Four Massey Ventures spinouts secure millions to scale globally

AndFoods, Captivate Technology, Nanophage and NovoLabs are now all preparing to grow their operations locally and internationally.

The companies have spun-out of Massey Ventures, the university’s commercialisation arm, which helps to transform research into high-impact businesses, providing intellectual property expertise, early-stage capital and strategic support.

Massey University’s Commercialisation and Intellectual Property Director Dr Dan Carlisle says securing the capital funding reflects the strength of Massey’s research and innovation ecosystem.

“This level of investment highlights the quality of research emerging from Massey and the strength of our commercialisation pipeline. These companies are tackling global challenges, spanning food security, decarbonisation, cleaner waterways, and advanced diagnostics, accelerating their ability to deliver real-world impact.”

AndFoods expands into Asia

Developed by world-leading scientists at the Riddet Institute, AndFoods creates plant-based dairy alternatives for the foodservice industry using pulses and a unique and scalable fermentation process.

Following a $1.05 million seed funding extension round, the company is preparing to start commercial production in China and selling in Singapore.

AndFoods Chief Executive Alex Devereux says Singapore is an ideal launch market.

“Singapore allows us to test our product, establish a supply chain and gain early customer feedback. This helps validate our offering before expanding into larger Asian markets.

“Having Massey Ventures as one of our shareholders and working closely with Massey scientists, is invaluable. Massey is internationally recognised as a leader in food technology, with alumni in key food tech roles across the world. This reputation strengthens our credibility with customers and investors globally.”

Captivate Technology advances carbon capture solutions

At a time when industries face mounting pressure to decarbonise, Professor Shane Telfer has developed a recyclable, sponge-like adsorbent material to selectively capture carbon dioxide from industrial emissions.

The patented material can be deployed across sectors including cement, steel, natural gas, biomass combustion and biogas.

Captivate Technology’s newly appointed Chief Executive Lauren Salisbury says a $3 million seed round will support team growth, operational expansion and transition to pilot-scale testing both locally and internationally.

“This investment allows us to demonstrate that Captivate's material could be a critical piece in the global carbon solution, particularly in high-impact sectors like biogas upgrading and geothermal energy.

“Companies need solutions that integrate seamlessly with their existing infrastructure, and that’s exactly what we provide,” Ms Salisbury says.

Process engineer Elnaz Jangodaz, who recently completed her PhD at Massey and now works full time at Captivate, says the journey from research to commercialisation has been rewarding.

“Seeing our research evolve into commercial technology reinforces why I chose this path: to turn science into impact for a cleaner future."

Nanophage scales disease diagnostics innovation

Nanophage’s team of bioengineers is advancing disease diagnostics and drug discovery through technology that significantly increases test sensitivity, enabling earlier detection and accelerating research outcomes.

Chief Executive Paul Smith says a recent capital raise of $2.5 million, combined with revenue growth, positions the company for self-sustaining expansion.

“Our priorities for 2026 are to move from lab-scale production to commercial manufacturing, secure revenue contracts and launch our first sensitivity-boosting research kit.”

He says Massey Ventures has played an important bridging role.

“Massey Ventures connects the university and commercial world, guiding us through fundraising, business modelling and scientific strategy,” Mr Smith says.

NovoLabs prepares for global deployment

NovoLabs patented supercritical ultra-violet (UV) disinfection system, developed at Massey University, represents a world-first in ultra-violet treatment technology.

Founder Emeritus Professor Andy Shilton leads the company’s research and development programme with a specialist science and engineering team. He says investor confidence is strong following continued, excellent performance results, leading their largest shareholder to provide additional capital in 2025.

“Legacy companies dominate the global UV disinfection market, which is estimated at $8 billion annually, but they tend to offer incremental improvements on established technology.

“Our system offers significant advantages, including easier and safer maintenance, reduced regulatory risk, lower carbon footprints and the ability to treat liquids traditionally considered unsuitable for conventional UV disinfection. To date we have treated more than five billion litres of liquids in commercial applications and can also carry out on-site pilots with mobile testing units.”

Professor Shilton says the funding is supporting scaled manufacturing, team expansion and entry into priority export markets.

Learn more about Massey Ventures.