Venture Capital Investment Opportunities in New Zealand
Invest in high-growth NZ technology startups and early-stage companies targeting 3-5x returns over 5-7 years.
Compare Top Opportunities
Icehouse Ventures Growth Fund III
Booster Innovation Fund
by Booster
Back NZ innovation going global - Listed PIE
Movac Growth 7
by Movac
Top decile returns, 25+ years experience
IV Sustainable Technology Fund
Impact investing with sustainability outcomes
Altered Capital Venture Fund II
$250m FUM, $1B FUA track record
Brand Fund 2 by Previously Unavailable and Icehouse Ventures
28.63% IRR from Fund 1
Bridgewest Venture Fund 1 LP
Seed to Series A deep-tech focus
Cultivate Ventures Limited Partnership
15% IRR target, industry backed
Ecliptic Venture Capital LP
Active hands-on management
Maūi Toa Fund 1
by Maūi Toa
Māori owned and led VC
Motion Capital
Climate-tech specialist with track record
NZVC Fund 2
by NZVC
Top 5% Fund 1, 50% lower valuations
Quidnet Ventures Fund II
Top-quartile Fund I, 20+ companies
Ryft Fund Zero
by Ryft
4-6 venture studio companies
WNT Ventures Fund 4
by WNT Ventures
Top quartile with proven exits
Matū Karihi Fund
by Matū Karihi
17 science & tech companies backed
Nuance Connected Capital
Female scientist-led deep tech
Greenmount Capital New Economy Fund LP
Target 20%+ IRR from new economy
Icehouse Ventures Seed Fund IV LP
NZ's most active early-stage VC
New Zealand Fintech Fund
by Point16
Fintech fastest-growing sector (32% CAGR)
Pacific Channel Fund III
Largest deep-tech VC in NZ
GD1 Fund 4 LP
by GD1
Upper quartile performance continues
GD1 Fund 3 LP
by GD1
Anchored by NZ Government largest VC investment
2040 Ventures Climate Fund
Climate tech VC with 25% target IRR
2040 Ventures Punakaiki Fund
Evergreen VC with 20% target returns
About This Category
Venture capital in New Zealand offers wholesale investors exposure to high-growth technology startups, SaaS companies, and innovative businesses across sectors including fintech, agritech, healthtech, and climate tech. NZ's venture ecosystem has matured significantly, with successful exits like Xero, Rocket Lab, and Vend demonstrating the potential for outsized returns.
NZ venture capital funds typically invest across seed stage ($500K-$2M rounds), Series A ($2M-$5M), and Series B+ growth capital ($5M-$20M). Funds build diversified portfolios of 15-30 companies, recognizing that while many investments may fail, successful companies can return 10-50x invested capital. Investment strategies range from early-stage/seed focused to later-stage growth equity.
Target returns for venture capital funds are typically 3-5x invested capital over 5-7 years (approximately 20-30% IRR). Returns come through exits via trade sales to strategic acquirers, secondary sales to other funds, or occasionally IPOs. Most venture funds have 10-year fund lives with capital called over the first 3-4 years and distributions from exits in years 5-10.
Fund Managers in this Category
Explore providers offering funds in this asset class on Wholesale Investor NZ.
2040 Ventures
Evergreen venture capital fund and climate tech specialist with proven track record
Altered Capital
Growth-stage VC with $250m FUM and $1B FUA backing product-market fit companies
Booster
Fund manager serving over 200,000 New Zealanders. Founded 1998 as Grosvenor Financial Services, rebranded 2016. Offers KiwiSaver and managed investment schemes including Innovation Fund focused on NZ tech startups.
Boston ME
Boston ME manages Boston ME Economic Growth Fund, a NZTE-pre-approved AIP Growth Category fund. Lightweight directory entry seeded from NZTE Acceptable Managed Funds list — full provider profile (AUM, FSP, NZBN, key people, website) to be enriched via future research pass.
