Getting to New York just got easier. Today, Air New Zealand has announced its first flight to the Big Apple will be on 17 September this year.
Landing at John F. Kennedy Airport, the airline will operate its flagship Auckland-New York route three times a week, year-round with its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. The new service further deepens the alliance between Air New Zealand and United Airlines.
Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says with international flying on hiatus for two years and the New Zealand border reopening on 2 May to visa-waiver countries, this is the moment Kiwis have been waiting for.
“New York is an iconic yet familiar city, a bucket list item. And now for the first time, Kiwis can visit the city of all cities with a non-stop flight. New Zealand lets you slow down – in New York, everything is bigger and faster, it’s exciting and awe inspiring – and it’s now closer than ever.”
“The US has always been a key market for us, and this new route cements our commitment to developing growing tourism opportunities between the two countries. In the six years leading up to Covid, the US visitor numbers to New Zealand doubled and looking at the average spend in New Zealand by US tourists, we estimate that this new route would contribute an additional $65M per year into the local economy.
“Traditionally, flight numbers 1 and 2 are used for an airline’s flagship route. And that’s what New York will be – our flagship route.”
Departing Auckland at 7:40pm, customers will enjoy Air New Zealand’s award-winning cabin experience, and literally wake up in the city that never sleeps.
“We’ve worked incredibly hard over the last few years to make this ultra-long-haul service a reality – it’s one of the longest routes in the world, at just over 16 hours northbound and 17 and a half hours southbound. To ensure customers arrive in New York feeling refreshed, we’ve put a lot of thought into the onboard experience and teams are working around the clock to make sure this a great flying experience.”
After a stopover in New York, for customers wanting to travel further afield, Air New Zealand’s strong partnership with United Airlines can connect them on to domestic destinations across the US, Canada and the United Kingdom. For those wanting to explore more of Europe, thanks to Air New Zealand’s network of partnerships, customers can also fly direct from New York to Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Stockholm
The new service will also provide greater choice for travellers between New Zealand and North America, with Air New Zealand serving seven destinations in North America – Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angles, San Francisco, Vancouver - and soon - New York.
Tickets are now on sale at www.airnewzealand.co.nz.
Inaugural outbound flight schedule – 17 September only:
Flight No.
Operated by
Aircraft type
Departs
Arrives
Frequency
NZ2
Air New Zealand
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Auckland
16:00
New York
16:15
Sat
Flight schedule effective 19 September:
19:40
19:55
Mon, Thu, Sat
NZ1
21:55
07:30 +2
Flights will arrive in to and depart from Terminal 1 at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Flights are subject to government and regulatory requirements.
Source: www.airnewzealand.co.nz
DoorDash, the United States’ largest on-demand platform for door-to-door food delivery, appears to be planning to launch in New Zealand next month.
The multibillion-dollar company is expected to shake up New Zealand’s hospitality sector because it is expected to offer cheaper fees for restaurants compared to UberEats, Delivereasy and Menulog.
It is advertising for multiple New Zealand workers on LinkedIn, and it registered DoorDash Technologies New Zealand with the Companies Office in November.
“DoorDash is looking for top talent to play a pivotal role in building our business in New Zealand," its LinkedIn post reads.
It has been reported that DoorDash is planning to launch in this country on April 13. The food delivery service already has an Australian presence, having launched there in 2019. It claims to operate across 85 per cent of Australia with more than 40,000 local drivers called “Dashers”.
But a DoorDash spokeswoman said there was nothing to report at this time.
“International expansion is a growth priority for us, just as expansion into new categories and new use cases are,” she said.
“We have made solid progress in our international markets, and we expect to invest further in these markets, and will evaluate others where we believe we can provide a unique value proposition to merchants, consumers, and Dashers."
Its international market included Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Germany, she said.
It also launched a deal with Afterpay in Australia, allowing customers to pay for both orders and subscriptions over split instalments.
The amount being spent on food delivery services in New Zealand has tripled since the pandemic began two years ago.
Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/
Local online building marketplace, ArchiPro, has big plans to grow in Australia after raising $35 million from investors led by a New York-based private equity firm, Tiger Global.
The Series A funding round was supported by local Icehouse Ventures and Liger Trading.
ArchiPro's website helps to connect people who want to renovate or build home with possible product suppliers or architects. ArchiPro Chief Executive, Milot Zeqiri, said that: “They can now hire more staff, develop products and capitalise on its rapid expansion across the Tasman. The growth in Australia has been really good for us. The uptake has been incredible, and we've been able to sign up more clients in the six months that we've been live in Australia than it took us about two years to sign up in New Zealand.”
RNZ article https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/463107/digital-building-marketplace-operator-eyes-australia-expansion
Source: www.nzprivatecapital.co.nz
Drawing on his science education, tech career, an extensive US network, and long-time connection with New Zealand, Dr Mark Bregman of Quidnet Ventures campions science-based Kiwi startups demonstrating a “terroir” of innovation.
Established in Auckland in 2021, and operating also out of San Francisco and New York City, Quidnet Ventures offers operational guidance – along with seed-stage and Series A funding – to Kiwi entrepreneurs who are ready to take innovations in science-based deep tech to the global market.
Quidnet’s founder and general partner, Dr Mark Bregman, leads a team of advisors with collective executive work experience in Europe, China, Japan and India, as well as New Zealand. Bregman explains how his personal journey – from tech executive in his US homeland to corporate venture professional and hobbyist winemaker in his adoptive New Zealand – has given him the mind-set and expertise to help startups navigate early growth stages and make crucial connections, particularly with the US.
The science of innovation Bregman’s interest in science-based tech was piqued in the 1980s during a post-doctoral fellowship in neutrino physics at IBM Research. Rubbing shoulders with visionaries such as Benoit Mandelbrot (the inventor of fractals) and Robert Dennard (the inventor of the single transistor DRAM), Bregman saw the “interesting and challenging areas people were working in that people cared about”. At the end of his post-doc, he decided to stay at IBM, moving into the microelectronics research division.
The connection between academic research and commercially viable deep tech became a theme throughout his corporate career, as he studied and led innovation inside established corporates, such as IBM, and within the startup ecosystem.
Visiting New Zealand regularly for IBM meetings with clients such as BNZ and Telecom, Bregman forged strong links with the country, in part through his interests in yachting and viticulture (he bought into a vineyard in the 1990s). “I became more plugged into the tech startup ecosystem here,” he explains. “Back then, it was in its formative days, but it was clearly growing rapidly.”
He also saw how limited capital there was in the seed and Series A venture range, “so Kiwi companies had to look offshore to grow.”
Marrying big corporate knowhow with fast-growth startups and funding
After leaving IBM, Bregman worked at various enterprise software companies and start-ups – including VERITAS Software, Symantec and NetApp – before joining Vista Equity Partners in 2019. At Vista, he helped portfolio companies leverage innovation in the early fast-growth stage. He also led corporate venture programmes at Symantec, Neustar and NetApp, and co-founded an AI/ML startup, helping the publishing industry match readers to content.
His ongoing connections with New Zealand eventually attracted him to pursue residency, and Quidnet Ventures was born from his fascination with place-based innovation and the exciting stage of the technology sector here. “There’s that maturing and vibrancy of the entrepreneurial technology ecosystem happening right now, which can lead to a real impact on jobs and economic growth.”
New Zealand’s “terroir” of innovation For Bregman, one of the key attractions of Kiwi innovation has been that famous No. 8 wire thinking. He uses the viticulture term “terroir”, defined as the blend of factors – the soil, climate, terrain and human input – that shape the unique qualities of a wine.
As he sees it, New Zealand’s geographic isolation has bred a terroir of ingenuity and invention. And, with such a small home market, “Kiwis have had to think globally from day one. Many are motivated by making an impact first, money second. And this leads to better ideas – defensible ideas.”
