Kia ora
Last week, Aotearoa New Zealand showed up in a big way for Techweek26 and it’s worth pausing to acknowledge what that really takes.
Techweek takes our entire ecosystem working together to seize this annual opportunity to connect, learn, share what’s working, and grow the momentum of our tech sector. With more than 240 events across 7 days, the breadth of ideas, energy and collaboration on display has been something to be proud of.
We at Tech New Zealand wouldn’t be able to run Techweek without the support of our sponsors, so a huge thank you to them for working alongside us to grow this powerful initiative. This year, our Principal Sponsor Deloitte ran 37 free events across the country to support individuals and small businesses to harness the power of emerging technologies.
To everyone who hosted, spoke, partnered, volunteered, attended, shared posts, brought colleagues along, and helped amplify the kaupapa: thank you. Your mahi is what makes Techweek matter.
Sharing our stories
One of the most inspiring parts of Techweek is hearing, back-to-back, from so many incredible New Zealand tech firms building solutions with global relevance, from right here in Aotearoa.
A few moments that have stuck with me from Techweek26 include Arash Tayebi (CEO & co-founder, Kara Technologies) personal and powerful story. Being diagnosed with Ménière’s disease partway through his PhD could have stopped him in his tracks. Instead, Arash turned a huge challenge into a global mission. Kara’s next-gen, AI-powered sign language platform can translate almost anything into sign language, delivered by digital humans — making communication more accessible and inclusive. It was such a compelling story and they went on to win the Hi-Tech Startup Company of the Year at the Hi-Tech Awards!
Nicole Retter (CEO & founder, PAM) brought serious energy and honesty. PAM is a brilliantly practical idea with real impact: a rapidly growing personal admin manager app leveraging AI to streamline the everyday tasks that quietly pile up. Nicole also shared what it takes to build a global digital startup from Wellington to the world.
And John Robson (CEO, BioOra) was a reminder of just how world-leading our deep tech is. BioOra is accelerating global access to cell therapies, securing an internationally recognised GMP licence to manufacture CAR T-cell therapies.
These are just three examples that reinforce something I feel strongly about: we need to share our stories, then tell them again, and again until New Zealanders aren’t just aware of our tech sector, but genuinely proud of it.
Techweek26 highlights
Check out these practical insights and real-world examples of tech creating impact across Aotearoa:
- Rangatahi in Real Time: Pūhoro and the Future Workforce — why rangatahi Māori must be shaping our digital future from the start, not retrofitted later.
- Māori-Led Connectivity: Building Aotearoa’s Digital Future — a powerful look at Māori-led, end-to-end telecommunications capability and what it unlocks for long-term resilience and sovereignty.
- Event Recap: The Intelligence Era: Pricing AI for Growth with Stripe — why AI pricing is changing (real marginal cost), and what hybrid and outcome-based models look like in practice.
- From Feedback to Action: Closing the Loop on Customer Experience with Zoho — moving from customer insight to operational action, including the inner loop vs outer loop approach.
- Sovereign AI: Realising strategic opportunities across Asia Pacific — what sovereign AI means, and the building blocks needed to develop it.
- From curious to confident: how Kiwi business owners are adopting AI — the adoption reality for SMEs, what’s holding people back, and what support businesses are asking for.
- Making information accessible, 24/7, through sign language: The Kara Technologies Story — digital sign-language avatars, a hybrid human + AI approach, and accessibility at scale.
- Turning the mental load into something manageable: The PAM Story — a Kiwi product tackling family admin and the invisible mental load with a shared planner.
- Building life-saving CAR T therapy in Aotearoa, for Aotearoa: The BioOra Story — the infrastructure and ambition behind local advanced cell therapy manufacturing and delivery.
NZ Hi-Tech Award winners!
Congratulations to all the winners announced at the 2026 NZ Hi-Tech Award Winners!
A special acknowledgement to Tait Communications, crowned PwC Hi-Tech Company of the Year. Congratulations also to Hectre for an outstanding night, taking out two categories including Agritech and Hi-Tech Kamupene Māori o te Tau – Māori Company of the Year.
Vaughan Fergusson was inducted into the NZ Hi-Tech Hall of Fame, recognised not only for his entrepreneurial impact but for his enduring contributions.
Remember to sign up as a supporter for Cyber Smart Week 2026 this October.
Ngā mihi nui,
Graeme Muller
CEO, Tech New Zealand
Read full news here: What it takes and the stories that stuck: Techweek26