Brent Watts

Which international VC has invested most actively in NZ? Here's the slide we prepared recently for our Investor Masterclass. Let me know who I'm missing. Four more sessions coming up including: Valuation, Terms, Governance, and War Stories. Join the fun by registering here: https://lnkd.in/ghJJpdR4

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🌟 Australian Startups 2023: A Year of Strategic Shifts and Emerging Opportunities 🚀 In 2023, the Australian startup landscape navigated a cautious investment climate, recording a total of 413 deals with an overall investment value of $3.5 billion. Despite a significant drop in deal value from previous years, there was a notable shift towards robust activity in the early stages of investment. Angel and Pre-Seed rounds not only resisted the broader downturn but actually increased, highlighting a vibrant seed funding environment that underpins a dynamic market for emerging technologies. This heightened competition at the entry-level indicates a strategic pivot within our ecosystem, investing in the foundational potential of new ventures. Such insights are crucial as we steer towards nurturing a resilient and innovative startup community ready to tackle future challenges. Dive deeper into the full analysis and explore how these shifts are shaping the future of Australian innovation. https://lnkd.in/gc4gNtGc #AustralianStartups #VentureCapital #StartupEcosystem #Innovation

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Ecstatic to announce Titanium Ventures' investment in Samsara Eco, the climate tech innovator enabling infinite plastic recycling, as part of their US$65M Series A+! Global emissions from plastic production could triple to account for one-fifth of the Earth’s remaining carbon budget. Plastic creation generated 2.24 gigatons of planet-heating pollution in 2019, or as much as 600 coal-fired power plants - 5% of all global carbon emissions. Samsara Eco has led world-first innovations in infinite recycling, pioneering the ability to recycle plastics including nylon 6,6 and polyester. Earlier this year, in partnership with its first textile partner, Samsara Eco unveiled the world’s first enzymatically recycled nylon 6,6 product (sweet jackets which we bought online!) and also helped to introduce lululemon’s first product made from enzymatically recycled polyester. Whilst I write this, I am wearing one of the first jackets in the world that has been recycled! We’re excited to see the impact they will have in the years to come. Other impressive investors include: Temasek, Main Sequence, lululemon, DCVC, Hitachi Ventures and Wollemi Capital. https://lnkd.in/gKkg2mS3

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🎊 Big News from Our Team at Titanium Ventures! 🎊 Today, we’re thrilled to share that we've evolved from Telstra Ventures to Titanium Ventures! Why Titanium? Because it captures the essence of who we are and aspires to be—a firm that supports exceptionally strong and resilient entrepreneurs, those who thrive under pressure. Titanium is not just a metal with the highest durability and strength-to-weight ratio; it represents the extraordinary capability and determination of the leaders we back—leaders who consistently punch way above their weight. Our commitment remains steadfast: to unearth and scale the most promising ventures in AI, digital, and software sectors. With 99 investments, including 12 IPOs, 17 unicorns and 42 liquidity events, we’re just getting started. Holding almost US$1B in funds under management and having returned US$678M to our investors, we are more driven than ever. This is more than a name change—it’s a reaffirmation of our promise to accelerate the extraordinary, fueling the growth of standout disruptors. We've been doing this for over a decade, and it's what our investors and founders expect us to do for many more to come. Here's to the next chapter in our journey with all of you! #VentureCapital #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #TitaniumVentures

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📣 Calling Queensland’s most ambitious climate tech founders looking to raise capital! EnergyLab is coming to Queensland and applications are now open: https://lnkd.in/e-ft9mK7 The brand new Investment Ready Program runs over 12 weeks and will equip startups with the right tools and know-how to navigate the many challenges of raising capital: - understanding VCs’ investment criteria and screening processes, - how to streamline your investor outreach, - how to articulate the opportunity by thinking at investors’ level, - developing a clear path to growth, - nailing the pitch, and - closing the deal. Successful applicants will be mentored by experienced climate tech experts and introduced to Australia’s most active climate tech investors. ✨ The program is backed by QIC and completely free to eligible Queensland-based startups working on solutions to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, address the impacts of climate change, and other environmental issues such as waste and biodiversity. Apply now: https://lnkd.in/e-ft9mK7 Cake EquityCallum Davidson Audun Fiskerud EnergyLab