He believes New Zealand punches above its weight in certain tech sectors. “The overarching goal in launching the fund is to accelerate the growth of a vibrant entrepreneurial technology ecosystem.” He lists Quidnet’s areas of special interest: deep-tech companies in New Zealand that operate in agtech, AI/ML and medtech, all of which are based in scientific, defensible intellectual capital. “We look to the ones where we can provide the leverage and specialist knowledge, and create the most traction in the US.”
Investment strategy Two criteria in particular guide Quidnet’s investment strategy. “First, I ask, how does this company benefit from being in New Zealand? Second, do they work with science-based deep tech? Ideas need to be defensible and not easily copied, and this is the area in which I’m best positioned to help.”
That help comes in the form of operational guidance, as much as funding. Bregman is keen to avoid the general situation in the US, where, he says, too much money floods in too early on from financial investors who offer little advice on how to use the cash.
“We are hands-on, providing operational advice to give founders a clear road map as they launch in the US. We have advisors in deep tech, growth, sales and marketing, and through our networks we can introduce founders to the support they need.”
The process of getting to know a potential investee can take a long time – several years, in some instances. Bregman pitches this as an advantage to investees. “We take the time to help with connections and introductions, and a stateside perspective. With our deep knowledge of US norms, we can ensure the cap table is clean and attractive for US investors. We can introduce investees to legal and IP experts, distribution channel specialists, venture capital funds, and more. But first we determine where a company is at, and its priorities, before giving advice.”
A science-based deep tech portfolio Quidnet has made 10 investments in its first year and is on track to support more than 30 companies from its first fund. Among these are:
Dawn Aerospace, which pioneers new space transportation and satellite propulsion systems (including green fuels),
Litmaps, which has built a research platform that is revolutionising the use of peer-reviewed and patent literatures for scientists, engineers and other experts,
Winely, which develops real-time fermentation analysis that, via the IoT, gives greater control to vintners,
Arcanum, a feature-as-a-service platform offering enterprise AI solutions: products and platforms for machine learning, machine vision and neuro-linguistic programming, and
Marama Labs, a deep-tech sensor and data analytics company that develops advanced spectroscopy sensors for analysing the chemical composition of liquids.
Another is PowerON, which aims to turn robotics from ‘clunky and dangerous’, in the words of CTO Dr Katherine Wilson, to soft multifunctional robots “that can interact with us and help us in daily life.” Potential applications include prosthetic limbs, lifelike medical models, and assistants for patients.
Launched in 2019, and based in Auckland and Dresden (a European centre for robotics), PowerON is a spinoff from the Biomimetics Lab at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute. It had early support and funding from Callaghan Innovation R&D (with assistance from Auckland Unlimited). In September 2021, PowerON closed an oversubscribed $3.1 million capital raise which included funding and support from Quidnet Ventures.
“We were anticipating going overseas for early-stage investments,” says CTO Katie Wilson, “but were pleasantly surprised by the increasing number of venture funds operating in New Zealand supporting deep tech start-ups. We successfully raised pre-seed and seed funding from within New Zealand, with support from multiple groups including Quidnet Ventures. We are very encouraged by the confidence that the New Zealand investment community has shown in our team and vision for the technology.”
Working within the Kiwi tech ecosystem Bregman is an Investor Fellow at the Edmund Hillary Fellowship. Working remotely from the US until borders reopen, he is helping New Zealand investees build links with the US (including Kiwi expats there); Quidnet has assisted with physical trips to San Francisco, as well as the AANZ/EHF virtual visit in 2021.
His Edmund Hillary Fellowship also enables Bregman to pursue his goal of fostering nationwide tech excellence. “I’m of the opinion that Kiwi tech entrepreneurs should find ways to collaborate, get together, and build the fabric and network around innovation – rather than competing with each other – for collective success internationally.”
