Outset Ventures
Venture capitalAuckland · Pre-Seed–Growth · 1 people tracked
Investment thesis
Outset Ventures positions itself as New Zealand's deep tech engine, backing frontier science and technology companies and helping founders turn ambitious ideas into global businesses. Its campus provides R&D facilities and a supportive community, having served as the birthplace of companies like Rocket Lab, LanzaTech, Mint Innovation, and Ternary. Its latest vehicle, the Momentum Fund, is a high-conviction opportunity fund backing New Zealand's breakout deep tech winners as they scale globally, and is currently engaging select institutional and family office investors.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 1 people
from the firm's websiteWhat they invest in
from 23 of 31 portfolio companiesDeep Tech ×9Cleantech ×8Climate Tech ×6Energy ×5Hardware ×5Healthtech ×5Medical Devices ×5AI & Machine Learning ×4
HQs:New Zealand×4United States×3
Investments · 31 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 12017 · 12 dated
Rocket Lab develops launch vehicles and space systems for commercial space access and satellite deployment.
Deep TechHardwareSpace TechLong Beach, US
Sir Peter Beck(Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer)
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsBessemer Venture PartnersDCVC (Data Collective)Ergo CapitalKhosla VenturesKluz VenturesPromus Ventures+3 more
Aspiring Materials develops sustainable materials technology with environmental impact focus.
CleantechClimate TechNew Materials
Christopher Oze(Founder)in
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsArc AngelsBetter Bite VenturesCreative HQ — The IncubatorIcehouse VenturesMotion Capital
Astrix develops inflatable, deployable systems for spacecraft that provide expanded surface area for solar arrays, radiators, antennas, and other components.
HardwareSpace Tech
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
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
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsCrane Venture PartnersIn-Q-TelSalus VenturesConfluentGD1Icehouse Ventures+1 more
Ceryx Medical develops medical device technology, presenting a leadership and research team alongside its publications.
BiotechHealthtechMedical Devices
Julian Paton(Founder)inStuart Plant(CEO)inMalcolm Hamer(CTO)inBrenig Preest(CFO)in
BoardChas Taylor(Chairman)in
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsAera VCBlackbird VenturesPacific Channel
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsArc AngelsIcehouse VenturesNuance Capital
EnergyBank develops a system to firm floating offshore wind at the turbine, enabling co-location of compute modules with power generation and avoiding grid connections through high-seas siting and direct ocean cooling.
CleantechClimate TechEnergy
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsBlackbird VenturesNuance Capital
Kwetta builds high-power EV charging infrastructure for constrained grids, combining a grid-connection and power-management platform (Prime) with charging dispensers (Sky) to enable megawatt-scale charging without major network upgrades.
CleantechEnergyMobility & Transportation
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsBlackbird VenturesVirescent Ventures
Daisy Lab develops precision fermentation food technology to produce dairy proteins without animals.
BiotechFoodTech
Irina MillerNikki FreedEmily McIsaac
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsEven Capital
Dennisson develops AURAFLEX, a light-activated artificial muscle actuator platform that provides slim, silent linear motion without gearing.
Deep TechHardwareRobotics
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsEven Capital
Thymia builds AI models that assess mental health conditions by combining voice, video, and behavioral data for a multi-modal evaluation.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthFuture of WorkMental HealthSaaS
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investors1991 Ventures30X30 Scaleup ProgramAngel Collective Opportunity FundAtinum Investment Co. Ltd.b2ventureBonfire Ventures+31 more
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
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsArc AngelsIcehouse VenturesNZVCBlackbird VenturesFounders FundGD1+2 more
HeartLab provides a cloud-based platform that improves cardiology imaging workflows for medical teams.
Cloud ComputingDigital HealthHealthtechMedical Devices
Will Hewitt(Founder)in
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsArc AngelsIcehouse VenturesFounders Fund
LanzaTech converts carbon-rich gases from industrial sources like steel mills and landfills into fuels and chemicals using synthetic biology.
Circular EconomyCleantechClimate Tech
Dr. Jennifer Holmgren(CEO)
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsNovo HoldingsActivant CapitalKhosla VenturesQiming Venture Partners
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
A nutrition technology company that uses wild-type unicellular aquatic organisms to produce protein- and fiber-rich, non-GMO ingredients (marketed as Marine Whey) for food applications.
