2022 | A YEAR IN REVIEW
We grew our portfolio
This year we have confirmed funding for a further five deep tech Joint Ventures into our New Zealand portfolio to join our existing incubated portfolio of four previous companies.
We now have a total of ten Joint Ventures under active management. Bridgewest Ventures will continue to foster the synergies, diversity, and collaboration between portfolio companies, while building the portfolio across the whole of New Zealand.
We scaled the team
This year we welcomed three members into the BVNZ team:
David Hewitt | Head of Capital Markets Bridgewest | Miami
With his extensive experience in venture capital and a large network of investor relationships, David not only helps to shape the team’s investment approach, but also guides our companies and founders through the capital raise process.
Ruby Kleyer | Investment Manager | Auckland
Leveraging her prior experiences with biotechnology, research commercialization, intellectual property protection and tax advisory, Ruby assists in coordination of the pipeline analysis, matching the opportunities to the investment mandate and presenting the opportunities to the Advisory Committee.
Iris Lee | Investment Analyst | Auckland
After completing an 18-month internship with Bridgewest while completing her Masters degree, Iris quickly slotted into the team and manages the reporting and incubation support services on top of pipeline due diligence.
We contributed to developing the ecosystem and talent pool
Bridgewest Ventures partnered with Microsoft on a 10,000 Wāhine campaign to promote career paths in STEAM and hi-tech amongst female university students. The result was two successful events held at the University of Canterbury and the University of Auckland.
Bridgewest Ventures engaged Global Innovation Catalysts (GIC) to bring an Ideas-to-Market course to fourteen start-ups from New Zealand. The 18-week course, taught by industry experts and powered by content from Stanford online, covered material from product-market fit to financial modelling and capital raising. In addition to valuable resources and mentorship opportunities, the workshops also enabled a forum for companies to discuss and learn from one another.
Over the year, BVNZ has grown its list of advisors, many of whom were invited as keynote speakers for Bridgewest’s first annual Impact Innovation Conference. (More on this below)
Bridgewest continued to support and sponsor various events held by both private and public institutions, such as the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) Awards, AUT X Challenge, and NZ Hi-tech Awards
Additionally, the Bridgewest Ventures team received Te Reo lessons to upskill and develop a deeper understanding of the Māori Culture.
We Held The Inaugural Impactful Innovation Conference
With 155 registered attendees, 26 speakers and panellists, and 18 companies exhibiting, the Impactful Innovation Conference brought together leading innovators on the local and global stage. It was held in November at the Wharewaka Centre in Pōneke, Wellington. It brought together leaders and stakeholders in the New Zealand start-up ecosystem network to share their insights about New Zealand’s deep-tech ecosystem.
Do you have the next big idea in deep tech?
We’re searching for meaningful innovations that will impact our world socially, economically, or environmentally. This can come in many forms, from technology advances in AI development and semiconductor engineering to life science breakthroughs or biomedical discovery.
If you’ve got a novel idea, apply to the Bridgewest Ventures Deep Tech Incubator today!