Bridgewest Group
Deep-tech incubation specialist in life sciences, medtech, and cleantech
Cultivate Ventures
Cultivate Ventures is an industry-backed agri-tech and agri-food venture capital manager focused on New Zealand companies at the intersection of agriculture and technology. Launched in 2023 and managed by Northington Partners, the fund has raised approximately NZ$20 million across multiple rounds and backs companies developing scalable solutions for global agriculture — from precision farming and food science to rural connectivity and sustainability. Portfolio companies include Hectre (apple industry automation) and Aimer Farming. The vehicle listed on Wholesale Investor is the Cultivate Ventures Limited Partnership, a venture capital fund structured as a limited partnership and offered to wholesale investors under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (Schedule 1). The fund combines Northington Partners' capital markets experience with a specialist advisory network spanning agribusiness, technology commercialisation and global market access. Cultivate Ventures Limited Partnership appears on the NZTE Acceptable Managed Funds list for the Active Investor Plus (AIP) investor visa, added 2 November 2023 (list dated 15 June 2026), and is recorded in this directory under the AIP Growth category. Under current AIP settings, the Growth category requires a NZ$5 million investment over 36 months. The manager operates from Level 33, Vero Centre, 48 Shortland Street, Auckland, and holds NZBN 9429051239633. Key people recorded in this directory include founder Anthony Edmonds and directors Greg Main and Marcus Henderson. Offers of interests in the fund are made to wholesale investors only, under the manager's own offer documents; minimums, fees and terms are set out there.
Ecliptic Venture Capital
Hands-on Seed and Series A investor filling critical capital and capability gaps
GD1
Generalist early-stage technology investor anchored by NZ Government's largest VC investment
Greenmount Capital
Greenmount (also styled GreenMount; investment arm GM Capital) is an independent advisory and investment-management firm operating across Australia and New Zealand, with offices in Auckland, Christchurch and Sydney. Its capital division focuses on private-capital investment management, partnering with businesses to support growth. The firm's New Zealand base is Level 2, 1 Albert Street, Auckland; it holds NZBN 9429049393835, and this directory records its history from 2018. Hugo Fisher is recorded as the key contact for New Zealand operations. Two Greenmount vehicles are listed on Wholesale Investor, both structured as limited partnerships and offered to wholesale investors. The Greenmount Capital New Economy Fund LP is a venture capital fund with a recorded fund size of NZ$60 million, focused on Series A investment into globally scalable businesses across seven transformative themes. The Greenmount Co-Investment Fund No.1 LP is a private equity vehicle providing access to deals alongside established Australasian private equity sponsors. Both funds appeared on earlier editions of the NZTE Acceptable Managed Funds list for the Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa but are not on the current list dated 15 June 2026; AIP applicants can confirm current status against the live NZTE list. Offers of interests in the funds are made to wholesale investors under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (Schedule 1) via the manager's own offer documents. Source: greenmount.com.
Icehouse Ventures
Icehouse Ventures is an Auckland-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in New Zealand-founded technology companies. This directory records more than NZ$750 million in assets under management, over NZ$488 million in total funds raised, more than 340 portfolio companies and an investor base of roughly 2,000. The firm's history in this directory dates from 2001; it is a registered financial service provider (FSP18944) with NZBN 9429033908489. Three Icehouse Ventures funds are listed on Wholesale Investor, all structured as limited partnerships for wholesale investors. Icehouse Ventures Growth Fund III (recorded fund size NZ$150 million) invests in New Zealand-founded technology companies raising growth-stage capital from Series A through Series D+, targeting a diversified portfolio of 20-30 companies across hardware, software, deep-tech, agritech and AI. The IV Sustainable Technology Fund (NZ$35 million) targets 20-40 seed-stage technology companies amplifying global sustainability. Icehouse Ventures Seed Fund IV LP (NZ$50 million) invests in around 30 high-growth technology companies from pre-seed to pre-Series A. On the NZTE Acceptable Managed Funds list for the Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa (dated 15 June 2026), Growth Fund III was added 25 May 2026 and the IV Sustainable Technology Fund on 11 April 2024; both are recorded here under the AIP Growth category. Seed Fund IV appeared on earlier editions of the list but is not on the current one. Key people recorded in this directory include Robbie Paul (CEO), partners Jack McQuire, Barnaby Marshall, Jo Wickham and Jason Wang, and CFO Scott Turner. Offers of interests in the funds are made to wholesale investors under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (Schedule 1) via the manager's own offer documents.
