Computerworld

$1 million and counting... Drone firm bags NZ's largest ever equity crowd funding return

The equity crowdfunding campaign for drone designer and manufacturer Aeronavics has hit NZ$1 million so far - the largest undertaken in New Zealand to date.

The equity crowdfunding campaign for drone designer and manufacturer Aeronavics has hit NZ$1 million so far - the largest equity crowd-funding campaign undertaken in New Zealand to date.

The Raglan-based firm, whose global customers include NASA, Disney and DreamWorks, achieved its initial target of $750,000 in just three days through an offer on equity crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect.

Having attracted 191 investors already, Aeronavics is well on track to hit its maximum funding cap of $1.5 million when the offer closes on March 14.

Aeronavics general manager and director Linda Bulk says she is delighted with the response so far.

“The popularity of the raise has definitely exceeded our expectations, both in terms of the pace investors have come on board, and the amount raised," Bulk says.

“What’s really exciting is that exceeding our initial target will allow us to bring our growth plans forward.

"We’ll be able to develop products in our R&D pipeline earlier, which will widen our range of solutions, boost and streamline our production capabilities and give us a real edge in this global market.”

Shaun Edlin from Snowball Effect, which is hosting the Aeronavics offer, says the offer has set a new benchmark for equity crowdfunding in New Zealand.

“This is the first ever equity crowdfunding offer in New Zealand to surpass the $1 million mark, and is also the fastest raise on the Snowball Effect platform so far," Edlin adds.

"We’re thrilled for the Aeronavics team, who are now aiming to hit the $1.5 million overfunding target.”

Aeronavics is the fourth offer hosted by Snowball Effect, all of which have achieved their funding targets.

The previous three successful offers were: Renaissance Brewing ($700,000), The Patriarch ($488,800) and CarbonScape ($764,302).