Company
Commercial aerospace company and global launch provider.
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Rocket Lab raised.
Companies Rocket Lab acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Craig Piggott | Pre-electron Engineering and Special Operations Role (former) | Blackbird Ventures portfolio |
| Jamie France | Global Director (former) | Forbes Australia, Investible |
| Nelson Smith | Engineer (former) | Startup Daily (24 Jun 2024), Startup Daily (20 Jun 2023) |
| Peter Beck | CEO · Founder | Blackbird Ventures portfolio, @AuManufacturing, SmartCompany, Startup Daily (23 Mar 2022), Startup Daily (30 Nov 2021) |
Stories naming Rocket Lab. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Profile of BioOra CEO John Robson covering the cell-therapy company's $15m raise last year, a live round with about $20m committed, a Cincinnati hospital partnership, and Christchurch manufacturing plans.
A maker of satellites for in-orbit drugs and materials production has landed an outsized pre-seed round led by New Zealand's GD1, with Airtree and other venture firms taking part.
Investible's note explains its pre-seed backing of satellite startup Outlier Space alongside GD1 and others, arguing uncrewed return-capable platforms will make off-world manufacturing viable as the ISS retires.
Blackbird's investment note explains why it backed Halter's US$220 million Series E at a US$2 billion valuation, recounting the farm-collar company's growth since the firm led its Series B in 2021.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·BusinessDesk NZ
Roundup of the week's Australian startup funding: fresh raises for five companies, Startmate's Summer '26 accelerator intake of 19 startups, and Affinda's acquisition of Pathfindr.
Also Startup Daily
Sydney and Austin-based defence tech startup Breaker secured $9 million at seed stage, led by Bessemer Venture Partners with Main Sequence following on, after a voice-controlled autonomous systems demo in Rheinmetall's Boxer vehicle.
Also Forbes Australia·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily
Blackbird partners recount backing Marloo's founders before they had settled on an idea, having led its 2024 pre-seed and now announcing its seed round.
Also marloo.com·marloo.com·Fintech News Australia·Business News Australia·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany
Gilmour Space's Eris rocket lifted off but exploded seconds later near Bowen; the founder hailed the short flight as a milestone, while its ElaraSat satellite bus flew successfully on a SpaceX rideshare mission.
Gilmour Space Technologies flew its Eris rocket for the first time, an Australian-designed orbital vehicle; the brief test ended early via anomaly, with learnings feeding a follow-on vehicle now being built.
Crimson Education has completed a NZ$67 million Series D with Movac leading and a valuation above NZ$1 billion; fulfilment-robotics maker Nexobot has raised $400,000 pre-seed from Skalata and Antler.
Aquila, whose Lightway Sentry beams power to drones, has raised $2 million in follow-on funding, led by Alua Group with returning backers Blackbird and Icehouse, a year after its seed round.
Also SmartCompany
Hypersonix picked Rocket Lab to launch its DART AE hypersonic craft under a US defence program, following the Brisbane company's first major contract win.
Former Amazon executive Tony Austin joins New Zealand auto parts startup Partly as chief strategy officer and co-founder; the piece recalls its 2021 pre-Series A raise and valuation.
New Zealand microphone startup Dotterel Technologies raised NZ$3 million (A$2.8m) led by Icehouse Ventures, with Peter Beck, K1W1, NZVC and private investors backing production and expansion of its long-distance Konos microphone.
New Zealand data startup Segna has received US$125,000 from Y Combinator before starting its accelerator program, taking total funds raised to NZ$880,000 with backing from three venture funds.