ICYMI: Startup news and resources from the week that was
What you might have missed last week on Caffeine.
Welcome to Monday!
As always, on Monday we recap a few of our favorite stories or resources from the week that was then tomorrow kick back into our full newsletter from Tuesday.
Have a great start to your week,
Finn and the Caffeine team
Scribbles from the Startup Frontlines: The World’s Most Boring Topic; Government Procurement - By Serge van Dam
TLDR: We should demand more responsible and responsive purchasing from our tax dollars. And startups should be right in the action.
Hey Big Spender!
Like in all other modern economies, the New Zealand Government is the biggest spender / purchaser in the economy. In fact, it purchases about $50B of goods and services every year, or about 20% of GDP. Much of that goes to sensible people and companies. But a lot does not, especially in technology or technology-centric services.
Just recently, the Government issued a new set of rules for Government procurement. These are not my kind of document, but what did strike me is Rule 8 (a set of rules - see picture below). The EXPECTATION is now that mid-sized contracts of $100k to $9m must by default go to Kiwi companies. Wow!
Pick Your Own (Idiotic Project)
I came of age - professionally speaking - towards the end of the INCIS debacle. The New Zealand Police had contracted IBM to build a system no-one could explain to anyone else - it never even got defined as a programme. After over $100m of taxpayer money, the programme got cancelled.
Every year or two, we get another one of these. It always involved big, international vendors with nothing much to play for; almost no skin in the game. And the people paying for it get nothing at all.
The problem, primarily, is one of incentives. Bureaucrats get to contract out their time for as long as possible, maximise the allocated budget on their resume (“I managed a multi-year, $18m programme” to implement a survey!?!?), and also get taken out to dinner by well-capitalised vendors who want to charge as much as possible over a sustained period of time. If only there was a type of organisation out there who was keen to get the job done well, but as quickly, cheaply and disruptively as possible!?!
Enter startups…
Paid Subscribers can check out the full story from Serge van Dam embedded above or click here.
Starboard Maritime Intelligence secures NZ$23M Series A: As soon as I started talking about it, I’m suddenly noticing a lot more seafaring startup news. Either I’m manifesting maritime money for these founders or I am belatedly filling in a blind spot. NZ-based Starboard Maritime Intelligence has closed an impressive $23m raise co-led by Altered Capital, OIF Ventures, and King River Capital.
I think we all got a shock course in how delicate our global maritime industry can be over the pandemic years and amidst subsequent geopolitical turmoil so any company that can solve for emerging problems in this space will be immensely attractive.
Starboard Maritime Intelligence’s AI platform fuses over 1 billion maritime data points daily across satellite imagery, radar, oceanographic, and autonomous sensors to detect suspicious activity, highlight risks to subsea infrastructure, and issue real-time alerts that enable operators to act before incidents occur.
For governments, Starboard strengthens maritime security by detecting adversarial behaviours, protecting subsea infrastructure, and supporting classified operations with real-time threat intervention. For commercial operators, the platform reduces operational risk, safeguards supply chains, and improves trade resilience by providing visibility across global shipping activity.
Congrats to the team!
Event: Aotearoa AI Summit 2025 - You guys, I’m starting to suspect this whole A.I thing might turn out to be quite a big deal. If you’re of a like mind, definitely make sure to secure you’re spot at New Zealand’s upcoming and essential AI event.
This is the big one from Ai Forum and NZ Tech which unites industry leaders, researchers, policymakers, and innovators to explore cutting-edge advancements and real-world applications of AI. I am not sure if this will be a draw card or not but I will also be there nerding out. So if you see a man with too many rings on that looks like he should be at home writing a newsletter, come over and say hi.
Get your tickets here.
Time: Thursday September 18
Place: Shed Ten, Auckland
Pod Pick: The NBR Podcast with Simon Shepherd - Where is NZ at with the AIP Visa? - Changes to the so called ‘golden visa’ category have been championed by many in the startup community (including us) as a great incentive to get some of the wealthiest, most well connected and successful people in the world to move their money and minds to our shores. Even before the foreign home buyer ban was lifted, it had sparked a big uptick in applications and promised dollars from wealthy foreign investors seeking a New Zealand investor visa and planning migration to New Zealand. Simon Shepherd over at NBR has done a great job checking in on where the visa stands and asks the important question of what happens when investors get residency and want their money back? Listen here (unpaywalled).
The Top Ten Emerging Technologies of 2025: This is the classiest and potentially most impactful listicle I have ever read. Informed by the World Economic Forum’s recent report, this is an exceptional read for any founder wanting to keep abreast of what underlying tech is coming online which could soon start solving for real problems.
From structural battery composites to nanozymes, this is definitely one for the nerds. But don’t get put off by the jargon, solid bet that a few companies leveraging one of the ten will be household names before the end of the decade. Read condensed list here or get the full report here.
Want to get in touch with a news tip, a slice of feedback or just to chat? Email hello@caffeinedaily.co