GD1
Venture capitalAuckland · Pre-Seed–Series B · 9 people tracked
Investment thesis
GD1 backs founders and teams pursuing the world's biggest markets, with a focus on helping New Zealand companies scale globally. It emphasizes that the vast majority of its portfolio companies generate revenue outside Australia and New Zealand. The firm offers operating experience gained across global markets, VC-backed companies, leading funds, and big tech, and pairs face-to-face support in New Zealand with reliable in-market connections, advisory, and expertise to help startups launch and expand internationally.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 9 people
from the firm's website & curated & public directories
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What they invest in
from 24 of 39 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×11Enterprise Software ×7SaaS ×7Fintech ×6Crypto & Web3 ×5Deep Tech ×3Future of Work ×3HR Tech ×3
HQs:New Zealand×8United States×5Australia×1Canada×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 14 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×52 founders×53 founders×24+ founders×2
Where their founders studiedfrom 10 founders with education data
University of Auckland ×3Victoria University of Wellington ×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 11 founders with career history
Xero ×2Zenno Astronautics ×2
Investments · 39 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 22025 · 22024 · 15 dated
Alimetry develops the Gastric Alimetry system, a non-invasive body surface gastric mapping device that provides objective diagnostics for patients with chronic gastrointestinal symptoms.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthHealthtechMedical DevicesAuckland, NZ
Greg O'Grady(Co-founder)inArmen Gharibans(Co-founder)Karen O'Regan(CBO)Craig Shannon(CTO)Christie Dunwoodie(CFO)inChristopher Andrews(CMO)
Co-investorsBooster Innovation FundCerity Partners VenturesMatūMovac
Atomic Tessellator combines computational physics with machine learning and enterprise software architecture, though the page does not specify its product offering or customer market.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechNew Materials
BoardDr. Priyank KumarProf. Simon Ringer
Co-investorsCrane Venture PartnersIn-Q-TelOutset VenturesSalus VenturesConfluentIcehouse Ventures+1 more
Auror operates a Retail Crime Intelligence platform that lets retailers record and share structured crime data and connect with law enforcement to identify repeat and organized offenders.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareGovTechRetail TechSaaS
James C.(Founder)in
PartnerJohn Kells· led
Co-investorsFolklore VenturesMovacNZ Growth Capital PartnersReinventure Group
TradeBuddy is a technology platform for the scrap metal trading and recycling industry, serving metal processors, traders, and exporters.
B2B MarketplacesCircular EconomyLogistics & Supply ChainNew Zealand, NZ
PartnerJohn Kells· led
Co-investorsBAM VenturesFirstMile VenturesService Provider CapitalNFX
New Zealand-Dutch space transportation company making non-toxic satellite propulsion, a reusable spaceplane and in-orbit refueling.
Co-investorsIcehouse VenturesMovac
New Zealand's largest crypto exchange offering secure digital asset trading and services for global crypto markets
Co-investorsEven CapitalNuance CapitalNZVC
Flowingly provides AI-powered process mapping and documentation software for organizations to create, visualize, and automate business workflows.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkGovTechSaaSAustralia, AU
Jon Kalaugher(Founder & CEO)
PartnerJohn Kells· led
Formus Labs develops software for orthopaedic surgery, applying AI and algorithmic modeling to support surgical planning for hip and knee procedures.
AI & Machine LearningHealthtechMedical DevicesAuckland, NZ
Ju Zhang(Founder & CEO)inThor Besier(Co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer)inAntonije Velevski(Co-founder, former senior software engineer)inJustin Fernandez(Co-founder, Science Advisor)inSarah Wixon(Head of Finance)inMarco Schneider(Head of Product and Research)in
PartnerJohn Kells· led
Co-investorsCure Kids VenturesNuance CapitalNZ Growth Capital PartnersPacific ChannelPunakaiki Fund
FoundryLab operates automated foundries that produce metal cast parts directly from CAD files using 3D-printed ceramic molds, delivering production-grade parts in 72 hours without hard tooling or minimum order quantities.
Advanced ManufacturingDefense TechHardwarePetone, Wellington
David Moodie(Executive Officer, Director)inPeter Beck(Director)Mike Collett(Director)
BoardVignesh Kumar(Director)inSamantha Wong(Director)in
Co-investorsBlackbird VenturesWNT Ventures
FoundryLab produces metal casting parts for defense, aerospace, and automotive industries using 3D-printed ceramic molds and automated processes, delivering production-grade parts from CAD to finished product in 72 hours without tooling delays.
Advanced ManufacturingDeep TechDefense Tech
David Moodie(Founder)in
Co-investorsArc AngelsIcehouse VenturesNZVCOutset VenturesBlackbird VenturesFounders Fund+2 more
Immersve provides payment infrastructure that lets decentralized applications and crypto wallets enable users to spend digital assets anywhere Mastercard is accepted, through non-custodial APIs and smart contracts.
Crypto & Web3Fintech
Co-investorsAngel HQRed Beard Ventures
Startup building tools for smarter legal work, backed by Costanoa.
Greenville, US
Mike Buiter(Chief Financial Officer)Richard Mansell(Chief Executive Officer)Daniel Telehey(Chief Operating Officer)
Co-investorsBlackbird VenturesCostanoa VenturesIcehouse VenturesFika VenturesNFDGPhase One Ventures+1 more
Layer3 is a crypto platform where users create wallets, discover protocols, complete onchain tasks to earn rewards (CUBEs), trade, and stake L3 tokens for governance and boosted rewards.
