GD1-Anchored Fund Reports 85% Institutional VC Follow-On Rate
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – 8 May, 2025 – Phase One announced today the final close of their $2.1M NZD early stage venture capital fund, Phase One Ventures, having deployed capital across a portfolio of 14 high-potential technology companies. Launched in April 2021 following the establishment of its early stage incubator community in 2020, the fund attracted GD1 as its anchor investor and individuals including early team members from Canva and Kami, and has since built an impressive portfolio with 12 out of 14 companies (85%) securing institutional venture capital backing.
“We’re extremely proud of what our portfolio companies have accomplished in such a challenging global environment,” said Mahesh Muralidhar, Founder and CEO, Phase One. “These companies have collectively attracted between $80-100 million in follow-on investment and created 100-150+ new jobs, many of which are in New Zealand’s tech sector.”
The fund’s portfolio showcases impressive diversity, with 5 out of 14 startups (36%) having female founders, most serving as CEOs—a representation significantly higher than industry standards. Portfolio companies have secured backing from leading venture capital firms including Blackbird, GD1, Icehouse, and GTM VC, with one company recently attracting investment from US venture capital firms Fika Ventures and Uncorked Ventures.
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Notable investments include Ivo which has reached Series A stage with funding from NZ VC heavyweights and US investors; VXT, backed by GD1, NextWork and Polymath, two edtech startups backed by GD1, Blackbird, and prominent US individuals and VC firms, Cotiss, backed by Blackbird and GTM VC; and several other promising ventures including Aquila Earth, Kiki, Evouch, Cropsy, Extraordinary (HealthNow), KiwiFibre Innovations, and RingRadar. Two companies, Venu and Ross, are still pre-institutional funding.
Phase One Ventures operates on a 10-year fund structure, though the management team anticipates an actual timeline of 7-8 years. The fund will now focus exclusively on supporting its existing portfolio companies through their growth journeys, with no plans to accept new limited partner investments.
“With the quality of founders and companies in our portfolio, we expect multiple unicorns and significant exits to emerge from this cohort,” added Simon Young, Managing Partner at Phase One. “These companies are positioned to become major tech firms with substantial impact on the New Zealand economy and beyond.”
“We’re thankful for GD1’s early belief in our vision as our anchor investor,” Mahesh noted. “Most importantly, we believe this community will keep growing to become tremendous role models in high-growth tech, making it even more accessible for more Kiwi entrepreneurs to go big!”
“Phase One has been a tremendous addition to the New Zealand early stage ecosystem, and its cohort of companies and founders have been truly ‘Global from Day 1’ in mindset and action. We are very proud to have played a role in enabling Phase One’s venture fund and look forward to seeing this cohort of companies flourish on the global stage”, said Vignesh Kumar, Co-Managing Partner of GD1.
While there are no immediate plans for a second fund, the management team remains committed to maximizing returns for current investors by focusing on the development and eventual exits of the existing portfolio companies.
About Phase One Ventures
Phase One Ventures is a New Zealand-based venture capital company focused on investing in early-stage technology companies with high growth potential. The company brings together investment capital and strategic expertise to help founders build globally competitive businesses.
