AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
1 September, 2026
Drumbeat, a PR and comms platform helping high-growth companies find, tell and measure their stories, today announced it has raised $2 million NZD in seed funding led by Icehouse Ventures, with support from Brand Fund.
The capital will fund Drumbeat’s expansion into Australia and the United States, and scale the proprietary “awareness-building system” at the core of its platform, which includes media relations management, content generation, campaign tracking and media clipping tools.
Drumbeat’s platform is built on the belief that brand awareness comes from consistency, not isolated PR and one-off announcements. It helps teams turn business activity such as product updates, hires, milestones and mission-led stories into ongoing media and content opportunities, giving growth-stage companies a repeatable, measurable alternative to traditional PR agency retainers.
The raise comes as the way brands earn attention has fundamentally changed. As LLMs increasingly shape how people discover and evaluate companies, earned media coverage - not brand-owned content - is emerging as a key input into visibility.
“Storytelling is the oldest way humans have connected with each other - what’s changed is the technology. We’re now in an era where companies can tell their stories with a level of scale that was not possible before. Our mission is for every company to use the power of its own story to drive genuine connection with its audience, and real growth as a result.”
Drumbeat launched in March 2026 and already has over 50 customers in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, including Andfoods, Re-Leased, Levno and Factor. Since launch, Drumbeat customers have secured media coverage across all four of those markets plus Singapore and Hong Kong, spanning mainstream, trade and emerging media. The company also has backing from leading marketing figures including Adam Ferrier of Thinkerbell and Henry Innis of Mutinex.
“PR and comms are a core part of our marketing and growth engine. As we grow into new markets, getting our story in front of the right media in each one used to mean managing multiple agency relationships. Drumbeat has let us do that from one platform, and we’ve landed coverage in APAC markets that are typically challenging to crack.”
Jack McQuire, Partner at Icehouse Ventures, said the investment reflects a broader shift in how businesses need to adapt in a world where curated content and trust are paramount.
“Speaking to customers, and witnessing their results, validated what we expected. PR is more important than ever, but too much of the industry still operates the way it did in the 90s. Drumbeat has brought that into the modern era, and it’s meant breakneck growth - for them, and their customers.”
“The highest conviction investments we make are those driven by their teams. We have seen co-founders Barney, Fallon and Aaron grow and execute over a decade and know they have the experience to build for a real change in the market,” McQuire added.
Drumbeat is the fourth company built out of venture studio New+Improved Ventures (the team behind Tracksuit and Ideally). It was co-founded by CEO Barney Chunn (formerly co-founder at CONQA), Fallon Savery, Chief Revenue Officer (formerly SVP Revenue at Timely), and Aaron Croft, Chief Product Officer (formerly Head of Product at Hectre). The team has grown to eight - all experienced operators at high-growth companies.
“Drumbeat brings PR and comms strategy and media relationships in-house, giving high-growth companies the same kind of power in their hands that Tracksuit does for brand tracking and Ideally gives for market research.”
“Every company has great stories of why they exist, what they’re doing and where they’re going. The companies you know are the ones that are good at storytelling, and now we’re working to make this an advantage any company can have.”