Business Is Boring The tech legend who launched Windows 95 into NZ who's now making digital humans
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand.
Earlier this year news came out that local company Soul Machines, makers of artificially intelligent, emotionally responsive avatars - what some call digital humans- had raised another $40m USD to continue to take their technology to the world. You might have seen their products - they work with AirNZ and ANZ here, and so many companies overseas, from the makers of Mercedes Benz to big banks in the UK.
This success isn’t the first rodeo for the Chief Business Officer there.
Greg Cross also was a co-founder and partner in the success of Power by Proxi, another commercialisation of research play that ended up with their wireless charging company sold to Apple for reportedly more than $100m. Before that Greg Cross was Chair at the Icehouse, and had a storied career in tech, doing things such as heading up Microsoft when they launched Windows 95 in NZ. Start me up! He took out the 2019 Flying Kiwi Award and was inducted into the NZ Hi-Tech Hall of Fame at the recent Hi-Tech Awards. Not bad for a kid that left school without an idea of what he wanted to do.
To talk his journey in tech, what’s next for AI interfaces, and how NZ needs to think global, Greg Cross joined us for a good big chat you can check out below.
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