Last year, we prematurely dubbed 2023 the year of AI but how could we have know what 2024 would bring.

Generative AI has solidified it's position in the pantheon of disruptive technologies as hype settled into pragmatism and tech talent across the world put it to work.

We've assembled three AI experts from across NZ's industry to talk about the year in AI that was, and look ahead at what to expect in the year to come.

Our panel consists of Callaghan Innovation chief executive Stefan Korn, Simply Privacy director and principal Frith Tweedie, and Supahuman AI founder and chief executive Dave Howden.

Plus, Peter and Ben can't help but share their own views on where AI is headed.

Additional music by Aberrant Realities from Pixabay

Reading list

Last year, we prematurely dubbed 2023 the year of AI but how could we have know what 2024 would bring.
Generative AI has solidified it's position in the pantheon of disruptive technologies as hype settled into pragmatism and tech talent across the world put it to work.
We've assembled three AI experts from across NZ's industry to talk about the year in AI that was, and look ahead at what to expect in the year to come.
Our panel consists of Callaghan Innovation chief executive Stefan Korn, Simply Privacy director and principal Frith Tweedie, and Supahuman AI founder and chief executive Dave Howden.
Plus, Peter and Ben can't help but share their own views on where AI is headed.
Additional music by Aberrant Realities from Pixabay
<a href="https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/technology/business-of-tech-ai-year-in-review-and-whats-next">Reading list</a>

The Business of Tech, hosted by leading tech journalist Peter Griffin. Every week they take a deep dive into emerging technology and news from the sector to help guide the important decisions all Business leaders make.

Issues such as cybersecurity, retaining trust after a cyberattack, business IT needs, purchasing SaaS tools and more.

New Episodes out every Thursday. Follow or subscribe to get it delivered straight to your favourite podcatcher.

@petergnz

@businessdesk_nz

Proudly sponsored by 2degrees Business!

 

The Business of Tech, hosted by leading tech journalist Peter Griffin. Every week they take a deep dive into emerging technology and news from the sector to help guide the important decisions all Business leaders make.
Issues such as cybersecurity, retaining trust after a cyberattack, business IT needs, purchasing SaaS tools and more.
New Episodes out every Thursday. Follow or subscribe to get it delivered straight to your favourite podcatcher.
@petergnz
@businessdesk_nz
Proudly sponsored by 2degrees Business!
&nbsp;

The Business of Tech

AI year in review and what's coming next

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/b55ae36c-9545-4113-b6df-b227003804c2/transcript

This week on The Business of Tech, I talk to Neara co‑founder Jack Curtis about how a “physics-based digital twin” of electricity grids is changing the way we plan, build and protect electricity infrastructure – from Taranaki to Texas. 

Neara has just raised A$90 million in a Series D round led by US investment firm Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), which also invested in Netflix, Spotify, Facebook and Xero. That takes total funding in Neara to about A$180 million, as some of the world’s most exposed utilities rush to digitise their networks in the face of extreme weather and the clean‑energy transition.

Neara’s origin story isn’t very corporate. Software engineer and Neara co-founder, Daniel Danilatos, hacked together a better power line design tool over a weekend for his wife, a line designer frustrated with clunky legacy software. The prototype spread “organically” in an industry notorious for moving slowly.

Within a few years, it had become the basis for a company now modelling around 90% of Australia’s electricity networks and working with most major utilities in Texas and California, and with a roster of New Zealand clients.

Predicting when things break

Most “digital twins” in utilities have been glorified 3D maps – pretty visualisations that don’t give asset owners enough confidence to make high‑stakes decisions. Neara instead builds behavioural models where every pole, line and substation is infused with real‑world physics: how it bends in a storm, heats up as load rises, or fails when gusts hit a certain speed. 

As Jack puts it, if you look at the pole outside your house in a gale, it should behave exactly the same way in Neara’s model – right up to the moment it snaps.

We also look at how physics‑based models help solve “good problems” like renewables congestion. Neara simulates how much extra power can safely be pushed through existing lines, where new wind or solar should connect, and how different mixes of generation and load will behave over 10–30 years. 

That’s crucial for countries like New Zealand, which sprinted to 80–90% renewable electricity without fully modelling system‑wide side‑effects such as dry‑year risk and fossil‑fuel fallback.

I found this chat fascinating and I’m sure you will too if you are interested in how evidence-based digital twins can transform industries. 

