Auckland software startup Portainer has a Forbes' ranking of the hottest cloud companies.
The Hobsonville Pt firm was named as one of 20 Rising Stars in cloud software - an adjunct to the iconic American business title's annual "The Cloud 100" list of the top privately-held companies in internet-based software.
Forbes says its top 100 list was ranked by growth, sales, valuation and culture criteria, plus a reputation score derived in consultation with 34 CEO judges and executives from their public-cloud-company peers.
The Rising Stars were defined as a weight-class as cloud software companies that had raised less than US$25 million.
Online payments platform Stripe is at No 1 on the 100 list - and is also the highest-valued startup in the US full-stop with its worth of some US$95 billion, Forbes says. No 2, Databricks, is valued at US$28b, which would place it about halfway down the S&P 500 if it were public.
No 3 is Australian online content creation firm Canva - one of only six companies of the 100 run by a woman). One of Canva's key backers, Sydney-based Blackbird Ventures, now has an office in New Zealand, and an NZ-focused fund backed by a $21.5m million contribution from Crown agency NZ Growth Capital Partners.
Canva's private-equity valuation has grown from US$6b to US$15b over the past year.
Portainer - at a much earlier stage of its life - has yet to reach those kinds of dizzying heights - but did recently raise $10m in a round led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners (best known in NZ has an early supporter of Rocket Lab) and supported by local VC outfit Movac.
The young firm, founded by Neil Cresswell, makes "container" software that allows an app to be developed once, then ran anywhere, from a desktop to a server hosted in the cloud.
Cresswell earmarked funds from the raise, in part, for expanding staff from 30 to 50. Highly-skilled Kiwis returning home amid the pandemic are one of his key targets (read more about Portainer here).
Meanwhile, Bessemer now has its hands in another Kiwi pie. A firm backed by the Silicon Valley VC firm, DroneDeploy, revealed today it has taken over Auckland robotics specialist Rocos.
Source: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/
The next Electron rocket on the pad is the first of three dedicated missions for BlackSky scheduled for lift-off from late August through September.
Long Beach, California. August 10, 2021 – Rocket Lab, a leading launch provider and space systems company, has today announced its next mission is part of a rapid launch schedule of three dedicated Electron missions for Spaceflight Inc.’s customer, global monitoring provider BlackSky.
Scheduled to lift-off from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula in late August, the ‘Love At First Insight’ mission will be Rocket Lab’s 22nd Electron launch overall and fifth mission of 2021. ‘Love At First Insight’ is the first in a rapid succession of scheduled Electron launches between late August through September that represent the company’s fastest launch turnarounds to date.
The ‘Love At First Insight’ mission is the latest in a multi-launch agreement signed earlier this year for BlackSky between Rocket Lab and Spaceflight Inc., which is providing integration and mission management services for BlackSky. This mission will deploy the eighth and ninth satellites of BlackSky’s planned constellation as part of that rapid-launch agreement, with another four Gen-2 smallsats across the two additional Electron dedicated missions to follow.
Electron will deploy two of BlackSky’s high-resolution, multi-spectral, Gen-2 satellites to low Earth orbit, expanding BlackSky’s network in space and offering of real-time geospatial intelligence and monitoring services. BlackSky combines high-resolution images captured by its constellation of microsatellites with its proprietary artificial intelligence software to deliver analytics and insights to industries including transportation, infrastructure, land use, defense, supply chain management, and humanitarian aid.
“Dedicated launch on Electron means a bespoke service for satellite operators who want control over their schedule and orbital parameters,” says Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “Rapid launch with these three back-to-back missions enables BlackSky to fast-track their plans for a constellation that meets the hunger for real-time data produced by multiple images within 24 hours, rather than one image at the same time each day.”
“We’ve been partnering strongly with Rocket Lab over the past several months to gain high confidence in a launch campaign that will increase the capacity of our space network,” said Brian E. O’Toole, CEO of BlackSky. “This cadence of rapid launches demonstrates the accelerated pace at which we are able to expand our constellation and reinforces our commitment to delivering real-time data and intelligence.”
