Best Aerospace, Maritime and Defense Tech Companies in New Zealand
The 46 best Aerospace, Maritime and Defense Tech companies in New Zealand in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Dawn Aerospace.
- The Business Research Company
- prnewswire.com
Our analysis of 50 Aerospace, Maritime and Defense Tech companies
$31.9b in tracked funding; 90% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2021.
Ranked: Best Aerospace, Maritime and Defense Tech companies in New Zealand
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dawn Aerospace Developer of propulsion systems for satellites, spaceplanes, and orbital transfer | $22M | 44 mo ago | Series A | Tobias Knop Co-Founder & Director | 2017 | Cart FunctionalitySquarespace CommerceSquarespace+18 | 9 patents Rocket propulsion systems and motor component technologies for aerospace launch vehicles | 1 internship · 1 partnership · 1 expansion |
| 2 | Zenno Astronautics Provider of satellite and software for the management of satellites | $7M | 20 mo ago | Seed | Sebastian Wieczorek Co-Founder | 2017 | SanityGSAPVercel+4 | 12 patents Satellite power and launch vehicle technologies for space systems | — |
| 3 | Dotterel Provider of noise reduction and audio recording technology for UAVs | $4M | 52 mo ago | Series B | Samuel Rowe Co-Founder | 2010 | — | — | — |
| 4 | Croplogic Precision agriculture technology provider | $3M | 87 mo ago | Public | — | 2010 | — | — | — |
| 5 | Merlot Operation planning and crew management suite for airlines operator | $2M | — | Acquired | Kerry Mcintosh Co-Founder | 2008 | SalesforceWindows ServerMicrosoft ASP.NET+5 | — | — |
| 6 | Aeronavics Manufactures advanced multi-rotor airframes & related accessories | $2M | 137 mo ago | Seed | — | 2009 | — | — | — |
| 7 | Pyper Vision Manufacturer of commercial drone systems for removing fog interruptions | $700K | 98 mo ago | Seed | — | 2016 | — | — | — |
| 8 | Astrix Developer of inflatable deployable spacecraft components for solar arrays, antennas | $620K | 38 mo ago | Seed | William Hunter Co-Founder & CTO | 2021 | — | — | — |
Top 11 Aerospace, Maritime and Defense Tech companies in New Zealand
#1
Seed · Auckland, Auckland · founded 2017 · 18 employees$6.6Mraised▾
Provider of satellite and software for the management of satellites. It provides users with a fuel free satellite engine and has the feature of close proximity formation flight,responsive orbital structures,decentralized architecture,unparalleled collision avoidance and lifetime extension.
- Nov 2024Seed—
- Aug 2022Seed$6.6M
#2
Series A · Christchurch, Canterbury · founded 2017 · 125 employees$22.3Mraised▾
Developer of propulsion systems for satellites, spaceplanes, and orbital transfer. The company provides systems for CubeSats, SmallSats, and orbital transfer vehicles. It also develops spaceplanes. The company offers resources and trade study information.
- Dec 2022Series A$20M
- Aug 2022Grant (prize money)$204.9K
- Apr 2022Grant (prize money)$1.5M
- Oct 2021Grant (prize money)$58K
#3
Series B · Auckland, Auckland · founded 2010 · 16 employees$4.3Mraised▾
Provider of noise reduction and audio recording technology for UAVs. It offers a microphone with noise cancellation features applicable for drones, vehicles, and robots. The company uses its proprietary algorithm to filter the incoming audio to remove drone noise. It caters to entertainment, emergency service, and defense industries.
- Mar 2022Series B$2.1M
- Mar 2020Series A—
- 2018Seed$1.1M
- Nov 2017Seed$379K
#4
Public · Christchurch, Canterbury · founded 2010 · 11 employees$2.8Mraised▾
Precision agriculture technology provider. It is an agricultural technology company that develops precision farming tools combining in‑field sensors, climate and satellite data with analytics to help growers improve crop yields, irrigation and field decisions. Its data‑driven agronomy solutions serve large‑scale crop producers.
- Apr 2019Conventional Debt$710.8K
- May 2017Series A$2M
- Jul 2016Seed$512K
- Sep 2015Seed$314.4K
#5
Seed · Auckland, Auckland · founded 2021 · 5 employees$620Kraised▾
Developer of inflatable deployable spacecraft components for solar arrays, antennas.The firm designs and manufactures inflatable structures that deploy in orbit to create large-area surfaces for spacecraft subsystems such as solar power generation and high-gain antennas. Products include deployable panels, antenna reflectors, and drag sails engineered for compact stowage, rapid inflation, and structural rigidization. Engineers validate designs through ground testing and in-orbit demonstrations to confirm deployment reliability and thermal and mechanical performance. The systems target platforms requiring high surface area with low stowed volume and mass.
- 2023Seed$120K
- Apr 2021Seed$500K
#6
Acquired · Auckland, Auckland · founded 2008 · 94 employees$2Mraised▾
Merlot provides cloud-based operation planning and crew management suite for airlines operator. It provides features like route planning, network planning, schedule management, crew management, crew rostering, crew select, crew house, crew following and crew payroll management, aircraft following, flight log management, ground operation management, MEL tracking, aircraft performance management, weight & balance. Some notable customers are Kam Air, Westjet Encore, Allegiant Air, Malanda Airlines and Sriwijaya
- Seed$2M
#7
Seed · Raglan, Waikato · founded 2009 · 12 employees$1.5Mraised▾
Aeronavics Ltd is a manufacturer of advanced multi-rotor airframes and related accessories. Their products are composite aerospace and industrial grade materials, with solutions for tiny GoPro and FLIR thermal imaging equipment through to Hollywood grade “RED” cameras.
- Feb 2015Seed$1.5M
#8
Seed · Darfield, Canterbury · founded 2016 · 9 employees$700Kraised▾
Manufacturer of commercial drone systems for removing fog interruptions. It offers hardware to detect and manage fog interruptions. Its features include fog cleaning tools, spraying tools, water monitor, spoil detection, and fog inspection. It is applicable to the transport and airport sectors.
- 2018Seed$700K
#9
Series A · Auckland · founded 2020 · 6 employees—raised▾
SaaS-based Platform offering compliance management solutions for the aviation industry. Product features include work management, document authoring, safety management, auditing tools, job management, asset and personnel management, report generation, and more. Clients of the company include Refractus, Hamilton Airport, Southland Helicopters LTD, and more.
- Jan 2026Seed—
#10
Seed · Wellington, Wellington · founded 2018—raised▾
Manufacturer of electric ships. It designs and develops electric-powered passenger ferries for marine transportation applications. Its features include reduced noise and emission, electric propulsion, power management systems, carbon composite constructions, and real-time system health monitoring.
- Dec 2021Seed—
#11
Seed · New Zealand · founded 2020—raised▾
Operator of platform providing resources and guidance for career transition. The platform offers tools and information designed to support individuals navigating career changes. It focuses on providing access to relevant resources and expert guidance. The aim is to empower individuals to make informed decisions and achieve their career goals.
- 2021Seed—
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Aerospace, Maritime and Defense Tech coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Launch Vehicles is moving in New Zealand
A read on the academic research around Launch Vehicles — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 5 New Zealand-affiliated papers.
- University of Canterbury2
- Treasury2
- Ministry of Education1
- Aerospace engineering1
- Drag1
- Aeronautics1
- Marine engineering1
- Propellant2
- Propulsion2
- Aerospace engineering2
- Rocket (weapon)2
- Aeronautics2
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.