A recent report ranks Australia #1 globally for unicorns per US$1B invested—1.22 unicorns, to be exact. New Zealand ranks #5, just behind Israel, Switzerland, and Sweden.
What does that mean in plain English? Your VC dollars go further in ANZ.
The reason: scarcity.
🇦🇺 Australia: Only 61% of early-stage funding comes from domestic sources.
🇳🇿 New Zealand: Fewer than 30 active seed funds, compared to 600+ in the U.S.
This funding gap forces founders to make things work before raising big rounds—driving better product–market fit, real revenue, and tight unit economics from day one.
The Investor Opportunity
This is good news twice over:
Scarcity = Access. Fewer dollars chasing more founders means it's easier to get into top deals—with less frothy pricing.
Efficiency = Value. Every dollar deployed generates more progress, more traction, and more upside.
🚀 Case Study: Esper Satellites
We recently backed Esper Satellites, an Australian earth observation startup putting hyperspectral imaging technology into space. They launched their first 3 satellites on less than $1M USD in funding.
By 2028, they’ll have 18 satellites in orbit—without burning mountains of cash.
Now compare that to U.S./India-based Pixxel, which launched 3 satellites on a $95M budget. It's not apples-to-apples—but Esper hit similar milestones on 1% of the capital.
That’s capital efficiency, ANZ-style.
🎙️ Hear more from Esper’s founder Shoaib on the Techmates Podcast:
In ANZ, scarcity isn’t a bug—it’s a feature. It breeds founders who are scrappy, disciplined, and ready to scale globally.
Stay tuned for our Q4 update: spotlighting the next wave of capital-efficient “lab alumni” turning bootstrapped grit into breakout growth.