5 Dec 2025

Las Vegas, USA — Trans-Tasman AI platform Caitlyn has made a standout global debut at AWS re:Invent—the world’s largest cloud conference—after being showcased on the main keynote stage and winning two Amazon Web Services Partner Awards for Asia Pacific & Japan.

Built between Christchurch and Sydney by software company Custom D, Caitlyn is fast becoming one of the most trusted GenAI platforms for organisations that rely on accuracy, privacy, and domain-specific knowledge. The platform transforms large, messy organisational knowledge bases into verifiable insights—supporting sectors including agriculture, finance, compliance, research, media, and cultural heritage across New Zealand and Australia.

A breakout week on the world stage

Across re:Invent, Caitlyn was profiled in several major moments:

• Keynote Feature: AWS showcased Caitlyn as the AI layer for Kiwa Digital’s CultureQ app, demonstrating how Indigenous language and cultural archives can be preserved and brought to life with safe, explainable AI.

• AWS Partner Awards: Custom D won Innovation Partner of the Year (APJ) and Social Impact Partner of the Year (APJ)—both recognising Caitlyn’s trusted AI work across high-stakes industries.

• AWS Shark Tank: Caitlyn was selected as a finalist to pitch live on stage to AWS executives and industry leaders.

• Leadership Recognition: CEO Julie Ryan spoke on the APJ Women in Leadership panel during re:Invent week.

A clear signal: the world is demanding trustworthy AI

Custom D CEO Julie Ryan says the global interest reflects a shift away from generic AI and towards systems that are accurate, accountable, and built for real-world environments.

“Organisations don’t need more magic-trick AI. They need AI they can trust―AI that understands their domain, protects their IP, and can show exactly where every answer came from. That’s what Caitlyn was built for.”

Proven results across NZ and Australia

Caitlyn has already delivered measurable impact across multiple sectors:

• Agriculture (NZ): Foundation for Arable Research saw a 50% lift in engagement and growers accessing insights 90% faster.

• Agriculture (NZ): Beef + Lamb’s “Ask Bella” unlocked $100M of research, processing 4,600+ pages and 700+ videos into farmer-ready guidance.

• Cultural Heritage (NZ): Kiwa Digital achieved 96% accuracy across text, audio and visual cultural content.

• Finance & Compliance (AU/NZ): Caitlyn is used in high-trust regulatory and compliance environments where accuracy and traceability are critical.

Under the hood, Caitlyn has been engineered with more than 14,000 hours of R&D, combining intelligent document processing, graph-based retrieval, agentic workflows, and private deployment inside each customer’s AWS environment.

A trans-Tasman company going global

Caitlyn was recently named one of AWS’s Top 5 GenAI Partners in Australia & New Zealand, and is now expanding into North America and the UK—supported by a multi-year Strategic Collaboration Agreement with AWS.

Ryan says the keynote exposure signals a major moment for Australasian AI companies.

“It’s rare for a New Zealand–Australian platform to be spotlighted alongside global brands at re:Invent. It shows that world-class, trustworthy AI is being built right here.”