Pushpay, PredictHQ among big winners at 2019 Hi-Tech Awards

Hall of Fame inductee Greg Cross. Photo / Supplied.

Pushpay (Company of the Year), PredictHQ (three awards) and Robotics Plus (two awards) were the big winners at the 2019 Hi-Tech Awards, announced in Auckland this evening. See the full list of winners below.

The event also saw entrepreneur Greg Cross inducted into the NZ Hi-Tech Hall of Fame. The one-time head of Microsoft's NZ operation was a co-founder of wireless charging company PowerbyProxi - sold to Apple for in 2017 - and is currently chief business officer for AI virtual assistant startup Soul Machines, a director of Cross Ventures and a partner in Movac.

Great kickoff to the #HTANZ awards in Auckland tonight with @GracefulTeAroha and @jacindaardern tau kē! pic.twitter.com/BJl64Ga0CL

— David Downs (@dwdowns) May 24, 2019

In selecting Pushpay as the PwC Hi-Tech Company of the Year the international judges said, "Pushpay shows what happens when a metrics-mad company just keeps pushing. During 2018, Pushpay's platform was used by more than 7500 churches around the world to process more than $5 billion contributions. CEO Chris Heaslip has built a strong and enduring 'people-first- culture that has endured even as the employee base globalised and grew into the hundreds."

Pushpay has had a year of transition, with financial and sharemarket success coupled with the surprise departure of Heaslip and, earlier, co-founder Eliot Crowther.

PredictHQ raised $15m late last year following a big contract win with Uber, among other global customer gains.

And Tauranga-based Robotics Plus, which is developing robot fruit pickers to help combat the shortage of human labourers, bagged a $12 million investment from Yamaha.

The 2019 NZ Hi-Tech Award winners

2019 Flying Kiwi and inductee into the Tait Communications Hi-Tech Hall of Fame
Greg Cross

Xero Hi-Tech Young Achiever Award
John Roy from Coretex

Visa Best Hi-Tech Solution for the Public Good Award
The Cacophony Project

IBM Most Inspiring Individual Award
Peter Beck

ATEED Hi-Tech Creative Technology Solution Award
Spalk

Callaghan Innovation Hi-Tech Maori Company of the Year Award
Robotics Plus

Duncan Cotterill Most Innovative Hi-Tech Software Solution Award
PredictHQ

Endace Most Innovative Hi-Tech Hardware Product Award
Taska Prosthetics

Kiwibank Most Innovative Hi-Tech Services Award
PredictHQ

NZTE Most Innovative Hi-Tech Solution for the Agritech Sector Award
Robotics Plus

Quick Circuit Best Contribution to the NZ Hi-Tech Sector by an Internationally Headquartered Company
Talent International

New Zealand Venture Investment Fund Hi-Tech Start-up Company of the Year
Whip Around

Coretex Hi-Tech Emerging Company of the Year
PredictHQ

PwC NZ Hi-Tech Company of the Year Award
PushPay