More established start-up companies are attracting larger investments with the first half of the year seeing record growth.
The Young Company Finance report issued by NZ Growth Capital Partners and The Angel Association indicates there was also a rebound in new deals at proof-of-concept and pre-seed stages.
A total of 68 funded deals were recorded in the six months ended June, with $775.7 million invested.
“While the number of deals fell slightly by 6.8 percent on the same period last year, total funding took another leap forward, growing by 114.5 percent and representing a greater amount invested than in all of last year, reflecting the global funding trend,” the report says.
Angel Association executive director Bridget Unsworth said early-stage investment was making a comeback.
“The first half of 2026 tells the story of an ecosystem that is scaling quickly while also beginning to rebuild its foundations. Both trends matter, and both deserve attention.”
She said more capital was invested in the first six months of this year than in the whole of 2025.
“Larger rounds are no longer the exception. They are becoming a defining feature of the market.”
Unsworth said New Zealand companies were making progress in attracting the capital needed to compete internationally, and doing so in sectors with genuine global reach.
The sectors included agtech and space technology, software and other deeptech.
“The growing role of venture capital in leading rounds shows a capital stack that is maturing and gaining sophistication.”
She said record funding was allowing NZ companies to go global.
“It shows that a New Zealand company can raise at a scale that would have been hard to imagine a few years ago.
“The large rounds we celebrate today rest on early backing that angels provided years ago, and a renewed flow of new companies is the best indicator that this pattern can continue.”
Unsworth said the next challenge was to celebrate success while continuing to back founders at their earliest and most uncertain stages.