Hello Everyone:
Big news, firstly, WellyForge, as part of its commitment to kick-starting Wellington is proud to be the major sponsor of Startup Weekend Wellington Nov 14-16th.
Secondly, the first main speaker of WellyForge5 Halloween Edition on Oct 29th (close to selling out!) is going to be Boyd Multerer, CEO and Founder of Miramar based Kry10 a science/tech company dealing with serious, scary, global issues. He will be followed by the quickfire Dead-Startup Society talks and then another main speaker with a spooky angle. If we survive all that, then it’s down the road to the “Dead Startups Halloween Party” at Mean Doses on Tory St being coordinated by the amazing Lane Litz and What Founders Want.
Thirdly, we have a new web-site up and running: wellyforge.beehiiv.com, which is where you’ll now find the local community index and ecosystem links, amongst other joys (proper domain name coming soon).
Okay, of the things listed below, please particularly note these:
Thu Oct 9th, Start-Up World Cup NZ Final - tomorrow night!
Nov 13-16th, Capital Capital then Start-Up Weekend Wellington.
Rule #1 - Celebrate the Wins
BioOra have raised $15m to continue their fight against cancer. The money will go towards manufacturing and new clinical trials with the Malaghan Institute.
Blackpearl have raised $15m to accelerate role out of their data and AI products into the US market.
Prof Richard Beasley’s asthma in kids study published in Lancet, Wellington-based Medical Research Institute showed that kids (just like adults) should be on the 2-in-1 inhalers for asthma.
Vic Uni’s Entrepreneurship and Startups Association (VESA), swept the Club Awards at Vic last week - that has to be great for Vic and the city, “We would love to show you what the students at Vic are capable of” says CEO Shaw Mathew. VESA is run out of the Atom innovation space (see below).
Trinsic Labs get kickstart funding, Kelburn based company to develop "Tiny Haunted Bookshop”, funded via NZ Center of Digital Excellent (CODE).
And recent media coverage of local interest:
Nuclear fusion review in Fortune Magazine, still seems nuts associating this with Wellington, but the article takes the view point of “when, not if” and features OpenStar Technologies, with lots of words of wisdom from CEO, Ratu Mataira.
Starboard Maritime Intelligence fresh from their funding round presented to NATO this week and are into the finals of the NZ International Biz Awards.
Chitogel building global production plant in Upper Hutt, this biotec start-up which produces salves for post-nasal surgery is increasing capacity as they enter the US.
Callaghan Innovation engages KPMG for Gracefield Business Case [NBR], Gracefield is in Lower Hutt and is traditionally the home of bio-techs and Vic spin-outs looking for more space. It’s Govt owned, but with Callaghan disappearing what happens next to that space and the companies on it? Scoop also covers this, and the Callaghan web-site.
The Robinson Institute (part of Vic) report superconducting magnet switches on in space, this is a first, and they have an excellent space blog up & running.
Fire Research Facility in Porirua makes Forbes, this is part of the BRANZ independent research facility for building research, testing & assurance.
Rule #2 - Understand Your Environment
NZ Defence Industry Strategy came out with a strong push for NZ suppliers, given it includes plans for a technology accelerator with $100m+ this could be a boost for NZ tech.
Shout out to Clare Capital’s tech-insights that go out weekly, the latest insight from the Wellington-based company shows valuations of Cloud companies steady in the US and ANZ.
Rule #3 - Nothing Falls Thru The Gaps
Applied Doctorates in energy research now open for industry & academic partners, apply by Oct 27th
TedXWellington is back and seeking “ideas worth spreading”
Fintech Lab from CreativeHQ, apply by Oct 29th
Rule #4 - Know the Locals
Note: there are many AI showcases going on, we’re trying to pick the ones more generic and more geared towards you all, rather than listing all of them.
NEXT TWO WEEKS:
Thu Oct 9th, 5-8.30pm, Startup World Cup, NZ Final hosted in Kapiti, CreativeHQ is running a bus out from Wellington CBD. Great to see Kapiti Coast District Council backing innovation. 5/13 of the companies are from Wellington.
Mon Oct 13th, 3.45-5pm, AI in Education: Part 1 by Sovereign AI NZ at 150 Willis Street.
