About Rakiura
Follow real science. Fund the work.
Rakiura is where working science labs share their research as it happens — and where anyone who cares about discovery can follow along and support it directly.
Who we are
Most science happens out of view. The results reach the public years later, flattened into a headline and stripped of the uncertainty and craft that made them real. Meanwhile the labs doing the work spend a punishing share of their time chasing the next grant.
Rakiura works on both ends of that. Labs publish in public — episodes, writing, and the open questions they are still wrestling with. People follow the labs they believe in, and can fund them directly. No intermediary deciding what is worth knowing.
Our mission
Make science followable and fundable — connect the people who do research with the people who want to back it, and send that support straight to the labs doing the work.
What we stand for
Honesty over hype
We tell you what is known, what is not, and what is still contested. We would rather be trusted than impressive.
Trust through transparency
Support is meant for the science. We show the labs behind the work and keep the path from supporter to lab clear.
Reinvesting in science
We are building Rakiura to be mission-locked: our success is meant to fund more science, not extract from it.
Belonging
Rakiura is for people who think like scientists and live like everyone else — the curious, the lapsed researchers, the lifelong learners.
Where we're headed
We are starting with a handful of labs and the people who want to follow them. Over time, we want Rakiura to grow into something larger — a community that does not just watch science happen, but helps make it possible.
The team
Chad Munroe
Cofounder & CEO
Chad is Rakiura's cofounder and CEO. He leads the company's strategy and the work of building a durable bridge between working scientists and the people who want to back them.
Mugdha Polimera
Cofounder
Mugdha is a cofounder of Rakiura, where she leads product and engineering — building the platform that lets labs publish their work and supporters fund it directly.
Our science communicators — the people who turn each lab’s work into something you can follow — are joining soon.