Aether, a Kiwi AI startup turning advertising shows right into a reside paperwork, has raised NZ$3.8 million (A$3.4m) in Seed funding.
The AI-powered SaaS platform, cofounded by former TikTok NZ nation supervisor Carsten Grueber, has emerged from stealth mode with backing from Icehouse Ventures, and assist from Model Fund 2.
The startup has emerged out of New+Improved, the enterprise studio from the folks behind Tracksuit and Ideally, and has already signed contracts with enterprise prospects Australia, New Zealand, and the US to construct income to NZ $600,000 ARR, with greater than half of that determine coming from the island to Aotearoa’s west.
Cofounded in 2025, Ursula von Keisenberg, the previous ANZ MD at Well timed and gross sales lead at Xero Asia, Aether’s HQ is shared between Auckland and Melbourne. The capital might be used to speed up product improvement and develop the crew throughout ANZ.
Grueber stated Aether helps organisations remedy three key points: institutional amnesia (the place precious information insights are misplaced or under-utilised); wasted productiveness on repetitive analysis manufacturing; and outdated info embedded in static decks.
“They are saying measure twice, reduce as soon as, and this also needs to be true of promoting workflows. Because it stands, most slide decks are recut each time a presentation occurs, losing precious assets from inner groups,” he stated.
“Aether transforms shows from static paperwork into dwelling, linked belongings which can be correct, all the time up-to-date, and able to share. As a substitute of entrepreneurs spending half every week constructing the month-to-month efficiency report, they will spend that very same time doing the precise advertising itself.”
The software program integrates reside information immediately into presentation and doc workflows, saving what Grueber estimates is as much as entrepreneurs’ time spent on guide copy-paste.
As soon as plugged into information units, Aether creates customisable shows utilizing an organization’s branding inside minutes, with the underlying information up to date when wanted.
Grueber stated Aether prospects are utilizing the platform for board packs, quarterly enterprise evaluations, marketing campaign stories, company briefs and information administration.
“In minutes, Aether can take 150 advertising stories, in 12 totally different languages and distill all of it right down to the ten slides that really matter; assess and strengthen your newest concept, plan or transient towards your advertising technique; or create exec-ready shows reporting final month’s efficiency with key charts and commentary,” he stated.
New+Improved cofounder Simon Pound stated Aether is the primary firm to be spun out of the enterprise studio, which developed the idea following interviews with 100s of promoting leaders and enterprise advertising companies.
“Aether represents a much bigger alternative than any of us have seen earlier than,” he stated.
Now, with sturdy income, massive international enterprise prospects, and the backing of main buyers, we’re able to scale. We imagine Aether could possibly be the following breakout SaaS success story from this area.”
Icehouse Ventures companion Barnaby Marshall described the software program startup as “the dream intersection of clear downside, scalable resolution, and powerful crew”.
“Aether is fixing a common ache level, and the traction they’ve achieved with international enterprise prospects earlier than launch is exceptional,” he stated.
