Excitement is building for the inaugural NZ Tech Expo 2026, with organisers expecting around 3,000 people to gather at Auckland's Shed 10 next month for a new event designed to connect New Zealand's technology companies with investors, business leaders and potential partners.
The Expo will take place on 18 September 2026, bringing together more than 80 participating organisations across sectors including artificial intelligence, fintech, software-as-a-service and education technology.
More than 1,000 general admission tickets have already been sold, according to organisers, while only a small number of places remain in the event's 200-person Executive Track for founders and senior business leaders.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Australian entrepreneur and investor Dominic Pym are among the confirmed Main Stage guests.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/nz-tech-expo/posts/?feedView=allWebfit News is an official media partner of NZ Tech Expo 2026 and will be covering the event and its participants in the lead-up to 18 September.
Nicola Willis to discuss New Zealand's economic outlook
One of the most closely watched sessions is expected to feature Finance Minister Nicola Willis.
Willis will take part in a Main Stage conversation examining New Zealand's economic outlook and business priorities over the next five years, followed by questions from the audience.
Her appearance comes at a time when New Zealand businesses are focused heavily on productivity, investment, access to capital, technology adoption and the country's ability to build companies capable of competing internationally.
For technology founders, investors and established businesses attending the Expo, the discussion provides an opportunity to hear directly from the Finance Minister about the Government's broader economic direction.
The live audience question-and-answer session may be particularly significant, giving participants a chance to put questions directly to Willis about the economic and commercial issues affecting New Zealand businesses.
Australian Startup Investor of the Year heading to Auckland
Another major confirmed speaker is Dominic Pym, an Australian entrepreneur, technologist and startup investor.
Pym was named Australian Startup Investor of the Year in 2025 and will take part in conversations with participants from the Expo's Main Stage.
His involvement brings a useful Trans-Tasman dimension to the event.
For New Zealand founders looking at Australia as a potential market, investment source or stepping stone towards international expansion, hearing directly from an experienced Australian technology investor could provide practical insight into what investors are looking for and what separates scalable companies from businesses that struggle to move beyond their home market.
AWS to tackle New Zealand's technology talent challenge
Representatives from Amazon Web Services will also lead a discussion titled "Scaling from NZ: The Talent Conversation We Need to Have."
The session will examine what New Zealand businesses need to do to attract, develop and retain world-class teams, and what may currently be holding the country back.
Talent remains one of the central challenges for New Zealand's technology sector.
It is one thing to develop a strong product. Building the engineering, sales, leadership and commercial teams required to take that product into larger overseas markets can be much harder.
That makes the talent discussion particularly relevant for founders who have already proven an idea locally but are trying to work out how to scale.
Expo built around conversations, not just presentations
NZ Tech Expo founder Lucas Grossi says the event has deliberately been structured around conversations and connections rather than simply placing speakers on stages.
"This is going to be a day built around big conversations, because as so many successful entrepreneurs know, it can sometimes take only one crucial, fortuitous conversation to change the direction of your business for the better," Grossi said.
That philosophy appears to sit at the centre of the Expo's positioning.
Rather than presenting technology as something that exists separately from the rest of the economy, the event is intended to put founders, investors, corporate leaders and technology providers into the same environment.
Grossi said organisers want the Expo to become an "inflection point" where conversations can lead to new opportunities for businesses.
The real test will come after 18 September.
A successful technology event is not simply measured by how many people walk through the doors. The more meaningful measure is whether meetings turn into investment discussions, partnerships, customers, recruitment opportunities or international expansion.
New event app aims to get networking started early
Organisers have also launched an event platform app one month before the Expo.
Ticket holders can use the platform to see who else is attending and arrange meetings before arriving at Shed 10.
That could prove important for an event expecting thousands of participants.
Large conferences can easily become overwhelming, particularly when attendees arrive without knowing who they want to meet.
The app is intended to give participants time to identify potentially useful contacts, arrange conversations and plan their day before the event begins.
Grossi said the value of a ticket extends beyond access to the venue itself.