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In the latest episode of Future Squared podcast, I spoke with Australian and former Head of Product at UBER’s Developer Platform, Chris Saad. Chris noted that: 1) despite the larger pool of VC dry powder in Australia, capital is actually scarce and controlled by a few big players 2) Aussie investors are risk averse and typically looking for ‘derisked’ B2B opportunities, as they are often investing on behalf of large conservative super funds 3) Aussie investors are, for the most part, unsophisticated when it comes to investing in high-growth venture scale returns companies, something Canva’s Cliff Obrecht echoed when talking about the company’s prospective NASDAQ listing in 2026 We’ve no doubt come a long way since the noughties, when there wasn't much of a startup or VC landscape to speak of... but are we still, in Chris’ words, “about twenty years behind”? Is the gap between Australia and the US getting smaller or bigger? What do you think?

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"[I]ndustrial manufacturing businesses are becoming more attractive to investors, as they should, when the potential for significant innovation there is so enormous. The venture capital community has sometimes underestimated the probability of success for tackling difficult problems while overestimating the ease of solving simpler ones. However, the hard problems in the manufacturing and industrial sectors are the ones that truly need attention. Solving these problems can make a difference to the world in ways that consumer solutions just can’t. And investors are turning to them." (Martin Vares, Co-Founder and CEO of Fractory) For the past three decades, I have been an investor, operator, consultant, and board member within the manufacturing sector. The evolution of manufacturing technology has been spellbinding to experience - and the financial returns to investors at companies which embrace change and pursue intelligent advances and growth have been substantial. Companies like Tesla and Apple were manufacturing startups as much as they were tech startups. Given the rising populations and continuing transformation of emerging economies alongside an evergrowing - and everspending - middle class across the world, the market for profitable startup manufacturing companies has never been more attractive. And with the availability of capital (in the form of dry powder sitting in VC and PE funds) paired with the rapidly dropping costs of technology and automation, the ability to create and grow a manufacturing startup has never been more accessible or affordable. #manufacturing #startups #venturecapital #investment #vc #americanmanufacturing #manufacturingtechnology #tech #manufacturingstartups #ROI #drypowder #growthindustries #innovation

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[Startup News] Check out the latest tech trends happening in the global startup ecosystem and VC funding overview this week (Issue 132- June 9)🌍🚀 Top startup news to follow this week: 📌 Brandon Capital raises $180M fund to support Australia, New Zealand biotechs 📌Regeneron Launches $500M Venture Capital Fund Skewed Toward Biotech 📌Biotech’s road to recovery with 46% increase in Q1 venture funding 📌Women-Led Startups Grabbed 25 Percent of Venture Funding in 2023 📌Qatar’s Rasmal Ventures launches $100 million debut fund, hits $30 million as first close 📌Novel battery manufacturer EnerVenue is raising $515M, per filing 📌QARGOS raises $14M to digitize and decarbonize the trucking industry 📌Berlin-based Quantica increases Series A to €19.7 million to fuel growth of its additive manufacturing tech 📌Copenhagen-based early-stage VC BlackWood secures €14.7 million in 2nd closing of Fund I 📌Zurich-based Synthara Capital raises €10.5 million to expand the embedded computing market https://lnkd.in/e6gQrSQd via iFund Lab Narine Emdjian, MBA #startups #innovation #tech #technews #techtrends #venturecapital #artificialintelligence #newsletter #technology #biotech #healthcare #womenfounder #europe #europeanunion #founders #deeptech #cleantech #climatechange #battery #qatar #newzeland

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Complete list of all active pre-seed & seed lead investors in NZ below. Thank you to all those who helped fill in the gaps. Quite a few people have reached out and said it was helpful, which is great. Next, I am thinking of creating the list of pre-seed & seed investors in NZ who follow and fill in investment rounds. As the list will be quite long, help would be appreciated. Please add in the comments. Aera VC AgriZeroNZ Blackbird Brandon Capital Bridgewest Ventures NZ Cure Kids Ventures Ecliptic Even Capital GD1 (Global From Day One) Hillfarrance Venture Capital Icehouse Ventures Maker Partners Motion Capital Movac Nuance Connected Capital NZ Growth Capital Partners NZVC Outset Ventures Pacific Channel Phase One Ventures Punakaiki Fund Quidnet Ventures Soul Capital Sprout Agritech WNT Ventures

