“The time has come for AR/VR technologies” says Brett Telfer of AR/VR Garage “they have the potential to make a huge difference throughout all industries”. Brett, currently head of AR/VR Garage a collaborative R&D facility in Auckland, is an alumnus of the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Master of Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship program.

Brett was a member of the founding class of the MCE programme. The MCE was a valuable experience which highlighted for him the importance of marketing to the commercialisation of technology. The MCE brought Brett in contact with Mark Sagar the developer of the Baby X technology for emotionally responsive avatars, now experiencing commercial success through Soul Machines.

AR/VR Garage is an initiative driven by Ateed, the Auckland Council organisation responsible for economic development initiatives, to provide a multidisciplinary space for innovation in AR/VR in Auckland. The space brings together global companies, Microsoft and HP, local tech company Datacom and talent from startups and tertiary institutions including the University of Auckland. Recently AR/VR Garage has partnered with the New Zealand AR/VR Association to work towards accelerating the growth of the AR/VR space in New Zealand.

AR/VR presents an exciting opportunity, especially for young New Zealanders. It is an enabling technology that is pervasive throughout all industries. What Brett finds exciting is that it creates the opportunity for young people to do “cool stuff” without having to leave New Zealand. He firmly believes that New Zealand can lead the world in the AR/VR space, digital technologies provide the opportunity for us to stand on the world stage and produce content that is up there with the best.

Brett believes that New Zealand has an opportunity to transform from a primary industry based economy into one that is digitally based. Creating exciting opportunities for the upskilling of our workforce and development of globally marketable skills. Brett says that creative young people, who traditionally have not seen tech as a viable career path, find their niche with AR/VR.

Brett’s latest venture, in addition to AR/VR Garage, is working to raise the profile of science co-location space Level Two. Level Two was instrumental in the early development of both Rocket Labs and Lanzatech, both now billion dollar tech ventures. To date it is New Zealand’s most successful co-location space despite having a low public profile. Brett now wants to ensure that Level Two is firmly on the radar of investors and organisations both here and internationally and continues to show the world that New Zealand is at the forefront of innovation.