A call for tech leaders to help shape their future
PLUS: OpenAI unveils 'study mode' and monster revenue over at Grinding Gear Games.
Welcome to mid week!
Good afternoon Caffeinators! Apologies for not being with you this morning, had a few things on in the AM which kept me from posting but it’s all in service of some content I can’t wait to show you.
But never fear, I will not leave you high and dry without your Daily Shot.
Here’s what’s in your Daily Shot of news you don’t want to miss
Grinding Gear Games post $100m in revenue
Last chance to fill out the Toi Mai Digital Skills Survey 2025
Event: Building a Future Ready Business
Pod Pick: NBR Podcast - Ai strategy, light touch or wild west?
OpenAI rolls out ‘Study Mode’, preps for GPT5 launch
Got a tip, press release or just a comment? Drop us a note: hello@caffeinedaily.co - we love to hear from you.
Finn & the Caffeine team
We’re excited to partner with BNZ. As New Zealand's largest business bank, BNZ shares our mission to support the next wave of founders and operators. Over the coming months, we’ll be working together to share insights, tools, and stories that help you grow smarter and faster. Keep an eye out every Thursday for content powered by BNZ.
Grinding Gear Games post $100m in revenue: True story, the first news piece I ever wrote was on the raging success of Henderson-based game dev studio Grinding Gear Games and their flagship title ‘Path of Exile’, around the time they were acquired by Chinese behemoth Tencent. Fast forward a few years and the investment seems to be more than paying off as they posted a monstrous $100m in revenue for the previous year as their sequel ‘Path of Exile 2’ launched.
As I’ve said many times on Caffeine, the gaming sector is New Zealand is such a vibrant subsect of our digital economy. The classic SaaS model potential for frictionless exports which no theoretical ceiling on earnings combined with rich artistic IP development means its only scratching the surface of its potential.
Though not all the gaming news is good this week, Chris Keall over a the Herald did a great job unpacking some of the drama around the much hyped but so far poorly received first game from Weta Workshop, ‘Tales of the Shire’. A cosy game where you play as Hobbits just living their lives felt like a slam dunk for a product but execution was lacking on many counts, reportedly. I think the story is worth paying attention to because the potential for us to monetise a game world when the IP owned in New Zealand is enormous. Remember, the single most valuable piece of media IP on planet Earth is Pokemon at well over $100b USD. No reason we can’t get a slice of that.
Last chance to fill out the Toi Mai Digital Skills Survey 2025: Look I get it, being asked to fill out a survey is punishing but I promise this one is worth your time. The Toi Mai Workforce Development Council is undertaking a comprehensive digital skills survey of New Zealand to better understand the needs of organisations that employ digital technology workers.
We’re at a critical moment in technology adoption right now and the results of this survey can inform future policy decisions so this is your chance to take part.
The survey is not limited to digital technology companies, but rather all organisations that employ digital technology workers throughout the country. This information will help inform education providers, learners, peak bodies, government and industry as to where to prioritise future training resources.
A few days ago Graeme Muller of NZ Tech pointed out that only 2 SaaS companies had filled out the survey so consider this me putting out the call for some of the tech leaders in our ecosystem to get involved.
It takes ten minutes and could actually make a difference - check it out here.
Event: Building a Future Ready Business: A well titled and timely event for founders looking to future proof their business and real strategies to lead through change, stay competitive, and drive meaningful progress.
Join the Business Intelligence Series breakfast with leaders from PwC, Source, Yabble, and Aware - an HSO Company, as they share what's actually working inside some of New Zealand's most forward-thinking businesses, and how you can apply it.
They will explore how AI, data, and shifting customer expectations are transforming business strategy, scalability, and innovation in New Zealand.
Side note, I recently had a fascinating chat with one of the speakers Brandon Hutcheson, co-founder of Aware, so look out for that in the newsletter soon.
Check it out and get your tickets here.
📌 Event Details:
Wed, 6 Aug, 7am - 9:30am NZST
Grand Millennium Auckland
Pod Pick: NBR Podcast - Ai strategy, light touch or wild west? Definitely worth checking out the latest public episode of the NBR Podcast with Simon Shepherd. As we’ve covered before on Caffeine, NZ is the last cab of the OECD rank to have an AI strategy and it hasn’t been well received by the AI industry. The Government’s ‘light touch’ approach has been labelled as ‘wild west’ and ‘severely lacking’. Innovation Minister Shane Reti defends his new strategy but admits there’s more work to do. Check out the pod here.
OpenAI rolls out ‘Study Mode’, preps for GPT5 launch: We covered the tease of this mode a while back but now its officially coming, OpenAI is launching ‘study mode’. When this mode is selected, the roles will get somewhat reverse with the A.I prompting users to answer questions test their understanding and potentially not answering unless they engage with learning materials. I’ve always found ‘personal tutor’ one of the most compelling use cases for A. Elsewhere in OpenAI land, it seems the long awaited launch of GPT5 could be just around the corner with multiple reports hinting at an early August release. Check out study mode here.
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Want to get in touch with a news tip, bit of feedback or just to chat? Email hello@caffeinedaily.co
