Kiwi company Halter reaches billion-dollar status & how much would you pay for a single Kiwifruit

BusinessDesk's Garth Bray talks business with 2degrees, virtual fencing firm Halter reaches billion-dollar status and how much would you pay for a single Kiwifruit?

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Generate Invests In Halter - New Zealand's Fastest Growing Technology Company

Scoop

2 hours ago

Scoop

Generate Invests In Halter - New Zealand's Fastest Growing Technology Company

Generate is pleased to announce that it has invested $10 million into Halter - a rapidly growing New Zealand-founded and headquartered company. Generate bought secondary shares and joined a $165m capital raise led by US venture capital firm, Bond. The team at Bond have notably been investors in industry pioneers including AirBnB, DocuSign, Facebook, Stripe, and Uber. Founded in 2016, Halter has grown to become the leading operating system to run a dairy or beef farm. Halter's system includes a solar-powered smart collar for each cow and an app that lets farmers manage their cattle and pasture from their phone. The collar's sound and vibration cues enable farmers to virtually fence, move, and monitor their cattle 24/7. Halter launched their commercial farm in New Zealand in 2021. Since then, they have scaled to >1,000 farms across New Zealand, Australia, and the USA. In 2024, they were named New Zealand's fastest growing company by the Deloitte Fast 50 Index. Generate's investment in Halter, via its Balanced, Growth and Focused Growth funds, follows its earlier strategic investments in venture capital firms Movac and Icehouse Ventures to help accelerate more New Zealand tech companies. Generate's Chief Investment Officer Sam Goldwater said, 'We're excited our members have the opportunity to join in on Halter's remarkable growth story. It is a company that can generate great returns for our investors while enabling New Zealand's largest export industry to simultaneously create more value and deliver environmental benefits.' Advertisement - scroll to continue reading As Halter CEO and Founder Craig Piggott noted, 'Farmers are the backbone of rural communities. They feed society and play a key role in building sustainable food systems. Halter farmers are pioneering a more productive and sustainable way to farm.' Generate's investment team has been tracking Halter over many years largely thanks to their investment in Icehouse Ventures Growth Fund II, a substantial investor in Halter. The decision to invest further reflects the significant commercial and technical milestones achieved by Halter over the last few years. 'Halter's traction with cattle ranchers in the US has been particularly impressive. They have secured ranchers from Oregon to Louisiana and are proving their system can provide transformative impact.' Their commercial traction - and foundations for significantly more growth - generated notable interest from investors around the globe. The capital raise attracted offers from multiple investors and even resulted in several flying to New Zealand to pitch their offer. That Generate secured an allocation reflects the success of its long-term, proactive, and strategic investment into New Zealand tech companies. Halter's expansion throughout New Zealand has been particularly impressive - now with customers in every region and up to 30% market share in some farming regions. Coupled with their traction with cattle ranchers in the US they are proving their system can provide transformative impact. 'We are delighted to have more than 135,000 of Generate's investors aligned to our mission to help farmers to thrive — it's fantastic to have New Zealanders backing Halter's growth capital.', Craig Piggott commented. About Generate: Generate is an award-winning New Zealand-owned KiwiSaver and Managed Fund provider committed to helping New Zealanders plan for a secure and fulfilling retirement. With a team of expert advisers and track record of strong long-term performance, Generate aims to educate and empower Kiwis to make informed decisions to maximise their financial future. About Halter: Founded in 2016, Halter is the leading operating system to run a dairy or beef farm. Thousands of farmers in New Zealand, Australia and the US use Halter to run their farm, with new customers going live daily. Halter is headquartered in Auckland and employs over 200 people across New Zealand, Australia, and the US. About Icehouse Ventures: Icehouse Ventures' mission is to be transformative investors in transformative Kiwi technology companies. Over the last 20 years, Icehouse Ventures has invested >$500m into >350 New Zealand startups. They were among the first investors in Halter, Mint Innovation, Dawn Aerospace, Tradify, OpenStar, Hnry, Tracksuit, and Crimson Education.

NZ Herald

a day ago

NZ Herald