Streaming on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to our sponsor 2degrees.​

This week on The Business of Tech, I talk to Neara co‑founder Jack Curtis about how a &ldquo;physics-based digital twin&rdquo; of electricity grids is changing the way we plan, build and protect electricity infrastructure &ndash; from Taranaki to Texas.&nbsp;
Neara has just raised A$90 million in a Series D round led by US investment firm Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), which also invested in Netflix, Spotify, Facebook and Xero. That takes total funding in Neara to about A$180 million, as some of the world&rsquo;s most exposed utilities rush to digitise their networks in the face of extreme weather and the clean‑energy transition.
Neara&rsquo;s origin story isn&rsquo;t very corporate. Software engineer and Neara co-founder, Daniel Danilatos, hacked together a better power line design tool over a weekend for his wife, a line designer frustrated with clunky legacy software. The prototype spread &ldquo;organically&rdquo; in an industry notorious for moving slowly.
Within a few years, it had become the basis for a company now modelling around 90% of Australia&rsquo;s electricity networks and working with most major utilities in Texas and California, and with a roster of New Zealand clients.
Predicting when things break
Most &ldquo;digital twins&rdquo; in utilities have been glorified 3D maps &ndash; pretty visualisations that don&rsquo;t give asset owners enough confidence to make high‑stakes decisions. Neara instead builds behavioural models where every pole, line and substation is infused with real‑world physics: how it bends in a storm, heats up as load rises, or fails when gusts hit a certain speed.&nbsp;
As Jack puts it, if you look at the pole outside your house in a gale, it should behave exactly the same way in Neara&rsquo;s model &ndash; right up to the moment it snaps.
We also look at how physics‑based models help solve &ldquo;good problems&rdquo; like renewables congestion. Neara simulates how much extra power can safely be pushed through existing lines, where new wind or solar should connect, and how different mixes of generation and load will behave over 10&ndash;30 years.&nbsp;
That&rsquo;s crucial for countries like New Zealand, which sprinted to 80&ndash;90% renewable electricity without fully modelling system‑wide side‑effects such as dry‑year risk and fossil‑fuel fallback.
I found this chat fascinating and I&rsquo;m sure you will too if you are interested in how evidence-based digital twins can transform industries.&nbsp;
Streaming on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to our sponsor 2degrees.​

Australia's new unicorn and its digital twins

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/5d53abb8-7a69-444e-90ad-b402006feb76/transcript

A half-tonne metal “donut” silently floating in a vacuum chamber in Wellington might sound like science fiction. But as you’ll hear in the latest episode of The Business of Tech, it’s very real – and it could reshape New Zealand’s role in the global race for nuclear fusion.

This week, I sit down with BusinessDesk journalist Greg Hurrell to unpack OpenStar’s dramatic new milestone: levitating a superconducting dipole in a near-perfect vacuum and firing superheated plasma around it. 

It’s a key proof point for the Wellington startup’s radically different approach to fusion, one that flips the dominant tokamak design inside out. Instead of surrounding the plasma with giant magnets, OpenStar suspends a powerful magnet in the centre of the chamber and uses Earth-like magnetic fields to confine the plasma.

​Big ambitions, big interest

Greg and I were in the room at Open Star last week as Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones, Infrastructure minister Chris Bishop, investors, scientists and even a representative from the United Arab Emirates watched the demonstration. 

For a company that has only raised a modest $10 million Series A round, hitting this milestone matters. it shows OpenStar can deliver on ambitious engineering promises, exactly what global venture capital wants to see. The government has granted OpenStar a $35 million loan via the Rural Infrastructure Fund to build a bigger prototype – Tahi.

Shane Jones, Chris Bishop, and Christopher Luxon listen to OpenStar CEO and co-founder Ratu Mataira explain the plasma firing experiment.

Inside-out design

We dig into why this “inside-out” design could be simpler to build and maintain than giant international projects, how New Zealand-grown intellectual property in high‑temperature superconductors and flux pumps gives OpenStar a potential edge, and what comes next with its larger Tahi and Maui machines aimed at real fusion and, eventually, commercial-scale power. 

We also tackle the hard questions: tritium supply, neutron damage to reactor components, and whether a relatively small team in Wellington can compete with well-funded overseas rivals and decades of tokamak momentum.

If you are interested in energy, climate, deeptech or New Zealand’s science system, this episode goes deep on a genuine moonshot as it crosses from lab experiment into serious industrial ambition. 

Streaming on Spotify, Apple, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to our sponsor 2degrees.

