Happy Wednesday arvo. You’re technically halfway through the week and as a special reward I went and wrangled a brand new column from our own resident scribbler, Serge van Dam.
Naturally, you’re also getting a fresh Daily Shot to help wash it down. Yes, it does include one listicle but I swear it’s worth it and comes from the very reputable source.
Here’s what’s brewing in your Daily Shot:
Scribbles from the Startup Frontlines: The World’s Most Boring Topic; Government Procurement
Event: Migrants in Tech Auckland
Starboard Maritime Intelligence secures NZ$23M Series A
Vessev lands first European customer
The Top Ten Emerging Technologies of 2025
As always, thank you to everyone who has upgraded to a paid subscription or simply recommended Caffeine to friends and whānau. We couldn’t do any of this without you.
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!
Vessev lands first European customer: Elsewhere on the water, another great win for another great startup. Vessev has announced its first European customer, with one of its nine-metre battery electric, carbon fibre catamaran heading to an eco-resort in Northern Ireland. I promise I’m not just including it because of the name but it means that the resort, Finn Lough, will therefore become the first luxury hospitality destination in Europe to offer its guests transportation by electric hydro foiling vessel.
While super luxury hydro foiling might not sound like the most relatable combination of words, I think keeping an eye on Vessev is wise for any founder in our community. They’re solving for some serious problems with an immense addressable market and the pedigree of the team is next level.
Max Olson and Eric Laakmann lead the team at Vessev and the bonafides couldn’t be stronger. Max co-founded Halter, who I really don’t need to introduce here, while Eric began his career at Apple, becoming an engineering program leader for the Apple Watch.
Event: Migrants in Tech Auckland - We love any event which is about welcoming more people into the tech and startup ecosystem so for anyone new to our shores and wanting to find a welcome, this one is for you. The focus is all about networking and getting to know fellow migrants in tech. It’s a great opportunity to expand your connections, share experiences, and be part of our growing community.
The event will be casual, fun, and family-friendly – a welcoming space to connect with others. Pizza and beverages will be provided.
Why should you join?
✨ Meet and chat with other newcomers
✨ Get insights and valuable advice from local tech leaders and start-ups
✨ Learn about Auckland’s tech ecosystem, sub-sectors, opportunities and more!
✨ Chat about what living and working in Auckland is like and make new connections
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.
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
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