We’re investing $50 million in Icehouse Ventures’ Growth Fund III. The fund will back 20 late-stage Kiwi companies. “Late-stage” means they’ve made it through the riskiest early years and are now growing quickly.

So far it has invested in three of them:

• Halter, a virtual fencing tech company
• Calocurb, which has developed a weight-management supplement
• Supabase, a Kiwi-founded global software company

Our $50 million takes the fund to $180 million. That’s $30 million more than its target when it opened earlier this year.

Plenty of New Zealand’s best companies are privately owned, so most Kiwis can’t buy shares in them. Investing through KiwiSaver means our members can own a small slice.

“Some of New Zealand’s most valuable and fastest-growing companies are privately owned,” says Icehouse Ventures CEO Robbie Paul. “This means that most Kiwis, even farmers that are fanatical customers of Halter, are not able to own shares. Investment by Simplicity KiwiSaver means 100s of thousands of New Zealanders can take part in their success.”

Simplicity MD Sam Stubbs says it’s a good example of how KiwiSaver can help reshape New Zealand’s economy.

Icehouse Ventures says KiwiSaver providers have now committed at least $190 million to its funds and portfolio companies, up from $60 million in 2024.

“We are now finally starting to see other KiwiSaver managers follow our lead, but more should get involved,” says Sam.


Learn more about Icehouse Ventures

NZ Herald video (article behind paywall)

RNZ article