Show notes

OpenStar Plasma Showcase Event - Youtube

OpenStar completes critical step on nuclear fusion path - BusinessDesk

Openstar says $35m Government loan will help it stay in NZ - BusinessDesk

New Zealand fusion startup claims major advance in New Zealand trial - Bloomberg

Nuclear fusion seems hot right now — but how close is fusion power? - CBC

Chinese nuclear fusion reactor pushes plasma past crucial limit: what happens next - Nature

A half-tonne metal &ldquo;donut&rdquo; silently floating in a vacuum chamber in Wellington might sound like science fiction. But as you&rsquo;ll hear in the latest episode of The Business of Tech, it&rsquo;s very real &ndash; and it could reshape New Zealand&rsquo;s role in the global race for nuclear fusion.
This week, I sit down with BusinessDesk journalist <a href="https://businessdesk.co.nz/journalist/greg-hurrell">Greg Hurrell</a> to unpack <a href="https://www.openstar.tech/">OpenStar</a>&rsquo;s dramatic new milestone: levitating a superconducting dipole in a near-perfect vacuum and firing superheated plasma around it.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s a key proof point for the Wellington startup&rsquo;s radically different approach to fusion, one that flips the dominant tokamak design inside out. Instead of surrounding the plasma with giant magnets, OpenStar suspends a powerful magnet in the centre of the chamber and uses Earth-like magnetic fields to confine the plasma.
​Big ambitions, big interest
Greg and I were in the room at Open Star last week as Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones, Infrastructure minister Chris Bishop, investors, scientists and even a representative from the United Arab Emirates watched the demonstration.&nbsp;
For a company that has only raised a modest $10 million Series A round, hitting this milestone matters. it shows OpenStar can deliver on ambitious engineering promises, exactly what global venture capital wants to see. The government has granted OpenStar a $35 million loan via the Rural Infrastructure Fund to build a bigger prototype &ndash; Tahi.
Shane Jones, Chris Bishop, and Christopher Luxon listen to OpenStar CEO and co-founder Ratu Mataira explain the plasma firing experiment.
Inside-out design
We dig into why this &ldquo;inside-out&rdquo; design could be simpler to build and maintain than giant international projects, how New Zealand-grown intellectual property in high‑temperature superconductors and flux pumps gives OpenStar a potential edge, and what comes next with its larger Tahi and Maui machines aimed at real fusion and, eventually, commercial-scale power.&nbsp;
We also tackle the hard questions: tritium supply, neutron damage to reactor components, and whether a relatively small team in Wellington can compete with well-funded overseas rivals and decades of tokamak momentum.
If you are interested in energy, climate, deeptech or New Zealand&rsquo;s science system, this episode goes deep on a genuine moonshot as it crosses from lab experiment into serious industrial ambition.&nbsp;
Streaming on Spotify, Apple, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to our sponsor 2degrees.
Show notes
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOllOhBMQVQ&amp;t=8180s">OpenStar Plasma Showcase Event</a> - Youtube
<a href="https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/energy/openstar-completes-critical-step-on-nuclear-fusion-path">OpenStar completes critical step on nuclear fusion path</a> - BusinessDesk
<a href="https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/policy/openstar-says-35m-government-loan-will-help-it-stay-in-nz">Openstar says $35m Government loan will help it stay in NZ</a> - BusinessDesk
<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-17/nuclear-fusion-startup-claims-major-advance-in-new-zealand-trial?embedded-checkout=true">New Zealand fusion startup claims major advance in New Zealand trial</a> - Bloomberg
<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/fusion-startups-9.7045784">Nuclear fusion seems hot right now &mdash; but how close is fusion power?</a> - CBC
<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00063-4">Chinese nuclear fusion reactor pushes plasma past crucial limit: what happens next</a> - Nature

Inside the levitation lab: OpenStar’s quest for energy’s Holy Grail 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/b4210035-915e-4400-8c20-b3fb0165669c/transcript

OpenClaw is the moment AI stops feeling like a clever chatbot and starts behaving like something closer to a digital co-worker. In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, you’ll hear exactly why.

Veteran software developer and AI entrepreneurMike Hall joins me to break down what OpenClaw actually is in plain language. It’s not another prompt-and-response assistant, but a particularly smart type of AI agent that can wake itself up on a schedule, scan your data and tools, and decide for itself whether there’s work to be done. If it needs to write code to perform a task for you, it will do that too.

Mike explains how that simple “heartbeat” loop, asking “Should I do something?” every minute, is the key shift that turns AI from reactive to proactive, and why that’s such a big deal compared with the chatbots most people have used so far.

Skills and the hive mind

We dig into how OpenClaw goes far beyond the current crop of AI agents baked into office suites and CRM platforms. OpenClaw is designed to live on your own infrastructure, plug into email, files and SaaS tools, and then act autonomously rather than waiting to be told what to do. 

OpenClaw has sparked a surge of interest from developers, an explosion of “skills” that any OpenClaw instance can download. The hive mind model central to OpenClaw is unlike anything we’ve seen in commercial agent products. That’s probably why OpenAI has snapped up OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger and will put him to work developing the next generation of AI agents for the creator of ChatGPT.

