Growth areas have included unattended payment terminals and support for contactless payments directly to an iPhone via Apple’s Tap to Pay.
Its focus on North America saw the company shift its incorporation to the US. An April 2025 Overseas Investment Office decision gave the Arizona-based Windcave LLC (also controlled by Cullen) permission to acquire Windcave Ltd.
Tasered, in a good way
Investor of the Year to or from the US was Axon Enterprise, which in November led an $82m venture capital investment in Auckland-based Auror, the maker of a software platform for quickly reporting retail crime to police, or sharing information about suspects with other stores.
Nasdaq-listed Axon – which has a US$59 billion ($77b) market cap – invented the Taser in the 1970s. In the 2000s it expanded into bodycams, then computer-aided dispatch software and a cloud-based digital evidence platform. The firm was already an Auror technology partner.
READ MORE: UK Govt says more retailers should use Kiwi crime-fighting software firm Auror
The two companies are now partnering on a new platform for fragmented US law enforcement agencies to pool intelligence about retail crime.
Like Windcave, Auror has been immune from political turbulence. Software and services have so far been exempt from the Trump Administration’s tariffs.
The Bilateral Connections winner was Rob Coneybeer, an American venture capitalist who divides his time between Seattle and Mount Maunganui.
Coneybeer is one of the organisers of the “4×4 Farout Road Trip”, which staged its second “Cannonball run” around New Zealand earlier this year.
The road trip saw 80 people, including 35 investors from the US, meet with local start-ups as they toured from town to town in four-wheel drives.
The Shasta Ventures cofounder told the Herald the North American money could help move New Zealand forward.
“I know the appeal and the challenges of New Zealand. To move the economy forward, I think you absolutely, you, we absolutely have to grow the tech ecosystem. There’s no other way out,” Coneybeer said.
“The tourism sector is not going to get more productive. And sending low-value timber and powdered milk to China – you can’t scale that. You can’t scale real estate.”
Coneybeer has put his money where his mouth is, with his firm investing in Kiwi start-ups including Auror, Dawn Aerospace (which recently sold its first “space plane” to the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority for US$17m), Partly, Portainer, Tracksuit, Zenno Astronautics and e-boat maker Vessev.
In April, the American was named the new chairman of Endeavor NZ, the local chapter of the international Endeavor network for entrepreneurs.
Exporter of the Year to the US, Consumer Goods winner Calocurb, the maker of an appetite-suppressant supplement, based on Motueka hops, has been pushing into the multibillion-dollar US weight loss market.
Founder and chief executive Sarah Kennedy says the firm makes around 80% of its sales in the US, where its $60 product goes head to head with rival suppressants that can cost up to US$1400 per month.
Exporter of the Year to the US, Services winner Pratt & Whitney Air New Zealand Services (a joint venture between Air NZ and the American jet engine maker) last November said it would spend US$150 million ($252m) on expanding the airline’s Christchurch Engine Centre, adding 200 jobs to its workforce of 400. Air New Zealand makes about $30m a year in profit from its 49% stake in the engine centre.
The 2025 winners
Exporter of the Year to the US, Technology
Winner: Windcave
Finalists: ADInstruments, Lumin
Exporter of the Year to the US, Services
Winner: Pratt & Whitney Air New Zealand Services (trading as the Christchurch Engine Centre)
Finalist: Crimson Education
Exporter of the Year to the US, Consumer Goods
Winner: Calocurb
Finalists: Moxx, The Better Packaging Co.
Investor of the Year to or from the US
Winner: Axon Enterprise for investment in Auror
Finalists: Bridgewest Group, Motion Capital Management
Bilateral Connections with the US
Winner: Rob Coneybeer, The Far Out Foundation
Finalists: Auckland Council, American Universities International Programs
Contribution to Tourism with the US
Winner: Travel USA
Finalist: International Working Holidays
Social Impact with the US
Winner: The NZ Robotics Charitable Trust Inc/Kiwibots
AmCham Supporter of the Year
Winner: ANZ Bank New Zealand
Supreme winner
Windcave
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.
