Elevate Backs Pacific Channel With Follow-On Investment To Support Expansion

Elevate NZ Venture Fund is making a $10m follow-on investment into a new fund with one of its existing managers Pacific Channel.

Elevate was established by Government to support investment into New Zealand high growth early-stage companies and to develop the local venture capital ecosystem. It is managed by NZ Growth Capital Partners and recently received a $100m top up as part of Budget 2025.

“Pacific Channel has progressed well since our initial investment into its previous fund and we’re happy to be supporting them again with an investment into Fund III. Pacific Channel continues to support a diverse cohort of deep-tech companies from early-stage through the growth cycle,” says NZGCP Chief Investment Officer James Pinner.

“We’re also really encouraged by the continued development of the Pacific Channel team, evolution of their growth as a manager and the expansion of their offering including acceptance as a Callaghan Innovation Deep Tech Incubator. We are looking to back VC managers who are as ambitious as the start-ups they back so it’s fantastic to see the investment they’re making into building a deep team of experts and also their expansion into Australia through a separate Fund, which provides it with the capability to support even more diverse deep-tech start-ups,” says Pinner.

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Pacific Channel Managing Partner, Brent Ogilvie says, “This investment from Elevate recognises the strength of our partnership and shared commitment to building globally impactful New Zealand companies. With over $50 million already committed to Pacific Channel Fund III, we are well-positioned to continue identifying breakthrough technologies addressing critical global challenges, creating high-value jobs, and generating intellectual property that remains in New Zealand ownership."

“Over the past 20 years, Pacific Channel has invested in more than 66 companies and achieved 11 successful exits, generating proven, high returns. Fund III continues this disciplined approach - delivering significant value to investors while commercialising world-class New Zealand science,” says Ogilvie.

Elevate was set up to help boost New Zealand’s growth and productivity by investing into early-stage venture capital funds alongside matching levels of private capital. Those funds then invest directly into New Zealand growth businesses on a purely commercial basis.

Elevate was launched in 2020 and with this new commitment has allocated $232m into ten funds run by seven different fund managers. It has recently seen realisations from investments into Movac, GD1, Nuance, Hillfarrance and Pacific Channel’s earlier fund.

NZGCP also operates the Aspire Seed Fund which invests directly into earlier stage companies (from proof of concept to Seed and pre-Series A stages) alongside private sector investors including angel investor groups. Aspire has been operating in various guises since 2006 and has had several realisations from its portfolio of investments including Kami, Tradify, Yabble and recently Quantifi Photonics.

Returns to Elevate and Aspire reflect the long-term nature of investing in early-stage companies and will be recycled into further investing for New Zealand’s future growth companies.

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