Punakaiki Fund opens, Gen-i building, Acer 4K smartphone

Lance Wiggs‘ Punakaiki Fund is now officially open for business. The fund aims to raise  between $20 to $50 million from everyday investors seeking to put their money into innovative New Zealand tech firms.

It’s off to a good start. Wiggs said yesterday there are already 600 potential investors who collectively may invest more than $9 million.

Wiggs and business partner Chris Humphreys are touring New Zealand to meet potential investors.

• Gen-i says it is building a $60 million Auckland datacentre. Construction is due to start later this month. The new facility brings Gen-i’s datacentre count up to 20 and will host projects for government and enterprise customers. Gen-i’s recently acquired Revera business unit will also use the facility.

• With a six-inch screen Acer’s Liquid S2 is either a massive Android smartphone or a small tablet. Please don’t call it a ‘phablet’. The device’s main claim to fame is it is the first smartphone capable of shooting 4K video, the other specs are high-end too.
• Microsoft can breathe a sigh of relief after Windows 8 sales surged in August. Data from Net Applications shows: Windows 8 now has a 7.4 percent share of the total operating systems market. Meanwhile Windows XP’s market share tracked down to 33.7 percent. It’s hard to get excited about one month’s figures, the real test will be next month when Windows 8.1 hits the streets.