Around 20% of New Zealanders live outside of New Zealand. This is our “Diaspora” — and it’s one of the world’s largest, per capita.
Not only is it large, it's insanely talented… early in their lives and careers, many of New Zealand’s most ambitious individuals realise— if they want to make a dent in the universe, they need to get out there… to study abroad, get the experience, build relationships to help them win on a global stage.
Today, those estimated ~1M expats include some of our finest talent. They are founders, top operators/execs at industry leading companies. They are scientists and researchers working at the frontiers of science: artificial intelligence, synthetic biology; global leaders in business, culture, and society… entrenched in all corners of the world, walks of live… largely “heads down”, doing their thing. https://www.diaspora.nz
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S3 | E8 – Adrian Macneil (Co-Founder & CEO at Foxglove) on Developer Tools for Robotics, and Why Ambitious Kiwis Need to Go — and Come Back Smarter
Episode Summary
Adrian Macneil grew up packing kiwifruit in rural New Zealand, now he’s building the core infrastructure powering the future of robotics. After leading engineering teams at Cruise and Coinbase, Adrian co-founded Foxglove (https://foxglove.dev/), a developer platform used by robotics companies worldwide, from autonomous tractors to warehouse bots.
In this episode, Adrian shares how Foxglove emerged from an internal Cruise demo, why robotics is finally having its “PC moment,” and what it really takes to build a startup that lasts. We cover:
• How Cruise helped pioneer self-driving cars (and what went wrong post-acquisition)
• Why developer tools are the missing layer holding robotics back
• Lessons from Coinbase, Cruise, and scaling teams from 30 to 1,200
• The case for Kiwi founders to leave New Zealand, at least for a while
• What robotics startups can learn from the rise of SaaS
• The value of building boring robots that just move rice
We also dive into Adrian’s early days hacking e-commerce in Thailand, how government jobs don’t prepare you for startups, and why he believes the robotics industry will 100x in the next decade.
Time Stamps
03:30 When an internal tool became a startup idea
07:42 Cruise vs GM: Startup chaos inside a legacy giant
12:47 Foxglove’s customer base: From tractors to warehouses
16:15 Why Foxglove won’t build robots — and what they’re building instead
21:54 The “1980s PC” moment for robotics
27:41 If not Foxglove — what robotics startup would Adrian build?
30:15 From kiwifruit packhouses to automation inspiration
36:35 Why ambitious builders still need to go to Silicon Valley
41:36 The 10-year mindset needed to build a real company
47:50 How the Kiwi diaspora can supercharge the next generation
Resources
🧠 Adrian Macneil’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianmacneil/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianmacneil/)
🛠️ Foxglove – Developer tools for robotics: https://foxglove.dev (https://foxglove.dev/)
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17 Apr 2025
S3 | E7 - Xavier Collins (CEO at Wonder) on AI’s creative revolution, building thriving marketplaces, and reshaping the film industry
Episode Summary
Xavier Collins, London-born and New Zealand-raised, is no stranger to building marketplaces that scale. After early days at Uber, Xavier joined Nexus Notes before launching Deliveroo into dozens of UK cities and spearheading Turo’s growth across Europe. Now he’s applying his marketplace magic to the film industry with Wonder, an AI-native creative studio backed by Blackbird, LocalGlobe, and a host of world-class angels.
In today’s episode, Xavier takes us deep into the creative frontier of AI and storytelling, exploring how technology can unlock new levels of creativity, reshape entertainment financing, and give more filmmakers a voice. We cover:
• How AI is redefining storytelling and enabling more scripts to reach production
• Lessons from building successful marketplaces at Uber, Deliveroo, Turo, and Nexus Notes
• The keys to marketplace success: seeding liquidity, focusing on quality supply, and defining user experience
• Why the entertainment industry is overdue for disruption (and how Wonder is leading the charge)
• How filmmakers and creatives can harness AI to amplify their vision
We also dive into Xavier’s unique journey—from narrowly missing a consulting career to hustling his way through startups, and the unforgettable Cannes moment that launched Wonder.
Time Stamps
02:49 The Cannes moment: Realising AI will reshape filmmaking
07:18 Using AI to rescue stories that wouldn’t otherwise be told
10:56 The life-changing phone call that sent Xavier into startups
19:37 Early lessons on marketplace liquidity from Deliveroo and Turo
25:52 Price, selection, and service: The three pillars of marketplace success
32:16 Services vs SaaS: Rethinking business models in the AI age
41:05 Financing films 101: Inside Xavier’s other venture, Lumiere Ventures
48:26 Xavier’s advice to young people: Lean into AI now
Resources
🙋🏻♂️ Xavier Collins’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xaviercollins/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/xavier-collins-58492280/)
✨ Wonder – AI-native creative studio: https://www.wonder.inc (https://wonderstudios.com/)
Diaspora.nz is part of Day One.
Day One helps founders and startup operators make better business decisions more often.
To learn more, join our newsletter (https://dayonefm.beehiiv.com/)to be notified of new Diaspora.nz episodes and upcoming shows.
10 Apr 2025
S3 | E6 Anton Jackson Smith (b.next) on building synthetic cells, programmable biology, and the future of biotech
Episode Summary
Anton Jackson Smith is a synthetic biologist, Stanford PhD, and founder of b.next—a startup building synthetic cells from scratch to make biology truly programmable. Think of it as rewriting life’s codebase, with applications ranging from cancer treatments and diagnostics to lab-grown foods and smart crops.
In today’s episode, Anton breaks down what synthetic cells actually are (and why they matter), how his open-source platform Nucleus is changing the way biology is engineered, and why the future of medicine, agriculture, and climate tech might be written in DNA.
We also dig into his journey, from coding in Queenstown and law school in Otago, to cutting-edge research in Silicon Valley, and how a random article on programmable E. coli changed everything.
In this conversation, we cover:
• How synthetic cells could power the next generation of therapeutics and diagnostics
• Why biology needs its own “AWS moment” and how open source can unlock it
• The real business model behind synthetic biology (and why it's not just science)
• How Kiwi strengths in agriculture and biotech could shape a global future
• What New Zealand needs to do to retain and return its brightest minds
Anton also shares his vision for a safer, more ethical bio-economy, and how we can build powerful new tools without repeating the mistakes of the past.
Time Stamps
01:21 What is a synthetic cell—and why should you care?
06:44 How Anton fell into biology (thanks to an E. coli article in Vietnam)
11:12 Why modifying real cells isn’t enough—and what BNext is doing differently
16:30 The near-term use cases: cancer, diagnostics, and food
22:47 How Nucleus is creating the open-source toolkit for biology
30:14 Three phases of BNext’s business model: Boot → Build → Bazaar
37:10 The big vision: programmable biology that saves lives
44:18 What New Zealand’s biotech future could look like
47:30 Returning talent, building bridges, and bringing brains back home
Resources
🙋🏻♂️ Anton Jackson Smith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonjacksonsmith (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajacksonsmith/)
🧬 b.next : https://www.bnext.bio (https://www.bnext.bio/)
Reach and audience
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YouTube views
149,173
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 39 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
44
Social presence
0
YouTube
86
Engagement
0
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