Bregman mentors founders at the innovation spaces Te Ōhaka (Christchurch) and CreativeHQ (Wellington), and is on the Digital Technologies Investment committee for Return on Science – New Zealand’s national research commercialisation programme, which often meets at the University of Auckland’s UniServices.
Matching the right investors for long-term relationships Quidnet strategically selects offshore limited partners, and all LPs typically have some link to New Zealand to help foster a connection with investees. These relationships are important for investors during the competitive second round of funding, as it gives them priority access based on existing relationships with founders and startups.
“The advantage for investors (and investees) is that New Zealand companies are not overvalued like they are in the US. In the early stages, a lower valuation benefits everyone and fuels innovation; when founders maintain a significant shareholding, the drive and incentive to succeed are even stronger.
“I believe the combination of ambitious Kiwi entrepreneurs – the creative, resourceful, pioneering mentality of being far away, yet well-connected – and their global mindset is creating an innovation nation,” concludes Bregman, “making New Zealand a really compelling place to be investing into right now.”
Contact Investment Specialist Joe Rouse to learn more about venture capital investment opportunities in Auckland, New Zealand. Source: https://www.aucklandnz.com/
The $143 million contract is the largest spacecraft bus order placed with Rocket Lab to date, encompassing the design and manufacture of 17 state-of-the-art spacecraft for Globalstar’s newest satellites.
Long Beach, California. 24 February 2022 – Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced that it has been awarded a subcontract by MDA Ltd (TSX: MDA), a leading provider of advanced technology and services to the rapidly expanding global space industry, to lead the design and manufacture of 17 spacecraft buses for Globalstar’s new Low Earth Orbit satellites. Globalstar, Inc. (NYSE American: GSAT) is a leading provider of Mobile Satellite Services including customizable satellite IoT solutions for individuals and businesses globally.
Rocket Lab will lead the development of the spacecraft buses, while MDA will act as prime contractor to manufacture Globalstar’s satellites, lead the development of the payload, and perform the final satellite assembly, integration, and test. The partnership between Rocket Lab and MDA brings together two of the space industry’s most innovative satellite companies. The total initial contract value for Rocket Lab is US$143 million, with options to provide the satellite operations control center, launch dispensers, launch integration, and up to nine additional spacecraft with flexibility in timing to order such spacecraft. The satellites will integrate with and replenish Globalstar’s current constellation, ensuring service continuity. Globalstar expects to launch the satellites by the end of 2025.
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with MDA to develop Globalstar’s new satellites and are honoured to have the trust and support of two of the space industry’s most innovative companies,” said Peter Beck, Founder and CEO of Rocket Lab. “With this contract Rocket Lab is executing on its strategy to go beyond launch and lead the new space economy by delivering complete mission solutions spanning spacecraft manufacture, satellite subsystems, flight software, ground operations, and launch.”
“Cross-company collaboration and co-development is key to bringing new capabilities to market quickly to meet growing customer demand for advanced satellite technology,” said Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA. “Rocket Lab is a strong fit for MDA and working with them on this system is an opportunity to flex, expand, and strengthen the capabilities of both companies, now and in the future.”
All 17 of the 500kg spacecraft will be designed and manufactured at Rocket Lab’s Long Beach production complex and headquarters, where a new high-volume spacecraft manufacturing line is being developed to support growing customer demand for Rocket Lab satellites. Leveraging Rocket Lab’s vertically integrated space systems capabilities, the satellites will feature components and subsystems produced by Rocket Lab’s recently acquired companies including solar panels and structures from SolAero Technologies in Albuquerque, New Mexico, software from ASI by Rocket Lab in Denver, Colorado, and reaction wheels from Sinclair Interplanetary in Toronto, Canada. The telemetry and control radio for all spacecraft will also be a C-band variant of Rocket Lab’s Frontier Satellite Radio (Frontier-C).
