Global uncertainty is driving investment in high-growth with strong demand for New Zealand's early stage technology firms.
TIN managing director and founder Greg Shanahan. Photo: supplied
The Investor's Guide to the New Zealand Technology Sector, produced by Technology Investment Network (TIN) suggested there was a compelling case for international investment in tech innovations.
Record amounts of capital were invested in tech companies in the past year, it said.
TIN managing director and founder Greg Shanahan said "The Investor's Guide is an extension of our annual core report, the TIN Report, which showed that the NZ tech sector is growing by nearly a billion dollars every year and is a thriving export industry for New Zealand".
Among the findings was venture capital investment rose to $127 million in 2020 from $112m the year earlier, with 92 deals - twice the 46 number of deals completed in 2019.
Early stage investment increased 48 percent with a record $160m invested in tech start-ups by angels and venture funds, with Auckland dominating the number of early stage deals for 2020.
"As more capital becomes available on the global marketplace, the New Zealand technology industry is gaining increasing credibility," Shanahan said.
"Over the past three years, we've seen a massive escalation in investment in Kiwi tech companies, from millions to tens of millions, and now M&A (merger and acquisition) activity in the billions."
That capital investment amounted to $2.4 billion last year, Shanahan said
"There's never been a period over the past 20 years where we've seen such a proliferation of billion-dollar and above valuations for companies in terms of acquisitions, mergers or capital raises."
Fintech attracted the largest share of investment at 22 percent, followed by healthcare at 12 percent.