Seaweed aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing sectors globally, contributing to the production of food, feed, biostimulants, biomaterials and ecosystem services. The sector has tripled its value over the past two decades, with most seaweed production concentrated in Asia. In other regions seaweed aquaculture production is limited or in early development. This is particularly true for Aotearoa New Zealand (A-NZ), where there is only a small seaweed sector based on wild-harvested and beach-cast resources. However, the A-NZ Government has signalled significant intent to develop a seaweed sector and has been funding research to that end. This chapter explores the status of the seaweed aquaculture research in A-NZ, focusing on identifying current areas of research, sources of investment, ongoing efforts and barriers. We emphasize the critical role of research investment, as it serves to bridge academia and industry, promoting innovation and supporting the development of a sustainable and economically viable seaweed sector in A-NZ. While some initial investments have been made, scaling up the sector effectively will require greater and more diversified funding sources. These will be essential to advance fundamental and applied research, upscale current initiatives and position seaweed as a central pillar of A-NZ’s aquaculture sector.