The contract is the result of a very detailed and highly competitive bid and evaluation process and Rocket Lab is honoured to have been selected by MDA. We believe Rocket Lab’s proposal met MDA’s and Globalstar’s stringent technical and schedule requirements, offered efficiencies through Rocket Lab’s high level of vertical integration, and that there is also strong cultural and operational alignment between the companies to deliver innovation and agility in today’s satellite market.
Rocket Lab’s suite of spacecraft components and subsystems include reaction wheels, star trackers, space solar power, radios, flight software, ground software, and separation systems. More than 1,000 spacecraft globally have successfully flown with hardware from Rocket Lab and the four companies it has acquired since 2020.
Source: https://www.rocketlabusa.com/
On February 23, the U.S. Chamber submitted business recommendations to the administration on its efforts to develop an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). The comments commend the Biden administration’s recognition of “the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific to America’s global leadership and security” but argues in favor of re-joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which has entered into force and is attracting new applicants despite the U.S. withdrawal in 2017. Even so, the Chamber encourages the administration to act quickly on IPEF. The document contends the administration should move swiftly, draw on trade disciplines the U.S. has developed and applied in other contexts, take advantage of IPEF’s flexible framework to achieve desired outcomes on different timetables, and engage with public and private stakeholders. The Chamber outlines important elements that could be achieved through IPEF and highlights the following as points for inclusion in the new framework:
On February 18, the Chamber also joined a multi-associationletterurging the administration to develop an ambitious IPEF that seeks to “open markets, promote inclusive trade and economic growth, enable rules-based commerce, increase sustainability, and promote shared values and interests.” The Chamber is meeting with administration officials engaged on this effort to convey these messages. For further information, please contact Senior Vice President for Asia Charles Freeman (cfreeman@uschamber.com).
Source: www.uschamber.com
New AWS Local Zone will deliver single-digit millisecond latency performance at the edge of the cloud
AUCKLAND—Feb. 17, 2022—Today, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company, announced plans to launch a new AWS Local Zone in Auckland. The AWS Local Zone will complement AWS’s existing infrastructure in New Zealand, including Amazon CloudFront, a content delivery network service built for high performance, security, and developer convenience, AWS Outposts, a fully managed service that extends AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and tools to customer premises, and a NZ$7.5 billion investment in a new infrastructure region planned to open in Auckland in 2024.
AWS Local Zones are a type of infrastructure deployment that places AWS compute, storage, database, and other services at the edge of the cloud near large population, industry, and information technology (IT) centres—enabling customers to deploy applications that require single-digit millisecond latency closer to end users or on-premises data centres. AWS Local Zones allow customers to use core AWS services locally while seamlessly connecting to the rest of their workloads running in AWS Regions with the same elasticity, pay-as-you-go model, application programming interfaces (APIs), and toolsets. To learn more about AWS Local Zones, visit aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/localzones.
The new AWS Local Zones will give customers in New Zealand the ability to offer end users single-digit millisecond performance designed to suit applications such as remote real-time gaming, media and entertainment content creation, live video streaming, engineering simulations, augmented and virtual reality, machine learning inference at the edge, and more. AWS manages and supports AWS Local Zones, meaning customers in New Zealand do not need to incur the expense and effort of procuring, operating, and maintaining infrastructure to support low-latency applications. AWS Local Zones also allow customers with local data residency preferences in New Zealand to run parts of their applications in on-premises data centres and seamlessly connect to AWS while ensuring ultra-low latency for these types of hybrid deployments—all while using familiar AWS APIs and tools.
The new AWS Local Zone in Auckland will join 16 existing AWS Local Zones across the United States and an additional 31 AWS Local Zones planned to launch in 25 countries around the world over the next two years—delivering single-digit millisecond latency performance at the edge of the cloud to hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
“We know that delivering ultra-low latency applications for a seamless user experience matters for many businesses and industries, so we are excited to bring the edge of the cloud closer to more customers in New Zealand to help meet their requirements,” said Tiffany Bloomquist, Country Manager for Commercial at AWS in New Zealand. “AWS Local Zones will empower more public and private organisations, innovative startups, and AWS Partners to deliver a new generation of leading edge, low-latency applications to end users, taking advantage of the cost savings, scalability, and high availability that AWS provides. This new AWS Local Zone is a continuation of our investment to support customers of all kinds and commitment to accelerate innovation by bringing cloud infrastructure to more locations in New Zealand.”