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What’s happening in healthtech? 💊🎉 💰Brandon Capital announced a $270m first close of its new life sciences fund 🚀ARM Hub (Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing) and MTPConnect launched a new Biomedical AI Sprints Accelerator (BASA) to elevate Aus's Biomedical Sector 🚑 updoc snagged $20m from ASX-listed Bailador Technology Investments (ASX:BTI) to expand 🧊 Southern Cryonics cryopreserved Aus's first-person 💉 GPN Vaccines raised $18m to advance a vaccine targeting Streptococcus pneumoniae 💊Telstra Health is acquiring the remaining 50% of Fred IT 🦠 Translational Research Institute Australia researchers bagged $4m from US Department of Defence for Parkinson’s treatments targeting the gut microbiome 🚨MediSecure, the e-script provider, entered administration following its cyber attack 🌏 The NHS is losing 1 in 5 departing UK doctors to Aus 🏛️ Medical Costs Finder, a $24m gov initiative for healthcare cost transparency, has seen only 20 doctors nationwide opting to list their fees 🌍 Aus is leading the way in tobacco control, with its anti-vaping measures recommended by the World Health Organization 🍄 AbbVie inked a US$2bn deal with Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals aimed at developing next-gen therapies and novel neuroplastogens for psychiatric disorders 🌍 Google for Startups selected 24 startups across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa for its 'Growth Academy: AI for Health program'. Keen for the links & delicious deets?? 🍩🙌 Take a gander at last week's newsletter in the comments below👇😊 --- PS - if you liked this and are keen to join >7900 legends getting health tech and innovation news dropped direct to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter, What the Health! 💜 📩 #healthtech  #health  #healthcare  #digitalhealth  #medtech  #biotech

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In case you missed the announcement last month, there is still time and 💲100 MILLION in grant funding available for innovation in the Australian solar sector, ☀ The Solar ScaleUp Challenge. ☀ Are you a solar project developer with a vision to develop solar differently? Are you a #founder with technology that can help drive down the cost of -         installation, -         operations, or -         maintenance for large-scale solar photovoltaics (PV)? This initiative is calling on #developers, #EPCs, #innovators, #customers, financiers and anyone involved in the construction and operation of solar projects.  Submissions may be for standalone late-stage prototypes, pilots or demonstrations, or be part of a real-world, large-scale project. The program is open for #global collaboration on submissions. About the Program: The Solar Scale-Up Challenge, backed by Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and Greenhouse (well done to both), is a program designed to accelerate the growth and deployment of new technologies to drive down the costs of solar with the goal of unlocking the benefits of low cost, low carbon energy for #Australia. They are seeking innovative designs and cutting-edge solutions, such as robotics, automation, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence. Shortlisted submissions could gain access to a total pool of up to AU $100 million in grant funding from ARENA.  Learn more at the next Team up event - Thursday, July 18, 2024 4:00 PM Visit Greenhouse Solar Scale-Up Challenge and ARENA Solar Innovators Challenge for more information and to apply today! #Submission deadline: ⏰ 14 August ⏰ but you are encouraged to get your submissions in early to take advantage of the early bird assessments and partnering opportunities.    #SolarEnergy #RenewableEnergy #SolarScaleUp #Innovation #startups #ARENA #SolarProjects #FutureEnergy #greensuperpower #climateaction #cliamtetech Mark Rowland Harry S. Darren Miller Dan Sturrock https://lnkd.in/gEfMRBah

