipeline is strong, with additional marquee deal announcements anticipated in the upcoming weeks. 

Runn.io co-founder Tim Copeland said GD1 had unique access to in-market talent and extensive global contacts for offshore expansion. 

‘GD1’s team are well-known for offering incredible guidance and support to portfolio companies, including a deep level of operational insight that solves the most challenging roadblocks to growth,” he said.

Junofem co-founder and CEO Jennifer Kruger said GD1 gave her team the confidence to take the next steps for growth.

“As a technical founder, the team has been given invaluable advice, from go-to-market strategy to governance structure,  which continues to ensure that we are well  prepared for our next round of investment,” she said.

Fund 2’s investments included Shuttlerock, which recently raised $20m led by Trade Me founder Sam Morgan); StretchSense, which recently closed an $8m follow-on round); UBCO, which closed $15m in funding led by offshore investors and Spotlight Reporting, which is now Xero’s number one reporting and cash flow forecasting app.

GD1 recently brought on new staff and advisors with deep expertise in ESG as part of its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and sustainability, with the gender balance at 50%.