Huckleberry raises NZD $2.1 million to transform workplace feedback

Huckleberry has secured NZD $2.1 million in pre-seed funding to advance its voice-based 360 feedback platform, aiming to broaden access to workplace feedback.

The funding round was led by Oregon Venture Fund, and included participation from Archangel Ventures as well as several US and New Zealand technology founders such as Nathan Christensen, CEO of Mineral, Rowan Simpson of TradeMe, and Serge Van Dam of M-Com.

Huckleberry, co-founded by Aaron Ward and Diogo Böhm, seeks to change the way professional workers provide and receive feedback at work.

The platform allows employees to use their voice instead of typing when giving feedback, with artificial intelligence (AI) capturing the input, guiding the conversation, and delivering practical suggestions.

The company's approach is designed to move away from traditional annual surveys and static reports, enabling employees to receive regular, actionable feedback. The intent is to make feedback a habit that occurs throughout the year rather than a single event.

"The career journey for most people looks like a drunkard's walk, zig-zagging from one role to another, hoping to stumble into work that fits," said Aaron Ward, Co-Founder and CEO.

"Honest feedback can help people discover the work they love, where they can play to their natural strengths. Huckleberry turns that insight into a regular habit, not a once-a-year event."

One of the company's latest offerings is an AI-generated Growth Plan, which automatically creates a personalised 90-day development plan based on peer feedback. The aim is to foster a continuous growth mindset for all employees, rather than reserving such resources solely for executives with access to high-cost coaching programmes.

"We built Huckleberry to make meaningful feedback effortless for everyone," Ward said. "People just talk, AI listens, and the system returns clear, actionable steps. By using voice, we've made feedback 10x faster and 100x more human."

The platform also aims to benefit HR leaders and managers by providing analytical summaries and actionable insights to staff, reducing the time spent on manual feedback processes. This enables more frequent, high-quality feedback without increasing administrative workload.

Oceania Healthcare, a retirement village operator, is among the initial users of Huckleberry. Alex Howieson, General Manager of People and Culture, commented on the ease of use and influence on workplace discussions:

"Traditional feedback mechanisms can be incredibly resource intensive and confronting for the participants" says Alex Howieson, GM of People and Culture. "What stands out about Huckleberry is how effortless, constructive and engaging it is - actionable feedback in the moment flows to participants and generates deep team led conversations about performance and delivery."

Aaron Ward, originally from New Zealand and of Ngāti Maru descent, is now based in Portland, Oregon.

He previously founded AskNicely, a customer experience platform recognised for its achievements in the technology sector. Ward explained that his experience at AskNicely informed the development of Huckleberry's approach to professional feedback.

"At AskNicely, we saw how using real-time customer feedback to drive recognition for frontline service workers transformed the experience for customers," Ward said.

"With Huckleberry, we're using feedback from colleagues to help professional workers take charge of their career development. It's a great example of how AI can make work better for people, not the other way around."

Diogo Böhm, based in Auckland, leads Huckleberry's engineering and AI development. The co-founders emphasise their connection to New Zealand while targeting international markets, citing a combination of local expertise and engagement with the US HR sector.

The newly raised capital will support further product development, refinement of the AI technology, team expansion, and growth in key markets including the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Huckleberry's stated long-term goal is to reach one billion people, enabling them to use feedback to grow their careers and professional impact.