# Aera VC

> Aera VC is a VC fund in Auckland backing Biotechnology and Manufacturing. See 41 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Auckland, New Zealand
- Total investments: 41
- Last investment: Jan 2026
- Lead investor: 0%
- Fund size: $30M
- Last fund: Feb 2022
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aera-vc/
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/aera_vc
- Website: https://www.aera.vc

Aera VC is a VC fund in Auckland focused on Biotechnology and Manufacturing. Aera VC invests at the frontier of deep technology and sustainability to accelerate the world to a better future. Those who create breakthrough ideas the fastest will generate new markets, exponential financial returns, and a better future for us all. Aera VC will be right behind them.We believe sustainability is the largest investmentopportunity of our lifetime. We have been generating outstanding financial returns since 2016 while investing in the pursuit of a better world. The companies we have backed are the best illustration of what we invest in, aspire to, and can achieve. We are excited that these companies are only just getting started and we have already established a truly global footprint. 70% of Aera Portfolio companies are co-founded by women or those from minority backgrounds.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Aera VC. Shizune tracks 4 team members at Aera VC. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/aera-vc?utm_source=investor_profile

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $2.1M–$10M |
| Pre-Seed | $150k–$4.1M |
| Series A | $4.5M–$27M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Biotechnology | 6 | 15% |
| Manufacturing | 5 | 12% |
| Software | 4 | 10% |
| Health Care | 3 | 7% |
| Sustainability | 3 | 7% |

65 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 20 | 49% |
| Series A | 10 | 24% |
| Pre-Seed | 6 | 15% |
| Series C | 1 | 2% |
| Series D | 1 | 2% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 19 | 46% |
| Australia | 3 | 7% |
| United Kingdom | 2 | 5% |
| Canada | 1 | 2% |
| France | 1 | 2% |

9 countries tracked in total.

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nick Winstone | Founding Partner | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/nick-winstone |
| Derek Handley | Founding Partner | 1 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/derek-handley |
| Josh Thompson | Venture Partner | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/josh-thompson-72eb |
| Keenan Kwok | Founding Partner | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/keenan-kwok |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Array Labs | Array Labs designs and operates space-based radar systems and delivers 3D Earth imagery and geospatial data services. The company develops modular radar payloads and distributed radar satellite clusters that capture multi-angle data to generate detailed three-dimensional models of terrestrial surfaces and objects. It provides standalone radarinstruments for integration on satellite platforms, fully integrated satellite systems for customers that require dedicated sensing assets, and processed 3D data products via APIs or delivery channels. Array Labs also works with partners to support simulation and modeling of distributed radar constellations and to co-develop enriched datasets that combine radar and other sensing modalities. Its offerings support applications such as geospatial intelligence, infrastructure monitoring, and analytical workflows reliant on volumetric surface data. | $20M | Series A | Jan 05, 2026 |  |
| Maritime Fusion | Maritime Fusion specializes in the development and construction of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) fusion reactors. | $4.5M | Seed | Nov 24, 2025 |  |
| Gridsight | Gridsight is a cloud platform with a feature of degrading neutrals, customer-transformer mapping, integrations, and complaint resolution. | $4.5M | Series A | Apr 08, 2025 |  |
| Allium Engineering | Allium Engineering is a civil engineering company that develops and manufactures corrosion resistant steel rebar. | $3.3M | Seed | Mar 13, 2024 |  |
| Cosmic Aerospace | Cosmic Aerospace is a pioneering aerospace technology company dedicated to advancing the boundaries of propulsion systems and enabling innovative solutions for space exploration. The company collaborates with leading space agencies, research institutions, and commercial partners to design, test, and implement these groundbreaking technologies. | $4.5M | Seed | Feb 06, 2024 |  |
| Array Labs | Array Labs designs and operates space-based radar systems and delivers 3D Earth imagery and geospatial data services. The company develops modular radar payloads and distributed radar satellite clusters that capture multi-angle data to generate detailed three-dimensional models of terrestrial surfaces and objects. It provides standalone radarinstruments for integration on satellite platforms, fully integrated satellite systems for customers that require dedicated sensing assets, and processed 3D data products via APIs or delivery channels. Array Labs also works with partners to support simulation and modeling of distributed radar constellations and to co-develop enriched datasets that combine radar and other sensing modalities. Its offerings support applications such as geospatial intelligence, infrastructure monitoring, and analytical workflows reliant on volumetric surface data. | $10M | Seed | Jan 01, 2024 |  |
| Robigo | Robigo is a biomanufacturing company engineering microbes to create more sustainable crop protection solutions. | $6.9M | Seed | Feb 15, 2023 |  |
| Open Forest Protocol | Open Forest Protocol (OFP) is a scalable digital platform for verifying and issuing forest carbon credits — bringing transparency, inclusivity, and affordability to a market long defined by exclusivity, high costs, and opacity. OFP is creating the foundation for more inclusive, scalable, and data-backed financing mechanisms for nature-based climatesolutions. | $4.1M | Pre-Seed | Jan 10, 2023 |  |
| Dawn Aerospace | Based in New Zealand and the Netherlands, Dawn Aerospace is building same-day reusable launch vehicles and non-toxic satellite propulsion systems.Same-day Reusable Launch Vehicles that do not require specialised space-launch infrastructure, integrate with everyday aircraft in nearby airspace and launch as often and routinely as commercialaviation.Non-toxic high performance propulsion systems for satellites of all sizes. For small satellites, they simplify systems and replace the poisonous and highly-regulated fuel, hydrazine. For CubeSats, they increase capabilities by supplying 1,000x higher performance than electric-based propulsion systems.By building these technologies in tandem, Dawn is creating the end-to-end architecture required for delivering, positioning and returning spacecraft in a highly scalable and environmentally conscious way. | $12.7M | Series A | Dec 07, 2022 |  |
| Noya | Noya is reversing climate change and pulling CO2 out of the sky by retrofitting existing pieces of equipment to capture carbon. The company's mission is to accelerate the world's transition to a carbon-negative existence. |  | Series A | May 31, 2022 |  |

10 of 41 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Y Combinator](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/y-combinator) — VC Fund, 9 deals together
- [Pioneer Fund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/pioneer-fund) — VC Fund, 6 deals together
- [Fifty Years](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/fifty-years) — VC Fund, 5 deals together
- [Social Impact Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/social-impact-capital) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [CRE Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/africa-angels-network) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Amplo](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/amplo) — VC Fund, 2 deals together

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## FAQ

### What does Aera VC invest in?

Aera VC invests primarily in Biotechnology, Manufacturing and Software startups, most often at Seed and Series A stage. Most of the 41 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is Aera VC's check size?

Aera VC typically joins rounds of $2.1M–$10M at Seed, $150k–$4.1M at Pre-Seed and $4.5M–$27M at Series A. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Aera VC participates in.

### How do I contact Aera VC?

Public channels for Aera VC include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Aera VC?

The team at Aera VC includes Nick Winstone (Founding Partner), Derek Handley (Founding Partner) and Josh Thompson (Venture Partner). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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