Sandboxes essential

We also cover the risks OpenClaw raises. Running OpenClaw on your personal machine can expose your entire digital life, which is why sandboxes and strict permissioning are essential. What happens when you let agents install community-built skills that might contain malware? 

Then there’s Moltbook, the social platform where OpenClaw-powered agents post and argue with each other, and what that experiment tells us about a near future flooded with AI personas.

If you’ve heard the noise about OpenClaw and “agentic AI” but still aren’t clear on what’s genuinely new here – and why it matters for your business, your data and your job – this conversation will get you there. 

Streaming on iHeartRadio or your favourite podcast platform. Thanks to our sponsor, 2degrees.

Show notes

Mike Hall, CEO Ab0t.com

OpenClaw: The AI Assistant That Actually Does Things - Turing College

OpenClaw, OpenAI and the future - Peter Steinberger

Meta and Other Tech Companies Ban OpenClaw Over Cybersecurity Concerns - Wired

OpenAI hires OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger - FT

What OpenAI’s OpenClaw hire says about the future of AI agents - Fortune

Is OpenClaw Closed? - Hackster

OpenClaw threats: assessing the risks, and how to handle shadow AI - Kapersky

OpenClaw is the moment AI stops feeling like a clever chatbot and starts behaving like something closer to a digital co-worker. In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, you&rsquo;ll hear exactly why.
Veteran software developer and AI entrepreneurMike Hall joins me to break down what OpenClaw actually is in plain language. It&rsquo;s not another prompt-and-response assistant, but a particularly smart type of AI agent that can wake itself up on a schedule, scan your data and tools, and decide for itself whether there&rsquo;s work to be done. If it needs to write code to perform a task for you, it will do that too.
Mike explains how that simple &ldquo;heartbeat&rdquo; loop, asking &ldquo;Should I do something?&rdquo; every minute, is the key shift that turns AI from reactive to proactive, and why that&rsquo;s such a big deal compared with the chatbots most people have used so far.
Skills and the hive mind
We dig into how OpenClaw goes far beyond the current crop of AI agents baked into office suites and CRM platforms. OpenClaw is designed to live on your own infrastructure, plug into email, files and SaaS tools, and then act autonomously rather than waiting to be told what to do.&nbsp;
OpenClaw has sparked a surge of interest from developers, an explosion of &ldquo;skills&rdquo; that any OpenClaw instance can download. The hive mind model central to OpenClaw is unlike anything we&rsquo;ve seen in commercial agent products. That&rsquo;s probably why OpenAI has snapped up OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger and will put him to work developing the next generation of AI agents for the creator of ChatGPT.
Sandboxes essential
We also cover the risks OpenClaw raises. Running OpenClaw on your personal machine can expose your entire digital life, which is why sandboxes and strict permissioning are essential. What happens when you let agents install community-built skills that might contain malware?&nbsp;
Then there&rsquo;s Moltbook, the social platform where OpenClaw-powered agents post and argue with each other, and what that experiment tells us about a near future flooded with AI personas.
If you&rsquo;ve heard the noise about OpenClaw and &ldquo;agentic AI&rdquo; but still aren&rsquo;t clear on what&rsquo;s genuinely new here &ndash; and why it matters for your business, your data and your job &ndash; this conversation will get you there.&nbsp;
Streaming on iHeartRadio or your favourite podcast platform. Thanks to our sponsor, 2degrees.
Show notes
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-hall-02a2653a/?originalSubdomain=nz">Mike Hall, CEO Ab0t.com</a>
<a href="https://www.turingcollege.com/blog/openclaw">OpenClaw: The AI Assistant That Actually Does Things - Turing College</a>
<a href="https://steipete.me/posts/2026/openclaw">OpenClaw, OpenAI and the future</a> - Peter Steinberger
<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/openclaw-banned-by-tech-companies-as-security-concerns-mount/">Meta and Other Tech Companies Ban OpenClaw Over Cybersecurity Concerns</a> - Wired
<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/45b172e6-df8c-41a7-bba9-3e21e361d3aa">OpenAI hires OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger</a> - FT
<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/openai-openclaw-hire-says-future-174021852.html">What OpenAI&rsquo;s OpenClaw hire says about the future of AI agents</a> - Fortune
<a href="https://www.hackster.io/news/is-openclaw-closed-1e177637af9f">Is OpenClaw Closed?</a> - Hackster
<a href="https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/moltbot-enterprise-risk-management/55317/">OpenClaw threats: assessing the risks, and how to handle shadow AI</a> - Kapersky

The OpenClaw moment and what it means for AI

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/14635c4c-f65f-41f4-8b1d-b3f40161c6ea/transcript

AI year in review and what's coming next

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