Mark Billinghurst is a professor at the University of Auckland’s bioengineering institute and director of the empathic computing laboratory at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. In our feature interview he paints a mixed future for mixed reality tech.

And Ben and Peter talk about a raft of new research showing that Kiwis trust in AI is lower than ever, and the increasing pressure for regulation.

Reading list

Subscribe on iHeart Radio or wherever you get podcasts.

Mark Billinghurst is a professor at the University of Auckland’s bioengineering institute and director of the empathic computing laboratory at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. In our feature interview he paints a mixed future for mixed reality tech.
And Ben and Peter talk about a raft of new research showing that Kiwis trust in AI is lower than ever, and the increasing pressure for regulation.
<a href="https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/technology/business-of-tech-podcast-a-mixed-view-on-vr-ai-trust-plummeting">Reading list</a>
Subscribe on <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1049-the-business-of-tech-114330718/">iHeart Radio</a> or <a href="https://pod.link/1686022906">wherever you get podcasts.</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.

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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

The good and the bad of an augmented future, plus plummeting trust in AI

Welcome to the Business of Tech

Sios Aerospace: New Zealand's Defense Tech

The Dual-Use Dilemma in Defense Technology

Sam Vai's Journey from Geophysicist to Drone

The Birth of Sios: Uncrewed Helicopters for

Sios' Rapid Growth and Military Contracts

The UK Breakthrough and Multi-Domain Autonomy

The Challenges of Defense Tech Innovation

New Zealand's Defense Tech Potential

Sios' Engineering Philosophy and Growth

Overcoming Technical Challenges in Drone

Quantum Sensors and Future Directions

Sios' Expansion and Future Plans

The Arctic Rowing Adventure

An Unexpected Rowing Adventure

Leadership Lessons from Extreme Challenges

Reflections on the CEO Index Awards

The Dual Role of a CEO

Closing Thoughts on New Zealand's Tech Future

New Zealand-founded robotics company Syos Aerospace is building autonomous aircraft, drone boats, ground vehicles and underwater robots from its Mt. Maunganui base 

In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, Syos founder Sam Vye tells me how a conservation-drone project in the Galápagos helped inspire the creation of Syos, now one of the country’s most ambitious dual-use tech companies.

Vye arrived in New Zealand in 2018 and worked in Yamaha’s unmanned-helicopter division before seeing an opportunity to apply drones to rural, agricultural and conservation work. His early venture, Envico Technologies, started with Cameron Baker, took on a project using drones to distribute pest bait in the Galápagos Islands.

We need a bigger drone

The pair realised that small electric drones could carry modest loads, while conventional helicopters remained expensive, complex and risky to operate. Their answer was to develop large uncrewed helicopters that could take pilots out of hazardous or costly missions.

Syos was founded in 2021 and initially targeted civilian uses including agricultural operations, cargo and surveying. Its founding principle, Vye says, is “minimum viable capability” – build systems that solve real-world problems quickly and at the lowest possible cost, rather than loading them with unnecessary features.

Going underwater

The company’s trajectory changed sharply as the global market for uncrewed systems accelerated, particularly after Russia invaded Ukraine. Syos expanded from aircraft into multi-domain autonomy, developing vehicles across air, land and sea, backed by a common command-and-control approach. It later acquired Tauranga underwater-robotics company Bay Dynamics, adding subsea capabilities for applications ranging from infrastructure inspection to surveillance and offshore operations.

Syos now has a substantial defence business. In February, the New Zealand Defence Force announced it would trial SYOS uncrewed systems across air, land and sea as part of a programme to develop its autonomous-vehicle capability. The platforms include uncrewed surface vessels, aircraft systems and a ground vehicle, along with training and technical support.

In the UK, Syos has also advanced in Project NYX, a Ministry of Defence programme exploring drones that could fly alongside British Army Apache attack helicopters.

The ethics of dual-use

That military work raises important questions about the ethics of autonomous systems and the kind of defence exports New Zealand should support. Vye acknowledges that drones are “a scary thing” in a world of bad actors, but says the company works with allied customers and follows its own moral compass.

We also explore whether New Zealand can build a credible defence-tech sector without compromising its values, and why drones, robotics and AI-enabled autonomy may become an increasingly important part of the country’s technology-export future.

Plus, I recap the tech founders who won categories in the BusinessDesk CEO Index Awards, including supreme winner Sir Peter Beck, talking about the two most important roles a CEO has to play.

