NZGCP

Aspire NZ Seed Fund (Aspire) is proud to back Marama Labs as they develop cutting-edge instrumentation through the launch of CloudSpec in nanomedicine. Their patented technology dramatically shortens the time it takes to quantify drug payloads in Lipid Nanoparticle (LNP) formulations, from hours down to seconds. This leap in efficiency could unlock faster, more scalable development of next-generation therapies across gene editing, vaccines, and oncology. Congratulations to the Marama team for this milestone!

NZ Private Capital 's Venture Summit brought together investors and operators from across Aotearoa’s venture ecosystem for a day of insightful conversations, shared challenges and portfolio updates. We were proud to be part of the panel discussion on how best to support the growth of Kiwi deep-tech ventures, with our Aspire NZ Seed Fund (Aspire) Investment Manager, Sam Butler, joining the panel alongside UniServices’ Tori McNoe and Pacific Channel’s Sheryl T., in a session facilitated by Brandon Capital’s Duncan Mackintosh. We look forward to building on the energy and ideas captured by our Elevate NZ Venture Fund (Elevate) team below.

The Autumn 2025 Young Company Finance report is now available, offering a clear view of how New Zealand’s start-up investment landscape has evolved over the past year. Total investment reached $466.8 million in FY 2024, a 34% increase on the previous year. Seed-stage companies accounted for 45% of all successful raises, while venture capital funds led 58% of deals, reflecting the continued shift toward participation by institutional investors. The second half of 2024 saw a marked lift in new deal activity, with 30 new companies receiving funding, more than twice the number recorded in H2 2023. While overall new deal flow remains below the long-term average, this increase points to a gradual recovery in early-stage company formation. Expansion-stage investment also grew strongly, driven by larger Series A and later funding rounds. Software continued to lead in capital raised, while clean-tech and health-tech sectors made up 28% of all deals, maintaining steady interest from investors. The full report is linked below and live on our website, with a detailed breakdown of investment insights from AANZ’s Bridget Unsworth and NZGCP’s Jacques Richter. This release is made possible through our key collaboration partner, Angel Association New Zealand, and our valued partners across New Zealand’s investment landscape. A special thanks to our contributors: AIM - Angel Investors Marlborough, Angel HQ, ArcAngels NZ, Blackbird, Climate VC Fund, Cure Kids Ventures, Enterprise Angels, Even Capital, GD1 (Global From Day One), Icehouse Ventures, Maker Partners, Motion Capital, Movac, Nuance Connected Capital, Outset Ventures, Pacific Channel, Snowball, Sprout Agritech, UniServices and WNT Ventures.

We are delighted to see the announcement of Quantifi Photonics’ sale to Teradyne Inc in the US. This is a testament to the years of hard work and ground-breaking innovation by founders Iannick Monfils and Andy Stevens and the entire team at Quantifi Photonics.  Since the company’s spinout from The University of Auckland in 2012, Quantifi Photonics have been at the bleeding edge of electro-optical testing, a burgeoning field driven by increasing demand for high-capacity data transfer. We are pleased to see a healthy return on Aspire NZ Seed Fund (Aspire)’s investment over several funding rounds since late 2017. This will be put to use supporting more/the next generation of early-stage founders and their start-ups. We also note the return to a number of NZ investors, including Punakaiki Fund, K1W1, Simplicity, UniServices and Elevate NZ Venture Fund (Elevate) backed VC funds, Nuance Connected Capital and Pacific Channel. Quantifi Photonics is another example of the positive results that comes from backing Kiwi tech start-ups with bold ambition. We will continue to follow their journey with interest and wish them the best through this next phase of scaling.

We are delighted to see the announcement of Quantifi Photonics’ sale to Teradyne Inc in the US. This is a testament to the years of hard work and ground-breaking innovation by founders Iannick Monfils and Andy Stevens and the entire team at Quantifi Photonics.  Since the company’s spinout from The University of Auckland in 2012, Quantifi Photonics have been at the bleeding edge of electro-optical testing, a burgeoning field driven by increasing demand for high-capacity data transfer. We are pleased to see a healthy return on Aspire NZ Seed Fund (Aspire)’s investment over several funding rounds since late 2017. This will be put to use supporting more/the next generation of early-stage founders and their start-ups. We also note the return to a number of NZ investors, including Punakaiki Fund, K1W1, Simplicity, UniServices and Elevate NZ Venture Fund (Elevate) backed VC funds, Nuance Connected Capital and Pacific Channel. Quantifi Photonics is another example of the positive results that comes from backing Kiwi tech start-ups with bold ambition. We will continue to follow their journey with interest and wish them the best through this next phase of scaling.