The ‘Love At First Insight’ launch is set to bring the total number of satellites launched by Rocket Lab to 107, joining a collection of successfully deployed satellites from various sectors including Earth-observation, Internet of Things, weather and climate monitoring, academia and scientific research, civil government, defense, and more. Information about the ‘Love At First Insight’ launch window will be made available in the coming days.
Source: https://www.rocketlabusa.com/
DroneDeploy has acquired Rocos, a New Zealand-based robotics software company. The acquisition will enable DroneDeploy customers in construction, energy, agriculture, and more to deploy and orchestrate both aerial and ground robots on their job sites. This acquisition will make physical workflow automation possible, creating more efficient and safer workplaces.
“Companies are undergoing a digital transformation accelerated by challenges surrounding labor shortages and COVID-driven remote operations. As a result, the market demand for automatic site documentation and digital twins has soared,” said Mike Winn, CEO and co-founder of DroneDeploy. “With the Rocos acquisition, we are enabling our customers to automate ground-level data capture, moving several steps closer to a complete automation solution.”
DroneDeploy is already the market share leader in drone software, powering the world’s largest companies to capture an instant understanding of their assets and operations through aerial imagery. Now, with the extension to on-the-ground robots, workers will soon be able to establish automated routines within the platform from both the air and the ground. For example, a solar technician could program a drone to fly over a solar power plant, identify thermal hotspots, and automatically activate ground robots to walk under the hotspot to identify the exact problem – no human intervention needed. This process will save time, resources and human labor, freeing workers to focus on other tasks.
“A few years ago, drones made the leap from hobbyist toys to enterprise tools. Now, ground robotics is on a similar trajectory,” said David Inggs, former CEO and co-founder of Rocos, now DroneDeploy's Head of Ground Robotics. “With the addition of the Rocos’ ground robotics technology, DroneDeploy can now automate critical data workflows across both air and ground use cases, enabling greater safety and efficiency for the whole worksite.”
DroneDeploy has already begun integrating Rocos’ robotic control with its indoor data processing technology to deliver autonomous 360 Walkthrough and inspection at scale. The company will launch the new offerings at its annual DroneDeploy Conference this October.
The acquisition follows DroneDeploy’s recent $50M Series E funding round and continued growth, as enterprise drone data collection operations increased 95% in Q2 2021.
https://www.dronedeploy.com/
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) today announced a multi-year agreement between the New Zealand Space Agency and LeoLabs, Inc. to develop the world’s most advanced Space Regulatory and Sustainability Platform. The platform will improve the ability to implement responsible stewardship of space by commercial and public sector space entities. “Our partnership with LeoLabs has allowed us to better understand what’s in space, which is key to upholding our duties as a launching country and ensuring the responsible use of the space environment,” says Dr Peter Crabtree, General Manager Science, Innovation and International. The responsibilities of a launching state include monitoring the satellites launched from it, and making sure that they are complying with the license and rules that permitted the launch. This complex task has been made simpler for the New Zealand Space Agency through a contract with LeoLabs to develop a world-leading Space Regulatory and Sustainability Platform. The cloud-based platform uses data from LeoLabs global radar network, one of which is based in Naseby, to continuously monitor satellites in low Earth orbit. “Our investment and activities in New Zealand, including the Kiwi Space Radar, have been a string of successes, both in terms of supporting the goals of MBIE, but also of projecting New Zealand onto the global stage as a leader in space sustainability,” said Dan Ceperley, CEO and co-Founder of LeoLabs. “We appreciate the opportunity now to take this to another level and operationalize the Space Regulatory and Sustainability Platform. This is truly a model for every other space agency around the world.” Following a pilot phase, the platform is now fully embedded into the operations of the New Zealand Space Agency which can track the position and orbit of individual satellites and where they’re heading, view historical orbit records, obtain reports on changes in a satellite’s orbit and receive alerts when a satellite is not complying with its licensing agreement. The partnership between MBIE and Leolabs was brokered through the Innovative Partnerships programme, and in October 2019 saw LeoLabs unveil their first ‘next-generation’ space radar in Naseby, Central Otago. The phased-array radar tracks small satellites and space debris – the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. “Our partnership with LeoLabs helps put us at the forefront of monitoring satellites and taking a sustainable approach to the use of space. We look forward to continuing to work together in the years ahead,” says Dr Peter Crabtree.
