Four founders: tackling milk without cows, carbon-free composites, AI farming, and plant-grown proteins—only in New Zealand could this panel exist.
This special Portfolio Day panel brings together four New Zealand innovators building companies that literally couldn’t have been born anywhere else: Nicole Freed (Daisy Lab, precision-fermented dairy proteins), Ben Scales (KiwiFibre, high-performance Harakeke composites), Jeremy Bryant (Aimer Farming, AI pasture insights), and Amos Palfreyman (Miruku, plant-based molecular farming).
Hosted by Mark Pavlyukovskyy and Hendrik Remigereau of NZVC, the conversation dives deep into why New Zealand’s agricultural legacy, dairy infrastructure, talent pools, native plants, and high-trust ecosystem create uniquely fertile ground for breakthrough agtech and bio-innovation. From barbecued plastic prototypes to growing milk proteins in yeast and plants, this episode shows exactly how Kiwi founders go from grassroots to global.
🥛 Dairy without cows — precision fermentation (Daisy Lab).
🌿 Harakeke → carbon-free composites — KiwiFibre’s indigenous-led materials.
🤖 AI for pasture — Aimer’s farm-scale measurement & insights engine.
🌱 Molecular farming in plants — Miruku’s dairy proteins grown via photosynthesis.🇳🇿 Why NZ is uniquely suited for agtech — dairy infrastructure, native plants, talent.
🔬 Deep-tech with no shortcuts — labs, pilots, and long R&D cycles.
🧪 Origin stories — barbecue prototyping, student-lab MVPs, and prophetic patents.
🌍 Global scale — UK/Ireland rollouts, EU materials demand, talent pipelines.
🧭 Founder resilience — near-empty payrolls, naivete as superpower, and obsession with the mission.
Connect with the Guests:
Ben Scales (KiwiFibre): https://www.linkedin.com/in/benscales
Nicole Freed (Daisy Lab): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-nikki-freed-phd-86b63630
Jeremy Bryant (Aimer Farming): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-bryant
Amos Palfreyman (Miruku): https://www.linkedin.com/in/amos-palfreyman-58841579
Learn more about NZVC & Hosts:
🔗 NZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nz
🔗 Mark Pavlyukovskyy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/
🔗 Hendrik Remigereau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/
Timestamps:
00:00 — Intro
01:10 — Nicole (Daisy Lab): precision-fermented dairy proteins.
02:38 — Ben (KiwiFibre): Harakeke composites & NZ’s first industry.
04:20 — Amos (Miruku): molecular farming—proteins grown in plants.
06:17 — Jeremy (Aimer): AI pasture insights for farmers.
07:50 — Why NZ dairy roots shape founder journeys.
09:54 — How traditional dairy is reacting to deep-tech.
11:31 — Leveraging NZ’s dairy infrastructure for new proteins.
13:30 — KiwiFibre: building a new materials industry from zero.
15:26 — Talent challenges: wet labs, molecular biology, bioprocessing.
17:11 — Attracting overseas scientists to NZ.
19:05 — Daisy Lab on using NZ dairy experts in precision fermentation.
20:04 — Government subsidies & why tech must stand alone.
22:07 — Selling to farmers; NZ reputation abroad.
24:47 — KiwiFibre’s stolen snowboard story (Munich).
28:01 — Origin stories: barbecues, student labs, prophetic patents.
34:11 — Aimer: replacing 8-hour farm walks with AI & camera vision.
36:24 — Miruku: founding during COVID & pitching with zero cash.
38:10 — Founder resilience: pay-run courage & obsession.
40:42 — KiwiFibre: beer experiments, byproduct uses, cultural roots.
42:16 — Policy change & gene-tech reform in NZ.
43:00 — Closing: Kiwi innovation from soil to global scale.
If this expanded your view of what New Zealand startups can build, hit 👍, drop your questions for the founders below, and subscribe for more deep-tech conversations.
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