Business success AI

Christchurch-built AI platform Caitlyn takes trusted intelligence to the world

18 Nov 2025

Building a global technology company from Christchurch might sound ambitious — but that’s exactly what local software firm Custom D is doing with its generative AI platform, Caitlyn.

Designed and developed in Canterbury, Caitlyn is helping organisations around the world make sense of complex information — securely, accurately, and transparently.

“We started Caitlyn because so many organisations were drowning in data but starving for insight,” says CEO Julie Ryan. “We also saw teams trying to use AI tools they couldn’t trust — systems that made things up or sent private information to unknown third parties. We wanted to build something that brought structure and reliability to AI, especially for industries where getting the answer wrong isn’t an option.”

Turning research and culture into real-world results

That focus on practical outcomes has seen Caitlyn adopted in unexpected ways.

For Beef + Lamb New Zealand, the technology powers Bella, an on-farm answer tool trained on more than 4,000 pages of research reports and podcasts. Initially designed to help farmers with technical queries, Bella is now being used for everything from business planning to staff training, with engagement doubling in its first weeks.

For Kiwa Digital, Caitlyn underpins CultureQ, a conversational platform that brings Indigenous language and cultural knowledge to life through secure, locally-hosted AI. The project recently won multiple Aotearoa AI Awards and is now featured by AWS as a leading example of responsible AI made in New Zealand.

Christchurch-built AI platform Caitlyn takes trusted intelligence to the world

Competing on the global stage

That local impact is now gaining global attention. Those successes have put Custom D, and Christchurch firmly on the international tech map.

Custom D was the only partner company invited to present at AWS Cloud Days in Auckland earlier this year, and will feature in the keynote showcase at AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas, an event that draws more than 60,000 people from around the world.

“It’s surreal to see something we’ve built here in Canterbury being recognised alongside global tech giants,” says CTO Sam Sehnert. “But it also shows that world-class AI can be created from anywhere, provided it’s solving real problems.”

Building an AI business from Canterbury

Custom D’s journey hasn’t been without hurdles. Competing globally from New Zealand means dealing with rapid-fire advances in AI models, managing data-sovereignty expectations, and scaling a small local team to meet international demand. But Julie says being based in Christchurch has real advantages.

“There’s a strong sense of community here, people are collaborative, curious, and practical. That combination lets us build quickly and test ideas with real customers. We can move fast without losing the human side.”

With clients now spanning agriculture, media, finance, and compliance, the team sees Caitlyn as proof that the next generation of AI companies can emerge from regional innovation hubs, not just Silicon Valley.

“We’re building global technology,” says Julie, “but the values behind it — trust, integrity, collaboration — are pure Canterbury.”

As Caitlyn’s footprint expands, the team hopes to inspire more world-class innovation built right here in Canterbury

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