What a week! Tech Week 2025 has officially wrapped, and we’re still buzzing from all the energy and incredible connections that flowed in and around GridAKL.
We were proud to bring together founders, future-thinkers, and tech-curious communities for a week that was a dynamic celebration of what happens when innovation, collaboration, and community collide.
Speed Dating with Advisors: A Breakout Hit
One of our headline moments was our first-ever Speed Dating with Advisors session. This event brought together over 50 founders and advisors for rapid-fire, 15-minute mentoring sessions in our event space.
The room was buzzing from start to finish as early-stage founders connected with our various legal, investment, accounting, strategy and start up experts. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and we were taken aback by the level of interest and value created in such a short format. A huge thanks to all the advisors who made it such a success. We’re now exploring how to bring this to life more regularly, so if you missed out, stay tuned.
Go Bear AI Community Session
That same afternoon, we welcomed the team from Go Bear AI for an open community session. With demos, new product showcases, and thoughtful k?rero about AI’s evolving role in startup growth, it was a forward-thinking event that attracted plenty of curious minds.
GridAKL Open Day & Advisory Clinic: Opening Doors and Minds
Wednesday 21 May saw us throw open our doors for the GridAKL Open Day. Fifteen prospective founders toured our space. We love seeing our space spark ideas, connections and new beginnings.
Alongside our open day, Startup Aotearoa ran a full-day of advisory clinics, delivering 16 high-value mentoring sessions. A massive thank you to Keren Phillips, Kim Thibault, Liam Sutton, and Dale Clareburt for sharing your experience so generously.
Bitcoin Pizza Day Powered by Binance NZ
Thursday 22 May was a crowd favourite, as we teamed up with Binance NZ to celebrate World Bitcoin Pizza Day. There was real pizza, plenty of laughs, and lots of new faces discovering GridAKL, making for a fun, high-energy activation.
A Massive Thank You
None of this would have been possible without our incredible community. So to everyone who helped bring Tech Week 2025 to life, thank you.
A special shoutout to our GridAKL members, visiting founders, local and international guests, and the advisors who volunteered their time and insights. To the Tech Week organisers, thank you for creating the platform and momentum for innovation to thrive. And to those working behind the scenes, you helped make every activation smooth, welcoming, and impactful.
Keen to stay in the loop for future events, collabs, and opportunities? Keep an eye on our digital channels.
Here’s to building what’s next, together.
