Hi-tech sector grows exports to $6.1 billion

The latest snapshot of New Zealand’s hi-tech sector shows the category remains the country’s third largest export earner behind dairy and tourism.

Tech 100
Source: The New Zealand Herald

The latest TIN100 report marks a decade of research reports that benchmark the progress of New Zealand’s top 100 hi-tech companies and smaller companies (the 100+ group).

Over that decade, annual revenue from the tech sector overall has increased by 62 per cent to $8.3 billion. In the last year, revenue from our top 100 tech companies was up four per cent, while export revenue rose six per cent.

The results show the strong and growing contribution science and technology based companies make to New Zealand’s economy, said TIN100 founder Greg Shanahan to The New Zealand Herald.

“New Zealand technology companies are pursuing global domination in a way we would never have imagined or talked about when we produced the first TIN100 Report in 2005. Companies such Orion Health (health software), Xero (online accounting software), F&P Healthcare (medical devices), Weta Digital (digital effects), and Vista Entertainment Solutions (cinema & film industry software), are all good examples of this.”

The research reveals that the top 100 tech companies now employ 31,300 people and show the strongest growing subsections of tech include software development, healthcare and manufacturing.