Participated · Series A · Aug 2026

Vessev (formerly Seachange, and before that FreightFish, which built autonomous cargo vessels) designs and builds electric hydrofoiling passenger vessels along with the flight-control and telemetry systems that operate them. Its VS-9 entered commercial service with Fullers360 on Auckland's Hauraki Gulf in January 2025, and the company has since brought propulsion in-house with VS-Drive, an electric motor developed with co-funding from New Zealand's Low Emission Transport Fund. Operators in New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Europe have placed orders, including Taupō Hydrofoil Tours, Fly Derwent in Hobart, which has doubled its order, Finn Lough as its first European customer, and FlyTahoe at Lake Tahoe as its first US customer. A larger VS-18 is in development, and the company opened a US office in Rhode Island in 2025 ahead of entering the American market the following year. Founded by Max Olson and led by chief executive Eric Laakmann, Vessev employs 58 people at its Auckland, New Zealand headquarters. Financially, Vessev raised US$19 million (NZ$32.6 million) in Series A and follow-on financing in August 2026, led by Blackbird Ventures; the articles do not state a cumulative total raised across its earlier rounds.

Participated · Seed · Jul 2026

Outlier Space is developing an autonomous returnable orbital capsule designed to carry research and manufacturing payloads into orbit for durations of weeks to months and then return them safely to Earth. The company says such microgravity conditions can produce purer crystals and more uniform protein structures, enabling scientific and manufacturing experiments that benefit from reduced gravity. Outlier positions its service as a landlord for specialized orbital factories that host those payloads. The team is led by founder Jamie France, who has prior experience at Emirates Team New Zealand, Air New Zealand’s Skycouch development, and nearly a decade at Rocket Lab culminating as Global Director of the Electron programme; team members named include Nick Pearson and Courtney France. Financially, Outlier closed a US$7.35M pre-seed round, noted as one of the largest pre-seed raises in New Zealand history, to fund development of the capsule and related operations.

Participated · Series A · Jul 2026

Wellumio develops a portable neuroimaging platform called Axana that uses patented PGFM (pulsed gradient–free mapping) technology to deliver rapid MRI-based stroke assessments at the point of care. The technology is designed to operate without contrast agents, cryogenics, or shielded rooms, enabling use in critical care settings. The company completed initial human feasibility trials and received a U.S. patent for its technology in December 2025. Wellumio is progressing toward regulatory approval and plans expanded clinical evaluation across additional sites and geographies. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Dr. Shieak Tzeng and is based in Wellington, New Zealand.

Participated · Seed · Jul 2026

Linca is a spin-out from Mint Innovation that has developed a process for refining critical minerals—lithium, nickel and cobalt—recovered from end-of-life electric vehicle batteries. The company is leading a consortium with Jaguar Land Rover, LiBatt Recycling and WMG at the University of Warwick to demonstrate domestic refining capabilities in the UK. Linca has secured an £8.1 million APC26 UK grant alongside equity funding to support its formation and has completed a NZ$5 million first close of a seed round (expected to reach NZ$7 million) led by Motion Capital with participation from Icehouse Ventures, K1W1, Booster, Aspire and Enterprise Angels. The seed proceeds will be used to scale up the technology and construct a UK demonstration facility to prove the concept of domestic critical mineral refining. The spin-out officially launched after under three years of development within Mint Innovation.

Led · Seed · Jul 2026

Hyades is developing a platform to standardize and translate disparate spatial data — including satellite imagery, drone footage, and climate records — into formats usable by machine learning models. The company targets industries that rely heavily on map-based data such as insurance, agriculture, mining, and climate science. Hyades aims to dramatically shorten the traditionally slow, manual data-preparation timeline and to keep models current as conditions change. The founding team consists of Ashin Alex, Samuel Kurian, and Jimin Seo, who met at university and later connected on a University of Auckland Vanguard trip to Silicon Valley. Post-fundraise plans include expanding enterprise partnerships, hiring AI engineering talent, and preparing the platform for a wider release. No revenue, user, or valuation metrics were disclosed in the article.