New Zealand startup Ideally has raised NZ$16 million (US$10 million) in its Series A funding round. The investment was led by Shearwater Capital, with support from Altered Capital, Icehouse Ventures, and Ecliptic VC.
After this funding, the company is now valued at over NZ$100 million (around US$59 million). This shows strong confidence that, ideally, is changing the way brands do research.
The startup had earlier raised $2.15 million in November 2023, followed by another $5.5 million in August 2024.
McDonald, Ideally’s CEO, said the platform allows clients such as Treasury Wines Estate to test and refine new concepts that previously took nine months in just 90 days. The result is products such as Cali by Snoop and Matua Bagnums.
“The best creative work has always come from genuinely understanding real people, but that understanding has been locked behind months of waiting and six-figure budgets,” he said.
“The Australian brands winning right now are the ones closest to their customers, and we built Ideally to give every team that closeness at the speed and scale that modern markets actually need. Every test compounds on the last, every insight gets smarter, and every brand that joins the platform gets a genuine competitive advantage.”
Founded in 2023 by James Donald, Brendan Cervin and Joshua Nu’u-Steele, the AI-powered market research platform is used by over 250 brands across APAC and the US. Its clients include DoorDash, Telstra, Google, Burger King, and Asahi. The company has also recently opened a new office in New York.
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