Punakaiki Fund
Venture capitalAuckland · Seed–Growth · 9 people tracked
Investment thesis
Punakaiki Fund is an evergreen, shareholder-owned venture capital investment company focused on funding under-capitalised high-growth technology companies in New Zealand and helping accelerate the transition to a value economy. Since its first investment in 2014 it has made over 120 investments across more than 30 companies. It operates a permanent-capital structure and is managed by 2040 Ventures Limited, with a sister fund (Climate VC Fund) focused on climate. Its aim is to help New Zealand technology companies grow into global leaders.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 7, 2026.
Team · 9 people
from the firm's website & public directories
What they invest in
from 28 of 35 portfolio companiesSaaS ×20Enterprise Software ×6AI & Machine Learning ×4EdTech ×4Cybersecurity ×3Future of Work ×3Hardware ×3Cloud Computing ×2
HQs:New Zealand×5United States×2
Investments · 35 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathTeradyne provides automated test equipment for electronics—covering semiconductors, wireless, and photonics testing—as well as an AI-powered robotics platform with cobots and autonomous mobile robots for material handling and factory automation.
HardwareRoboticsSemiconductors
Astute Smart Locks provides enterprise access control combining smart lock hardware with LockVue, a lock-agnostic cloud software that lets organizations manage smart lock devices, grant and revoke user access, and track activity across their network.
Enterprise SoftwareHardwareIoT
Autodesk is a publicly traded developer of design, engineering, and entertainment software, best known for AutoCAD.
San Rafael, US
Andrew Anagnost(Executive Officer, Director)inBetsy Rafael(Director)Mary T. McDowell(Director)Crawford Beveridge(Director)Reid French(Director)Richard Scott Herren(Executive Officer)
Co-investorsAccess Venture PartnersAutodesk FoundationBaseline VenturesBuilding VenturesDesignXHomebrew+9 more
Core Schedule provides workforce management and staff scheduling software for healthcare organizations, automating rostering, shift swaps, leave approvals, and compliance with fatigue management and labour rules.
HealthtechHR TechSaaSWellington, NZ
Qustodio (which merged with Family Zone) provides parental control and digital wellbeing apps that let parents filter content, set screen-time limits, monitor activity, track location, and view calls and messages across their children's devices.
ConsumerCybersecurityWellness & Fitness
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
Co-investorsCure Kids VenturesGD1Nuance CapitalNZ Growth Capital PartnersPacific Channel
GetHomeSafe is a workplace safety platform for organisations managing lone, remote, and field workers, offering automated check-ins, real-time location tracking, journey management, and SOS alerting.
Enterprise SoftwareIoTSaaS
Co-investorsAfterWork VenturesNuance CapitalNZ Growth Capital PartnersPacific Channel
HungryHungry provides an online and QR-code ordering platform for hospitality venues such as restaurants, cafes, and bars, covering table ordering, delivery, pickup, and digital payments (HungryPay).
FoodTechMarketing TechSaaS
Co-investorsPartners for GrowthPartners for Growth (PFG)
IT Professionals NZ was a New Zealand membership organisation for IT professionals; as of December 2025 its members voted to place it into liquidation and it is winding down operations.
Future of Work
EverCommerce provides integrated SaaS solutions for service-based small and medium businesses, including business management, payment acceptance, and customer engagement software.
Enterprise SoftwareFintechSaaSDenver, US
Eric Remer(Founder / CEO / Chairman of the Board of Directors)Matt Feierstein(President, EverCommerce & CEO, EverPro)
Co-investorsJobsOhio VenturesKensington Capital Partners LimitedMantella Venture PartnersSilver Lake Partners
Moxion offers a cloud platform for film and video production that lets crews share camera footage and metadata ("instant dailies") with their teams within seconds of recording.
Cloud ComputingMedia & EntertainmentSaaS
Co-investorsAlt VenturesNZ Growth Capital Partners
NZ Tech Podcast is a New Zealand technology news podcast featuring interviews, reviews, and opinions on topics such as AI, cybersecurity, and startups.
Media & Entertainment
Paul Spain(Host)
Projectworks is an AI-powered platform designed for consulting and professional services firms that integrates proposal management, time tracking, resource planning, invoicing, and financial reporting in a single system.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Projectworks is an AI-powered professional services automation (PSA) platform that combines deals, proposals, time tracking, resource management, invoicing, and financial forecasting in one system.
AI & Machine LearningFuture of WorkSaaS
Quantifi Photonics builds photonics and high-speed I/O test and measurement instruments that support product development, validation, characterization, and manufacturing.
Deep TechHardwareSemiconductors
Co-investorsNuance CapitalNZ Growth Capital PartnersPacific Channel
Sea-Flux provides marine compliance and vessel management software offering real-time monitoring, planned maintenance, crew certification tracking, digital logbooks, safety management, and documentation for commercial marine operators, owners, and fleets.
Enterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainSaaS
Co-investorsKinled Holding
Vend, now part of Lightspeed and marketed as Lightspeed Retail (X-Series), is a cloud-based point-of-sale and retail management platform for retailers to manage inventory, sales, customers, payments, and reporting across in-store and online channels.
E-commerceRetail TechSaaS
Co-investorsFolklore VenturesMovacPoint NineSquare Peg CapitalBlue Heron CapitalDERIVE VENTURES+2 more
Whip Around provides fleet management software for fleet operators to digitize inspections, automate preventive maintenance, manage work orders, and support DOT/FMCSA compliance across vehicles, equipment, and facilities.
Logistics & Supply ChainMobility & TransportationSaaS
Co-investorsAccel-KKRAmplo Ventures
Exits · 1
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioTeradyne IncNASDAQ: TER
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesAutodesk · investing.com · Aug 28, 2026
Vend · finsmes.com · Aug 17, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Punakaiki Fund made?
- Punakaiki Fund has 36 tracked investments.
- What stage does Punakaiki Fund invest at?
- Punakaiki Fund invests at the Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth stages.
- What is Punakaiki Fund's typical check size?
- Punakaiki Fund typically writes checks of $1M.
- What sectors does Punakaiki Fund focus on?
- Punakaiki Fund focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Consumer, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech, EdTech, Enterprise Software, Retail Tech, SaaS, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is Punakaiki Fund located?
- Punakaiki Fund is headquartered in Auckland, NZ.
- Does Punakaiki Fund lead rounds?
- Yes, Punakaiki Fund leads investment rounds.
- Who does Punakaiki Fund co-invest with?
- Punakaiki Fund most often shares deals with NZ Growth Capital Partners, Nuance Capital, Pacific Channel, among 31 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the team
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