Matū Karihi
Specialist early-stage fund for R&D spinouts from NZ science and technology sector
Maūi Toa
Māori owned and led VC leveraging the Māori economy for global technology investments
Motion Capital
Early-stage climate-tech specialist with $15m committed and proven track record
Movac
Movac is a New Zealand venture capital firm founded in 1999, giving it more than 25 years of investing history. Headquartered at 12 Allen Street, Te Aro, Wellington, the firm holds NZBN 9429042545880 and invests in high-growth New Zealand technology companies with established management teams and the ambition to scale globally past NZ$100 million in revenue. The vehicle listed on Wholesale Investor is Movac Growth 7, a NZ$150-200 million venture capital fund (minimum NZ$150 million, with potential for oversubscription to NZ$250 million). Movac Growth 7 appears on the NZTE Acceptable Managed Funds list for the Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa, added 1 December 2025 with a listed close date of 1 October 2026 (list dated 15 June 2026), and is recorded in this directory under the AIP Growth category — which under current settings requires a NZ$5 million investment over 36 months. The team recorded in this directory includes founding partner Phil McCaw, partners Jason Graham and Mark Vivian, and venture partners Lovina McMurchy and Ben Anderson. Offers of interests in Movac Growth 7 are made to wholesale investors under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (Schedule 1); minimum commitments, fees and terms are set out in Movac's own offer documents.
Nuance Connected Capital
Female scientist-led $57m deep tech fund solving global problems with science and IP
NZVC
Top 5% performing 2021 vintage fund investing in ANZ founders at 50% lower valuations
Outset
Outset manages Outset Momentum Fund I, a NZTE-pre-approved AIP Growth Category fund. Lightweight directory entry seeded from NZTE Acceptable Managed Funds list — full provider profile (AUM, FSP, NZBN, key people, website) to be enriched via future research pass.
Pacific Channel
One of NZ's largest deep-tech VCs focused on healthcare, food, and environment
Point16
Fintech specialist partnering with Icehouse Ventures on NZ Fintech Fund
Previously Unavailable
B2B SaaS specialist with Brand Fund achieving 28.63% IRR and top decile performance
Quidnet Ventures
Top-quartile deep tech investor led by Silicon Valley veteran Dr. Mark Bregman
Ryft
Venture studio offering investment in earliest stages with full support infrastructure
WNT Ventures
Experienced deep tech specialist with top quartile performance and proven exits
Frequently Asked Questions
What returns can I expect from venture capital?
Venture capital funds target 3-5x returns (20-30% IRR) over 5-7 years, but returns are highly variable. While the top quartile of VC funds may return 5-10x, many funds return less than 2x. Success depends heavily on capturing several high-growth winners that return 10-50x invested capital to offset losses from failed investments.
How long is my capital locked up?
Venture capital funds typically have 10-year fund lives with possible 2-year extensions. Capital is called over the first 3-4 years as investments are made, then distributed as exits occur (typically years 5-10). Investors must commit capital for the full fund life with no liquidity until exits generate distributions.
Are venture capital investments eligible for AIP visa?
Yes, most NZ venture capital funds qualify for the Active Investor Plus visa program as they invest in high-growth businesses that meet Immigration NZ's criteria for "growth investments." Both early-stage and growth-stage VC funds typically qualify, making them popular choices for AIP visa applicants.
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For wholesale and eligible investors only. Minimum investment typically $50,000+.