Streaming on iHeartRadio, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

New Zealand-founded robotics company Syos Aerospace is building autonomous aircraft, drone boats, ground vehicles and underwater robots from its Mt. Maunganui base&nbsp;
In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, Syos founder Sam Vye tells me how a conservation-drone project in the Gal&aacute;pagos helped inspire the creation of Syos, now one of the country&rsquo;s most ambitious dual-use tech companies.
Vye arrived in New Zealand in 2018 and worked in Yamaha&rsquo;s unmanned-helicopter division before seeing an opportunity to apply drones to rural, agricultural and conservation work. His early venture, Envico Technologies, started with Cameron Baker, took on a project using drones to distribute pest bait in the Gal&aacute;pagos Islands.
We need a bigger drone
The pair realised that small electric drones could carry modest loads, while conventional helicopters remained expensive, complex and risky to operate. Their answer was to develop large uncrewed helicopters that could take pilots out of hazardous or costly missions.
Syos was founded in 2021 and initially targeted civilian uses including agricultural operations, cargo and surveying. Its founding principle, Vye says, is &ldquo;minimum viable capability&rdquo; &ndash; build systems that solve real-world problems quickly and at the lowest possible cost, rather than loading them with unnecessary features.
Going underwater
The company&rsquo;s trajectory changed sharply as the global market for uncrewed systems accelerated, particularly after Russia invaded Ukraine. Syos expanded from aircraft into multi-domain autonomy, developing vehicles across air, land and sea, backed by a common command-and-control approach. It later acquired Tauranga underwater-robotics company Bay Dynamics, adding subsea capabilities for applications ranging from infrastructure inspection to surveillance and offshore operations.
Syos now has a substantial defence business. In February, the New Zealand Defence Force announced it would trial SYOS uncrewed systems across air, land and sea as part of a programme to develop its autonomous-vehicle capability. The platforms include uncrewed surface vessels, aircraft systems and a ground vehicle, along with training and technical support.
In the UK, Syos has also advanced in Project NYX, a Ministry of Defence programme exploring drones that could fly alongside British Army Apache attack helicopters.
The ethics of dual-use
That military work raises important questions about the ethics of autonomous systems and the kind of defence exports New Zealand should support. Vye acknowledges that drones are &ldquo;a scary thing&rdquo; in a world of bad actors, but says the company works with allied customers and follows its own moral compass.
We also explore whether New Zealand can build a credible defence-tech sector without compromising its values, and why drones, robotics and AI-enabled autonomy may become an increasingly important part of the country&rsquo;s technology-export future.
Plus, I recap the tech founders who won categories in the BusinessDesk CEO Index Awards, including supreme winner Sir Peter Beck, talking about the two most important roles a CEO has to play.
Streaming on iHeartRadio, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The drone builder making waves in defence tech

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/0e1a85f1-d6bf-4d10-b7ae-b4c000308cfe/transcript

Blackbird Ventures' $1.25 Billion Fundraise

A New Era for New Zealand Startups

Blackbird's Unique Investment Approach

Phoebe Harrop-Meadows: From Law to Venture

The Power of Early Stage Investing

The Flywheel Effect in New Zealand's Tech

Kiwi Founders' Edge in Startup Success

The Changing Landscape of AI in New Zealand

Education and Research: Building the Future

Educational Pathways for Tech Careers

Academic Researchers as Founders

The Kiwi Farm Boy Phenomenon

Global Ambitions from New Zealand

Policy and Prosperity in New Zealand

Closing Remarks and Next Episode Preview

Podcast Promotion

Australasian venture-capital heavyweight Blackbird has closed a record $1.25 billion sixth fund – and its New Zealand general partner Phoebe Harrop Meadows says Kiwi companies are central to its investment strategy.

The fund, described by Blackbird as the largest venture-capital raise in ANZ history, underscores the firm’s rise from a small Australian startup investor into one of the region’s most consequential backers of technology companies.

Having backed the likes of Canva, Halter, Marloo, and Partly, Blackbird has structured the new fund into two roughly equal pools: about $600 million for investments from pre-seed to Series A, and a similar amount to support companies later in their growth. 

That allows it to write the first cheque when a company is little more than a proposition, then retain firepower to keep investing as the business scales.

The Goldilocks fund

In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, Harrop Meadows explains why the unusually large fund is not simply a bigger pile of money chasing startups.

