About Us
What is Young Kiwis in AI?
We're a community bringing together students, early-career developers, and founders under 35 working with AI across Aotearoa New Zealand. Our mission is to help young Kiwis connect, learn, and build together in the AI space.
Hamilton Meetup
How Young Kiwis in AI started
A nationwide community of 170+ young New Zealanders in AI, founded by Blake Harkness (Harkness AI). It was set up in 2025 to fill an obvious gap. Most AI groups in New Zealand are pitched at governance, policy and big business, which left the people actually building with the tools, students, grads and early-career developers, with nowhere to compare notes.
Blake's own route in was not a traditional one. He went from a mechatronics engineering degree at Massey to a graduate role where he was handed a blank slate to figure out AI, then started publishing what he was learning and ended up with more inbound offers than he could take. That pattern, curiosity plus something you have actually built, repeats across the community. It is why our events are built around members telling their story honestly, including the parts that did not work.
What actually happens
Two things run all year. The monthly online catchup is on Discord on the last Monday of every month at 5:30pm NZ time, and it is deliberately low-key: a member spotlight or two, whatever people are building, and plenty of questions. In-person meetups run through the year in cities around the country, usually a couple of hours in the evening with talks, demos and open networking. We have also run pitch nights, including the SaaSathon pitch event in Christchurch.
Member spotlights are the heart of it. Past speakers include an AI engineer at Trade Me, an AI integration engineer at Zuru, a graduate AI engineer at RUSH, the co-founder of an Auckland agency automating insurance admin, a marketing and automation consultant, and the co-founder of an AI consultancy working in infrastructure. Every talk gets written up on our blog, so you can read them whether or not you made it along.
Where we run events
We are a nationwide community, and where we have actually been matters more than where we say we are going. We have run events in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton and Palmerston North. Meetups in Tauranga, Napier-Hastings, New Plymouth and Nelson are in planning, and we will announce dates once venues are confirmed.
If you are not near any of them, the monthly online catchup is open to everyone in Aotearoa, and it is where most people meet the community first. In February 2027 the whole country comes together for the YKIA National Conference 2027, Friday 12 February 2027 at the Novotel Auckland Airport.
Photos from meetups around the country are on our gallery page.
Who it is for
If you are under 35, based in New Zealand and interested in AI, you belong here. Members come from computer science and engineering degrees, from commerce and marketing, from design, and from no degree at all. You do not need to work in AI already, and you do not need a project on the go. Curiosity is genuinely enough to start.
Being non-technical is not a barrier either. A lot of the most valuable AI work happening in New Zealand right now is not model building, it is spotting the repetitive thing a business does every week and making it faster. If you can think in systems and communicate clearly, you can contribute long before you can code.
What you get out of it
Connection
Join a community of young Kiwis who are actively building with AI. Share projects, get feedback, and find collaborators who share your vision.
Inspiration
Monthly workshops, tool demos, and hands-on sessions. Learn from others building real AI projects, not just theory.
Opportunity
Access NZ AI job postings, internships, and freelance gigs. Connect with local companies and founders looking for talent.
How to get involved
Joining takes about a minute. Fill in the join form with your name, email, age and a line about why you are interested, and you will get an invite to the Discord. From there you will see event announcements, member channels and the roles, internships and freelance work that get shared as they come up. It is free, and it stays free.
Already in and want to do more? Member spotlights are open to anyone building something, so get in touch if you want to talk at a meetup. Companies can help by hosting an event at their office, sponsoring one, offering mentoring, or opening roles to the community. If you are past 35 or further along in your career, that is exactly how you can be part of this. Email blake@harknessai.nz.