Universities evidenced as fuelling New Zealand’s tech future

In the fast-shifting landscape of Aotearoa New Zealand’s tech sector, where billion-dollar valuations and unicorns tend to steal the spotlight, a quieter force has been steadily contributing to the ecosystem’s momentum: our universities.

According to the latest New Zealand Tech Ecosystem Report by Dealroom, in partnership with the government’s investment agency New Zealand Growth Capital Partners (NZGCP), New Zealand’s tech sector has grown an astonishing 6.1x in value since 2019, reaching NZ$129 billion in total enterprise value. It is an impressive trajectory, especially for a country that continues to punch well above its weight on the global innovation stage. New Zealand outperforms OECD countries and global hubs in unicorn creation efficiency.

Within the data is this figure: over 70 spinouts from New Zealand universities are now collectively valued at NZ$2.2 billion. These ventures have generated more than 800 high-skilled jobs and countless ripple effects through the economy.

From lecture theatres to labs and makerspaces, universities are nurturing the talent and ideas that go on to fuel world-class ventures. The report notes that dozens of alumni founders from New Zealand universities have gone on to raise more than USD$10 million. This places our academic institutions at the centre of global start-up success.

Will Charles is Executive Director of Investments at UniServices, the University’s commercialisation and research translation company. In his time at the University of Auckland, he has helped start over 50 technology-based companies, facilitated hundreds of licensing deals and raised millions in venture and seed funding.

Charles says “The University has a well-designed entrepreneurial ecosystem that comprises of UniServices, research commercialisation programmes and student-powered organisations such as the Momentum and Return on Science investment committees and the Velocity entrepreneurship development programme. We’ve shown what’s possible if you provide a good entrepreneurial infrastructure that brings together capital and capability development alongside good research and ideas.”

He notes that universities are inherently long-term thinkers. They are not chasing the next hype cycle or rushing for a quick exit. They cultivate talent, encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, and embed innovation within the curriculum. This slow-burn approach often yields ideas that are technically rigorous, globally relevant, and socially meaningful.

“We’ve known all along that it will take at least a decade to see a return on talent investment. When you see the powerhouses coming through now – look at their history. The founders of Kami and Auror came through Velocity 10 years ago.”

Darsel Keane is director of the University’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) and is the University’s representative on the NZ Tech Council. She says “This report is wonderful to see. There’s another part to the story. Beyond the founders, universities are also essential for creating the talent working within start-ups. New Zealand’s universities aren’t ivory towers. They’re places that have the power to transform curiosity into commercial value, and ambition into action. It’s happening right here in spaces like CIE’s Unleash Space and the Newmarket Innovation Precinct.”

Keane says universities offer one of the few truly inclusive entry points into the start-up ecosystem. You don’t have to be a seasoned founder or well-connected investor to walk through the doors of a university innovation hub. You just need an idea, and the willingness to pursue it.

“Every year we have thousands of students and staff through our spaces and programmes. They’re learning, collaborating, ideating, prototyping and co-working. We’re a safe space to try, fail and try again”.

In a moment when many are asking how New Zealand can maintain its upward trajectory in tech, the answer may not be to look outward, but inward at the institutions designed to support critical thinking and experimentation.

Keane says it isn’t whether universities matter to the tech ecosystem. It’s whether we’re ready to fully back them with policy, capital, and attention.

“In the story of New Zealand’s tech future, universities aren’t just footnotes. They’re headline material.”

New Zealand Tech Ecosystem report