TVNZ is New Zealand's state-owned, commercially funded broadcaster that reaches more than two million Kiwis daily. “TVNZ brings viewers the best local and international content, and the launch of a new AWS Local Zone for Aotearoa will provide an even faster and more reliable way to deliver our services and content to New Zealanders,” said Jean-Louis Acafrao, General Manager, Technology at TVNZ. “AWS Local Zones will help us provide the best possible quality streaming experience for our TVNZ OnDemand viewers, ensuring continued audience growth for our platform. We’re excited to take full advantage of this investment in local digital infrastructure.”
Spark is New Zealand’s largest telecommunications and digital services company that provides services to a wide range of leading New Zealand organisations through Spark Business Group which unites Spark’s services with its specialist businesses, CCL, Leaven, Qrious, and Digital Island. “We welcome AWS’s continued local investment in advanced cloud capabilities and infrastructure, which is an important enabler for businesses across Aotearoa,” said Heather Graham, CEO of CCL, Spark’s cloud business. “As part of our hybrid cloud portfolio, we look forward to helping our customers take advantage of the low-latency and performance benefits the new service offers.”
Deloitte New Zealand is an AWS Premier Consulting Partner that brings together more than 1,400 specialists, providing New Zealand with a wide range of high-quality professional services. “Deloitte is focused on transforming New Zealand companies, and our collaboration with AWS enables us to help customers modernise, bring products to market quicker, and innovate rapidly,” said Damian Harvey, Deloitte New Zealand Cloud Transformation Lead. “An AWS Local Zone in Auckland will bring the cloud even closer to our customers, enabling ultra-low latency cloud solutions that process data closer to source to improve response times and customer experiences. It's a great addition to AWS's already significant investment with the upcoming AWS Region in Auckland, and together will help accelerate cloud adoption, and drive our digital economy forward.”
About Amazon Web Services For over 15 years, Amazon Web Services has been the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud offering. AWS has been continually expanding its services to support virtually any cloud workload, and it now has more than 200 fully featured services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), media, and application development, deployment, and management from 84 Availability Zones (AZs) within 26 geographic regions, with announced plans for 24 more Availability Zones and eight more AWS Regions in Australia, Canada India, Israel, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—trust AWS to power their infrastructure, become more agile, and lower costs. To learn more about AWS, visit aws.amazon.com.
About Amazon Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.
Auckland, New Zealand, 16th February 2022 – Vista Group International has announced the acquisition of US entertainment software company Retriever Solutions, demonstrating strong belief in the cinema market following pandemic-related disruption.
Under the deal, Vista Cinema will acquire all Retriever’s software, IP and customers, with an offer of employment to all current employees. Employees will continue to work from Retriever’s existing premises in Owosso, MI and Denver, CO.
This transaction will see Vista Cinema add over 100 new customers further strengthening its market share in the US and cementing its position as the leading cinema software provider in that market.
“This was an irresistible opportunity to work with a talented team who produce great cinema management software and have built a loyal customer base. People can’t wait to get back to the cinema after the challenges of the past two years and we believe the industry has a really strong future. By joining forces with Retriever, we’re in an even better position to deliver on that potential as the world’s leading software company serving the cinema industry,” said Vista Group CEO, Kimbal Riley.
All Retriever’s software will continue to be supported, including its web services, signage, back office, multi-site management, film rental and point-of-sale solutions.
“After the acquisition it will still be business as usual for Retriever’s customers. I’m confident Vista Cinema will provide a welcoming new home for our team and I’m looking forward to seeing them innovate on behalf of Retriever’s wonderful customers,” said Ed Kearney, CEO of Retriever Solutions.
