Outset Ventures raises halfway to $28.5M growth fund for NZ deep tech
What's the deal? Auckland-based deep-tech incubator Outset VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is about halfway to a US$32.4M (≈$28.5 million) target for Momentum I, its first growth-equity fund. The vehicle is anchored by a US$6.47M investment from New Zealand Growth Capital Partners (NZGCP), the Crown-owned entity that also put US$9.71M into Outset's earlier Fund II.
Why now? Momentum I marks a shift from seed-stage investing toward series A and B companies with revenue and commercial traction. The 10-year fund will mostly back companies Outset has supported over the past five years, writing cheques of up to US$6.47M into a small number of firms.
What's the endgame? Managing partner Angus Blair framed the fund as continuity, not a pivot. "I don't think it's a departure from what we've been working on. We're doubling down into the categories that we've been huge advocates for over this period," he said.
Outset has invested in 37 startups through Fund I and Fund II; those companies have raised US$161.8M to date. The firm launched its US$7.76M Fund I in 2021 and closed its US$26.9M Fund II last year. Momentum has so far backed two companies: EV supercharging maker Kwetta, and one undisclosed firm.
Expansion in focus: Kwetta illustrates the thesis. Backed by Outset in 2021 with only a plan and a prospective customer, it has since rolled out units across New Zealand, installed several in Australia, built a US team, and is setting up a pilot site in the Netherlands. "They got over $15 million in revenue in their first couple of years and that trend is continuing," Blair said.
What could go wrong? The fund is only halfway to target, so its final scale remains uncertain. Mandate limits also bite: Outset's investment in Syos AerospaceDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which supplies autonomous drones to Ukraine, was made outside Momentum to avoid conflicting with NZGCP's responsible-investment rules excluding products that could harm civilians.
NZGCP investment director Jason Roche said the fund lets Outset back its strongest companies "at a pivotal moment, once their technology is working outside the lab, and commercial traction is building."
The signal: New Zealand venture capital is moving beyond early-stage bets. Days earlier, SimplicityDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → announced a US$32.4M investment into Icehouse VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →' growth fund — a sign domestic capital is increasingly chasing the harder challenge of helping deep-tech companies scale internationally.
Read more: businessdesk.co.nz
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