Tue Oct 14th, 1-4pm, AI Supercharge Build Your First AI Agents at Rutherford House with Serge van Dam and Dascha Cooper
Weds Oct 15th, 12-1pm, Space Science Seminar: Exploring Ocean Worlds, Dr Morgan Cable talking at Victoria in Kelburn, LB203
Weds Oct 15th, 4-7pm, Victoria’s AI Department Showcase in the Hub in Kelburn. “the right forum to explore opportunities for collaboration across academia, industry, and government.”
Thu Oct 16th, 9-4.15pm, Measuring Circular Economies, a day conference with international speakers being hosted by Massey at 5 Hayward Terrace.
Thu Oct 16th, 10-11am, Brain-Like Embodied Intelligence, a talk by Prof Yaochu Jin from Westlake University at Vic, LBLT, Laby Building 118
Thu Oct 16th, 11-12pm, Physically Grounded AI for Scientific Discovery, a talk by Prof Yew-Soon Ong from Singapore at Vic, LBLT118 Laby Building.
Thu Oct 16th, 8.30am-6pm, AI for Adults: A Mind-blowing Exploration for Tech Companies, Level 12, Rutherford House, organized by Taiawa & Vic.
Wed Oct 22nd, 6.30pm, Wellington Address from Power of Three, celebration of Wellington by Wellington Chamber of Commerce, Te Awe Maori Business Network, and Wellington Pasifika Business Network.
Thu Oct 23rd, 5pm, Wahine Fuelled Tech - Deep dive into Creative Tech
Thu Oct 23rd, 5-7pm, Morgo Game for Tech Execs - role-play real challenges faced by tech start-ups, you’ll be amazed by the things that have actually happened.
Thu Oct 23rd, 5pm, Digital Health Lightning Talks, first one is Erika Butters talking about Volition and their amazing work with disabled people.
Fri-Mon, Oct 24th-28th, POWER UP! Game Jam for Women, a virtual event but being run out of Wellington by XEquals based on Cuba.
Fri-Sun, Oct 24th-26th, Victoria Design School 50 Year Celebrations, excellent range of talks from alumni that have gone on to great things.
KNOWN, MAJOR, FUTURE EVENTS
Wed, Oct 29th, 7-9pm, WellyForge5 Halloween Edition (Details & Tickets), sponsored by What Founders Want, and note the 9pm+ after party "Dead Startups Halloween Party” (Details & Tickets)
Thu, Oct 30th, 12-1.30pm, “Westpac Smarts: Go from asking to automating with AI”, run by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, with local legend JD Trask as key speaker.
Fri, Oct 31st, 8-5pm, Royal Aeronautical Society Symposium & Awards being held at Parliament.
Thu Nov 6th, 4.30-7.30pm, Wellington Start-Up Collective, meet other founders (young & old) and talk through just about anything in a supportive atmosphere
Thu-Sat, Nov 6-8th, Kawaiicon 2025, at the Michael Fowler Center, hacker paradise
Thu Nov 6th, iSANZ (Cybersecurity) Awards Gala Dinner, Shed 6
Mon-Wed, Nov 10-13th, ICDE (International Council for Open & Distance Education) is being hosted at Takina with AI a major focus
Thu Nov 13th, Capital Capital Summit 2025, a whole day summit for founders & investors, starting with the basics, moving into growth, and ending with the AngelHQ annual showcase. Going be a big day.
Fri-Sun, Nov 14-16th, Start Up Weekend Wellington is Back! Sponsored by WellyForge! Get along, get active, and get things moving.
Mon-Fri, Nov 17th-21st, Pacific Rim International Conference on AI (PRICAI) is being held at Takina with plenty of input from the AI people at Victoria
Tue-Fri, Nov 18th-22nd, ANZ for Extracellular Vesicles Conference at Harbourside
Wed-Fri, Nov 19th-21st, Synbio (synthetic biology) is at Te Papa, organized by Mark Calcott
Fri Nov 21st, 6pm. Wellington Regional Business Excellence Awards 2025 in Upper Hutt
Fri-Sun Nov 21-23rd, Kiwi PyCon (Python!) at Shed 6
RECURRING EVENTS
The Atom at Victoria is open for any unfunded Founders (Students, Early Stage, Idea Stage) and is run by Entrepreneur in Residence, Adiraj Gupta - Email [email protected] , or join the Facebook community.
Mondays 8-9am, Atom - Founder Mentoring ON-LINE
Weds 12-1pm, Atom - Founder Support Drop-In Hour
Thursdays (every other), 9th Oct, Kapiti Start-Up Network Meet-Ups
Fridays (every other), 17th Oct, Founders Meet Up at Southern Cross