Punakaiki Fund

29/05/2026

Fresh from winning two categories in the Hi tech Awards, Matty Blomfield of Hectre appeared on NZ Herald's Business Now to give the backstory on Hectre's success.

Wonderful to see the public recognition of a decade of work by Matty, his team and the funders backing Hectre, like Punakaiki Fund.

If you want to support Hectre and other great Kiwi success stories, read our IM and consider investing in Punakaiki Fund or the Climate VC Fund. Links below.

Kia kaha!

https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0WRJf0

Hectre's co-founder Matty Blomfield tells Herald NOW Business how it went from orchards to awards, Video| Herald NOW Business

27/05/2026

What a night for Hectre, winners of the Most Innovative HiTech AgriTech Solution of the Year and the HiTech Kamupene Maori o te Tau (Maori company of the Year) at the HiTech Awards.

The fruit imaging company was also a finalist in the Emerging HiTech Company category.

None of this is a surprise for us here at Punakaiki Fund and 2040 Ventures. Back in March we led the $12 million Series A investment in Hectre. The win confirms what the international customer base already knows: Hectre’s fruit scanning and orchard management software is genuinely best-in-class.

With customers in 22 countries, more than 3.8 billion pieces of fruit scanned, revenue growing at roughly 100% a year, this is indeed a worthy winner.

It's especially pleasing to hear founder and CEO Matty Blomfield attribute some of the success to te ao Maori values at the core of the company: manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga and a strong sense of justice for growers of quality of kai.

Well done team Hectre - a proud moment for us all.

27/05/2026

A huge night for the tech sector at the HiTech Awards.

Congratulations to the all finalists and winners but especially to Kara Technologies which won the HiTech Startup Company of the Year, the category sponsored by our manager 2040 Ventures.

Well done to the finalists in this category too Sea-Flux and GoodAir Nosebuds.

Yet another record attendance showing a sector in fine fettle.

20/05/2026

Just two days to go. Tuxedoes and frocks are being dusted off. Flights boarded. And nerves settled.

Tickets for the Hi-Tech Awards are sold out and but you can dial in to watch the festivities online.

Our congratulations to all the finalists and the winners. Especially in the Start Up of the Year, which is sponsored by 2040 Ventures.

The Kiwi tech sector is fine fettle - wonderful to see.

See you at Spark Arena.

21/04/2026

It's judgement day for the Hi-Tech Awards as the finalists defend their claims and inspire the judges with their ambitions for a hitech-led future for Aotearoa New Zealand.

We wish all the finalists luck - especially for those in the Start Up of the Year category, sponsored by 2040 Ventures, including Kara, Sea-Flux and Goodair.

Punakaiki Fund and Climate VC Fund together have four portfolio companies in the awards Hectre, Astute Access, Sea-Flux, Cleanery.

Looking forward to the big night on May 22.

17/04/2026

The most interesting thing about the Hi-Tech Awards isn’t any single year’s finalists, it’s what happens to them afterwards.

There are over 300 entires to the awards this - a record - which is interesting in its own right. But look at the companies that have stood on the Hi-Tech Awards stage over the past decade and trace where they ended up.

Rocketlab, Halter, Vend, Cleanery, Novolabs, Tracksuit, Aroa Biosurgery, Auror, Dawn Aerospace, Gallagher Group, Tait Communications are just some that come to mind.

Our manager, 2040 Ventures, has four portfolio companies in the running this year Hectre, Cleanery, Astute Access and Sea-Flux.

Hectre, the outstanding fruit imaging business, is a finalist in the three categories it entered.

We're proud of all our companies but it's a special moment for us. The future is unknown but we're in good company.

Cleanery — 2025 Most Innovative Manufacturer winner

27/03/2026

2040 Ventures congratulates the all finalists in the 2026 Hi-Tech Awards, especially to those in the category we sponsor: Hi-Tech Start-Up of the year .

It's rewarding to see so many of the and companies receiving a finalists' place: .

Good luck for round two.

12/03/2026

Punakaiki Fund portfolio company revenues continue to grow, even in tough economic times.

It's just one measure of success but an important one: revenue growth allows companies to reinvest, which is good for jobs, the economy and, ultimately, investors.

To support Kiwi growth companies and enjoy some upside in their success, please read our Information Memorandum and consider our wholesale offer.

https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0Gwb00

10/03/2026

It's very pleasing to lead a $2m growth investment in Orah, one of our longstanding portfolio investments.

We first invested in Orah in 2014 and again in 2021, and are proud to be alongside exceptional tech backers, including Bruce Gordon, Peter Huljich, Aaron Bhatnagar and Vaughan Fergusson.

Fast forward to today and Orah - with Matthew Varley as CEO and Paul and Kurt still deeply involved - is growing fast in the US, where school safety is a huge priority.

Their success reinforces our belief that Kiwi tech founders can not just launch and scale from NZ but also be funded for longer by Kiwi VCs.

It's the reason we're an evergreen fund. Invest, hold, and invest again as long as we can.

Kiwi tech is the gift (and hard graft!) that keeps on giving. Well done Nadine Hill Lance Wiggs Bruce Gordon Vaughan Fergusson Peter Huljich and Aaron Bhatnagar for backing a winner.

https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0G3PY0
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Punakaiki Fund has led a $2m growth investment in Orah, the student safety company, and one of our longstanding portfolio investments.

03/03/2026

Very proud to announce the acquisition of Kiwi start-up success Whip Around to US investment behemoth Accel-KKR.

We first invested in Whip Around in October 2021, and more recently in mid-2025 - and excitingly we are retaining our stake and will be the largest New Zealand-based investor in Whip Around.

The brilliant Noah Hickey, continues to lead Whip Around as CEO.

The deal reinforces our commitment to stay with great companies as long as we can.

We backed Whip Around as we believed in the team’s ability to build something of genuine global scale from New Zealand. That conviction has not changed, which is why Punakaiki Fund is staying in.

Our congratulations to Noah and the team for an exceptional deal.

Read the story in https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0FhLL0 and on our new blog https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0FhK-0