Tauranga legal software startup LawVu has raised $17 million in a Series A round led by New York-based venture capital firm Insight Partners with support from Australia’s AirTree Ventures.
The chunky raise follows the May revelation from founder and CEO Sam Kid that his firm has inked a deal with a giant US social media platform.
LawVu makes cloud-based software for in-house legal teams, helping with tasks such as creating contracts, collaboration and sharing documents. Its platform can work with a range of other software, including Outlook and e-signature service DocuSign.
Kidd and co-founder Tim Boyne got the idea when they were working in and around corporate NZ in the early 2010s; Kidd for a startup that integrated accounting software with IRD’s systems, Boyne as an IT operations manager at a law firm in 2015.
“Often in a big firm, there’s a lot of repetitive legal work, or sometimes the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing,” Kidd said.
The pair thought in-house legal teams needed their own software platform, just as sales people had Salesforce.
AirTree also supported a $2.5m seed this year, which was supported by American VC firm Shashtra Ventures and the Crown-backed NZ Growth Capital Partners – which in turn complemented a $3.8m seed round the same year led by former Russell McVeagh lawyer turned investor Kent Gardner and supported by Icehouse Ventures.
LawVu increased staff numbers from 20 at the start of last year to more than 70. Kidd said that with its new funding, it will end the year with more than 100.
Tauranga City Council became LawVu’s first customer, and something of a test-bed. Dunedin City Council came next, followed by top-tier corporates.
LawVu’s twin raises this year follow big wins across the Tasman where Telstra and Nissan Australia have adopt the company’s software.
In New Zealand, Fonterra, James Hardie and Sky TV are hero customers. PwC and lead-services provider Axiom are partners.
The funds raised this year are earmarked for expansion further into the US and other territories.
LawVu has usually pitched against software companies that are much larger, but also offering on-premise (pre-cloud) ELM (enterprise legal management) software, Kidds says, which can be complicated and require a big implementation team. The Kiwi startup positions itself as a modern, nimble, cloud-age contender.
Kidd said the company would remain headquartered in Tauranga.
In LawVu’s early days, the location was a drawcard. “We were paying Auckland and Wellington salaries in an area with much cheaper housing and a great lifestyle,” he says.
The housing price gap has since narrowed, but “now, remote working is the new normal”, he adds. Recent hires are working from various provincial locations, including Queenstown and Invercargill. “We fly people in when we need to.”
Kidd declined to give a post-money valuation, but a Companies Office update after the $17m raise shows new investor Insight Partners with a 15.5 per cent stake and the topped-up AirTree on 6.3 per cent.
www.nzherald.co.nz
Menlo Park, CA and Auckland, New Zealand - Unimarket, a fast-growing provider of procurement software and services, today announced that it has received a majority growth investment from Accel-KKR, a leading global technology-focused investment firm. Peter Kane, Chief Executive Officer of Unimarket, will continue to lead the company supported by the existing management team.
Founded in 2005 in Auckland, Unimarket provides cloud-based procurement software and services to a number of sectors including higher education, healthcare, government, research and financial services. Its easy-to-use eProcurement solution simplifies and automates the procurement process by connecting an extensive catalog-driven supplier marketplace with purchasing, invoice management, and card payment functions, together in a single cloud platform that is easy for administrators, buyers and suppliers alike. The investment will build on Unimarket’s success by driving product innovation and strategic acquisitions to create more value for its customers across Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
"Since our founding over 15 years ago, Unimarket’s mission has always been to deliver easy-to-use procurement technology that simplifies the procurement process," said Unimarket CEO Peter Kane. "By helping our clients get procurement done right, we empower them to do their best work because they spend less time on procurement and more time on the work that creates value for their organizations. This investment from Accel-KKR, coupled with its expertise in helping software companies grow, will help us pursue that mission with even more momentum and accelerate our ability to scale. We are very excited to embark on our next phase of growth with AKKR."
