Kiwi deep tech VC Outset Ventures secures NZ$41.5 million for Fund II

New Zealand’s deep technology incubator and venture firm, Outset Ventures, has secured NZ$41.5m (A$38.4m) close of Fund II.

The final commitments from more than 150 investors are more than a third above the initial NZ$30m target.

The Auckland-based firm’s alumni include Rocket Lab, LanzaTech and Mint Innovation. Outset’s Future House currently hosts more than 20 deep tech startups and Fund II will back New Zealand startups working on fundamental scientific and engineering advancements,

Fund  II was already investing before it closed,  from pre-seed to Series A, and the first five investments – OpenStar Technologies, Ternary Kinetics, E‑Leviate, Zincovery and Kelvius – have already raised close to NZ$70m collectively.

Government-owned NZ Growth Capital Partners added $15m from its Elevate NZ Venture Fund to Fund II, having recently scored an additional $100m top up in the Beehive’s 2025 Budget.

Outset Ventures general partner Angus Blair said New Zealand deep tech founders have always been fixing seemingly possible problems, against all odds.

“The difference now is we have investment vehicles like Fund II to ensure that these ideas can be supported from the start, and as they scale,” he said.

“This substantial close, several times larger than our previous fund, is a vote of confidence not only in our portfolio performance to date, but in the depth of technical talent emerging here. Whether it’s in alternative energies, or the new space race, we aren’t flying under the radar anymore. New Zealand is becoming a deep tech hub that competes with global companies tackling the biggest challenges.””

Outset investment committee member and Rocket Lab founder Sir Peter Beck, says the firm is backing a new generation of deep tech companies with funding as well as incubating their ideas through Future House.

“Outset began as a garage for tinkerers. Today it’s a 5,000 sqm campus with labs, containment rooms and engineering workshops, and its names Rocket Lab amongst its alumni,” he said.

“Fund II keeps that momentum alive as we support the next generation of superstar startups,” said Sir Peter Beck.

Since launching its first $12 million fund in 2021, Outset Ventures has invested in more than 26 deep tech driven startups spanning energy generation and storage, electrification of industry, aerospace, sovereign capability, and medical technologies.

They include Kwetta, Openstar, Ternary Kinetics, Wellumio, Aquila, Zincovery, Toku Eyes, Basis and RespirAq.