A major TechNZ investment of $5.8 million in a research partnership with Weta Digital over three years announced today has been welcomed by Minister of Research, Science and Technology Wayne Mapp. Weta's dollar investment will be on a basis of at least two-for-one.

"Weta Digital has been at the forefront of positioning New Zealand as a creative and innovative country that can re-imagine reality on a global scale," Dr Mapp said. "Through the magic of the movies, billions of people throughout the world benefit from their expertise.

"More importantly for New Zealand, an industry has been created that in less than 20 years has gone from just about nowhere to world leadership. To maintain that position Weta Digital must invest in research that will pioneer new techniques.

"TechNZ assists companies to develop, so that new products and processes can be brought to market. That is the value that TechNZ adds."

TechNZ is the business investment programme of the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology. It invests up to $50 million a year to help businesses find and develop new technologies. The Weta investment is the first example of the Foundation partnering with a company in a long-term R&D programme.

Over the past decade some 4,500 New Zealand businesses have benefited from TechNZ support. "It's about growing new products and processes for export," the Minister said.

"Today's announcement represents a very significant contribution that will accelerate the growth of New Zealand's strong creative digital industry. It signals that this Government is serious about growing our competitive advantages."