A new Callaghan Innovation-led initiative will support Kiwi businesses of all sizes and stages to boost productivity and competitiveness through the transformative power of artificial intelligence.
Science Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins launched the AI Activator at the Aotearoa AI Summit in Auckland. The AI Activator is designed to boost economic growth and exports via the rapid adoption of AI. The initiative is a collaboration between Callaghan Innovation, NZTE and NIWA.
“Globally, there are significant and growing opportunities to harness the power of AI. There is a growing gap between those who understand and use AI, and those who don’t. Some businesses find it hard to know where and how to start – that’s where the AI Activator comes in,” says Sarah Sun, Callaghan Innovation Head of AI and Digital.
“The AI Activator is here to support the success of all growth-focused Kiwi businesses, wherever they are on their AI journey. It’s an exciting time to be in business, and we are looking forward to helping support the success of more Kiwi AI innovators,” she says.
The AI Activator is based on the highly effective ‘activator’ model developed by Callaghan Innovation for ecosystem-wide support. “Activators, including the HealthTech and AgriTech Activator, have been really successful in supporting the needs of early-stage and innovation-intensive companies in Aotearoa New Zealand,” says Sarah Sun.
“The new AI Activator initiative provides access to AI expertise, R&D resources, AI tools for businesses and interactive learning modules. We are keen to work with businesses who want to know the basics and understand opportunities and risk mitigations for AI-solutions. There is something for everyone,” she says.
Judith Collins also announced GovGPT, a new proof of concept product that is part of the AI Activator, at the AI Summit. GovGPT is an AI conversational companion to help businesses get the information they need from Government websites, faster. GovGPT makes information available from a range of business-related Government websites through a simple, chat-like interface. Callaghan Innovation is planning to make the GovGPT pilot available on its website in October.
“We are delighted to be working with our partners at NZTE and NIWA to help more ambitious businesses integrate AI and expand their growth horizons,” she says.
“NZTE is committed to supporting Kiwi businesses to grow; AI holds significant potential to increase productivity and efficiency and enable businesses to compete and expand on the global stage.
“NZTE is excited to host in-person workshops, as part of the AI Activator, aimed at enhancing AI knowledge and capabilities among all export businesses.
We believe these workshops will help businesses pinpoint high-value AI opportunities within their models and accelerate AI adoption where it is most beneficial.”
“In addition, we are seeing a growing number of our tech exporters embrace AI technology to build new products and augment services to their customers around the world,” says NZTE Sector Lead, Manufacturing, Technology and Services, Richard Cotman.
NIWA will play a crucial role to support stronger relationships between researchers and scientists who can support businesses to take advantage of the latest advances in AI.
“NIWA continues to develop its AI capabilities and is already using AI extensively in the science research sphere, especially in climate research where we work with massive amounts of data,” says Warrick Johnston, NIWA’s General Manager Technology & Innovation.
“NIWA has many active AI projects that are integral parts of the research across our science fields. Most notable is our use of AI for operational forecasting and flood management.
“The AI Activator is a tremendous initiative to help keep New Zealand at the forefront of research and NIWA is privileged to be a partner.”
Two innovative startups, Prosaic and Script Sense are showcasing very different AI-use cases at the AI Summit. Both are targeting global markets with their AI solutions.
Prosaic is an AI-powered app that uses AI and open banking to help small businesses, sole traders, and their accountants, to automate the process of finding deductible expenses and income tax credits.
Script Sense is an award-winning AI platform that helps pharmacists to overcome workforce challenges, enhance efficiency, and improve patient care using the transformative power of AI.
About the AI Activator
The AI Activator is supporting founders and companies with the rapid adoption of AI to boost productivity and create a competitive advantage for New Zealand businesses in global markets. Led by Callaghan Innovation, in partnership with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), the AI Activator provides access to AI experts, R&D resources and capabilities, AI tools for businesses and interactive learning modules. Modelled after the successful Callaghan Innovation Healthtech Activator, the AI Activator aims to rapidly increase the overall AI usage and talent base across New Zealand to accelerate growth and global competitiveness.