BiotechFoodTechImpact & Social Good
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsAugust OneBooster Innovation Fund
OpenStar develops nuclear fusion technology based on the levitated dipole concept, having achieved first plasma within two years.
CleantechDeep TechEnergyWellington, NZ
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsBlackbird VenturesIcehouse VenturesNZ Growth Capital PartnersRadar Ventures
Pyper Vision develops FogCasting technology that provides real-time, hyper-local fog forecasts, alerting operators to when and where fog will form and lift so they can resume operations faster.
Climate TechDeep TechSaaS
Emily Blythe(Founder)
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsAngel HQArc AngelsIcehouse VenturesNZVCMainland Angel Investors
RespirAq develops the RespirAq Active Humidifier System, a compact, battery-powered device that provides active heated humidification for mechanically ventilated patients without an external water supply, using a thermo-responsive smart material to capture and release moisture from the patient's breath.
HardwareHealthtechMedical Devices
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsEven Capital
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Ternary Energy develops electrochemistry-based solutions to provide secure, affordable, emissions-free energy to industrial and urban customers.
CleantechClimate TechDeep TechEnergy
Sean Molloy(CEO & Co-founder)inDr Sean Simpson(Executive Chairman & Co-founder)inProfessor Aaron Marshall(CSO & Co-founder)in
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsArc AngelsIcehouse Ventures
Toku Eyes develops AI-driven solutions for eye health diagnostics and monitoring, bringing together medical expertise in endocrinology and ophthalmology with artificial intelligence capabilities.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthHealthtechMedical Devices
Michael V. McConnell(Chief Health Officer and Interim CEO)inFrancesca Logan(Chief Commercial Officer)inYariv Levin(Chief Compliance, Ethics and Clinical Affairs Officer)in
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsArc AngelsIcehouse VenturesgmjpGradient VenturesNext Web CapitalOak HC/FT+2 more
Vertus Energy develops waste-to-energy technologies for anaerobic digestion plants, including BRIO, a unit that increases waste processing capacity and biogas energy potential, and BODA, a carbon sequestration and conversion technology that upgrades biogas to bio-methane or converts captured CO₂ and H₂ into Renewable Natural Gas.
CleantechClimate TechEnergyImpact & Social Good
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Wellumio develops axana®, a portable, energy-efficient MRI system based on its Pulsed Gradient Free Mapping (PGFM) technology, designed to detect acute stroke quickly in front-line care settings.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechHealthtechMedical Devices
Shieak Tzeng(Co-founder & Co-CEO)Sergei Obruchkov(Co-founder & Co-CEO)Gyan Barik(Executive Director, Business Operations & Australia)Ziad Rouag(General Manager USA)Harry Marfatia(Head of Finance)
BoardSia Moussavi(Board Chairman)
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsBooster Innovation FundCure Kids VenturesNuance CapitalPacific Channel
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsAlt VenturesGD1Global BrainNZ Growth Capital PartnersNZVC
San Francisco, US
Ryan Sandler(President, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary, and Director)Ethan Winchell(Director)
PartnerMat Rowe· solo GP
Co-investorsBooster Innovation FundClimate Venture Capital Fund
Exits · 1
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioRocket LabNASDAQ: RKLB
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesToku · prnewswire.com · Jul 29, 2026
Rocket Lab · simplywall.st · Jul 19, 2026
Atomic Tessellator · b2bnews.co.nz · Jul 13, 2026
LanzaTech · finance.yahoo.com · Jun 4, 2026
OpenStar Technologies · businessdesk.co.nz · Feb 4, 2026
Aspiring Materials · odt.co.nz · Jan 5, 2026
Pyper Vision · mainlandangels.nz · Apr 30, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Outset Ventures made?
- Outset Ventures has 31 tracked investments, including 1 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Outset Ventures invest at?
- Outset Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth stages.
- What is Outset Ventures's typical check size?
- Outset Ventures typically writes checks of $100K – $10M.
- What sectors does Outset Ventures focus on?
- Outset Ventures focuses on Biotech, Deep Tech, Energy, FoodTech, Medical Devices, New Materials, Space Tech.
- Where is Outset Ventures located?
- Outset Ventures is headquartered in Auckland, NZ.
- Does Outset Ventures lead rounds?
- Yes, Outset Ventures leads investment rounds.
- Who does Outset Ventures co-invest with?
- Outset Ventures most often shares deals with Icehouse Ventures, Arc Angels, Blackbird Ventures, among 72 tracked co-investors.
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