Blake Harkness
Founder & fractional AI engineer at Harkness AI, helping New Zealand businesses work smarter with AI.
Who is Blake Harkness?
I’m a Christchurch-based AI engineer and the founder of Harkness AI. I come from a mechatronics engineering background (Massey University), and I now spend my time helping New Zealand businesses work smarter with AI - through consulting, team training, and custom development.
Unlike traditional consultants, I don’t hand over a report and walk away. I stay hands-on from strategy through to a working solution - embedded in your team as a fractional AI engineering partner.
My week splits between fractional AI engineering - working inside client businesses, including Patersons Land Professionals, to build and run their AI systems - and Harkness AI’s consulting, training, and development work. Across those engagements the team has helped 50+ businesses in New Zealand and Australia and built 60+ automations.
I also publish what I learn: 150+ educational AI videos with more than 1 million views, so New Zealand businesses can see what actually works.
Full bio, credentials and speaking history: blakeharkness.com
Where I sit in the NZ AI ecosystem
Mechatronics Engineering
Massey UniversityEngineering background underpinning a practical, systems-first approach to AI.
AI Strategy and Governance
University of PennsylvaniaCertified 2025. Strategy and governance for deploying AI and large language models in business.
IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate
IBMProfessional certification in building, training and deploying AI and machine learning systems.
Aotearoa AI Awards
Rising AI Star finalist, 2025 and 2026Named a Rising AI Star finalist at the Aotearoa AI Awards, run by AI Forum New Zealand, in 2025 and again in 2026.
AI Forum New Zealand
AEC Working Group - webinar series leadContributor to the Living Whitepaper and, since August 2026, organiser of the AEC Working Group webinar series on AI in architecture, engineering and construction.
Engineering New Zealand
AI Advisory Group MemberAdvising on AI integration within the engineering profession across NZ.
Young Kiwis in AI
FounderFounded January 2026: a nationwide community of 300+ young New Zealanders in AI, with monthly meetups and the YKIA National Conference 2027 in Auckland.
Fractional AI Engineer
Embedded with NZ businessesWorking inside client teams, including Patersons Land Professionals, to build and run their AI systems.
Educating New Zealand on AI
I run AI education across New Zealand - 35+ speaking events so far, from small hands-on workshops to conference sessions of 300+ people, including the M2 AI Summit in Christchurch. I was named a Rising AI Star finalist at the Aotearoa AI Awards in 2025 and again in 2026. I founded Young Kiwis in AI in January 2026 to build a nationwide community for young New Zealanders working in the field - now 300+ members - and I joined a New Zealand AI delegation to China to see first-hand how AI is being deployed at national scale. I also organise the AI Forum NZ AEC Working Group webinar series.
Next up for the community: the YKIA National Conference 2027, a one-day conference for 200+ young New Zealanders in AI, on 12 February 2027 in Auckland.
Out in front of New Zealand audiences
Want AI working inside your business?
Book a free strategy call, or explore what I write and share about practical AI in New Zealand.
Last updated 18 September 2026 - added the Rising AI Star finalist (2025 and 2026) and current speaking and video counts
What people say
Blake has become our go-to for everything AI in our business. He started by helping us set up Claude across the business and training our team to actually use it well, then built out a range of connections between our AI systems and the apps we run day to day, both native integrations and custom ones like our PayHero setup that we had struggled to get working ourselves.
Beyond the technical builds, Blake has been a genuine sounding board. He talks through our ideas with us, gives honest advice on what is worth doing, and steers us away from things that will not pay off. He has built us AI tools for reporting and project tracking that have made a real difference to how we operate.
What stands out is how easy he is to deal with. He keeps us in the loop, hits his timelines, and hands over tools that work along with clear instructions so we can run with them. He knows his stuff and gets things done.
We would happily recommend Blake and Harkness AI to any business looking to get real value out of AI.
Blake is amazing, his knowledge of AI is really impressive. He helped us become more confident with AI and showed us how to use it in our business. The training sessions were great, and he's very approachable and always happy to help. He also presented at our networking event and received fantastic feedback from everyone.
