New global fund targets startups from New Zealand and Taiwan

Photo credit: Francisco Anzola.

Via e27:

Global from Day One (GD1), a VC fund launched by Auckland-based Sparkbox Ventures and Taipei-based VC firm Pinehurst Advisors, has raised NZ$38 million (US$26 million) towards its second fund.

New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF) and its Taiwan counterpart National Development Fund committed around NZ$11 million (US$7.5 million) each towards this. The remainder came from Sparkbox, the Fund’s management team and private investors in New Zealand, Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the US, it said in a statement.

The second fund’s first investment is in Auckland-based Qotient, a cloud-based sales acceleration platform that helps sales teams save time and effort in converting sales calls into customers.

New Zealand’s startup tech scene is experiencing impressive growth and investment at the moment, especially considering the country’s size and remote location. According to a recent post by 500 Startups venture partner Tristan Pollock, tech investments in New Zealand and Australia have grown eight-fold since 2011. US$415 million has been invested into New Zealand startups since 2006.

Investment has grown 9 percent year-over-year, with US$61.2 million flowing into 94 companies, up from US$56.4 million in 2014.

Key verticals there include software-as-a-service, frontiertech (machine learning, AI, drones, and so on), agritech, and adventuretech (travel, extreme sports, and so on).