"Through the Expo Platform app, you can see who's coming in advance and book meetings with them," he said.
"This gives you time to discover the right people, prepare meaningful conversations and build on them long after the doors close."
More than 80 organisations involved
The Expo has attracted backing from a significant mix of public agencies, technology companies, investment organisations and professional services firms.
Supporting organisations listed by organisers include:
Auckland Council
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
Amazon Web Services
One NZ
Entegy
Creative HQ
Grant Thornton
Yarken
NZ Growth Capital Partners
More than 80 organisations are expected to participate in total.
The mix is important because the challenge facing many early-stage technology companies is not necessarily creating an idea.
It is finding customers, securing investment, building commercial partnerships and creating a pathway to international markets.
Putting government agencies, investors, corporates and founders into the same event creates opportunities for those conversations to happen more efficiently.
AI, fintech, SaaS and EdTech among key sectors
The Expo will focus on technology sectors that are increasingly influencing how New Zealand businesses operate.
These include AI, fintech, SaaS and EdTech, among other areas.
Artificial intelligence will inevitably attract substantial attention.
But one of the more interesting questions for this Expo will be whether discussions move beyond AI hype and towards the practical issues facing New Zealand organisations adopting the technology.
For businesses, the real questions are increasingly about productivity, costs, data, security, workforce changes and whether investment in new technology generates measurable commercial returns.
Fintech and SaaS companies face a different challenge.
New Zealand can provide a strong testing ground for technology companies, but its relatively small domestic market means ambitious businesses often need to think internationally from an early stage.
That is why the Expo's emphasis on scaling and cross-border connections may ultimately be more important than individual product demonstrations.
Free Auckland public transport included with tickets
Organisers have also introduced a practical incentive aimed at making it easier for people to reach the Auckland CBD event.
Every NZ Tech Expo ticket will include free travel on Auckland Transport buses and trains on 18 September, along with 20 free minutes on Flamingo e-scooters.
The arrangement should help reduce one of the predictable headaches associated with major central Auckland events: getting there.
Shed 10 is located on Auckland's waterfront, close to Britomart and the city's main public transport connections.
A new test for New Zealand's technology ecosystem
New Zealand already has successful technology businesses, experienced investors and an active startup community.
The harder challenge is connecting those parts of the ecosystem consistently and creating clearer pathways for companies to grow beyond the domestic market.
That is the opportunity NZ Tech Expo is trying to address.
With approximately 3,000 attendees expected, more than 80 organisations participating and senior political, technology and investment figures taking part, the inaugural event will have significant scale for its first year.
But numbers alone will not determine its success.
What matters is whether the connections made at Shed 10 translate into something tangible after everyone goes home.
If founders leave with new customers, investors discover businesses worth backing, established companies find technology that solves genuine problems, and international relationships begin to develop, the Expo could establish itself as an important annual fixture in New Zealand's technology calendar.
That is a much tougher benchmark than simply filling a venue, but it is also the benchmark that matters.
NZ Tech Expo 2026 at a glance
Date: Friday, 18 September 2026
Venue: Shed 10, Auckland CBD
Expected attendance: Around 3,000 participants
Participating organisations: More than 80
Executive Track: Limited to 200 founders and business leaders
Key sectors: AI, fintech, SaaS, EdTech and other emerging technologies
Confirmed Main Stage guests: Finance Minister Nicola Willis, Dominic Pym and representatives from AWS
Transport: Auckland Transport bus and train travel included with tickets on the day, plus 20 free minutes on Flamingo e-scooters.
Webfit News coverage
Webfit News is an official media partner of NZ Tech Expo 2026.
Over the coming month, we will be following the people, companies, ideas and conversations leading into the inaugural event, with further coverage from the Expo itself on 18 September.
Our editorial coverage remains independently produced.
Source
This article is based on the NZ Tech Expo media release issued on 19 August 2026, titled Anticipation builds for big crowds and even bigger business conversations at inaugural NZ Tech Expo next month.
