Hey everybody,

One more week ‘til TechWeek! There will be quite a few events online and a handful peppered through our home region. Of course the highlight to end all highlights will be WellyForge #7, 20 May at 5:30pm! Secure your spot here, there will be only 50 seats this time in our special TechWeek venue at Rutherford House. We’ll focus on commercially viable science, so we have Advemto and Arodia (né Arotec) and a lineup of lightning talks ⚡all made possible with the kind sponsorship of Creative HQ 👏

What is it about the NZ environment that has two giants paying break fees rather than build their data centres here? I’m all about silver linings but even I’m struggling with this one. When Anthropic is leasing the entirety of the gas-powered Colossus AI data centre from (Space)xAI, shouldn’t we be killing for this business with our >85% renewable grid? The renewable energy superpower spin has worked well for Australia. It may be too hoorah-macho for the Kiwi psyche, but we have a serious lesson to learn there.

“In 2030, Aotearoa New Zealand is a global leader for innovative, responsible and inclusive AI, and is globally recognised for harnessing the power of AI for the benefit of us all.” This is the refreshed vision in TechNZ’s AI Blueprint for Aotearoa. It’s got the cooling rig for a quantum chip on the cover, so it must mean business! ⚛

The Fourth Branch of Government, aka MartinJenkins, gets into AI. The position itself is a big deal given how much legislation is written by consultancies. I also find it very interesting that Jarred Griffiths, the new hire, described himself as not a technologist. AI is technology, but its use is not limited to techies, note even when it comes to roles that traditionally would require deep technical expertise. This is a strong sign of a transformational technology right there.

Highlighted entries are new from last week.

Thu May 14th, 5:15–7:30pm, AI for Good New Zealand at The Atom—Interested in speaking? Register your interest here.

Thu May 14th, 5:30–7:30pm, AI for Good - Wellington at The Atom

Fri May 15th, 7:30–9:30am, The CEO Table gathers eight people under Chatham House Rule on the theme of People Intelligence.

Fri, May 15th, 3:10–4:10pm, ScienceTalks #2 brings short talks on experimental science for public benefit. (Waitlist).

Fri May 15th, NZ Tech Rally brings all devs together at Tākina.

Mon 18th to Sun 24th May, Techweek26 all over Welly. Look carefully as they’re not all listed properly under the Wellington programme selector.

Wed, 20 May, 5:30–7:30pm, WellyForge #7 at TechWeek! Note the special venue at Rutherford House, and an earlier start time.

Wed May 20th, 'Critical' Minerals, Mining and Sustainable Futures Symposium in Kelburn

Fri May 22nd, 1–4:30pm, Seeds Impact Conference 2026 will be online, with Entrepreneurship as a focus area for positive change.

Fri May 22nd, 4-5.30pm, Morally Repugnant AI? An Alternative Lens for Predicting The Future of Work (AI and Society series) at Rutherford House.

Thu, 18 Jun, The Great NZ AI Roadshow at Tākina is a “masterclass for Kiwi leaders who want to use AI”. Dewwww-it.

Thu, 18 Jun, 5pm–late, International SaaS Day party 2026, a “mid-winter celebration of the fastest-growing sector in the New Zealand economy” 🥳

Tue May 19th, 12–6pm, Hutt Valley Manufacturing & Innovation Expo.

Tue, 19 May, 4:30–6pm, TED Style Talks at Creative HQ focusses on “Practical, safe, and sustainable ways of using AI” with a series short-form talks.

Wed, 20 May, 11-11:45am, Coffee & Claude with Parisa Shademan ☕

Wed, 20 MAY, 5–7:30pm, Icehouse Ventures brings their FirstCut Roadshow to Welly’s Trade Me HQ to “Connect and inspire Aotearoa's young founders, operators, and aspiring entrepreneurs.”

Thu May 21st, 2–7pm, Movac Growth Jam Epic Fails Edition at Public Trust Hall.

Sun, 24 May, 4:30–6pm, PLAY FOR GOOD Tech Wins will showcase NZ’s newest gamified [insert any]Tech.

Wed, 27 May, 5:30–8pm, AI Security Considerations for Project Managers

Thu, May 28, 2026, 5:30–8pm, Creative Tech Activate Celebration at Massey

Sat, Jun 04, 12pm, Scaling Welly Tech at Hnry Stadium 🏟 with lots of illustrious Welly CEO/CTO types in attendance!

Tue 23 Jun, 5pm - 9pm, Teulo Talks Live: Wellington for architects who wanna build good and do other things good, too. WellyForge people get a 10% discount with code: TALKER.

Jun 29th to Jul 3rd, Research Bazaar Aotearoa, details not yet available.

The Atom at Victoria is open for any unfunded Founders (Students, Early Stage, Idea Stage) and is run by Entrepreneur in Residence, Parisa Shademan - Email [email protected], or join the Facebook community.