Tua and Courtney Karalus of Deep Dive Division (left), Jenny Rudd of Dispute Buddy and Samuel Vye of SYOS Aerospace are finalists in the NZ Hi-Tech Awards. Photos / Supplied
Tua and Courtney Karalus of Deep Dive Division (left), Jenny Rudd of Dispute Buddy and Samuel Vye of SYOS Aerospace are finalists in the NZ Hi-Tech Awards. Photos / Supplied
The Bay of Plenty has five finalists in the Hi-Tech Awards.
They include SYOS Aerospace, which develops drones and recently signed a contract with the UK Defence Force.
The winners will be announced in Wellington tonight.
Bay of Plenty innovators have made a strong showing in one of New Zealand’s biggest awards events.
Tauranga and the Bay boast five finalists in the prestigious Hi-Tech Awards, including for cutting-edge work in drone technology, lymphatic therapy and software assisting with legal disputes.
For 30 years, the awards havecelebrated the most successful Kiwi high-tech companies and individuals. Organisers said it was the country’s second-biggest awards event.
Auckland had 22 finalists, Christchurch had 11 and Wellington four.
Awards chairman Marian Johnson said the number of finalists from Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty showed the growing scale of New Zealand’s tech industry.
“It‘s a trend we have seen emerging over the past years, and one we expect to grow well into the future.”
Mount Maunganui-based SYOS Aerospace is a finalist for the top gong, Company of the Year.
The robotics company, founded in 2021, develops and manufactures unmanned vehicles and drones.
Chief executive Samuel Vye told the Bay of Plenty Times it was incredible to be recognised, particularly at the company’s young age.
“Being a finalist in this is kind of like raising our heads and looking around, realising where we’ve got to – so I’m stoked to have got to this level.”
He said that until only a couple of months ago, SYOS had “flown under the radar” – quietly growing and achieving amazing things.
“What sets us apart is that we are relentless with rapid development.
Samuel Vye, chief executive at SYOS Aerospace. Photo / Supplied
“We have six-week development cycles and our industry competitors are international, so we utilise No 8-wire thinking to compete with them, so we go faster.”
He intended to continue the “relentless growth”.
Vye saidSYOS was honoured to be among the tech companies being celebrated in the awards.
“I think this is one of the best tech awards we could ever be in the running for, so we’re over the moon to be at the finalist stage.”
Tauranga’s Jenny Rudd is a finalist in the Inspiring Individual category.
She founded Dispute Buddy, a software program that supports people with the Family Court process by helping them find and extract texts, emails and messages needed as evidence.
“They don’t have to go through the trauma of re-reading and going down a rabbit hole of all these painful messages,” Rudd said.
Rudd also runs The Gender Investment Gap initiative with Dame Theresa Gattung, and said it was started to close the “ridiculous gap” in how much money is invested among genders.
“There’s a huge disparity, and it‘s crazy because entrepreneurial traits are not gendered.”
Jenny Rudd is the founder of Dispute Buddy and she runs a gender pay gap initiative with Dame Theresa Gattung. Photo / Supplied
She said being named as a finalist gave Dispute Buddy credibility on a global scale and made it clear people thought it was important work.
Rudd said she would like to see investing in New Zealand be more representative of the population where gender was concerned.
“I really want to win because I want to talk on the stage to the room about how important it is to invest in women-led businesses.”
Bay of Plenty has two finalists for Best Manufacturer.
Flowpresso combines lymphatic therapy with a wearable technology used by athletes and professional sportspeople worldwide, while Bluelab makes handheld measurement devices for pH levels.
Best Software finalist Carepatron helps medical practices manage appointments in person and online.
A company taking marine technology to new depths is a finalist for Māori Company of the Year.
Deep Dive Division is a robotic diving company founded in 2018 by Tua and Courtney Karalus.
It is Aotearoa’s only Māori and Pacific-owned commercial and scientific diving company. Services ranged from hull cleans and biosecurity to film production – including work on blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water.
Courtney said they were “really shocked” but “humbled” to be a finalist.
Tua and Courtney Karalus, co-owners of Deep Dive Division.
“I think environmental technology is an exciting space, and you can embody regeneration and kaitiakitanga [guardianship] really well if you integrate traditional knowledge with technology.”
She said the pair have worked hard to make their business unique, connect with others and consistently deliver well.
“It takes a lot of courage and faith to try something different and think laterally about how you can improve your industry or the environment.”
Tua said winning the award would add credibility to the company and belief in what it was doing.
“It‘s recognition that what we’re doing for the people, for the environment, it does mean something – people care, and it‘s worthwhile.
“There’s a really bright future in the environmental space.
“We’re combining mātauranga Māori and Pasifika values, integrating that with technology to give real clarity on where the state of our water is.”
The NZ Hi-Tech Awards will be held this evening at Wellington‘s TSB Arena.
NZ Hi-Tech Awards Bay of Plenty finalists
Flowpresso - Best Manufacturer
Bluelab - Best Manufacturer
Carepatron - Best Software
SYOS Aerospace - Company of the Year
Jenny Rudd - Inspiring Individual.
– Source: NZ Hi-Tech Awards
Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.
