On a mission

Peter Beck's ascent from launching a company able to put small satellites in space to sending a spacecraft to the moon is tracked in a new book

- PETER GRIFFIN.

On the back of new data revealing the economy shrank in the second quarter and the Reserve Bank slashing interest rates, an Auckland-founded company has reached an impressive milestone. On October 14, Rocket Lab shares listed on the tech-focused Nasdaq exchange in New York closed trading at US$68, up 165% for the year and giving Rocket Lab a market capitalisation of about NZ$57 billion.

That meant it became more valuable than the combined value of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Meridian, Auckland Airport and Spark, titans of our sharemarket, the NZX. Only the accounting software company Xero, founded by tech entrepreneur Rod Drury and now listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, comes close in value, with a market valuation of around NZ$30b.

Sir Peter Beck, who in 2006 was a 29-year-old engineer working in the government-owned labs at Industrial Research Ltd, decided to start Rocket Lab because he couldn't see a place for himself in the US aerospace industry.

Speaking via video from Rocket Lab's headquarters in Long Beach, California, a few weeks ago, Beck is having none of my pessimism about the state of New Zealand's economy, which, apart from healthy commodity prices for our dairy and meat exports, stutters along in sharp contrast to his company's success.

"I wouldn't get too down in the dumps," he says. "I can tell you, there are a few Rocket Labs coming."

He quickly mentions Halter, the startup founded by former Rocket Lab engineer Craig Piggott, which makes smart collars for cows, allowing farmers to herd their cows remotely and monitor their health. Beck was an early investor and Halter in June raised $165 million in a new venture capital funding round, giving it “unicorn” status (valued at US$1b or more). “You know, there's another billion-dollar unicorn created, so there's hope.”