“It’s a sort of Goldilocks size,” she says, large enough to invest across a company’s life, but still built around identifying exceptional founders at the very beginning.

That is a marked contrast with the conventional division between early-stage venture funds and later-stage growth investors. The model is finding fertile ground in New Zealand. More than half of Blackbird’s new early-stage investments over the past year have been in Kiwi-founded companies, although Harrop Meadows stresses that measure is by number of companies rather than dollars invested. 

Harrop Meadows, who grew up in New Plymouth, studied law at the University of Otago, before heading to London to work at Bain & Company, then in growth-equity investing ahead of joining Blackbird in 2021, says New Zealand is like a “Galápagos island of ideas”, where founders often start companies not because startup status is fashionable, but because they have encountered a problem they feel compelled to solve. 

Listen to the full conversation with Phoebe Harrop Meadows on The Business of Tech, available on iHeartRadio, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Australasian venture-capital heavyweight Blackbird has closed a record $1.25 billion sixth fund &ndash; and its New Zealand general partner Phoebe Harrop Meadows says Kiwi companies are central to its investment strategy.
The fund, described by Blackbird as the largest venture-capital raise in ANZ history, underscores the firm&rsquo;s rise from a small Australian startup investor into one of the region&rsquo;s most consequential backers of technology companies.
Having backed the likes of Canva, Halter, Marloo, and Partly, Blackbird has structured the new fund into two roughly equal pools: about $600 million for investments from pre-seed to Series A, and a similar amount to support companies later in their growth.&nbsp;
That allows it to write the first cheque when a company is little more than a proposition, then retain firepower to keep investing as the business scales.
The Goldilocks fund
In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, Harrop Meadows explains why the unusually large fund is not simply a bigger pile of money chasing startups.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a sort of Goldilocks size,&rdquo; she says, large enough to invest across a company&rsquo;s life, but still built around identifying exceptional founders at the very beginning.
That is a marked contrast with the conventional division between early-stage venture funds and later-stage growth investors. The model is finding fertile ground in New Zealand. More than half of Blackbird&rsquo;s new early-stage investments over the past year have been in Kiwi-founded companies, although Harrop Meadows stresses that measure is by number of companies rather than dollars invested.&nbsp;
Harrop Meadows, who grew up in New Plymouth, studied law at the University of Otago, before heading to London to work at Bain &amp; Company, then in growth-equity investing ahead of joining Blackbird in 2021, says New Zealand is like a &ldquo;Gal&aacute;pagos island of ideas&rdquo;, where founders often start companies not because startup status is fashionable, but because they have encountered a problem they feel compelled to solve.&nbsp;
Listen to the full conversation with Phoebe Harrop Meadows on The Business of Tech, available on iHeartRadio, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Blackbird’s billion-dollar bet on founders

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/475e9441-a023-4ec6-ba5b-b4b900078cf3/transcript

New Zealand's Space Manufacturing Venture

Jamie France's Engineering Background

The Promise of Space Manufacturing

Outlier Space's Mission

From Team New Zealand to Rocket Lab

The Innovation Mindset in New Zealand

Rocket Lab's Electron Launch

The Birth of Outlier Space

SkyCouch: Innovation in Aviation

The Power of Microgravity

Keytruda and the Future of Pharmaceuticals

The Outlier Space Capsule

Team Building and Market Potential

Democratizing Space Manufacturing

The Future of Space Exploration

Reaching for the Stars: Funding and Growth

Revolutionizing Research with Space

Wrapping Up and Call to Action

Subscribe and Share

What if space was not simply a place to launch satellites – but a factory floor for making things that cannot be produced on Earth?

That is the bet being made by Auckland startup Outlier Space, which has raised around US$7.35 million (NZ$12.3 million) in pre-seed funding to build reusable spacecraft that carry customer payloads into microgravity, operate them in orbit, then return them safely to Earth. Its first mission is booked for 2028.

The premise is straightforward, if technically formidable. In orbit, a spacecraft is in continuous freefall, creating a microgravity environment in which the familiar force of gravity no longer dominates. Molecules, crystals, cells and materials can therefore behave in ways that are not possible in an Earth-bound laboratory.

That holds incredible appeal to pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms and advanced-materials manufacturers. Microgravity can allow purer crystals to form, produce novel structures and open paths to materials and medicines that simply cannot be created – or cannot be created as effectively – on the ground.

