One of New Zealand’s most ambitious startups, Zenno Astronautics, is undertaking pioneering work with superconducting magnets to address one of the most pressing challenges facing humanity’s future in space - space junk. On The Business of Tech podcast this week, Max Arshavsky, co-founder and CEO of Zenno Astronautics, charts his journey from the steppes of Siberia to the University of Auckland, where in 2017 he founded Zenno Astronautics with Sebastian Wieczorek and William Haringa. His motivat...
Jul 16, 2025•42 min•Season 3Ep. 107
J.D. Trask, the Wellington-based entrepreneur behind global software success Raygun, is back with a new venture, one he believes could have an even greater impact than the internet itself. In the latest episode of The Business of Tech podcast, Trask sat down with me to introduce Autohive , a platform designed to make AI automation accessible for every business, not just those with deep technical resources. Trask’s well-established company, Raygun, is a quiet powerhouse in the tech world, providi...
Jul 09, 2025•48 min•Season 3Ep. 106
By now, you’ve probably participated in a video conference call that’s been recorded and automatically transcribed, with a meeting summary sent to you within seconds of the meeting ending. The likes of Teams, Otter, Zoom and Fireflies are using artificial intelligence to parse our language for insights and meaning, translating long, meandering meetings into useful summaries. But Christchurch startup Contented AI is taking this a step further, with its transcription app also mining conversations ...
Jul 02, 2025•39 min•Season 3Ep. 105
This week on The Business of Tech podcast, we unpack the sixth annual 2degrees Shaping Business Study , a barometer for the mood and ambitions of Kiwi business leaders as we hit the midpoint of 2025. The headline? Optimism is back, at its highest level since the research began, with more New Zealand companies describing themselves as thriving rather than just surviving. Optimism on the rise After years of economic turbulence, the study finds that over half of businesses anticipate revenue growth...
Jun 25, 2025•36 min•Season 3Ep. 104
Tracy Sheen isn’t your typical artificial intelligence guru. “I am looking forward to stirring the AI pot with you, Peter,” Sheen told me at the start of an entertaining discussion on this week’s episode of The Business of Tech. The award-winning Australian business coach and technology strategist has always been passionate about making technology accessible. Her latest book AI & U: Reimagine Business is a direct response to the overwhelming hype and complexity surrounding AI, aiming to brea...
Jun 18, 2025•37 min•Season 3Ep. 103
As chief data officer for Australia and New Zealand at Publicis Groupe, Maurice Riley stands at the intersection of data, technology, and advertising strategy. On this week’s episode of The Business of Tech, Riley outlined the trends reshaping the advertising industry, highlighted the growing importance of the "middleverse" in customer journeys, especially during sluggish economic times, and offered practical advice for New Zealand businesses navigating the evolving digital landscape. Riley desc...
Jun 11, 2025•42 min•Season 3Ep. 102
Wellington, once a vibrant hub for New Zealand’s tech innovation, has faced stagnation in recent years. Last week, a packed audience at a Vision for Wellington event on Wellington’s waterfront heard from the city’s tech luminaries about how the city can embrace its strengths, particularly in technology, and foster a more supportive, connected ecosystem. Sitting in the audience was Ralph Highnam, founder of breast screening software maker Volpara Health, which was started in Wellington in 2009 an...
Jun 04, 2025•43 min•Season 3Ep. 101
If the novelty of seeing AI-generated videos popping up in our newsfeeds has started to wear off, Google has something new for you to feast your eyes on. Last week, the AI giant released Veo 3, the latest version of its AI content generator. Its claim to fame? Veo 3 not only generates short video clips based on prompts from users, but also audio, syncing sound effects and character dialogue with the video. That’s yet another step towards generating entire video clips solely with the use of promp...
May 28, 2025•35 min•Season 3Ep. 100
Litmaps, a Wellington-based startup that’s just raised $1 million in a Series A funding round, is redefining how scientists navigate the sea of academic literature by merging citation network analysis with generative AI. Founded in 2016 by Axton Pitt and Kyle Webster, the platform now serves over 2 million researchers globally, including institutions like Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Cambridge. Its mission? To "accelerate impactful science" by helping researchers identify gaps in kno...
May 21, 2025•33 min•Season 3Ep. 99
The Technology Users Association has issued a stark warning that New Zealand risks falling further behind in the global digital economy unless the government urgently reforms its approach to digital and technology skills, with a particular focus on vocational training. In a wide-ranging interview on this week’s episode of The Business of Tech , TUANZ CEO Craig Young expressed deep frustration at the lack of strategic leadership and investment in building the local tech talent pipeline, calling c...
