Callaghan Innovation
VC Fund
Wellington, New Zealand
Callaghan Innovation is a VC fund in Wellington focused on Manufacturing and Software. Callaghan Innovation supports businesses with research and development services, technical expertise, funding programs, and commercialization support. It provides scientific research, laboratory services, innovation programs, and industry partnerships across sectors including biotechnology, health technology, and advanced manufacturing. The agency is currently transferring its services to other public research organizations as part of New Zealand's science and innovation system reforms.
- Total investments:
- 3461
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 99%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Callaghan Innovation invests in
Stages Callaghan Innovation invests in
Countries Callaghan Innovation invests in
Round sizes
Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Round size
- Seed
- $351k–$1M
- Grant
- $3.5k–$139k
- Pre-Seed
- $607k–$716k
Investment Focus
Industry
- Manufacturing 447 (13%)
- Software 269 (8%)
- Information Technology 184 (5%)
- Food and Beverage 157 (5%)
- Health Care 131 (4%)
Stage
- Grant 1869 (54%)
- Seed 14 (0%)
- Pre-Seed 7 (0%)
- Debt Financing 3 (0%)
- Convertible Note 1 (0%)
Country
- New Zealand 1855 (54%)
- United States 12 (0%)
- Australia 3 (0%)
- China 1 (0%)
- Israel 1 (0%)
Team
| Name | Title | Investments | Links | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Chris Hartshorn
Chief Technology Officer
|
Chief Technology Officer | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
Jonathan Miller
Future Insights Manager; Manager Regional Business Partners (secondment)
|
Future Insights Manager; Manager Regional Business Partners (secondment) | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
Stefan Korn
General Manager Market, Engagement, Experience & Sectors
|
General Manager Market, Engagement, Experience & Sectors | Total investments: 0 | Find email |
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling operates an artificial intelligence platform designed to automate back-office operations for financial and accounting teams. The software deploys deterministic AI agents that execute repetitive tasks like accounts payable, accounts receivable, compliance checks, and bank reconciliations directly inside existing enterprise applications. Byfunctioning as a background virtual assistant, its value proposition centers on eliminating administrative bottlenecks while maintaining strict human-in-the-loop oversight and enterprise-grade audit standards. | $400K / Debt Financing / Aug 13, 2026 | ||
| Scanabull is a 3D vision to measure cattle live weight quickly and accurately, reducing handling stress and giving farmers, agents, and processors clear, real‑time weight data. It makes weighing easy, analysis simple, and sharing seamless for everyone who relies on live weight or carcass weight decisions. | $639.3K / Pre-Seed / Mar 23, 2026 | ||
| Forever Harvest is a food technology startup specializing in cellular horticulture. | $715.7K / Pre-Seed / Feb 24, 2026 | ||
| Wallo Pay, incorporated in July 2023, is a New Zealand-based fintech startup transforming digital payments for consumers and businesses. Operating across Aotearoa and with plans to expand into Australia, our founder-led team is building a B2C and B2B payments platform powered by banking APIs, enabling direct, real-time account-to-accounttransactions. By bypassing traditional card networks, Wallo Pay slashes merchant service fees from 1.5–2.5% to 0.6% or less, potentially saving New Zealand businesses $700M annually. Our product suite includes a Consumer Mobile App with QR-based and unique digital ID based payments, a Business Mobile App, and a Business Web Portal, targeting retail, hospitality, and other businesses accepting payments from end customers.Aligned with New Zealand’s Consumer Data Right (2025), Wallo Pay’s open API infrastructure empowers developers, fintech startups, and public agencies to build innovative solutions, from loyalty programs to interoperable transport payments. Our platform fosters an inclusive ecosystem, enabling business of all sizes and innovators to participate in the digital economy with low-cost, scalable payment tools. Since starting MVP development in June 2024, Wallo Pay is gearing up for an alpha pilot in Q3–Q4 2025, driving transparency, affordability, and trust in Aotearoa’s payment landscape. | $14.9K / Grant / Jul 17, 2025 | ||
| Bontia Bio is dedicated to creating natural parasiticides for crop protection and animal health. | $428.8K / Debt Financing / Mar 26, 2025 | ||
| AbacusBio is a science and technology firm that helps agribusinesses grow. | $16.9K / Grant / Feb 03, 2025 | ||
| POP offers a nutrient-packed supplement for pet dogs to reduce inflammation and support whole-body health. | Pre-Seed / Jan 21, 2025 | ||
TDRI
|
Proprietary TDRI technology being commercialised out of Lincoln Agritech, New Zealand | $6.2K / Grant / Jan 02, 2025 | |
| Smudge offers software and application development services. They provide mobile software, IOS development, user experience, business mobility solutions, app development, android development, enabling a game-changing mobile vision, reimagining a sales process, and enterprise software services. | $17.7K / Grant / Dec 02, 2024 | ||
| Blutui is the web platform that lets creative agencies. | $13.1K / Grant / Dec 01, 2024 | ||
| See all 3461 investments → | |||
Co-Investors
Access 48,091 investors
822 industries, 177 countries. Updated daily. Emails and phones included.
Browse database — It's Free!
Find investors for your startup
Search 48,091 investors by industry and country. Emails and phones included.
Similar Investors
Similar industry
Similar country
Featured in Investor Lists
Recommended lists
FAQ
What does Callaghan Innovation invest in?
Callaghan Innovation invests primarily in Manufacturing, Software and Information Technology startups, most often at Grant and Seed stage. Most of the 3,461 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in New Zealand. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
What round sizes does Callaghan Innovation invest in?
Callaghan Innovation typically joins rounds of $351k–$1M at Seed, $3.5k–$139k at Grant and $607k–$716k at Pre-Seed. These are whole funding-round sizes, not Callaghan Innovation's own check, which is rarely disclosed: the 10th–90th percentile of the confirmed public funding rounds Callaghan Innovation took part in.
How do I contact Callaghan Innovation?
Public channels for Callaghan Innovation 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 Callaghan Innovation?
The team at Callaghan Innovation includes Chris Hartshorn (Chief Technology Officer), Jonathan Miller (Future Insights Manager; Manager Regional Business Partners (secondment)) and Stefan Korn (General Manager Market, Engagement, Experience & Sectors). 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 Oct 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
Contact your first 100 investors today
Find who invests in your industry, stage, and country. Download investor list with emails in 5 minutes.
Find investors — It's Free!
Continue with Google
Continue with LinkedIn
