Manuka is designed to test more opportunities, for less, and to build only the ones the evidence supports.
Run the cheapest experiment capable of materially changing our belief.
Most venture risk is concentrated in a few assumptions. We find those assumptions early, test them in the real world, and let the result determine what happens next — including stopping.
Reduce upfront investment
Spend to learn, not to look busy. Capital follows evidence.
Validate before scaling
An opportunity earns its next stage by surviving the last one.
External engineering leverage
Specialist partners build alongside us, so the studio stays focused.
A lean core studio
A small team with clear decision rights moves faster than a large one.
AI throughout the lifecycle
From signal scanning to experiment design, AI is part of the work, not an add-on.
Founders when it matters
We recruit exceptional founders as opportunities mature and the evidence is real.
Each stage has a single purpose, and has to produce evidence before the next one is funded.
- 01/ 08
Signal
Identify a meaningful market or technological shift.
- 02/ 08
Idea
Turn the signal into structured venture hypotheses.
- 03/ 08
Evaluation
Stress-test the opportunity before anything is built.
- 04/ 08
Validation
Take the hypothesis into the real world.
- 05/ 08
Prototype
Build only what is necessary to test the critical assumption.
- 06/ 08
Early Customers
Find evidence of genuine demand.
- 07/ 08
Founder
Match the opportunity with the right venture leader.
- 08/ 08
Spinout
Build the company when the evidence warrants it.
Ignite finds possibilities. Lattice challenges them. Experiments create evidence. Humans make the decisions. Manuka builds the winners.
- 01Signal
- 02Ignite
- 03Lattice
- 04Experiment
- 05Evidence
- 06Decision
- 07Venture
AI helps us generate and sharpen hypotheses. Only customers, markets and behaviour can confirm them.
| Dimension | AI inference | Real-world evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Seconds to generate | Days to weeks to observe |
| Source | Models, research, patterns | Customers, markets, behaviour |
| Good for | Hypotheses and options | Decisions and commitments |
| Can it be simulated? | Yes — that is its purpose | No. It has to be observed |
| Weight in a decision | Directional | Decisive |