Company
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 (Wed 25 Mar 2026), Blackbird Ventures portfolio (Tue 27 Apr 2021) |
| Jamie France | Global Director (former) | Forbes Australia, Investible |
| Levi Fawcett | Engineer (former) | Startup Daily, Blackbird Ventures portfolio |
| Nelson Smith | Engineer (former) | Startup Daily (Mon 24 Jun 2024), Startup Daily (Tue 20 Jun 2023) |
| Peter Beck | CEO · Founder | Blackbird Ventures portfolio (Wed 25 Mar 2026), @AuManufacturing, SmartCompany, Startup Daily (Wed 23 Mar 2022), Startup Daily (Tue 30 Nov 2021), Startup Daily (Mon 18 Oct 2021), Startup Daily (Tue 12 Oct 2021), Startup Daily (Tue 27 Apr 2021), Blackbird Ventures portfolio (Thu 3 Dec 2020), TechCrunch Venture |
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.
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.
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.
Weekly roundup reporting numerous Australian and New Zealand startup raises, Icehouse Ventures securing fund capital, GitLab's IPO, two acquisitions, Clover's closure, and Openpay's debt facility.
Also Startup Daily
Vehicle parts data startup Partly, based in New Zealand, has closed a pre-Series A round led by Blackbird Ventures, with angel backers including Peter Beck, Dylan Field and Akshay Kothari, valuing it highly.
Satellite IoT firm Myriota won a $5.48 million Australian government Defence contract via the Defence Innovation Hub, weeks after a Spire Global partnership and an insurance-sector investment from IAG's venture arm.
Profile of satellite IoT company Myriota, a University of South Australia spin-out, recalling its seed backing from exactEarth and support from investors such as In-Q-Tel, Host Plus and Main Sequence Ventures.
Weekly roundup covering Main Sequence's second-fund close, operating partner hires at Blackbird and AirTree, raises by Sea Forest, Adventus.io, Halter and others, acquisitions by Equiem, Stripe and Toyota, plus Big Tech earnings.
Blackbird's investment note explains why it led Halter's NZD32 million Series B, profiling founder and CEO Craig Piggott, the smart cattle collar product, and its dairy farming potential.
Also Blackbird Ventures portfolio·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany
SEA Electric orders batteries after a $54m raise; Baraja raises $40m for LIDAR, led by Blackbird; Stealth demos weed detection; Wattle Health lifts profit and sells its dairy arm; Hydac wins VR training grant.
Blackbird's Wild Hearts podcast episode features Halter founder Craig Piggott and investor Peter Beck discussing farming technology, startup culture, and New Zealand entrepreneurship.
Manufacturing roundup: Imagion Biosystems raises six million dollars, Immuron receives an R&D tax payment, UNSW Canberra Space completes cubesat testing, and Australian Vanadium signs a green hydrogen supply deal.
Blackbird's investment note explains why it led the Series Seed round in Partly, a Christchurch company building fitment-data software and a marketplace for the auto parts industry.
Also Blackbird Ventures portfolio·Blackbird Ventures portfolio
Rocket Lab, a New Zealand launch startup, closed a $140 million Series E led by Australia's Future Fund to scale Electron rocket production, build launch pads and fund new R&D programs.
Fleet's satellites reached orbit aboard Rocket Lab's debut commercial flight; the profile recounts the space startup's 2017 Series A raise and its plans for a global IoT network.
Also SmartCompany