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It’s a great time to be a Queensland startup founder. In case you missed the news, QIC has established the QVCDF with $130 million in commitments from the Queensland Government. So what does this mean for you as a founder? 💰💰 Investment capital: To date, QVCDF has invested in Antler, Five V Capital, Main Sequence, Mandalay Venture Partners, and Salus Ventures. These firms are obligated to deploy the capital to back Queensland startups. 🚀 📈 Accelerators and programs: EnergyLab, Farmers2Founders, Cohort Innovation Space, UQ Ventures, and 77 Partners will run programs supporting exclusively Queensland founders. Be sure to connect with these firms and programs; they want to hear from you. Nicola Wightman, Stefan Knight, Ed Bigazzi, Alezeia Brown, Mark Gustowski, Timothy Hui, Philippe Ceulen, Dan Bennett, Marten Peck, Megan Fisher, Dren Xërxa, Nimrod Klayman, Tyson Jennings, Brent Watts #founder #entrepreneur #startup #venturecapital #vc"

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A little over five months ago, I wrote a post about the mission behind Electrifi Ventures (see link in comments), a Climate Tech-focused angel syndicate I’m running alongside GrowthStream, an advisory business in the energy transition space. By sharing my time and knowledge with both seasoned and aspiring investors, I aim to amplify our collective climate impact through angel investing. Fast forward to today, I am thrilled to share with you our incredible journey to being one of the largest independent Angel Syndicates, with over 250 Angel Investors / LP’s across ANZ! In less than a year since starting Electrifi Ventures, we are proud to have invested in seven industry-transforming climate startups, and we are backing these companies with conviction: Sicona Battery Technologies: a game changer for the uptake of Electric Vehicles, is a deep tech company creating advanced materials that improves the overall performance of lithium-ion batteries. Sicona believes it is able to increase charging speed by 40% and deliver 20% more range on EVs.  GOTERRA: an autonomous circular food waste management infrastructure that is integrated with existing systems to create enduring industry solutions.  Harvest B: a food technology business that develops and manufactures plant proteins with animal protein-like textures that are easier to consume and more affordable for everyone.  NRN - National Renewable Network: a connected network of solar and storage systems that radically changes the way renewable energy is delivered for energy retailers. Stealth DAC Innovator: an innovative technology that is removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, at scale, in a cost-effective way, via Direct Air Capture (DAC). Threadlet: an energy efficiency platform that aims to automatically identify SME energy usage and switch business energy accounts to the best energy rate provider for every venue, every month. 📣 Would love to invite anyone interested to learn more (or invest) in innovative solutions tackling the climate crisis to join the Electrifi Ventures angel syndicate (link in comments).

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Great to see Robert Gunn share his experience of going through the Northern Gritstone & Deeptech Labs Inaugural NG Studio Programme. Auxetec Limited have developed an advanced elastomer material that offers delamination protection, impact protection and shock absorption, as well as strength & durability. It is highly tuneable, transparent and easily manufactured. The leadership team at Auxetec have so many ways to commercialise this new generation material across a wide variety of high-growth applications. But which path should they take? Which markets should they serve? What should be their business model and how should they go to market? How and when should they build out their team, develop & package their technologies and what funding will they need? Who are the best investors to help them on their journey? Throughout a 3-month programme, Robert and his team had access to 60 deeptech experts who helped them figure the right way forward. They now have an absolute clarity of vision, and a clearly defined pathway to success.. at scale. Auxetec will be coming to market to raise their Seed round over the coming weeks This is what we do: we crowd-in expertise and investors to help turn brilliant scientific breakthroughs into brilliant - and highly investible - high growth ventures. Faster. We're super-excited to start Cohort 2 in Manchester next week! Northern Gritstone I The University of Sheffield I The University of Manchester I University of Leeds

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Join me at our next course June 6 & 7 as we delve into the changing Angel Investment landscape and what it takes to build a successful Angel Investment Portfolio.