Hello everyone – Rob Everett here. I am finishing up at NZGCP at the end of the month, having completed my 3 year term (yes already!). It has been an honour to lead such a dedicated and purpose-driven team and a privilege to have been given access to such a vibrant and interesting ecosystem. Start-ups and those who invest in them will be the drivers of our economy for decades to come and I have been humbled and fascinated by the range of innovative technology and ambitious founders I have encountered.   I am taking a break (I know some of you have heard that before!) and will spend a chunk of time with my ailing Dad in the UK. After that, I fully intend to remain involved in the ecosystem and look forward to joining the Angel HQ crew as a potential angel investor (assuming my references check out!). Thank you to all of those who welcomed me so warmly into the sector and please stay in touch.   A final thank you to a very supportive and engaged Board and to a great team of people at NZGCP. Marcel van den Assum is stepping in to work with the super-capable leadership team to keep strong progress going while the govt’s objectives for the sector evolve and to help the sector put its best foot forward into that process.

Aspire NZ Seed Fund (Aspire) portfolio company Kry10 continues its mission to build a more secure and resilient digital landscape—now with the backing of the German government. Germany’s Agentur für Innovation in der Cybersicherheit GmbH (Cyberagentur), the country’s cybersecurity innovation agency, has announced its backing for the multi-year development of seL4 within the Kry10 OS (KOS) tech stack, funded through their “Trusted IT ecosystem – provable cybersecurity (ÖvIT)” innovation financing programme. Kry10's seL4 operating system microkernel takes a non-traditional approach to digital device security, combining mathematical formal verification with high performance specifications to produce exceptional levels of resiliency and isolation of the applications which run on top of it.     Cyberagentur's endorsement of highlights the increasing importance of formally verified software in modern technology stacks. Congratulations to the Kry10 team on this achievement. Boyd Multerer | Jason Fox #cybersecurity https://lnkd.in/etCXGy49

🌟 We’re Hiring! 🌟 We’re excited to announce that we are looking for a talented individual to join our team! 🎉 About the Role: We’re hiring for a Senior Investment Analyst to or help us source, evaluate, and manage our investments, conducting in-depth market research, financial analysis, and due diligence to support informed investment decisions and portfolio management. This role offers the opportunity to work in New Zealand’s emerging start-up ecosystem and collaborate with our dynamic and passionate team. Why Join Us? At NZGCP, we support Kiwi entrepreneurs and bold companies to innovate and grow into global successes and help New Zealand investors to be work class. We are curios, we uplift, we move the needle! If you’re ready to take on a new challenge and be part of an innovative, supportive, and dynamic team, we’d love to hear from you! 📩 How to Apply: Apply through - https://lnkd.in/gqErEzuK Feel free to share this post with anyone in your network who might be interested. Let’s find our next superstar! 🌟 #NowHiring #JobOpportunity #JoinOurTeam

2024 presented its fair share of challenges for the startup ecosystem, but it also saw remarkable breakthroughs and milestones across our portfolio.     We honour the hard-earned triumphs of the founders and their teams, celebrating the extraordinary progress made toward finishing the year on a high note.     Advemto Ltd., Aquafortus Technologies, Auror, Avertana, Hashbane Interactive, Hectre, Hot Lime Labs, InfinityStudio.AI, The Insides Company, Kami, Kitea Health, Marama Labs, OpenStar Technologies, Quashed, Runn, Scannable, Stickybeak, Tradify, Wellumio, Zincovery 

Justin Soong and the team at Authsignal continue to meld reliable security with phenomenal user experience, this time in collaboration with Qualcomm and Mattr. Read all about their new Palm Biometric IdX Terminal and keep an eye on them as we come into 2025! Exciting times are ahead!