Bringing the results home

In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, Outlier founder and chief executive Jamie France describes the company as an “anti-gravity chamber” for customers. They provide the proprietary manufacturing equipment and process. Outlier supplies the capsule-cum-satellite that allows access to the extraordinary environment of orbit, then brings the results home.

The opportunity is becoming more urgent as the International Space Station – the world’s most important microgravity research laboratory – approaches retirement. Commercial replacements are on the way, but France believes there is a major role for autonomous, uncrewed spacecraft designed for manufacturing and research missions where astronauts are not required.

France has the background to take on that challenge. He spent 15 years working with Emirates Team New Zealand, helped create Air New Zealand’s Skycouch, and spent almost a decade at Rocket Lab – from senior vehicle engineer on Electron to global director of the launch vehicle programme. Most recently, he sat on the board of FTN Motion, advising the founders as they scaled up production of their electric motorbikes (see episode 160 of The Business of Tech).

France’s career has been defined by teams willing to tackle difficult problems from first principles. At Rocket Lab, he says, the high-stakes peak-performance mindset of an America’s Cup campaign was not an occasional event. It was simply “a Tuesday”.

Outlier is now assembling its own team in Auckland, already numbering more than 20, to build a spacecraft capable not only of operating in orbit but also surviving re-entry and getting valuable payloads back into customers’ hands.

In this episode, France explains why space manufacturing is really about gravity, how a new form of a cancer drug could change treatment delivery, and why New Zealand’s deep-tech future may depend as much on audacity as engineering skill.

Listen to The Business of Tech for the full conversation with Jamie France, available wherever you get your podcasts.

What if space was not simply a place to launch satellites &ndash; but a factory floor for making things that cannot be produced on Earth?
That is the bet being made by Auckland startup Outlier Space, which has raised around US$7.35 million (NZ$12.3 million) in pre-seed funding to build reusable spacecraft that carry customer payloads into microgravity, operate them in orbit, then return them safely to Earth. Its first mission is booked for 2028.
The premise is straightforward, if technically formidable. In orbit, a spacecraft is in continuous freefall, creating a microgravity environment in which the familiar force of gravity no longer dominates. Molecules, crystals, cells and materials can therefore behave in ways that are not possible in an Earth-bound laboratory.
That holds incredible appeal to pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms and advanced-materials manufacturers. Microgravity can allow purer crystals to form, produce novel structures and open paths to materials and medicines that simply cannot be created &ndash; or cannot be created as effectively &ndash; on the ground.
Bringing the results home
In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, Outlier founder and chief executive Jamie France describes the company as an &ldquo;anti-gravity chamber&rdquo; for customers. They provide the proprietary manufacturing equipment and process. Outlier supplies the capsule-cum-satellite that allows access to the extraordinary environment of orbit, then brings the results home.
The opportunity is becoming more urgent as the International Space Station &ndash; the world&rsquo;s most important microgravity research laboratory &ndash; approaches retirement. Commercial replacements are on the way, but France believes there is a major role for autonomous, uncrewed spacecraft designed for manufacturing and research missions where astronauts are not required.
France has the background to take on that challenge. He spent 15 years working with Emirates Team New Zealand, helped create Air New Zealand&rsquo;s Skycouch, and spent almost a decade at Rocket Lab &ndash; from senior vehicle engineer on Electron to global director of the launch vehicle programme. Most recently, he sat on the board of FTN Motion, advising the founders as they scaled up production of their electric motorbikes (see episode 160 of The Business of Tech).
France&rsquo;s career has been defined by teams willing to tackle difficult problems from first principles. At Rocket Lab, he says, the high-stakes peak-performance mindset of an America&rsquo;s Cup campaign was not an occasional event. It was simply &ldquo;a Tuesday&rdquo;.
Outlier is now assembling its own team in Auckland, already numbering more than 20, to build a spacecraft capable not only of operating in orbit but also surviving re-entry and getting valuable payloads back into customers&rsquo; hands.
In this episode, France explains why space manufacturing is really about gravity, how a new form of a cancer drug could change treatment delivery, and why New Zealand&rsquo;s deep-tech future may depend as much on audacity as engineering skill.
Listen to The Business of Tech for the full conversation with Jamie France, available wherever you get your podcasts.

The anti-gravity business

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/8646133c-300d-455a-8817-b4b101506c99/transcript

The good and the bad of an augmented future, plus plummeting trust in AI

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