Lightning Lab

Lightning Lab is a startup accelerator in New Zealand, which has been operating since 2013. Lightning Lab is owned and managed by Creative HQ, a startup incubator in Wellington. Lightning Lab programmes have been delivered in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch. Lightning Lab operates various different programmes that each have a separate focus. Lightning Lab Digital is the accelerator catered towards software companies and has been run in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Lightning Lab Manufacturing caters towards hardware startups, and there has been a single programme, run in Lower Hutt, Wellington. Additionally, in 2016 Lightning Lab XX was held in Wellington with a focus on women-led companies with at least one woman on the founding team.

Lightning Lab is sponsored nationally by Spark, Microsoft, and Callaghan Innovation, and programmes have been delivered by Creative HQ in Wellington, ICEHOUSE in Auckland, and CDC in Christchurch.

Lightning Lab is a part of the Global Accelerator Network (GAN).

To date, Lightning Lab has guided 150 entrepreneurs (63 startups) through rigorous learning, mentoring and business development that has resulted in over $10 million in private investment following the programme’s Demo Day investment events.

Several notable companies to come out of Lightning Lab include:


 * Wipster
 * Cloud Cannon
 * Publons