Hey everybody,

With TechWeek in full swing, I hope you’re feeling inspired! WellyForge #8 is on tonight at 5:30pm at Rutherford House, so there may be some last minute tickets left by the time this reaches your inbox. I can’t wait to hear from Advemto and AROTEC Diagnostics plus lightning talks from Alyna Lange and Jessica Siesicki⚡Thanks again to Creative HQ for supporting this one.

“We’re going to pay students to drop out of their high school” is definitely a way to get people to click on your article—NZ Herald reports on this joint venture between Icehouse and Crimson Global Academy. As a Made in EU product myself I often ask other immigrants to share their thoughts on the NZ education system. The chorus: too little focus on maths and science, but then it produces good humans. What’s the right balance?

GWRC contract costs reported to rise as much as 23% as a result of the Iran war according to this Business Desk article. This is in line with some of the numbers I hear from Lab scientists importing kits and molecules. We can’t do much about the shipping, but there is lots we can do about our own energy generation. If you’ve been contemplating a Geothermal AI startup, this is precisely the right time! 🌋💡

Computer Scientists, beware: ArXiv to Ban Researchers for a Year if They Submit AI Slop. This sits in fascinating juxtaposition on 404 with Students Boo Commencement Speaker After She Calls AI the ‘Next Industrial Revolution’. Over coffee at recent Welly meetups and conferences, technologists have expressed their frustration to me over these consistent extremes in AI: strong negativity despite its potential and frivolous usage justifying such views. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on AI adoption in your field. Hit reply!

People in healthcare, have a look at this AI series by the Health Informatics NZ network: HealthX delivering five AI and innovation initiatives, Medical Products Bill to introduce risk-based framework for software and AI regulation, and AI could transform rural healthcare access in New Zealand.

Highlighted entries are new from last week.

Wed, 20 May, 5:30–7:30pm, WellyForge #8 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.

Fri May 22nd, 7:10–10:45pm, Hi-Tech Awards Livestream.

Fri May 22nd, 4:30–6:30pm, Biotech ‘n’ Beers at Fork and Brewer.

Tue May 26th, 5–7pm, Governing in a changing geopolitical climate, Institute of Directors event.

Wed May 27th, 4:30–7:30pm, Claude for Business will be Wellington's first Claude meetup.

Fri, May 29th, 4–5.30pm, A snapshot of New Zealand news media reporting on AI examines how our media cover AI as part of the AI and Society series.

Sun, Jun 7th, 2–3pm, Regenerating Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington at City Gallery asks “what does Wellington become in 20 years?”

Wed, Jun 17th, 12:30–1:30pm, Clinical change makers: disrupting in digital health is about nurses and midwives driving digital transformation in the health domain.

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, free and online.

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.