SYOS Aerospace has taken high tech to new heights. Named the overall Hi-Tech Company of the Year at the recent 2025 NZ Hi-Tech Awards, the Mount Maunganui-based company was a standout.
“We are extremely proud and honoured to be awarded the PwC New Zealand Hi-Tech Company of the Year!” the business’ founder and CEO, Sam Vye, says. “A huge thank you to the judges and everyone involved. We are so grateful as this award recognises the hard work and relentless drive of the SYOS team.”
In the air, on land and sea, SYOS’ un-crewed vehicles are intended to reduce risk and cost for organisations engaged in dull, dirty or dangerous operations.
The company serves government and commercial customers providing solutions for security, border patrol, surveillance, disaster response, delivery, logistics support, agriculture and environmental monitoring.
Held in Wellington in late May, The 30th edition of the annual awards saw SYOS claim high praise from judges.
“[SYOS] has shown that you can build big things in small, and pleasant, places. They have made the jump overseas, which is critical to getting Kiwi companies to global scale,” the judges confirmed.
Other notable winners included Sir Peter Beck. Named the 2025 Flying Kiwi, the Rocket Lab founder was inducted into the NZ Hi-Tech Hall of Fame for turning his start-up into the multi-billion dollar company it is today. At the same time, Beck actively contributed to the development of the Kiwi aerospace industry over the last 20 years.
Auckland’s Mindhive Global won both the Start-up and Agritech categories. The team’s proprietary vision system detects defects in cowhides within seconds, combining machine learning, image recognition, and industrial hardware.
Wellington’s The Village Goldsmith also claimed two wins with awards in the Most Innovative Hi-Tech Creative Technology and Manufacturer categories. The company developed a platform in which diamonds appear to float without visible prongs, claws or clasps.
The 2025 awards’ trust chair, Marian Johnson, says all of this year’s winners can be especially proud of their success achieved during challenging times.
“We’re witnessing an industry that is continuing exceptional growth as well as innovation and matching it with the best in the world,” she says.
“We continue to see exceptional growth of both our largest tech companies and a burgeoning ecosystem of start-ups and it’s so exciting to see this as we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Hi-Tech Awards.”
Visit www.hitech.org.nz for additional information including a complete list of this year’s winners.
