Prime Highlights:
- Women-led tech startup Contented raised $4.1 million in its first seed round to grow its team and expand internationally.
- The subscription-based app helps businesses transcribe, summarize, and record meetings, serving 200 clients, including Synlait and Alliance Group.
Key Facts:
- The seed round was led by Altered Capital, with support from Shearwater Capital and several New Zealand investors.
- Contented has grown to $1.4 million in recurring annual revenue and plans to expand its team from five to 15 employees.
Background
Christchurch-based women’s technology startup Contented has raised $4.1 million in its first seed funding round to expand overseas and grow its team.
The round closed in December, led by Auckland’s Altered Capital, with support from Australia’s Shearwater Capital and several New Zealand investors, including K1W1, Icehouse Ventures, Aspire NZ Seed Fund, Phase One Ventures, and Exhort Ventures.
Founded by Hannah Hardy-Jones and Lucy Pink, Contented offers a subscription-based app that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings and conversations. The founders met through a startup incubator program and changed their focus from fashion and mental health to start an AI-driven business.
The company initially earned revenue by helping organizations adopt artificial intelligence tools. It later used those funds to develop its own software product. In late 2024, Contented launched Workspace Assess, a monthly subscription tool that has helped the business grow to $1.4 million in recurring annual revenue.
About 200 businesses now use the platform, including Synlait and Alliance Group. Some journalists in the United States also use the tool to turn council meeting notes into news reports. Publisher Stuff is currently piloting the software.
Contented plans to increase its team from five to about 15 staff in the coming months. The new capital will fund hiring in software development and marketing, areas where the company previously had limited resources.
The firm aims to expand into Britain and Australia over the next two years, followed by a push into the United States after a future Series A funding round.