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Really enjoyed having a lively discussion at the Australian Venture Summit 2024 talking about growth credit in Australia. Great speaking with James Taylor & Amelia Hill Salter on the topic. Some key takeaways: - widening alternative debt funding options available to Aussie tech companies - founders need to understand what funding options are available and pick those right them - growth credit is a useful tool to bring down weighted cost of capital - the future is bright OneVentures Australian Investment Council #AVS2024 #growthcredit

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What’s happening in healthtech? 💊🎉 💪 Hapana raised US$17M led by OIF & Bailador to grow its SaaS for fitness bizes 🩺 Australian Medical Angels bagged $300k from LaunchVic to launch a new VC fund for early-stage health startups 🧬 Proto Axiom got $20M for its incubator to invest in early-stage biotech ventures 🧠 Kinoxis Therapeutics Pty Ltd Therapeutics, raised a $14.5M Series B for Phase 2 trials of its drug candidate 👁️ Eyeonic closed $2.6M for its AI-enabled home glaucoma tests 🔨 Bunnings is trialling blood pressure stations in 30 stores 🚀 Startmate announced their Winter ’24 Accelerator cohort, ft. 3 of our amazing Private WTH community members: PREVE, Tendl & Trova Health 💧 Aussie hospitals face an emergency as IV saline drip shortages force fluid rations 🏥 Medibank announced plans to acquire Pinnacle Health Group, a leading corporate health & wellbeing provider 🩺 nib Group launched hubPass for Business, a subscription service by Midnight Health 🍬 Breathe Life Sciences (BXN:ASX) is Aus’s first manufacturer of pharmaceutical-grade THC gummies with TGA approval 🦠 Long covid, affecting 10–20% of recovered patients, cost the Aus economy nearly $10B in 2022 🧪 The Senate's doing an inquiry into "forever chemicals" (PFAS) over health & environmental concerns 👂 Gold Coast Health partnered with Lyrebird Health to trial an AI-powered ambient listening solution to automate clinical docs 🏛️ The Fed Gov passed the NDIS reform bill amidst controversy 🏅 Aussies are Winning the Longevity Game? 🏅 Researchers found Aussies live 1-4 years longer than those in 6 English-speaking countries. This edge is supposedly driven by lower death rates from treatable diseases, healthier lifestyles, & a high migrant population, with the biggest gains seen between ages 45-84. Keen for the links & delicious deets?? 🍩🙌 Take a gander at last week's newsletter in the comments below👇😊 --- PS - if you liked this and are keen to join >8200 legends getting the latest in health tech and innovation dropped direct to your inbox, subscribe to my newsletter, What The Health linked in the comments below! 💜 📩 #healthtech  #health  #healthcare  #digitalhealth  #medtech  #biotech

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The author of this opinion piece in Startupdaily is incorrect when including Stone & Chalk and Fishburners as either incubators or accelerators — they're neither. They're both startup-focused coworking spaces that run community events. The vast majority of their government support over the years has been in-kind, in the form of concessional lease arrangements on idle and difficult-to-commercialise office space. Both now pay full commercial rates and operate as for-profit ventures. Sometimes they have government as sponsorship clients, but why can't the public sector have marketing goals? To my knowledge there aren't any incubators in Australia. An incubator as a coworking space that takes a bit of equity instead of charging rent. Have I forgotten any? When it comes to accelerators, good luck collecting good data in Australia! Like a venture fund, the effectiveness of an accelerator program operator is only really measurable over a period of 10-15 years — enough time for a pre-seed stage startup to get to market, scale up and seek an exit. Until then, paper valuations aren't nothing, but neither are they proof. And where would you source the control group data? NSW government has supported the Startup Muster annual research project for 2023 but after a five year absence, Startup Muster will now have to be supported until 2033 before there's enough data to draw conclusions from its work in relation to the success or failure of our accelerators. Unlike a lot of other SE Asian markets, Australia's accelerators aren't government-led initiatives or hand-out addicts; they're commercial operators working hard to make a living at achieving outcomes the entire rest of the economy increasingly relies upon for future economic growth. This kind of misjudged criticism grinds my gears! https://lnkd.in/gaXXP2U5

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Who are the NZ venture capital leaders in 2024? Which New Zealand funds are LEADING investment into pre-seed and seed stage companies? Below, I have provided a summary of these investors. Have I missed any key players? Are there any included that shouldn't be? Note: I have excluded any funds that have not made an investment in the past 12 months, based on available evidence. Blackbird Cure Kids Ventures Even Capital GD1 (Global From Day One) Icehouse Ventures Motion Capital Movac Nuance Connected Capital NZ Growth Capital Partners NZVC Outset Ventures Pacific Channel Phase One Ventures Soul Capital WNT Ventures

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