ConsumerCrypto & Web3St. Peters, US
Brandon Michael Kumar(Executive Officer, Director)Dariya Cavan Khojasteh(Director)Dariya Khojasteh(Cofounder)Brandon Kumar(Founder)in
Co-investors6th Man VenturesBitDAOElectric CapitalKing River CapitalLattice CapitalMantle Network+6 more
Opacity provides infrastructure for issuing compliant financial products with global distribution and liquidity through decentralized finance integration, targeting capital markets participants.
Crypto & Web3FintechNew York, US
Andrew Bledsoe(Executive Officer)
BoardAaron Marz(Director)Hersh Patel(Director)
Co-investorsArchetypeDepartment of XYZEv3 Ventures LlcInception Capital (ex OP Crypto)Marin Digital VenturesNIV+2 more
PartnerJohn Kells· led
Polymath builds simulation environments for training AI agents to perform autonomous tasks over extended periods with minimal human supervision.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSan Francisco, US
Dylan Ma(Founder)inNaren Yenuganti(Founder)in
Co-investorsY CombinatorBlackbird Ventures
Polymath, operated by Celadon AI Limited, is an education product aimed at parents, children, and teachers, with a focus on maths learning resources.
AI & Machine LearningEdTech
Co-investorsBlackbird Ventures
Ribbon builds voice AI technology for recruiting that interviews every job candidate on demand, then turns those conversations into structured data and ranks applicants against a company's criteria.
AI & Machine LearningFuture of WorkHR TechSaaSToronto, CA
Arsham Ghahramani(Founder)Arsham Ghahramani, PhD(Founder)in
Co-investorsSocial Leverage
Rilla augments content delivery networks with an AI-orchestrated peer-to-peer network layer to reduce costs and improve streaming performance for broadcasters and content platforms.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingMedia & Entertainment
Hal Smith Stevens(CEO | Co-Founder)Pul Bandara(CTO | Co-Founder)Justin Tomlinson(CCO | Co-Founder)
Co-investorsArrington CapitalEdessa CapitalFuture Perfect VenturesSMAPE CapitalArrington XRP CapitalCrew Capital
Rollfi provides an embedded payroll and benefits platform, offering an API and banking/treasury infrastructure that lets businesses add payroll and benefits capabilities to their own products.
FintechHR TechSaaS
Co-investorsAdapt VenturesRareBreed VenturesBrickyard
Runn provides software for managing time and talent allocation across modern workforces, helping organizations plan projects and optimize resource utilization around their people.
Enterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkHR TechSaaSAuckland, NZ
Co-investorsAfterWork VenturesNZ Growth Capital PartnersShearwater Capital
Sablier is a blockchain protocol for streaming token distributions, enabling vesting, airdrops, payroll, and grants by distributing assets continuously over time rather than in lump sums.
Crypto & Web3Fintech
Paul Razvan Berg(Founder)in
Co-investorsA.Capital Ventures
Simfuni provides a unified operating platform for life insurance companies that consolidates policy management, customer servicing, underwriting, claims, and payments into a single connected system.
Enterprise SoftwareFintechInsurTechSaaSAuckland, NZ
Shaun Quincey(Co-founder & CEO)Damon O'Neill(Co-founder & CTO)Tim von Dadelszen(Chief Product Officer)
PartnerJohn Kells· led
Co-investorsNZVC
Syndicate provides infrastructure to scale the Ethereum blockchain, supporting staking and development operations on the network.
Crypto & Web3Mountain View, US
William Raphael Papper(Executive Officer, Director)Ian John Lee(Executive Officer, Director)ian //(Founder)in
Co-investorsA.Capital Venturesa16z cryptoAndreessen HorowitzArchetypeAtelierBlueYard Capital+12 more
Type One Energy develops stellarator fusion technology for grid-scale power generation.
Climate TechDeep TechEnergy
Co-investorsBreakthrough Energy VenturesBreakthrough VictoriaOrbia VenturesVoLo Earth Ventures
Vessev develops electric hydrofoiling technology and builds vessels for marine transport, aiming to make water travel more sustainable.
CleantechHardwareMobility & Transportation
Eric Laakmann(CEO & Co-founder)inMax Olson(CTO & Co-founder)Garry Jolliffe(COO)
PartnerJohn Kells· led
Co-investorsArc AngelsBlackbird VenturesIcehouse VenturesNZVCShasta Ventures
PartnerJohn Kells· led
Zenno Astronautics builds superconducting electromagnet systems that let satellites point and manoeuvre without fuel.
Max Arshavsky(Founder)inSebastian Wieczorek(Founder)in
Co-investorsAlt VenturesGlobal BrainNZ Growth Capital PartnersNZVCOutset VenturesShasta Ventures
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companies
Vessev · nzherald.co.nz · Aug 16, 2026
Zenno Astronautics · labusinessjournal.com · Jul 27, 2026
Syndicate · tekedia.com · Jul 18, 2026
Buddy · healthcare.digital · Jul 13, 2026
Atomic Tessellator · b2bnews.co.nz · Jul 13, 2026
Rilla · infoseely.com · Apr 21, 2026
Polymath · forbes.com · Mar 16, 2026
Ivo · siliconangle.com · Jan 21, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has GD1 made?
- GD1 has 36 tracked investments, including 2 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does GD1 invest at?
- GD1 invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B stages.
- What is GD1's typical check size?
- GD1 typically writes checks of $150K – $900K.
- What sectors does GD1 focus on?
- GD1 focuses on Consumer, Crypto & Web3, Data & Infrastructure, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Hardware, Media & Entertainment, SaaS.
- Where is GD1 located?
- GD1 is headquartered in Auckland, NZ.
- Who does GD1 co-invest with?
- GD1 most often shares deals with Blackbird Ventures, NZ Growth Capital Partners, NZVC, among 65 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamVignesh Kumar from GD1 - one of New Zealand’s most active early-stage tech investors
nzherald.co.nz · Vignesh Kumar
Images
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