Increased support for NZ deep tech start-ups

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Budding New Zealand start-ups will have even stronger support to help turn technology and science into successful businesses this year.

Four tech incubators have been selected for a new Technology Incubator programme, and a new HealthTech Activator initiative is being introduced, Callaghan Innovation CEO Vic Crone has announced.

“There are significant opportunities to turn more of New Zealand’s advanced technologies into successful businesses. Many of these technologies start out at our universities and we want to see them thrive,” says Crone.

Under a new and improved Technology Incubator programme launching in April 2020, deep tech start-ups will have access to four incubators, up from three in the pilot, as well as higher repayable loan amounts of up to $750,000. The programme is boosted by funding allocated in Budget 2019 along with an additional $9 million funding announced in September last year.

The four tech incubators announced will ensure this IP makes it out of the lab, and starts creating high value exports and jobs. These incubators – currently in contract negotiations are:

• Brandon Capital Partners
• WNT Ventures
• Sprout
• Bridgewest Ventures

“Innovators need the right support in the early phases of their business development, and we want to grow that capability in the ecosystem,” says Crone.

“Our tech incubators will provide Kiwi innovators with a fantastic breadth of commercialisation support, international and local connections, and access to investment. In addition to this there is specific expertise available for sectors of strategic importance to New Zealand, including agrifood and life sciences.

“There are also opportunities for New Zealand to create more successful health tech start-ups, but there is a wider need to pull together support across the sector, which has more complex, expensive and riskier paths to commercialisation.

“A new HealthTech Activator run by Callaghan Innovation, working alongside CMDT and MedTech CoRE, will coordinate health tech support resources and data across the ecosystem. The idea is to speed up the journey of health tech start-ups by better connecting, demystifying commercial avenues and reducing risks,” adds Crone.

The HealthTech Activator initiative has been allocated $2 million over four years to cover staffing, operational costs and programme support. While the Activator support services will be virtually accessible across the nation, Callaghan Innovation anticipates establishing two physical nodes to provide a location for early stage health-tech companies to network, hot desk or co-locate for short periods.

The pilot programme achieved some great results with the foundational tech incubators, including over 45 new deep tech start-ups, attracting significant investments, and creating new high-value tech jobs. However, the new RFP was highly competitive and unfortunately current incubators, Astrolab and Powerhouse, were not successful in their bids to deliver the new programme. Callaghan Innovation is working with the incubators on their transition out of the programme and to help ensure any ventures still in incubation are supported appropriately.

Source: Callaghan Innovation media release, 16 December 2019

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