Bay of Plenty Business News April/May 2018

BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS April/May 2018
5
WNT Ventures raises new $4.4 million
startup investment fund
Technology Incubator WNT Ventures
recently announced its second
investment fund, adding $4.4 million of
new capital to invest into startups across
the country.
WNT Ventures CEO,
Carl Jones, says
WNT Ventures will
spend the next 18 months looking
for 8-10 innovative pre-revenue
startups to invest into.
Mr Jones commented that
he is looking to invest in companies
with strong intellectual
property and global potential,
born from both public and private
sector innovations.
“Being broadly sector
agnostic, WNT Ventures will
continue to invest in companies
across a range of industry
sectors, focusing particularly
on areas of deep technology.”
says Mr Jones.
Tauranga-based WNT
Ventures was founded in
2014 with a pioneering entrepreneurial
spirit and a collaborative
partnership-based
approach at its core.
Mr Jones says that raising
a second fund reflects strong
ongoing support for the WNT
Ventures model from its existing
investor base, with 7 out
of 9 of the first fund investors
also putting money into the
second fund.
Investors in WNT Ventures
Fund II include cornerstone
investor Quayside Holdings,
angel groups Enterprise Angels
and Angel HQ, plus a range
of community trusts, family
offices and high net-worth
individuals from the Bay of
Plenty and Auckland.
FUNDING AND
INVESTMENT
As a Callaghan Innovation
technology incubator supplier,
WNT Ventures can access
up to $35,000 per business to
assist them in developing their
investment case to WNT.
WNT Ventures can also take
advantage of the Repayable
Loan Scheme, enabling total
investment up to $600,000 into
the startups.
Further capital is also available
for follow-on investment,
through WNT Ventures own
fund and also through their
Carl Jones, CEO
WNT Ventures
access to a broad network of
institutions, individuals and
angel groups for further investment
support.
SUPPORT
In addition to investment capital,
WNT Ventures also provides
a range of incubation services
and commercial support
that early-stage technologies
and companies need to grow
into successful businesses.
This includes dedicated
advice on market validation,
business strategy and financial
plans, intellectual property
protection, prototype and product
development and in-market
relationships.
WNT Ventures team
SECTORS
Alongside extensive commercial
experience and capability,
the WNT Ventures team
and partners bring to the table
deep knowledge and networks
across agritech, food,
SoundSwitch, by Onesixone Ltd, offers
a software-hardware solution for DJs.
advanced materials, engineering,
medtech and digital sectors
to support its portfolio
companies.
Investment Manager,
Jon Sandbrook, leads WNT
Ventures’ agriculture and
food technology efforts. Mr
Sandbrook notes that “agritech
plays a huge role in the New
Zealand economy and it’s a sector
where WNT Ventures sees
wide potential for NZ-based
innovations to lead the world.”
It is also an area where WNT
Ventures taps into extensive
capabilities. Mr Sandbrook is
currently a Director for pointof-care
bovine mastitis diagnostic
company, Mastaplex,
and his career has included
roles as Founder of a US-based
animal health biotechnology
company, and numerous corporate
strategy and management
consulting roles in the agriculture
and animal health sectors.
Alongside Mr Sandbrook,
WNT Ventures fund investors
and Directors, Steve Saunders,
serial entrepreneur and owner
of Tauranga based horticultural
robotics company Robotics
Plus, and Peter Wren-Hilton,
Founder of Agritech New
Zealand, bring deep insights,
capabilities, capital pathways
and networks into the heart of
New Zealand’s agritech innovation
sector.
New Zealand’s medtech
innovation is an unsung hero
that is poised to garner increasing
attention.
“Medtech companies here
are by definition ‘born global’
and represent substantial
export opportunities” says
WNT Ventures Investment
Manager, Dr Laura Faulconer.
Globally, the medtech
industry represents a US$365
billion opportunity.
A Biomedical Engineer,
entrepreneur and medical sector
expert, Dr Faulconer, has
ramped up WNT Ventures’
capabilities to support promising
emerging medtech startups.
Dr Faulconer was previously
the CTO for Australian
based medical device accelerator,
the Actuator, and brings
a wealth of medtech commercialisation
networks from
her previous work in both
Australia and the US.
PORTFOLIO
COMPANIES
WNT Ventures’ first $3.5 million
fund is now fully deployed
into seven companies.
Fund I portfolio companies
include Tauranga-based
Onesixone, software company
Nyriad, cleantech companies
Avertana and Mint Innovation,
agritech spin-out from Otago
University, Mastaplex, and
robotics company, Ficomms.
Animal wearable start-up,
Helix ID, was recently wound
down when it failed to meet its
milestones.
Onesixone have developed
SoundSwitch, a software-hardware
solution which offers DJs
the ability to integrate DMX
lighting with live audio.
Cambridge based software
company, Nyriad, is building
advanced streaming storage
solutions for big-data and
high-performance computing.
Founded out of work done
for the Square Kilometer Array
(SKA) Telescope, the company
recently launched its first
product, NSULATE.
Auckland based, Mint
Innovation, is developing a
breakthrough technology for
the recovery of gold and other
precious metals from electronic
waste.
The company is currently
raising Series A capital ahead
of deployment of its worldfirst
commercial e-waste
biorefinery in New Zealand.
For more information
regarding investment
from WNT or to contact
one of the team, please visit
www.wntventures.co.nz or contact
the company directly at
admin@wntventures.co.nz.
Mint Innovation team