Through the acquisition, Retriever customers will get a closer look at the benefits of Vista Cinema’s core cloud products, Vista Cloud and Veezi. This will enable industry players around the world to have faster access to the ongoing stream of innovation Vista has invested in its new cloud delivery model.
Vista Cinema CEO, Leon Newnham, said the business’s continued growth demonstrates that the appetite for cloud technology from customers, alongside audiences’ ongoing love of the cinema, are creating the perfect environment.
“There’s nothing quite like going to see a movie where they are meant to be seen – in the theatre, having the whole experience amplified by rows of people around you laughing and reacting at the same time – people have missed that. When technology also helps deliver a seamless experience for customers, it makes them want to come back again, and that’s when the industry really grows. We’re constantly innovating and evolving our technology, that’s why we launched Vista Cloud to the market last year to sit alongside our other products like Veezi. Now we’re excited to bring on a great team of people at Retriever who share our passion for cinema and innovation, and work with amazing new exhibitors to give audiences even better experiences in future,” he said.
VistaGroup International Ltd (Vista Group) is a public company, founded in NewZealand in 1996 and listed on both the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges in 2014 (NZX & ASX: VGL). The Group provides software and additional technology solutions across the global film industry. Cinema management software is provided by Vista Entertainment Solutions (‘VistaCinema’), the originating business of the Group. Movio (authority in moviegoer data analytics), Veezi (cloud-based software for the independent cinema market), Maccs (film distribution software), Numero (box office reporting software for film distributors and cinemas), Powster (creative studio and marketing platform for movie studios) and Flicks (moviegoer ‘go to’ portal for movie information) provide an innovative range of complementary products across additional film industry sectors, from production and distribution, to cinema exhibition through to the experience of the moviegoer. Vista Group has offices located in New Zealand (Auckland HQ), Sydney, Cape Town, London, Amsterdam,Groningen, Timișoara, Shanghai, Beijing, Los Angeles, and Mexico City.
Source: https://cloud.vista.co/
Auckland-based corporate affairs firm Sherson Willis has announced it has become FTI Consulting’s strategic communications affiliate in New Zealand.
Under the affiliate agreement, Sherson Willis will work closely with FTI Consulting – the global business advisory firm with a strategic communications arm – to provide seamless local support for FTI Consulting’s clients.
Director Trish Sherson says the affiliation agreement is a recognition of Sherson Willis’s market leading offering in New Zealand and gives the firm access to world class corporate affairs expertise.
“As an independent business with local expertise, this affiliation with FTI Consulting broadens our client capabilities and global reach.
“It allows us to tap into FTI Consulting’s outstanding resource of business and financial expertise and insights to strengthen our current offer in New Zealand, while also giving us access to FTI Consulting’s network of offices in 29 countries to meet any international needs of our clients.”
Sherson Willis has worked collaboratively with FTI Consulting since 2018 on projects and the relationship has now been formalised with the affiliate agreement coming into place.
Sherson says the firm has worked alongside FTI Consulting’s Australian and United Kingdom offices for clients from sectors including media, energy, pharmaceuticals and healthcare.
FTI Consulting Managing Director Strategic Communications Ben Hamilton says, “It was clear to us that Sherson Willis is highly regarded as local market leaders and shares FTI Consulting’s pursuit of excellence in strategic corporate affairs, financial communications and public affairs.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic casting uncertainty globally, now more than ever, our clients are looking for trusted partners on the ground in markets around the world.
“We’re delighted that Sherson Willis has joined our affiliate network so we can ensure our clients can navigate business critical issues in New Zealand with confidence.”
In addition, Sherson Willis also announced it has strengthened its senior leadership team by promoting Thomas Pryor to the role of Principal.
In this newly created role, Pryor will continue to provide counsel to clients, while also working alongside Directors, Trish Sherson and Rewa Willis, to set the strategic goals and direction of the business.
Director Rewa Willis says, “Thomas has provided our client base with excellent corporate affairs advice and expertise over his five years at Sherson Willis.
