Back in April I wrote a piece on what the Hi-Tech Awards tend to tell us about New Zealand tech. The argument, briefly, was that the companies who appear on that stage disproportionately go on to become the companies that matter. The 2026 Hi-Tech Awards Gala Dinner was the test of that thesis at a portfolio level, and we came away from the Gala with two trophies and four very strong finalist showings across our funds.
Hectre took home both Hi-Tech Kamupene Māori o te Tau (Māori Company of the Year) and Most Innovative Hi-Tech Agritech Solution. Matty Blomfield and the team have been compounding for years on the strength of a clear founder thesis, a global customer base now in 22 countries, more than 3.8 billion pieces of fruit scanned, and around 100% annual revenue growth. Punakaiki Fund led their oversubscribed $12 million Series A late last year. Watching them collect two trophies on a single evening, in a record-entry year, was a particular kind of satisfying.
The other three finalists came from across our funds. Astute Access and Sea-Flux, both Punakaiki Fund companies, were finalists in Manufacturing and Startup Company of the Year. Cleanery, a Climate Venture Capital Fund portfolio company, was a finalist in Manufacturing as well, defending its 2025 Most Innovative Hi-Tech Solution for a More Sustainable Future win. The Manufacturing category alone had Astute and Cleanery sharing a shortlist with Fisher & Paykel Technologies and Aroa Biosurgery. That is the company we want our portfolio companies keeping.
What stood out at the Gala itself was the depth of the room. Over 300 entries across 14 categories, the highest in the awards’ history. The companies on stage on Friday night were not the only credible ones in their categories. The bench is genuinely deep, and the trajectory data from past finalists, Rocket Lab, Halter, Tracksuit, Vend, NovoLabs, Moxion, Timely, suggests that several of the class of 2026 will be the New Zealand technology stories we are still telling in five years’ time.
Awards are wonderful acknowledgement, and we’re grateful for them. They are also, like the valuation numbers that headline a fundraising round, a single data point that doesn’t tell the full story. What we judge these companies by, and what we’re most pleased about when we look across our portfolio companies, is whether the founders are doing what they said they would do with the capital they raised, and whether the revenue, customers, and product progress underneath the recognition hold up. On those measures, the trophies are well-earned.
Congratulations to Matty and the Hectre team on a stand-out evening. Congratulations to Tai Ellis at Sea-Flux, to the Astute Access team, and to the Cleanery team for their finalist showings against some of the best-known names in New Zealand tech. We are proud to be in their corner.