This investment marks more than 15 equity investments in the ANZ region for Accel-KKR, making the firm one of the fastest-growing software investors in the region. Accel-KKR recently sold Christchurch-based software firm, Seequent to a US based publicly traded company for USD$1.1 billion in enterprise value. Accel-KKR was named the "Investor of the Year" in 2019 for its investment in Seequent by the American Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand. The Silicon Valley-based firm is one of the most active private equity investors in software globally, having closed 300+ software investments and acquisitions in the firm’s twenty-year history.
"We are thrilled to be working with Peter and the Unimarket team. The company has been on our radar for a number of years and has continuously expanded its market leadership position during this time," said Phil Cunningham, Operating Executive at Accel-KKR. "Given our extensive experience investing in procurement and spend management software, we know we can bring material value to Unimarket’s growth strategy. We can’t wait to get started."
Unimarket’s three flagship procurement solutions include:
Unimarket’s clients include ASB, Lumino The Dentists and the University of Otago in New Zealand; NSW Department of Education, University of Tasmania and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Australia; and Xavier University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Teachers College of Columbia University, and Colgate University in the US.
If there’s one thing we know for sure, COVID-19 has accelerated the pace of digital transformation in companies across New Zealand, and the Cloud has played a critical role in helping organisations build for the future.
Today we’re pleased to share that we’re investing in our cloud infrastructure to provide best-in-class connectivity to Google Cloud customers in New Zealand and Australia.
First, we’re bringing a Dedicated Cloud Interconnectto Auckland this month. This will provide direct physical connections between an organisation’s on-premises network and Google's global network, thereby making it easier for customers to access a range of Google Cloud products and services.
Secondly, we’re launching our Melbourne Cloud region today, our second within ANZ since we launched our Sydney region in 2017. Designed for high availability, the region opens with three zones which enables us to deliver two geographically separated cloud regions to our Kiwi customers to meet IT and business requirements for disaster recovery while maintaining the reliability of their data.
Collectively, these investments will deliver geographically distributed and secure infrastructure to customers across New Zealand, enabling them to take advantage of the cleanest cloud in the industry.
Trade Me talked about their decision to migrate from their on-premise data centers to run on Google Cloud. Paolo Ragone, Chief Technology Officer said, “We moved to Google Cloud to improve the stability and resilience of our infrastructure and become more cloud-native as part of a digital transformation program that keeps the customer at the heart of our business. We welcome Google Cloud’s investment in ANZ and what they present to improve Trade Me’s agility and performance.”
As organisations continue to look to cloud services to drive the digital transformation of their businesses. Google Cloud is here to help businesses become smarter with data, deploy faster, connect more easily with people and customers throughout the globe, and protect everything that matters to their businesses. Our investments in connectivity and cloud infrastructure are a catalyst for this change, and we look forward to seeing how customers and partners grow, innovate, and drive digital transformation forward in the region.
The All Blacks will return to USA for the first time since 2016 when they take on the USA Eagles at FedEx Field in Washington DC on Saturday October 23 in the inaugural 1874 Cup.
The 1874 Cup references the year rugby was first played in the United States, a collegiate match between McGill and Harvard University and celebrates the long and ever-growing history the United States has with the game of rugby. All Blacks Captain Sam Cane said the All Blacks would be looking forward to a “special game” against the USA. “We’ve really loved it every time we have gone there. I know the team is excited about getting to America and particularly going to Washington, DC for the first time. It will be a historic match with a lot of meaning behind it and we hope that the rugby fans there really get behind the game. We can’t wait.” President and chief executive officer of Events DC Gregory A. O’Dell said the opportunity to host the All Blacks in the nation’s capital would be a landmark day for rugby in the USA. “As the official convention and sports authority for the District of Columbia, Events DC is honored to partner with USA Rugby and Left Field Live to bring premier international rugby to DC. “Our region is home to a robust and passionate rugby community at both amateur and professional levels. The opportunity to host the iconic All Blacks for the first time ever in our nation’s capital alongside USA Rugby will showcase Washington, DC as a dynamic, global sports destination to the world.
