The New Zealand event brought together twelve of the country’s most promising early-stage tech ventures to compete for a coveted place at the global Grand Finale in San Francisco.

The winner of the New Zealand Finals at Te Raukura ki Kāpiti was Scentian Bio, who are transforming insect biology into AI-powered sensors.

Each startup had just four minutes to pitch and two minutes for questions before the winner was announced.

The Startup World Cup is backed by Pegasus Tech Ventures and spans over 100 regions across six continents. The New Zealand winner, Scention Bio flew to the Grand Finale in Silicon Valley which was held on 17 October 2025, representing New Zealand in front of global investors, media and peers.

Last year’s winner, Kitea Health, went on to launch clinical trials, raise $10M, and become a national deep tech success story. 

The 12 finalists who presented at the Pegasus Startup World Cup were:

• Scentian Bio (First)
• Forever Harvest (Second)
• Uunafit (Third)
• Outfox
• Orba
• The Cleanery
• TDRI Solutions
• Dot Ingredients
• Goldie
• NextWork
• Litmaps
• Evidentful

In addition to the pitching presentations, an inspiring women's founder panel took place with:

• Gracy Chen, Bitget
• Natalia Lopez, Kitea Health
• Stephanie Parker, Floating Rock Studio
• Ella Blake, Altitude
• List MP Nancy Lu, National Party

Supported by 

Pegasus Tech Ventures, Kāpiti Coast District Council, Economic Development Kotahitanga Board, Creative HQ, Callaghan Innovation, AWS, Gracy Chen (Bitget), Epic Execution.