June 24, 2025 • 5 mins
Halter, a New Zealand tech company specialising in virtual fencing and animal management technology, has raised $165 million in a Series D fundraising round, valuing the company at $1.65 billion.
Started in 2016, Halter’s solar-powered, smart collars were guiding thousands of cattle by sound and vibration cues, allowing farmers to get rid of fencing on paddocks.
CEO and founder Craig Piggott says the technology helps farmers be more productive - and sustainable.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you haven't heard of the company Halter, remember that
name because this could be our next key, big key
we invention that's going to go bank gangbusters. The company
just raised one hundred and sixty five million dollars in
a funding round. Halter is now valued at a billion
US dollars, so that's one point sixty five billion New
Zealand dollars. They managed to secure backing from tech investment
company Bond, which also backed the likes of Airbnb, Facebook,
(00:20):
and Spotify. And Craig Pigot is the founder and CEO
of Halter and with us.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Now, Hey Craig, good evening, Thanks having me.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Yeah, thanks for coming in. Now, just explain to me
what you guys do is you put a little like
thing around the neck of the cow and basically create
an electronic fence where a fence doesn't exist yet.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Yeah, we're a system for a pasture based farm. So
I think Dario be farmers on grasse with a collar
for a cow, an app on a farmer's phone and
that collar trainscales to response to Q so we can
fence and shift them. Howse farmers run and more productive
and sustainable farm.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Does this farmer not have to go out of mustard.
Then they could just basically shift them with the collars.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yes, they can do it all through through halter.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Yeah, but how does the cow now would direction.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
To go in? Yeah, so the cow listens to the collar.
It has like primary queues, which is sound vibration, and
so the cow kind of learns to respond to the
sound of the collar instead of visually seeing the fences
that exist today.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Yeah, can you so it will know where the fence
is right, so it will know I can't go there
because the fence is there. Yes, but when you want
to shift them, so you've created a little electronic paddock,
Now you want to shift them to another electronic padder,
can you get them to move down the hill?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
It's actually like the same way we tell a cow
or guide a cow if they interact with a fence.
So if they come into a fence and kind of
we give them feedback on left and right, and it's
the same way if we're we're shifting a cow. And
that's also where we use a vibration vibration queue to
help reinforce the right way and which way they should
be walking.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
So so so if they're walking in the right direction, they
will know because if they're walking in the wrong direction,
the collar will tell them yes.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
So why is this taking off? Because it's I mean,
obviously it's going to make the job a hell of
a lot easier, isn't it. And you're not going to
have that infrastructure costs of fencing.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
I think the farming is I think just such a
critical role to a like New Zealand's economy, but also
around the world. And so when you can build a
product which helps farmers like at the heart of what
they do, which is trying to lift the productivity of
their land, then you know, those are important jobs focused
on for farmers. And so like my background and I
grew up farming, and I think that's why we you know,
(02:21):
that was kind of our I guess initial idea was
like we need to focus on productivity and kind of
the key parts of how you run a farm, and
and that's what the products become today.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
So does this free up time?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yes, yep, it does. It automates a bunch of you
don't have to put up fences of shift cow, so
you save time on that. But then it also enables
you to be slightly more precise, so you can therefore
lift the productivity of your pasture in your land.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Do you have set up costs? Because I haven't read
the article, it seems that you have some sort of
like you have some sort of transmission that you require, right,
So is that quite a big investment?
Speaker 2 (02:54):
It's actually it used to be once upon a time,
but these days we do put towers up on farms,
but they come in a cardboard box. Farmers clip them
together like really lego. And I think the record to
put up a tower is like twenty minutes or fifteen
minutes or something. Stop it.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
And how much are they worth?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
The towers they come as part of like and we
do like we map the farm and we give the
farmer maybe three or four towers, and so they paying
one off kind of installation fee depends on the size
of the farm and where they are. I think.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Is that okay? So you have got currently in your
fences quarter of a million cows? How many cows they're
in the world.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
We crossed the two hundred and fifty thousand cow milestone
I think towards the end of last year and been
growing kind of since then, and the world there's about
three hundred and fifty million, So hush, best cows.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
No end of expansionary opportunities here for you.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Agriculture is obviously like a massive industry, and so yeah,
we have a long way to go. We feel like
we are just getting started on the on the journey
and on the mission, and we're excited if we take
the impact we're seen on our customers today and just
how they are lifting their productivity and sustainability and saving
time and it's better for the farmers and the land
and the cows, and trying to scale that through new
markets and things of that. We are excited to keep
(04:07):
kind of pushing that.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Credit for what do you think you are? You're the
next what?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
That's a big question, m I think we these are
like heaps of so many cool companies I think out
there having a huge, huge impact. And so obviously I
spent some time in rock Lab and really at my
opedia Beck and he's been instrumental and helping to build
Holter and just I couldn't be more grateful to Pete.
But I think for us, we just.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Focused on farmers and ag and that industry and where
where was the farm that you grew up on? I
grew up in moronsall, well, actually all around the South
WAK I do, but Moronsville was. It's where my parents
are today, and it's whether everything kind of started.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Have the parents got this on the farm.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
They were the first customer for sure?
Speaker 1 (04:48):
How old are you, Gray?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
I am thirty one.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Oh, I see heaps behind college.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah we didn't. There was no overlap with Jacinda.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
But well maybe if you you know what, you could
be the most famous Moronsville guy if you keep going
at this. Craig, thank you very much for coming in.
