Project summary

After New Zealand’s Inaugural AI Safety Conference there are critical blockers that need addressing to build capability in the country.

1. Lack of a shared physical location for meetups, events, workshops, hackathons, drop-in advice and a visible front door to the public.

2. Lack of local jobs and awareness of opportunities to work in AI Safety. Whilst several AI Safety consultants are working from home in isolation, this means access to fieldbuilding and industry knowledge is restricted to local meetup attendance and annual conferences.

Emma Humphrey - Organiser of New Zealand Inaugural AI Safety Conference - is proposing and setting up New Zealand’s first AI Safety Co-working space in Christchurch at the Epic Innovation Centre, this will be open to AI Safety researchers, students transitioning into AI Safety and non-profits in New Zealand.

She along with partnerships from Non-profits AI Safety ANZ and Nelson AI Sandbox are asking for donations via Manifund to cover the centre's 1 year lease with a plan to become fiscally independent via memberships within 9 months of opening. Working in a shared co-working space will allow individuals to share their projects, collaborate on projects and rapidly gain access to upcoming local opportunities. Long term, the centre will be supported by memberships, two members have already financially committed to supporting the long term fiscal development of the centre at $500 NZD per month. 

The Space
The location will be held at Epic Innovation Centre in Central Christchurch. Which has the following benefits

1. Location and visibility: next to a major Christchurch events space and the local AI / AI-risk meetup community (2,500+ members), a built-in audience rather than a cold start.

2. Transport access: under 200 m from the central bus station.

3. All-inclusive facilities: meeting rooms, breakout spaces, kitchen and events space are part of the one rental fee, no separate booking charge.

4. Relative value and a growing city: Christchurch office space is priced well below Auckland and Wellington (JLL, Christchurch Office Market Q2 2026; ChristchurchNZ, Cost of Doing Business), and Canterbury is one of New Zealand's fastest growing regions by local net migration (1News, fastest growing region).

   Photos of the space and it's faciliies - including it's street front location can be viewed here.
   

   What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

The aim is to gain 12 paying membership or $3000 NZD in monthly memberships by July 1st 2027 to ensure the fiscal sustainability and long term utility of the centre - This will give us the long term confidence to sign a 2 year annual lease from 2027-2029 and demonstrate the value of the centre to the broader Christchurch community. 

Here is how we’ve made progress on those goals so far over the last few weeks.

1. We already have 2x members willing to pay $500 NZD per month total upon launch on November 1st.
2. We also have 3x charities and non-profit research institutions in AI Safety who would regularly use or engage with the space running educational workshops, services and talks as well as do field building and exposure with the public.  
3. The Centre would be right next to Epic Innovation Events Centre which hosts Canterbury Tech and AI Meetups which hosts 3x events monthly and is regularly exposed to over 200 organisations and 2000 members. Communities: AI Risk and Ethics Community , Christchurch AI Community, Canterbury Tech

How will this funding be used? Who is on your team

1. This grant will directly cover a 12-month gross lease and operational costs ($18,900 USD / $31800 NZD incl. GST): Fully covers annual rent and operating costs for (54.75 m² private space / 62.75 m² total). This includes all 6-12 deskspaces, utilities, cleaning, high-speed Wi-Fi, and 24/7 card-security access.

2. Monthly venue hire for community events: Includes bundled access to Epic Innovation’s large events centre for 1 major event per month (up to 100 attendees) with the lease of the office, providing a physical home for AI safety workshops, meetups, and field-building sessions.

Membership fees are separate will be used to cover the day to day expenses of the co-working space (coffee etc) and build the long term fiscal security of the centre for 2028 and beyond. Nelson AI Sandbox, has agreed to engage and run a local ‘Drop in Centre’ in the workspace for the public to engage with and agree to be the fiscal sponsor of the centre owning the lease and overseeing correct tax compliance.

Who is on your team? What is your track record on similar projects?

Emma Humphrey - will be the workspace manager responsible for memberships, events and onboarding as well as securing the long term fiscal future of the space. She currently works for the non-profits Nelson AI Sandbox and AI Safety Australia and New Zealand. Maintaining this space will fit in within her existing duties for these organisations.  

In the last year, 

1. She has engaged over 60 academics, business leaders and industry experts on AI Safety risks,

2. Has launched New Zealand Inaugural AI Safety Conference with 80 individuals from over 3 countries (and is actively planning the next iteration of the conference)

3. Launched the Christchurch AI Risk and Ethics community which has grown from 500+ members in 9 months

4. As a public speaker has spoken to over 800 people at over 19 events on AI Safety over the last 9 months. 

5. Her work was recently promoted in Tech Step for her activities in AI Safety fieldbuilding and developing new tech industries.   

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

1. Without the funding, the Christchurch AI Safety community would have lost its street front, cost effective, central location next to a major events hub. Opportunities like this in central Christchurch only arise roughly once every 2 years - the workspace itself is right next to the Epic’s Event’s Centre which hosts major AI meetups with over 2000+ members providing critical visibility to build the space long term.

2. Without the space, the community will continue to grow slowly over the next few years, relying on annual conferences and possibly won’t be prepared when a New Zealand AI Safety Institute is set up in the next 1-3 years. 

3. The centre is designed to be fiscally responsible - removing the need to rely on philanthropic funding long term - this is why the critical (and only) goal of the centre is to create 12 paying memberships within 9 months. Instead of setting fixed rates, members will pay the value of the centre to actively track the engagement we’re providing. If we’re not providing enough value, then the centre closes down on November 1st 2027. The payoff is developing a scalable model to other city centres across New Zealand and other middle powers on how to develop and remove themselves from philanthropic funding lock in. 

   How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?

   
   Emma Humphrey has raised 15,000 USD from Manifund, Bluedot and AISANZ over the last 8 months for New Zealand’s Inaugural AI Safety Conference to support academic travel grants and attendance.
   
   The direct recipient of the funds will be the Charity Nelson AI Sandbox - who will sign the official lease and manage the day to day expenses of the centre.