Kia ora,
This week we’re in Wellington for the Aotearoa AI Summit. Brought to you by AI Forum New Zealand (a Tech New Zealand community), the Summit brings together industry leaders, researchers, policymakers and innovators to explore how AI can deliver practical value for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Across keynotes, panels, roundtables and hands-on workshops, the programme will examine the choices shaping New Zealand’s AI future. Discussions will span AI infrastructure and sovereign capability, trust and social licence, workforce transformation, real-world implementation, frontier technologies and the opportunity to build new digital exports.
Hear from leaders including Accenture’s Global OpenAI Lead Lousie Barrere, Microsoft’s Principal Engineering Group Manager (Java, Golang & Python) Martijn Verburg, Datacom’s CEO Greg Davidson at Datacom, and AutoHive’s co-founder JD Traske; panels moderated by some of New Zealand’s most informed journalists, featuring thought leaders from Aotearoa and across the globe; speakers ranging from the inspirational Peter-Lucas Jones to global AI leaders including David Steele from Plug and Play (USA) and Dr Viveca Pavon-Harr, Accenture’s Global Lead on AI and Data. Day one will also feature more than 30 focused roundtable discussions, covering topics from AI governance, education and health to creative industries, financial services, quantum and Māori and Pacific perspectives.
Day two turns to the workforce and economic opportunity. Sessions will explore how organisations can redesign work around human and AI collaboration, turn productivity gains into sustainable growth, and create AI-enabled products and services for global markets. Senior leaders can also choose from practical workshops on scaling AI safely, visibility in an AI-first world, building trusted AI agents, and AI-powered design sprints.
The Aotearoa AI Summit is a chance to connect with the people shaping AI in New Zealand, share practical lessons and help move the conversation from intent to action.
Also this week, Tech Marketers New Zealand brings our tech marketing community together for a day of insights, proven strategies and honest lessons from the people doing the work. Find out more.
We’re looking forward to hearing fresh ideas and the chance to connect, share and collaborate.
Practical Plans for what comes next in SaaS
SaaS is changing fast. Join 300 SaaS people at SaaSpocalypse Now Wellington on Thursday 24 September at HNRY Stadium for a full day of practical learning, honest peer discussion and useful connection.
Across Sales/Marketing/GTM, Product/Engineering and People/Ops/Leadership streams, attendees will explore what is changing, where their function is leading or lagging, and the next moves worth making. Expect real examples, frameworks to apply with your team, and 20+ speakers from across Aotearoa’s SaaS community.
The conversation continues with SaaSpocalypse Now Auckland on Thursday 15 October. This focused executive summary brings together 150 SaaS leaders to compare notes on new market strategies, emerging operating models and how functional teams can level up for what is next.
Exporting tech or digital services?
Share your challenges to help MFAT improve support for tech and digital exporters by 18 September.
Complete survey
Nominations for EdTech New Zealand close on 14 September. BioTech New Zealand’s Annual Meeting is 16 September and IoT Forum New Zealand’s is 5 October.
Ngā mihi nui,
Graeme Muller
CEO, Tech New Zealand
Read the full newsletter here: Exploring choices shaping New Zealands AI future