Washington Football Team President Jason Wright said it would be an honour to host the All Blacks and USA Eagles at FedEx Field. “We could not be happier to host this Test Match at FedExField, as it demonstrates our business vision to attract global sporting events, such as future Rugby World Cup matches, that we know quench the thirst of our diverse and sports-obsessed DMV region. Our organization looks forward to making this a memorable event and supporting a robust week of activity for the global rugby community.” All Blacks Head Coach Ian Foster added: “We’re really excited to again be going back to the United States. To go to Washington, DC for a first-ever All Blacks Test there will be exciting for the team. We’ve had a couple of great experiences in the US already, albeit with one bad result against Ireland in 2016. But our game against the USA in 2014 was highly memorable, with real excitement from the crowd and huge interest in the All Blacks. So hopefully it’s another chance to grow the game of rugby there.” The USA Eagles are coming off their first assembly since 2019 and look ahead to a busy season with qualification for the 2023 France Rugby World Cup the major focus alongside Tests against the All Blacks and Ireland on US soil. Ticket pre-sale for the rugby community opens on Wednesday, July 28th. General public on sale opens at 10.00am EST on Friday, July 30th. For tickets visit Ticketmaster.com
Source: https://www.allblacks.com/
Together with New Zealand-based steel framing machinery designer and manufacturer Howick, Massachusetts company Windover Construction are renovating a century-old YMCA building in the US city of Beverly. By way of an Autodesk programme, Windover sought assistance from Howick because of some “unique” challenges, Nate Berg reports for Fast Company.
A laser scan revealed at the outset of the project that nearly every ceiling in the building was slightly uneven, Berg reports. Reframing the walls of the building would require hundreds of different sized studs. Building them on site would be a complicated nightmare, Berg writes.
In collaboration with Howick, Windover fed their laser scan data into an automated steel frame fabrication machine that precisely produced light gauge steel studs and panels for the building.
The machine also added one critical feature. The new studs are able to telescope, shrinking down to more easily transport into and through the tight spaces of the historic building, and then expanding out like a shower curtain rod slotted into place. “It’s really transforming the way we work in existing and old buildings,” Windover Construction vice president Amr Raafat says.
Windover and Howick came together through an Autodesk programme, realising one had technology that could solve the problem of the other.
Original article by Nate Berg, Fast Company, July 5, 2021.
. Fix & Fogg nut butters will be on shelf in all 500 Whole Foods stores across the USA, a rare feat for New Zealand brands.
“We’re thrilled to have partnered with Whole Foods - it’s a first for a New Zealand nut butter company,” said Roman Jewell, who co-founded the company in 2013 with his wife Andrea. “Whole Foods Market has a passion for high-quality, all-natural foods and an excellent track record of sustainability and helping communities, so it’s a perfect fit for Fix & Fogg and our values,” he added.
Whole Foods Market will be heroing Fix & Fogg’s most popular and award-winning US flavours: Everything Butter, Almond Butter with Cashew and Maple, Crunchy Almond Butter and a Whole Foods exclusive: Oaty Nut Butter (Known as Granola Butter in the NZ&AUS market) which recently won a gold medal at the New Zealand Outstanding Food Producer Awards in May 2021.
Fix & Fogg began selling its award-winning nut butters in the United States in 2018 through Amazon.com and quickly grew a die-hard following. They were recently called out as ‘The best nut butter on the planet’ in New York magazine. All products are natural, vegan, Non-GMO and free of palm oil and artificial flavours.
In 2020, Fix & Fogg became the first New Zealand owned food manufacturer to receive B Corp Certification, based on the company’s social and environmental performance. In order to receive this certification, Fix & Fogg was rigorously assessed across five categories: governance, workers, environmental impacts, community engagement and customers. The B Corp Certification doesn’t just attest to the company’s positive influence now, it also commits to Fix & Fogg’s impact in the future.
So where is Fix & Fogg going next? Founder Roman Jewell believes in “being a force for good” and promises to regularly give back to the community. The brand continues to develop new nut butters, all with the same healthy promise—all natural and made using the finest ingredients and no additives, just pure nutty goodness.
https://fixandfogg.com/
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