Agentic Engineering & Infra | Auckland AI Builders (in person event)

​Hi everyone!

It's been a long time since I organized an in-person meetup, and we're back with fantastic talks from the community!

Beyond the AI hype and vendor pitches, we want to build a space for knowledge sharing, open discussion, and collaboration. Bring your questions - we'll bring ours (and we have plenty!).

Agents are everywhere in the headlines—but what's actually under the hood, and how do you build and ship them safely?

Join us for an evening of talks exploring agentic AI, from the foundations and infrastructure layers through to security, governance, and real-world engineering practices.

Whether you're a software developer, platform engineer, cloud native practitioner, architect, or simply curious about where AI engineering is heading, you'll find something for you. Expect four practical talks, plenty of networking, and a welcoming community of builders.

Doors open at 5:00 PM.

Chris,

​The lineup

• ​An Introduction to the new Agentic AI Foundation (Linux Foundation) / Darshit Pandya & Chris Mazur
  
  Abstract: The Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF) is a neutral, open home — hosted by the Linux Foundation — for the projects defining how AI agents work, including MCP, goose, AGENTS.md, and agentgateway. This talk gives a quick tour of why the foundation exists, who's behind it, and how transparent, collaborative standards are shaping the future of agentic AI.

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• ​From Dirt to Agents / Juan Pablo (JP) Vasquez
  
  Abstract: AI isn't magic and it isn't just autocomplete — it's five physical layers stacked from the ground up. In 25 minutes we climb all five, so you can read any AI headline and know exactly which layer it's about.

  • ​JP Vasquez is the founder of AI Foundry, a New Zealand sovereign AI inference provider running on owned hardware in Auckland, and the authorized ANZ partner for Positron AI. A 17x certified IT professional (including 2x NVIDIA), he brings six years of enterprise platform and advisory experience from Deloitte and KPMG.

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• ​AI Intelligence on Mobile / Srini Munagala
  
  Abstract: TBC

  • ​JSrinivas Rao Munagalas co-founder and CEO of UIRev Limited, an Auckland-based software company specializing in enterprise mobile, Salesforce, and on-device AIsolutions. For over 15 years, UIRev has built field-first software for some of New Zealand's largest organizations — including Fonterra and Fulton Hogan — solving problems that happen in paddocks, on construction sites, and across distributed crews, not in offices.

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• ​Agent Governance Toolkit (AGT) — Ricky Gummadi
  
  Abstract: Everyone can build — governance is the new bottleneck. How are you securing your agents and agent orchestrations against the OWASP Agentic Top 10, and how does AGT help? A fast 15-minute look at closing the governance gap.

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• ​Your LLM Is Live. Who's Watching the Front Door? — Guide to AI Security / Andeed Ma
  
  Abstract: Prompt injection, data leaks, and adversarial attacks—your live LLM is exposed. This session distills international standards from dry compliance into code‑review checklists and deployment gates that catch LLM threats before they hit production.

  • ​Andeed Ma is CTO of BAIC and a Mirror Committee Member for ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42 on Artificial Intelligence with Standards New Zealand. With over two decades of leadership across AI, fintech, and risk management at firms including ServiceNow, ByteDance, and CyberArk, he also serves as President of the Risk and Insurance Management Association of Singapore (RIMAS) and a Partner at the AI International Institute (AIII) think tank. He lectures at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and co‑authored AI for Humanity (Wiley).

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SPONSORS

​Special thanks to our sponsors:

- UiRev (https://www.uirev.com/) : Pizzas and drinks
UiRev provides product development services and consulting, specialising in custom mobile solutions and AI agentic systems for enterprise clients. With 25+ years of experience, our team brings expertise in Salesforce integration, user experience design and AI-driven innovation — co-designing digital products with organisations across Australia and New Zealand.

- Microsoft New Zealand (Daniel Scott-Raynsford & team) :Venue

- Agentic Engineering Day NZ (AEDNZ) ( https://www.agenticengineering.day/ ) - CFP OPEN! (October 21-22, Auckland)

- Plexure (https://plexure.com) : AEDNZ sponsor
Plexure is a global software company that helps major consumer brands create personalised digital experiences that drive customer engagement, loyalty, and revenue.

- AutoHand AI (https://autohand.ai) : AEDNZ sponsor
AutoHand AI gives teams governed coding agents that plan, edit, test, and improve software.

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​RSVP

​Spaces are limited — RSVP to secure your spot. See you there!