New Zealand based AI company Mindhive Global scored a big win at the 2025 NZ Hi-Tech Awards, taking home two awards, including the Most Innovative Agritech Solution title. This event was held last Friday night at a gala dinner in Wellington, and it showcased how New Zealand continues to lead the world in agricultural technology innovation.
Mindhive Global’s game-changing leather grading technology beat strong competitors from across the tech industry.
“Winning two awards in a single evening is an extraordinary honor that reflects both the technological innovation and commercial impact of our solutions. Being recognized as the leading agritech solution in New Zealand by our peers is particularly meaningful, as these accolades are a powerful endorsement of our vision to revolutionize quality assessment in leather manufacturing through AI and machine vision technology.”
James Bayly, CEO, Mindhive Global
“From solving a single problem for a local deer hide tannery to creating systems that the world’s largest leather producers call ‘the most significant innovation in leather in over 100 years’ this journey has been incredible. These awards recognize both our technical achievements and our business success in bringing New Zealand innovation to a global industry.”
Dion Bettjeman, Co-founder and CTO, Mindhive Global
The company’s winning technology, Mindhive BlueSelect™, uses machine learning, image recognition, and industrial hardware to quickly grade wet-blue leather.
It can process up to 360 hides per hour with over 91% accuracy. This system not only ensures consistency in quality but also maps out more than 30 types of defects in real time.
Mindhive Global’s tech has already been used in tanneries across nine countries, including partnerships with JBS Couros, the world’s largest leather processing company, and Bader Group.
At the same awards event, Mindhive Global was also a finalist for the Most Innovative Hi-Tech Manufacturer of the Year.
Related: Automation Is Coming for the Leather Industry but Probably Not How You Think