May 14, 2025•42 min•Season 3Ep. 98
Reuben Davidson, Labour’s new spokesperson for science, innovation, technology, broadcasting and the creative economy, isn’t shy about the scale of the challenges facing New Zealand’s high-value sectors, or the damage he says the current government is doing. In this week’s episode of The Business of Tech, the former TV producer, who won the Christchurch East seat in the 2023 general election, is scathing of the coalition Government’s approach to science and innovation, particularly funding cuts ...
May 07, 2025•45 min•Season 3Ep. 97
New Zealand, like many smaller nations, has become deeply reliant on American technology platforms for everything from government operations to daily business functions. In this week’s episode of The Business of Tech, Canadian journalist and author Paris Marx warns that this dependence is not just a matter of convenience, it’s a growing vulnerability that puts the country’s digital sovereignty at risk. The issue has gained urgency amid rising geopolitical tensions, especially with the resurgence...
Apr 30, 2025•43 min•Season 3Ep. 96
As global trade becomes increasingly protectionist, New Zealand’s tech sector faces a welcome anomaly for now: digital exports are tariff-free. Unlike goods, software and digital services still move relatively freely across borders, and nowhere is this opportunity greater than in India—a vast, fast-growing market hungry for innovation. The story of Valocity Global, founded by Auckland-based serial entrepreneur Carmen Vicelich, is a masterclass in how Kiwi tech companies can thrive in India which...
Apr 23, 2025•31 min•Season 3Ep. 94
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative has sparked global debate about balancing disruptive reform with sustainable public sector innovation. In a panel discussion on this week's episode of The Business of Tech, former Te Whatu Ora chair Rob Campbell, futurist Ben Reid, and crypto expert Paul Quickenden critique Musk’s approach while proposing alternative strategies for New Zealand to drive efficiency in government while harnessing technologies like blockchain and AI. ...
Apr 16, 2025•46 min•Season 3Ep. 94
Microsoft is marking its 50th anniversary, celebrating five decades since Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded what would become one of the world's largest technology companies. In this week’s episode of The Business of Tech, the managing director of Microsoft New Zealand, Vanessa Sorenson, reflects on the company's journey and its vision for the future. Featuring the hits and misses from Microsoft over 50 years in business and its more recent push into artificial intelligence and establishment of ...
Apr 09, 2025•34 min•Season 3Ep. 93
On this week’s episode of The Business of Tech, Sarah Box, a digital policy specialist at the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, shares insights from her three-month Harkness Fellowship in the United States examining AI policy direction. While Trump's first term focused on innovation and capability development, Biden pivoted toward trust and safety. So what does Trump's vision for AI look like, and how best can New Zealand steer its own path on AI policy and regulation? Find out on ...
Apr 02, 2025•35 min
The Government is busy pushing its growth agenda, but what’s the best way to pursue sustainable growth that produces higher-value jobs and more export earnings? A new report by Boston Consulting Group says it involves taking a more strategic approach to New Zealand’s economic future, identifying five key ecosystems that could drive the nation's growth and global standing by 2050. But isn’t that picking winners, a strategy that has got us into trouble in the past? Boston Consulting Group's Kelly ...
Mar 26, 2025•41 min
In 2022, the Government signed an historic agreement granting Māori a share of radio spectrum suitable for 5G mobile services and a 20% share of all future commercial radio spectrum rights. As the Chief Executive Officer of Tū Ātea, Antony Royal is putting that 5G spectrum to good use, with a major project underway to build and deploy the country's first commercial private 5G network. On The Business of Tech, Antony traces the history of the struggle to gain recognition for Māori rights to radio...
Mar 19, 2025•37 min
NZ's economic woes are complicated and many-headed, but business guru Andy Hamilton has exactly 26 ideas for ways it could be improved. Some of them, like becoming part of Australia, are a bit dumb – but there are others that could have a lot of potential. Hamilton also looks back at what it was like going through the We Are Indigo and Manaaki v Callaghan Innovation stoush, and talks through what he took away from the experience. Plus, it's Ben's last episode so he talks through the changes at N...
Mar 12, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 89
New Zealand is not stranger to tectonic shifts, perched as it is on a volcanic belt, but the current geopolitical quakes may prove an entirely different matter. The University of Waikato's Dr Reuben Steff joins the podcast to argue that without joining the high tech-focused pillar two of the Australia, UK and US (AUKUS) agreement, NZ may find themselves at a major disadvantage in the new world order. Plus, the US Defence Secretary Peter Hegseth orders a softer cybersecurity stance toward Russia....