“As Principal, he will be instrumental in helping to drive our business strategy and long-term vision forward.”
Source: https://www.shersonwillis.com/
Round Led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 with Participation from Cleveland Avenue, Liberty City Ventures and Solasta Ventures.
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Soul Machines, the groundbreaking company pioneering the creation of autonomously animated digital people in the metaverse and the digital worlds of today, announced its US$70 million Series B1 financing led by new investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Additional participation in this round comes from new investors Cleveland Avenue, Liberty City Ventures and Solasta Ventures. Existing investors including Temasek, Salesforce Ventures and Horizons Ventures also participated in this round. The latest round of funding brings total investment in the company to US $135 million.
Soul Machines was founded in 2016 by serial tech entrepreneur Greg Cross and Academy Award winner Mark Sagar. Soul Machines believes every sector will deploy digital people as a digital workforce to represent themselves and their brands in the metaverse. The future of Customer Experience in digital worlds is going to be key to winning in all the digital worlds people do business, work and play. The company will use its latest investment to continue its rapid growth in the Enterprise market, with a specific focus on continuing its deep tech research on its Digital Brain technology and launching the future of digital entertainment for the metaverse with hyper-realistic digital twins of real life celebrities.
“I am thrilled to continue to work with innovative, global brands who understand the power of digital people to communicate, engage and interact with the world,” said Greg Cross, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, Soul Machines. “We are in a transformational era where brands need to introduce different ways of personalization and ways to deliver unique brand experiences to customers in a very transactional digital world.”
“Global brands are investing more in how AI can create an intimate, personalized experience with their customers at scale,” said Anna Lo, Investment Director at SoftBank Advisers. “With strong R&D capabilities and advanced back-end solutions, we believe that Soul Machines is at the cutting edge for creating digital people that can support companies across functions including customer service, training and entertainment. We are thrilled to partner with Greg Cross, Mark Sagar and the entire Soul Machines team to scale and deliver their cutting-edge digital people to companies across the globe.”
“Soul Machines is truly bringing life to the metaverse with its astonishing humanized AI platform that has the power to enable a digital workforce to be deployed throughout the digital world,” said Murtaza Akbar, Managing Partner at Liberty City Ventures. “We are extremely proud to be working with Greg, Mark and their world-class team to build the future of animated lifelike digital avatars in the metaverse. Their AI can capture and preserve part of the human essence bringing immortality to the digital realm.”
Soul Machines is focused on creating the future of Customer Experience, which delivers highly personalized brand experiences at scale while it collects detailed customer insights in a way that has not been possible before. Soul Machines works with global brands and celebrities including Carmelo Anthony, NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE®, P&G, Twitch, The World Health Organization, The Pan American Health Organization and more.
“We’re excited to be investing in Soul Machines and believe it is poised to help lead brands through the massive shift we are seeing in CX,” said Mingu Lee, Managing Partner, Cleveland Avenue, LLC. “Our values align when it comes to providing innovative solutions for a new generation of remarkable companies. By bringing together global innovation leaders and industry expertise, Soul Machines and Cleveland Avenue will demonstrate new possibilities in AI, digital experience and robotics.”
ABOUT SOUL MACHINES Soul Machines is a leader in the creation of autonomously animated digital people in the digital worlds of today and the metaverse. The company brings digital workforces to life for some of the biggest brands in the world as they imagine and innovate the future of brand interaction and personal customer experience in the way they do business. Soul Machines is creating digital twins of celebrities to reimagine the future of digital entertainment and fan engagement. For more about Soul Machines, visit www.soulmachines.com
ABOUT CLEVELAND AVENUE, LLC Founded by Don Thompson, the former President and CEO of McDonald’s Corporation, Cleveland Avenue is a venture capital firm that invests in lifestyle consumer brands and technology companies that positively disrupt large and growing markets. Learn more about Cleveland Avenue at clevelandavenue.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
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