What’s Brewing: 25 Kiwi Startups to Watch in 2025

Plus Meta’s moderation shift, groundbreaking brain implant trials, economic uncertainty, Hnry’s new move in Wellington, and how to rediscover joy at work.

Welcome back team.

It’s good to be here. Well done if you pushed through because you needed to. Well done if you downed tools because you needed to. Well done if this is already week two. Hopefully no matter what, you got some stone fruit, gorged on sugar-laden desserts, went at least a few days with salty hair, or lived off BBQ meals.

2024 was a hell of a year, and 13 days in, it looks like 2025 will keep us on our toes in this community too. You’re likely rousing to inboxes with things you pushed to this year: must-do lists, admin, bills, and brands and newsletters screaming for your attention. Take it slow—or do what my ex-colleague used to do and delete it all. He swore if they really needed him, they’d come back!

Thanks for keeping us in your inbox. We know it’s a privilege, and we’ve got some exciting new plans in play this year, so we hope it’s worth it. Today, we’ll keep it short and snappy —just like your attention span.

• What’s Brewing: 25 Kiwi Startups to Watch in 2025

• Farewell to the Buzzwords of 2024

• Meta’s Community Moderation Shift Raises Concerns for NZ’s Misinformation Battle

• World-First Brain Implant Trials Begin in NZ: Kítea Health Targets Life-Changing Medtech Breakthrough

• Hnry Takes Over Iconic David Jones Building in Wellington

• Economic Uncertainty Tops Concerns for NZ Businesses in 2025

• How to Escape the ‘Groundhog Career’ and Rediscover Joy at Work

Good luck today, and here’s to a thriving (not just surviving) kind of year.

Lauren & the CAFFEINE Team