Auckland unveils alliance to unite & grow city technology sector
Auckland's Mayor has outlined a plan to establish a new Innovation & Technology Alliance, aimed at improving collaboration between public and private sectors to grow the city's technology sector and boost economic productivity.
During his speech, the Mayor framed the current era as "the century of software, AI, robotics" and highlighted Auckland's position within the Indo-Pacific region. "You might be wondering why a mayor is getting involved in the tech sector. Well, I'm an engineer, problem solver, and I saw a problem. To me, problems represent opportunities," he said.
The Mayor cited the Committee for Auckland's State of the City report from 2023, which revealed that Auckland lagged behind peer cities in connectivity and innovation. He described how international visits influenced his perspective on potential solutions. "Then in Bengaluru I visited the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms and saw a solution that can be emulated here. And in the state of Connecticut? I saw a state umbrella to produce an ecology of profitable innovation that can also happen here," he said.
Addressing the importance of city-to-city engagement in world trade, the Mayor continued, "As Peter said, world trade is now more city-to-city than country-to-country, and I know many of the big city leaders in Asia, India and Brazil. And can help that I get to see leaders that government ministers can't. I can certainly help with the connection part, and the innovation part is where you all come in."
He identified several issues within Auckland's technology sector, stating, "Right now, the tech sector is not joined up. We have all the great ideas in New Zealand, and Auckland has great networks that feed these, but we lack coordination and follow-through. And of course, mostly we lack a pathway to scale for our start-ups. It's clear we need leadership to join industry with the public sector. To lift smart innovators into real scale. I'm aware this is NOT news to you all, but for some reason no one's done anything about it."
Reflecting on the consequences of inaction, he added, "Without leadership, too many great ideas don't become great New Zealand companies. RocketLab did become a great company, but there should be more. Without leadership you get mostly trivia and entertainment."
Citing Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir, the Mayor said, "Alex Karp, one of Time Magazine's most influential people of 2025 and CEO of AI and data analytics firm, Palantir, has spoken about this problem. To paraphrase, he speaks of a generation of founders in Silicon Valley who've cloaked themselves in lofty and ambitious purpose. Their rally cries to 'change the world' have, and I quote, 'raised enormous amounts of capital and hired legions of talented engineers merely to build photo-sharing apps and chat interfaces for the modern consumer.' Is that what we want our best brains working on? It would be quite embarrassing to make the same mistakes here. We have some of the world's most innovative people, we're known the world over for it. I'm asking you today to put that to use to produce meaningful, profitable applications that lift our city and country's already great advantages in food tech, medtech, biotech, and fintech."
The Mayor set out a goal for Auckland to "lead New Zealand on a path to prosperity by raising productivity and real GDP per capita," asserting that the council must play a more strategic role to identify and remove barriers to innovation.
He outlined four key areas of concern: capital, research, talent, and scale. On capital, he stated, "New Zealand's 'capital shallow' economy is unhelpful. Could we be using KiwiSaver to invest in New Zealand more? Simplicity is doing some work in this space with Ice House." The Mayor also noted the lack of cohesion between universities and industry as a barrier: "I'm told there's a lack of cohesion between universities and industry. I'm told ideas die early in the journey either because there's a businessperson who doesn't know how to do research and work with government, or there's a researcher who doesn't know how to do business. I'm told many fintech start-ups have died because of the Government's tight controls on open banking and the big four Australian banks' aversion to this. I'm told we could be using tax return data to identify promising companies. I don't believe in picking winners, but we must be accountable with the money we spend here."
Regarding research, he added, "It seems universities don't speak to each other. I'm told that researchers often struggle to transition into entrepreneurial roles due to significant barriers in commercialising research. University-held intellectual property rights stifle this, as do regulatory hurdles and limited access to research facilities. And universities also don't seem to care too much about what's happening in the real world; they're well out of touch with industry here. I have had next to no contact from universities despite being that rare thing: a business-oriented mayor."
On talent, the Mayor remarked, "Now if you get capital and research right, you'll get good talent." He reiterated the need for Auckland to pursue scale in its ventures: "But of course, we also need to provide the scale-up opportunities; we can't just buy and sell to ourselves. As I mentioned, I know India is asking for ideas to feed and medicate their growing middle class (350 million and growing) and wants to help with access to their scale."
The Mayor presented the Auckland Innovation & Technology Alliance as a solution, stating, "The solution is a partnership between the public and private sectors to recharge growth and take up the opportunities lying in wait. This starts with the establishment of the Auckland Innovation & Technology Alliance that will bring together the public and private sectors to attract capital and boost productivity. It will provide strategic leadership, encourage coordination, and drive deal-making and investment to strengthen Auckland's position as a globally competitive tech and innovation hub. This joined-up approach is a first for New Zealand. I'm also offering my leadership and overseas connections to assist with this."
He called for the government to establish an Advanced Technology Institute in Auckland, pointing to the city's concentration of resources. "That is why I am also calling on the government to establish the new Advanced Technology Institute in Auckland. As New Zealand's only global city, we are the obvious place for this. The institute could play a crucial role in guiding new start-ups through the system so ideas don't 'die on the vine'."
Emphasising action, the Mayor added, "This isn't about more meetings or talkfests. It's about doing things that make a difference: helping good ideas grow, getting more investment into Auckland ventures, and making sure we get value for every dollar of public and private effort. We're not starting from scratch. We're building on the groundwork done by many, including our council's tech industry group and GridAKL, and we have strong support from the Auckland Business Chamber, the Committee for Auckland and Tech Council, the University of Auckland, and many others across the sector."
The Mayor concluded by encouraging his audience to focus on meaningful innovation. "New Zealanders have always been innovators. We have the ideas; let's make it easier for these ideas to be used here before they're exported to the world. Kiwis know how to make good deals, and we've done well overseas. Let's open Auckland up so our kids don't have to leave New Zealand to take advantage of growth elsewhere. May I ask once you leave here today, you keep these key questions top of mind: What is the problem you're trying to solve? Is it unique tech or copy-pasted from someone else's idea? Does this tech actually solve the problem? And for who? How many people is it going to impact? Does it create jobs locally that pay well? We must do this while keeping in mind that silly chat interfaces are not the answer, and we must stop trying to reinvent social media, move on from that. My challenge to you is to aim higher. It is my pleasure to open this forum. I hope that's got you thinking. I look forward to hearing your discussions today."
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