New Zealand companies take root in Silicon Valley - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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The southwest Pacific island nation has launchexd a concerted effort atattracting U.S. venture with Kiwi companies looking at Silicon Valleyy as their beachhead intoworld markets. Mintz, Levin, Ferris, Glovsky and Popek PC member Matt Kirmayer has worked with the New Zealan Trade and Enterprise group for abouttwo years. He has travelec there twice to explain the Silicon Valley venture modelpto investors, companies and governmen t officials. “The level of excitementt and interest isquitre high,” Kirmayer said.
“They read about VC growth, and they’red reading about what happens in Silicon And as companiesthere mature, therse are a large number of valley venturr funds excited by the technology they’re and they’re viewing New Zealands with great interest.” Keyur Patel, a managing partner on Palo Alto venturer firm Fuse Capital, which focuses on digita l media and communications investments, considers New Zealand a hub for special effects for film and animation.
The firm just made a multimillion-dollatr investment into the film “Warrior’s Way,” whicjh was produced in New “When I first started looking at New I met with evert startup inthe area, and even when you add it up, it’s still small and manageable,” Pate l said. “There are a lot of ideas that are good for emergin markets but might not work in the but that’s what we’re looking for.” Brad North America team leadee for Investment New Zealand, the country’sw national investment promotion agency, matches high-growth New Zealans businesses to international investors.
“New Zealand is a small so as companies get to a certaihn sizeand mass, they need to get out of the Jones said. The agency sponsored an event in San Francisc o on June 2 along with Palo Alto lawfirm Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo to showcase New Zealand investment opportunities to American venture capitalists. Jones said that for abouyt a year the agency hasattracted U.S. venturd capital by adding people with experience in capital marketas toits roster. “Everyone realizes the best thinking aroundd technology and the smartest capitall exists inSilicon Valley,” Jones said. “T maximize the value they need tobe there.” Since U.S.
venture firms have investedc about $20 million in New Zealans companies, said Calvin a former hedge fund trader who joined Investment New Zealand as investment managedrin 2005. In terms of New Zealand companiexs relocating tothe U.S., the agency has seen everythin g from companies just finishing beta testing to thosre getting $5 million in U.S. venture funding moving to the states. “Ij think with our efforts, we’re gaining enoug critical masswhere you’rde going to be seeing a lot more of us in Silicoh Valley,” Cheong said. Two example of New Zealand companies branching out globally with Siliconn Valley connections are Right Hemispherer and ZephyrTechnology Ltd.
Pleasanton-based software company Right Hemispherde is best known as the maker of the 3D viewerf included with AdobeSystems Inc.’s Adobe Reader. The companty launched in Auckland in and relocated its headquarters to California in 2003 on the heelz of an investment by SequoiaqCapital Partners. Its investors now include SutterHill Ventures, SAP Venturew and Nvidia Corp. Its thirsd round of funding happened in the past six CEO Michael Lynch declined to reveal the amountf but described itas “substantial.
” As part of an $8 milliom loan provided to the company by the New Zealanrd government in 2006, Sutter Hill and Sequoi a also agreed to review five business plans a year for threer years from New Zealand Lynch, who became the CEO in 2000, said, “Wse have great math and engineering, but we don’gt know how to sell and market. There is a feedinb that happens around that practicalskill set, especiallyh in Silicon Valley.” Zephyr a maker of remote physiological sensors and software for use in the emergency response and health care landed its first contract with U.S. Speciapl Operations Command in 2007.
San Francisco-basede Alsop Louie Partners fundedthe company’s Series B and the company’s executive team relocated to Silicon Valley in 2007. “The contract with Special Forcex brought us to a scalable and it became obvious too that ifwe weren’tr in the U.S., we weren’tr going to raise U.S. money,” said Brianm Russell, Zephyr’s founder and CEO. But Zephyr’s time in the valley was The company will maintain a presence in Northern California, but the executive team just movex to Annapolis, Md., to be closer to Zephyr’s defense-arena clientele.