Sold Out TSB Area Hosts The 30th Anniversary Celebration
23 May, 2025 – SYOS Aerospace took out the top honour at the 2025 NZ Hi-Tech Awards tonight, being named the PwC Hi-Tech Company of the Year. A near record number of attendees in excess of 1000+ came together to celebrate as the Awards marked its 30th anniversary at the TSB Arena in Wellington, which was also attended by a record number of Government Ministers.
Mount Maunganui based SYOS Aerospace made a stand out impression on the exclusive panel of international judges with them commenting. ' The company sells its products to government and commercial customers for security, border patrol, surveillance, disaster response, delivery, logistics support, agriculture, and environmental monitoring. The company has shown that you can build big things in small – and pleasant – places. They have made the 'jump' overseas that is critical to getting Kiwi companies to global scale.'
Other big winners were The Village Goldsmith and Mindhive Global who both took out two categories each.
Mindhive Global who won both the Start-up category and the Agritech category made a significant impact on the judges with their unique combination of known, trusted technology. Their proprietary vision system detects over 25 types of defects in cowhides within seconds, combining machine learning, image recognition, and industrial hardware in a way that's both technically robust and commercially viable.
The Village Goldsmith is also disrupting a long-standing industry with its development of a unique platform that allows diamonds to float without visible prongs, claws, or clasps, an innovation recognised globally as the most significant change in diamond solitaire ring design since 1886.
Sir Peter Beck was recognised as the 2025 Flying Kiwi and inducted into the NZ Hi-Tech Hall of Fame for taking his company Rocket Lab, from a start-up some 20 years ago to the multi-billion dollar company it is today. At the same time, actively contributing to the development of the Kiwi aerospace industry and personally investing in a number of home-grown start-ups
More than 80 local and international judges contributed to the judging of the NZ Hi-Tech Awards which continues to see a year-on-year increase in submissions with an increasingly high calibre to match. Of the 2025 Awards New Zealand Hi-Tech Trust chair Marian Johnson saw the achievement of the Tech sector as a pride that all of Aotearoa could share in despite the last couple of challenging years 'We're witnessing an industry that is continuing exceptional growth as well as innovation and matching it with the best in the world.'
'We continue to see exceptional growth of both our largest tech companies and a burgeoning ecosystem of start-ups and it's so exciting to see this as we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Hi-Tech Awards.' Said Johnson.
The 2025 NZ Hi-Tech Award winners are:
PwC Hi-Tech Company of the Year
Winner: SYOS Aerospace
Xero Hi-Tech Young Achiever
Winner: Luke Campbell (Co-Founder & CEO of VXT)
Spark Best Hi-Tech Solution for the Public Good
Winner: Optimation
Consult Recruitment Best Contribution to the NZ Tech Sector
Winner: Talent RISE
Datacom Hi-Tech Inspiring Individual
Winner: Lee Timutimu
Aware - an HSO Company Most Innovative Deep Tech Solution
Winner: Kitea Health
Poutama Trust Hi-Tech Kamupene Māori o te Tau – Māori Company of the Year
Winner: Deep Dive Division
Tait Communications Flying Kiwi
Recipient: Sir Peter Beck
NZX Most Innovative Hi-Tech Creative Technology Solution
Winner: The Village Goldsmith
Duncan Cotterill Most Innovative Hi-Tech Software Solution
Winner: Toku Eyes
Highly Commended: Carepatron
Braemac Most Innovative Hi-Tech Manufacturer of the Year
Winner: The Village Goldsmith
Kiwibank Most Innovative Hi-Tech Solution for a More Sustainable Future
Winner: Cleanery
NZTE Most Innovative Hi-Tech Agritech Solution
Winner: Mindhive Global
Punakaiki Hi-Tech Start-up Company of the Year
Winner: Mindhive Global
ASX Hi-Tech Emerging Company of the Year
Winner: Projectworks
Highly Commended: Calocurb
About The NZ Hi-Tech Awards
The New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards celebrate the success of our producers of goods and services from the software, electronics, telecommunications, mobile, agritech, creative and other hi-tech industries. The Awards are run by the NZ Hi-Tech Trust, a not-for-profit organisation aimed at promoting and supporting the wider industry. The board is comprised of trustees: Marian Johnson (Chair), David Downs, Amber Taylor, Mike O'Donnell, Sarah Ramsay, Sir Ian Taylor and Andrew West. For more information go http://www.hitech.org.nz/
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