I really appreciate your time.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Mate.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
That's Craig Pigott, founder and CEO of Halter Remember the Name.
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen live to
news talks it'd b from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
If you haven't heard of the company Halter, remember that
name because this could be our next key, big key
we invention that's going to go bank gangbusters. The company
just raised one hundred and sixty five million dollars in
a funding round. Halter is now valued at a billion
US dollars, so that's one point sixty five billion New
Zealand dollars. They managed to secure backing from tech investment
company Bond, which also backed the likes of Airbnb, Facebook,
(00:20):
and Spotify. And Craig Pigot is the founder and CEO
of Halter and with us.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Now, Hey Craig, good evening, Thanks having me.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Yeah, thanks for coming in. Now, just explain to me
what you guys do is you put a little like
thing around the neck of the cow and basically create
an electronic fence where a fence doesn't exist yet.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Yeah, we're a system for a pasture based farm. So
I think Dario be farmers on grasse with a collar
for a cow, an app on a farmer's phone and
that collar trainscales to response to Q so we can
fence and shift them. Howse farmers run and more productive
and sustainable farm.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Does this farmer not have to go out of mustard.
Then they could just basically shift them with the collars.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yes, they can do it all through through halter.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Yeah, but how does the cow now would direction.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
To go in? Yeah, so the cow listens to the collar.
It has like primary queues, which is sound vibration, and
so the cow kind of learns to respond to the
sound of the collar instead of visually seeing the fences
that exist today.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Yeah, can you so it will know where the fence
is right, so it will know I can't go there
because the fence is there. Yes, but when you want
to shift them, so you've created a little electronic paddock,
Now you want to shift them to another electronic padder,
can you get them to move down the hill?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
It's actually like the same way we tell a cow
or guide a cow if they interact with a fence.
So if they come into a fence and kind of
we give them feedback on left and right, and it's
the same way if we're we're shifting a cow. And
that's also where we use a vibration vibration queue to
help reinforce the right way and which way they should
be walking.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
So so so if they're walking in the right direction, they
will know because if they're walking in the wrong direction,
the collar will tell them yes.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
So why is this taking off? Because it's I mean,
obviously it's going to make the job a hell of
a lot easier, isn't it. And you're not going to
have that infrastructure costs of fencing.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
I think the farming is I think just such a
critical role to a like New Zealand's economy, but also
around the world. And so when you can build a
product which helps farmers like at the heart of what
they do, which is trying to lift the productivity of
their land, then you know, those are important jobs focused
on for farmers. And so like my background and I
grew up farming, and I think that's why we you know,
(02:21):
that was kind of our I guess initial idea was
like we need to focus on productivity and kind of
the key parts of how you run a farm, and
and that's what the products become today.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
So does this free up time?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yes, yep, it does. It automates a bunch of you
don't have to put up fences of shift cow, so
you save time on that. But then it also enables
you to be slightly more precise, so you can therefore
lift the productivity of your pasture in your land.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Do you have set up costs? Because I haven't read
the article, it seems that you have some sort of
like you have some sort of transmission that you require, right,
So is that quite a big investment?
Speaker 2 (02:54):
It's actually it used to be once upon a time,
but these days we do put towers up on farms,
but they come in a cardboard box. Farmers clip them
together like really lego. And I think the record to
put up a tower is like twenty minutes or fifteen
minutes or something. Stop it.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
And how much are they worth?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
The towers they come as part of like and we
do like we map the farm and we give the
farmer maybe three or four towers, and so they paying
one off kind of installation fee depends on the size
of the farm and where they are. I think.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Is that okay? So you have got currently in your
fences quarter of a million cows? How many cows they're
in the world.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
We crossed the two hundred and fifty thousand cow milestone
I think towards the end of last year and been
growing kind of since then, and the world there's about
three hundred and fifty million, So hush, best cows.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
No end of expansionary opportunities here for you.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Agriculture is obviously like a massive industry, and so yeah,
we have a long way to go. We feel like
we are just getting started on the on the journey
and on the mission, and we're excited if we take
the impact we're seen on our customers today and just
how they are lifting their productivity and sustainability and saving
time and it's better for the farmers and the land
and the cows, and trying to scale that through new
markets and things of that. We are excited to keep
(04:07):
kind of pushing that.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Credit for what do you think you are? You're the
next what?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
That's a big question, m I think we these are
like heaps of so many cool companies I think out
there having a huge, huge impact. And so obviously I
spent some time in rock Lab and really at my
opedia Beck and he's been instrumental and helping to build
Holter and just I couldn't be more grateful to Pete.
But I think for us, we just.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Focused on farmers and ag and that industry and where
where was the farm that you grew up on? I
grew up in moronsall, well, actually all around the South
WAK I do, but Moronsville was. It's where my parents
are today, and it's whether everything kind of started.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Have the parents got this on the farm.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
They were the first customer for sure?
Speaker 1 (04:48):
How old are you, Gray?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
I am thirty one.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Oh, I see heaps behind college.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah we didn't. There was no overlap with Jacinda.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
But well maybe if you you know what, you could
be the most famous Moronsville guy if you keep going
at this. Craig, thank you very much for coming in.
I really appreciate your time.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Mate.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
That's Craig Pigott, founder and CEO of Halter Remember the Name.
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen live to
news talks it'd b from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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