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 88
Bitcoin advocate Cody Ellingham joins the podcast to explain why we he is advocating for everyone, everywhere to get into the cryptocurrency. Ellingham explains his vision for how Bitcoin could put people's financial power back into their hands, rather than under the control of financial institutions and governments. Plus, we talk AI language Gibberlink and Apple's $500 billion promise to Trump. Subscribe on iHeart Radio or wherever you get podcasts . Reading list See omnystudio.com/listener for...
Feb 26, 2025•57 min•Season 3Ep. 87
Chris Moore and Lucas Coelho, two-thirds of the co-founding team of venture studio Ryft, join the podcast to talk through how the model works. They discuss the benefits and challenges of being an all-in-one startup shop, why they are focusing on artificial intelligence, and give their highly informed takes on the current state of the AI landscape. Plus, what to look for in Spark's upcoming results and we address some listener feedback on the Being AI episode. Reading list See omnystudio.com/list...
Feb 19, 2025•55 min•Season 3Ep. 86
Rowan Simpson has been part of most of NZ's most well known and loved software startups: TradeMe, Xero, Vend, Timely and many more. Peter sits down with Simpson to talk about his new book, his advice for founders, and how NZ can light a fire under its startup scene. Reading list See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 15, 2025•44 min•Season 3Ep. 85
It's been a tumultuous first year for NZ's first AI-focused company to list on the New Zealand Exchange (NZX). Following on from a recent article on BusinessDesk, we unpack that journey so far and look ahead to what might be next for the contentious but ambitious company. This week, we have a double feature with an interview with entrepreneur extrodinaire Rowan Simpson to follow on Sunday, so make sure you subscribed to get that in your podcast feed when it drops. The Business of Tech is sponsor...
Feb 12, 2025•19 min•Season 3Ep. 85
This week we speak to Max Ferguson who started Lumin in 2010 to address a growing need for a robust, cloud-based way to edit and share portable document format files, better known as PDFs. 15 years on and Lumin has over 100 million users worldwide and is successfully rolling out more document collaboration products and features, managing to find success with the often-tricky freemium model. Plus, what's the latest on Deepseek, and the unpacking the NZ government's plans for using generative AI. ...
Feb 05, 2025•58 min•Season 3Ep. 84
Last week, Te Hiku Media chief executive and one of Time magazine's most influential people in AI, Peter-Lucas Jones, spoke to the world leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos. As our featured guest this week, Jones explains how the Kaitaia-based media company is using AI to save native languages across the globe., Plus, cutting through the noise on what DeepSeek actually is and does. Reading list. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 29, 2025•56 min•Season 3Ep. 83
SailGP's chief technology officer Warren Jones goes deep into all the ways he and his team have integrated digital technologies into the very foundation of the sport changing the nature of racing. Plus, the ramifications for New Zealand and the world-at-large of the technology billionaires buying their way into US President Donald Trump's good graces. The Business of Tech is sponsored by 2degrees for Business. Reading list See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 22, 2025•56 min•Season 3Ep. 82
Other than a few big-swing failures, it’s been a bit of a holding pattern for consumer technologies this year, with many minor improvements but nothing truly revolutionary. This week, Peter and Ben are unpacking all that and more as they dive into the consumer products and services from 2024 they thought were good, bad, and just plain silly. Topics include the series of disappointments that were built-in artificial intelligence (AI) assistants, Dyson’s $800 headphones, the AI services they actua...
Dec 18, 2024•44 min•Season 2Ep. 81
We're joined by four stellar journalists who discuss what they saw over the last year and look ahead to what may be yet to come. BusinessDesk’s senior markets reporter Rebecca Stevenson offers a deep dive into Rakon's failed takeover and unpacks Gentrack’s success – and the questions that success raises. Rob O’Neill, senior reporter at IT industry news outlet Reseller, unpacks the waves of redundancies and talks about AI in big business. Finn Hogan, a writer at startup-focused Caffeine Daily, ta...
Dec 11, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 80
Steve Vamos' career in tech has spanned decades, starting with IBM straight out of university in the 1980’s, followed by stints at Apple, NineMSN, Microsoft, and Xero. He says that connecting with people and being open to criticism are key skills for leaders navigating through times of major change. Vamos also shares more specific advice on navigating change, having hard conversations, and the importance of character. Plus, Ben and Peter discuss why the Australian social media ban may not be a g...
Dec 04, 2024•53 min•Season 2Ep. 79
