Hey everybody,

It’s show me the numbers time in the Tech sector right now, with estimated tallies of 2,500 startup FTE in Welly and an NZ-wide export value of $12.4B. Lots more interesting context to pick apart in the Tech NZ and Creative HQ (and friends) startup and tech sector reports.

As I’ve written before, it’s easy to be a hype man for the amazing work you all do! This week Creative HQ has outdone all of us hypists with a marvellous celebration of the Tech sector: “your place to build what’s next”.

And a reminder that you can always reply to this message if you are organising an event or if you have any comments on the newsletter or its format.

On the heels of last week’s Welly-specific tech ecosystem numbers, the wider, national context is the topic of Tech NZ’s New Zealand Tech Metrics report. Innovation is a massive sector and a big deal for the export economy 🤑

The Government’s 5-Year Science Investment Plan establishes longer-term directives across the four pillars already announced. All of them—Technology for Prosperity, Primary Industries/Bioeconomy, Environmental Sustainability, and Healthy People—hold great promise for innovation, and the framework specifically calls our accelerating commercialisation. This is a signal (but of course not a certainty) of a clearer horizon for founders to seize.

RNZ declares that “AI has finally entered the election campaign arena”. I still only see that one lonesome policy on their dedicated election policy tracking page 🤔 The discussion among AI adopters and promoters remains more cautious than optimistic, perhaps a reflection of a wider love/hate relationship around the world.

One NZ-specific gripe that’s heard perhaps too frequently is that we are too reluctant to engage in meaningful conversation. The context in sectors is a wholesale rejection of a technology that is seen as evil. While European creatives openly discuss using AI as “just a tool” for the tasks that surround the work, a dogmatic rejection driven by fear remains common at home. We need to keep these rational conversations going and decide whether we want to catch up.

Highlighted entries are new from last week.

Thu, Oct 8th, 4–7pm, VUW Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence research showcase at Rutherford House.

Fri, Oct 9th, Small nation, big opportunity: NZ's path into global fusion ⚛

Mon, Oct 12th, 3–5:30pm, Ada Lovelace Day 2026: Demystifying AI at Deloitte.

Tue, Oct 13th, 10:30–11:30am, Artificial Intelligence in Everyday Life is an intro talk aimed at seniors, at the fancy new library. Tell your folks 🙂

Tue, Oct 13th, 5:20–7:15pm, TED-Style Talks.

Tue, Oct 13th, 5:30–6:45pm, Doodle Cafe: Playtime for serious professionals. Because creativity and openness to experience are strong drivers of innovation.

Fri, Oct 16th, HackAotearoa: Co-working for startup builders, session #3 🛠 Come for the new additions to the format, or just drop by for beers at 4pm 😁

Tue, Oct 20th, 5–7:30pm, Aurora Climate Lab launch night, meet the founders of cohort 6.

Thu, Oct 22nd, Show Me the Money is three events in one day. Choose one, two, or all three of the following startup essentials:

Wed, Oct 28th, 12:30am–1:30pm, The future of clinical workstations: designing secure, seamless and clinician-first access to healthcare technology, online.

Thu, Oct 29th, 5:30–8pm, Wellington UniVentures & Booster NZ Showcase at Rutherford House.

Fri, Oct 30th, 4:30–6:30pm, Biotech ‘n’ Beers at Fork and Brewer.

30–31 Oct, Kawaiicon 4 at the Michael Fowler Centre no less.

Thu, Nov 12th, 5–6:30 pm, EdTech Community Connect at Taiawa.

Tue, Nov 17th, Superconductor Valley 2026 by Paihau—Robinson Research Institute, at Rutherford House.

26-27 Nov, Indigenous Tech Summit at Tākina

9–12 Feb 2027, eResearch NZ comes to Wellington.

15-17 Mar 2027, Life Sciences Summit at Tākina.

17-18 Mar 2027, FinTech Hui Taumata at Tākina.

22-23 Mar 2027, National Cybersecurity Summit at Tākina.

23 Mar 2027, Digitising Government at Tākina.

Fri, May 7th 2027, NZ Tech Rally on a Super Early Bird launch.

The Atom at Victoria is open for any unfunded Founders (Students, Early Stage, Idea Stage) and is run by Tania Jones, with entrepreneurs in Residence, Parisa Shademan, Jack Shennan, and Alistair St Pierre and investors in residence Dave Moskovitz, Aaron Scott & Ralph Highnam. Email or join the Facebook community.