New Zealand agtech scaleup Halter has raised $314.5 million in a Collection E that values the livestock administration platform at US$2 billion (A$2.86bn).
The spherical was led by Founders Fund, supported by different current US buyers, together with DCVC, Bond, Bessemer, Promus, Ubiquity and NewView, in addition to Kiwi funds Blackbird and Icehouse.
Founders Fund is the 21-year-old San Francisco VC that backed SpaceX, Palantir, Stripe, Airbnb and Fb. It was cofounded by distinguished “Paypal mafia” billionaire Peter Thiel. A key backer of the Trump administration, Thiel has New Zealand citizenship and has been trying to build a “doomsday bunker” near Queenstown on the nation’s South Island, however the libertarian tech oligarch and Palantir cofounder advised Joe Rogan in 2024, simply as he helped set up JD Vance as US vp, that he was considering moving to New Zealand permanently.
Mechanical engineer Craig Piggott launched Halter in 2016, aged 22, with the assist from his former boss, Peter Beck, at Rocket Lab. The digital fencing and animal administration system makes use of a GPS-enabled photo voltaic collar that “guides” cows round pastures utilizing sound and vibrations. An app lets farmers handle their cattle and pasture from their cellphone.
Halter hit unicorn standing – a $1 billion+ valuation in June final 12 months, following a $155 million Series D led by Mary Meeker’s Bond. The most recent increase doubles the valuation in simply 9 months
Halter’s VC investments embrace a A$79.5m (NZ$85m) Series C in 2023 and A$29m (NZ$32m) in a Series B in 2021. Founders Fund first invested within the startup’s 2018 $7m Collection A.
Greater than 2,000 farmers in Australia, NZ and the US are Halter prospects and the recent capital might be used for market growth in Australia and the States in addition to different international locations, with Eire and the UK on the drafting board for 2026.
The scaleup additionally plans to rent 200-plus individuals within the product, engineering, and buyer groups, based mostly at its Auckland HQ.
