\u201cSilicon Valley VCs are happy with defence and dual-use investing. New Zealand is behind, in my opinion. We\u2019re still allergic to anything that could be considered used by the Navy or Army or Air Force \u2013 whether it\u2019s got 1080 on it or it\u2019s got guns on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, three local VCs have overcome that allergy.<\/p>\n
Syos said overnight that it had staged its first \u201cinstitutional\u201d raise.<\/p>\n
The firm said the round was led by Outset Ventures (which includes Sir Peter Beck on its investment committee) and \u201canchored\u201d by NZVC, the fund founded by Mark Pavlyukovskyy, a Ukrainian active on the US venture capital scene before he relocated to Queenstown on the cusp of the pandemic) <\/p>\n
It was supported by Altered Capital plus undisclosed strategic funds<\/p>\n
Outset, NZVC and Altered Capital are all high-profile players on the local VC scene, if not on the top tier occupied by heavyweights like Movac and Icehouse Ventures.<\/p>\n
Unusually for a VC raise, Syos and its backers refused to say how much money was raised and at what valuation. <\/p>\n
Vye at his company’s Mt Maunganui plant with Syos’ uncrewed ground vehicle, which can carry loads of up to 400kg. Photo \/ Jason Dorday<\/p>\n
Syos did say that the round took the form of convertible notes \u2013 or loans that can be converted to equity once a \u201cqualifying event\u201d (usually a Series A raise) occurs.<\/p>\n
The firm\u2019s latest Companies Office update is dated July 29, has Vye as the largest shareholder with a 71% stake, followed by Tapper (12%), Morgan (7%), Baigent (6%) and several smaller holders.<\/p>\n
The new capital will \u201cwill enable Syos to scale to meet customer demand after securing multiple contracts delivering to various nations, including the UK, Ukraine, New Zealand and Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
Syos, which has operations in Mount Maunganui (see video top of story) and Fareham in the UK, was founded by Vye, an ex-pat Brit, in 2021.<\/p>\n
A partially assembled Syos ‘thumper’ drone, used to intercept incoming drones or other projectiles. Photo \/ Jason Dorday<\/p>\n
The start-up\u2019s breakthrough moment came in early 2025 when it revealed a \u00a330 million ($66m) agreement in 2025 with the UK\u2019s Ministry of Defence, which in turn funneled Syos hardware to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Syos\u2019 line-up of uncrewed vehicles includes a heavy-lifting chopper, a small boat, an underwater drone (after buying<\/a> Tauranga\u2019s Bay Dynamics), a ground vehicle plus \u201cthumper\u201d drones that can be used to intercept incoming drones or projectiles.<\/p>\n Vye earlier told the Herald that, in crowded market, Syos wins deals with its fast-turnaround product development plus its software that lets one person control many drones, of different types, at once.<\/p>\nThe latest version of the Syos SA200 uncrewed chopper, which can carry payload of up to 200kg, with a range of up 300km.<\/p>\n