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For our Australian and New Zealand deep-tech companies, a fundamental question we should be asking is ‘how do we build a global company from day one?’
This question was one of the central themes covered during Pacific Channel's recent investor event, Taking Antipodean Innovation to the World, which brought together Pacific Channel's Dr David Rowe, Tim van Vliet, Richard Pinfold and Oliver Giera for a discussion moderated by Paul Muckleston.
The conversation explored what it takes for companies and technologies developed at the bottom of the world to access international customers, strategic partners and capital - and ultimately build businesses of global significance.
Build for the world from the beginning
For Australian-based Dr David Rowe, the best companies design their product and strategy around a global market from the beginning – they don't wait five years and then ask, "How do we expand overseas?"
Australia and New Zealand can provide valuable proving grounds. They offer opportunities to test products, secure early adopters and demonstrate commercial traction. But companies developing technologies for large global markets cannot afford to spend years building exclusively for their domestic market before turning their attention offshore.
David has first-hand experience of this pathway having successfully scaled a UNSW spin-out that raised seed capital in Australia, secured Series A capital from the UK and later attracted a US strategic investor before ultimately being acquired by a multinational. The lesson is not simply that international capital is available to Antipodean companies, it is that geography does not need to determine where a company's customers, investors or eventual acquirers come from. It also means thinking beyond capital.
Founders understandably spend considerable time asking who might invest in their next round. But an equally important question is: who can accelerate our route to market? For deep-tech companies in particular, the right strategic partner can provide market access, distribution, validation, manufacturing capability or customer relationships that would take years to develop independently. The same long-term thinking applies to exits. Great exits rarely begin when a company decides it is ready to sell. They are often the result of relationships, commercial decisions and strategic positioning developed over many years.
Singapore as a gateway to Asia
Pacific Channel's acquisition of ENGIE Factory APAC and establishment of Pacific Channel Climate Ventures has given us an on-the-ground presence in Singapore and a platform from which to build deeper connections across Southeast Asia. Tim van Vliet, Principal and Regional Manager Southeast Asia, provided his insight into the opportunities this creates both for Pacific Channel and our Australian and New Zealand portfolio companies.
Singapore itself is a relatively small market, but its significance extends well beyond its population. It is a major financial centre, home to many funds and family offices, headquarters of Southeast Asian companies,the regional headquarters of many multinational companies and an important gateway to the much larger economies of the region. For founders, this can provide access not only to capital but also to potential customers, corporate partners and future acquirers.
Tim gave an example on why engaging prospective acquirers early is not only about keeping an eventual exit channel open; it can help determine what the company should prioritise today, saving millions and years before exit. Conversations with multinational M&A and innovation teams can reveal whether a future buyer is likely to value the technology, revenue base, customer network or distribution capability. In Tim's example, his introduction of a global fertiliser corporate to a Pacific Channel portfolio company developing a fertiliser technology made clear that the corporate already possessed the distribution and customer relationships it needed and that it was principally interested in trial and regulatory validation of the technology - allowing resources to be directed towards product development rather than duplicating capabilities a strategic buyer already had.
Tim also emphasised the importance of seeking investors who understand the complexity, timelines and capital requirements of deep tech. Rather than approaching capital as a generic pool, founders should identify specialist investors whose expertise and networks can contribute to the company's international ambitions. Singapore's strong government commitment to areas including deep tech, climate technology and agrifood innovation further strengthens its relevance to companies operating in many of the sectors in which Pacific Channel invests.
Capital strategy and market strategy need to develop together
Senior Associate, Oliver Giera brought an international capital-markets perspective to the discussion.
Different markets can play different roles at different points in a company's development. Europe, for example, has a strong ecosystem of specialist investors that can be valuable during earlier funding rounds, while the depth of US capital markets continues to make the United States particularly important as companies progress towards larger, later-stage raises. For companies with serious US ambitions, establishing a genuine local presence may therefore need to happen considerably earlier than founders initially expect. Europe can also be important from an exit perspective, particularly in sectors such as biomedical technology where multinational strategic buyers are well established.
But internationalisation does not necessarily mean following every other technology company into the same handful of markets. Emerging economies including India and markets across Africa and Asia can offer substantial opportunities, particularly for technologies addressing energy, agriculture and other fundamental infrastructure needs. These markets can be challenging, but they are also frequently underserved, facilitating market entry. Designing for those constraints can itself become a source of competitive advantage, producing technologies that are more efficient, robust and scalable in developed markets as well.
Thinking about the destination from the outset
Investment banking partner, Richard Pinfold extended the discussion beyond venture-backed companies to renewable-energy development and the role of Pacific Channel's broader investment platform. Through Pacific Channel's renewable energy activities and Fund V's Kākāriki portfolio, the firm is supporting the development of wind, solar and energy-storage projects at significant scale. And while the investment structure and development pathway differ from traditional venture capital, there is a common principle - understand where an asset ultimately needs to go and efficiently build towards that destination.
For renewable projects, that means considering from an early stage the requirements of future investors, infrastructure owners and strategic buyers. For a deep-tech company, it may mean understanding the requirements of global customers, specialist investors or multinational acquirers. In both cases, international success is easier when the end market is considered from conception rather than at exhaustion.
Richard also highlighted growing interest from overseas investors seeking exposure to New Zealand as a stable jurisdiction and looking for opportunities that are both commercially attractive and impactful enough to warrant deeper involvement. For companies and funds based here, that creates the potential to attract not only offshore capital but also the international relationships, expertise and further opportunities those investors bring with them.
An Antipodean advantage
In summary, while Australia and New Zealand's distance from major markets is often characterised as a disadvantage, it can also provide a unique opportunity, attractive entry points and demand useful capital discipline.
Companies cannot assume their domestic market will provide sufficient scale. They need efficient routes to customers, carefully selected partnerships, and technologies capable of competing internationally. The opportunity is therefore not simply to take Australian and New Zealand innovation overseas – it is to build companies and technologies here that were built for the world.
