Icehouse blows past its NZ$150m target, pulling NZ$180m for Kiwi growth bets like Halter and Supabase—see how KiwiSaver is reshaping VC.
New Zealand VC Icehouse Ventures has exceeded its NZ$150 million (A$122m) target for Growth Fund III by $30m, with long-term backer Simplicity committed an additional NZ$50m.
Simplicity, a non-profit manager of the NZ retirement and first-home savings scheme KiwiSaver, has invested NZ$85m across four Icehouse funds since 2019.
Icehouse opened its third fund less than six months ago. After hitting NZ$180m, it remains open to investors with a year-end final close planned.
Growth Fund III will back 20 late-stage, high-growth Aotearoa companies, typically already with millions in revenue and looking to expand globally. Its first three investments are cow collar Halter, GLP-1 activator Calocurb and software developer platform Supabase.
Simplicity cofounder and MD Sam Stubbs said the commitment reflected confidence in the nation’s economy and Icehouse’s investment performance.
“This is an example of how KiwiSaver will help reshape New Zealand’s economy, providing more and better paid jobs at home,” he said.
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Icehouse Ventures CEO Robbie Paul said a larger fund would support greater local ownership of leading local companies.
“Success for us is that a greater percentage of New Zealand’s leading companies is owned by Kiwis. A larger fund helps make this possible,” he said.
Paul said the KiwiSaver investment gave members access to privately held companies they would otherwise be unable to buy shares in.
KiwiSaver providers, including Generate and Pie Funds, have now committed at least NZ$190m through Icehouse and its portfolio companies, up from NZ$60 million when Growth Fund II closed in 2024.
Generate has invested NZ$40 million across Growth Funds I and II. Pie Funds was a NZ$10 million cornerstone investor in Growth Fund II and intends to invest in the third fund.
The first two funds backed the likes of Hnry, Tracksuit, Crimson, Sharesies, Dawn Aerospace and Halter.
Icehouse reports Fund I as tracking at 1.78 times total value to paid-in capital with an internal rate of return of 18.9%. Growth Fund II is tracking at 1.23x and IRR of 22.9%.