Auckland-based space-tech startup Outlier Space has raised NZ$10.5 million (US$7.35 million) in one of New Zealand's largest pre-seed rounds to build a reusable satellite capsule designed to carry pharmaceutical, silicon and biotech payloads into microgravity — and bring them safely back to Earth.
An 'anti-gravity chamber' for advanced manufacturing
Founder Jamie France, a former global director at Rocket Lab, describes Outlier's capsule as an "anti-gravity chamber" for scientists working on in-space manufacturing. Customers load their materials — drug crystals, semiconductor precursors, biotech fibres — into the capsule; Outlier handles launch integration, on-orbit operations and, crucially, controlled re-entry, so the payloads survive the trip back through the atmosphere.
Round backed by GD1, Airtree and Icehouse
The pre-seed was led by New Zealand deep-tech firm GD1 (Global from Day One) with participation from Airtree, Icehouse Ventures, Investible, Side Stage Ventures, Nova Threshold and angel investor Brian Cartmell. Airtree, historically focused on fast-growing software companies, framed the deal as a bet on hardware businesses with defensible moats in the AI era.
A crowded but early frontier
Outlier is following in the wake of California's Varda Space Industries, which raised US$187 million last year for microgravity pharmaceutical production, and UK-based Space Forge, which is manufacturing silicon in orbit with NATO Innovation Fund backing. Where those companies specialise in particular verticals, Outlier is pitching itself as a horizontal platform: any customer, any rocket, any payload. The team is aiming for a first test flight in mid-2028 and expects to raise again before then.
Reporting based on coverage from Forbes Australia, NZ Herald, NBR and Startup Daily.