The Mind Lab

What The Mind Lab does

academyEX, Inc., operating in part through its faculty brand The Mind Lab, is a New Zealand-based private postgraduate institute founded in 2013 and headquartered at 99 Khyber Pass Road, Grafton, Auckland. The company positions itself as New Zealand's only private postgraduate institute targeting mid-career professionals and delivers a portfolio of Master's programmes (Master of Contemporary Education, Master of Technological Futures, Master of Change and Organisational Resilience) plus postgraduate certificates and micro-credentials, including the Digital & Collaborative Learning Postgrad Cert. Three specialised faculties — The Mind Lab, Tech Futures Lab, and Earth Futures Lab — anchor the academic structure.

The underlying platform combines hybrid online and in-person instruction with cohort-based delivery on fixed start dates, supplemented by community events such as the Converge Community Meetup and the Master of Contemporary Education Symposium. The proprietary AI for Business Learning Hub extends the platform into enterprise workforce upskilling and currently powers AI skills training for named customers ASB and Xero. Supporting modules include AI for Good, and AI-generated text synthesis is used in marketing materials to summarise quarterly learning landscape updates.

The business model is tuition-driven through postgraduate fees on an annual billing cadence, with cost-reduction mechanisms including scholarships covering up to 50% of fees, earlybird pricing, employer sponsorship, and StudyLink eligibility. Distribution occurs via direct website enrollment for individual professionals and direct enterprise sales for organisational training. Headcount sits in the 251-500 range, and the company has accumulated seven regional and industry awards including Innovation of the Year, Best Contribution to the NZ Tech Sector, and the Asia Pacific Talent Unleashed Awards. No external funding rounds or parent-company relationships are disclosed.

Name

The Mind Lab

Legal name

academyEX, Inc.

Website

https://themindlab.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

academyEX, operating The Mind Lab faculty, is New Zealand's only private postgraduate institute for mid-career professionals, delivering hybrid Master's programmes, postgraduate certificates, and AI skills training via enterprise partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Postgraduate Professional Education

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Critical Thinking, Problem Solving & Decision-Making (EDAAAKAH)

Keywords

• Postgraduate professional education
• Micro-credential programs
• AI business training
• Executive education programs
• Organisational resilience training

Headquarters

HQ city

East Tamaki

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Postgraduate Tuition: Masters programs and postgraduate certificates generate revenue through tuition fees. Programs include Master of Contemporary Education, Master of Technological Futures, Master of Change and Organisational Resilience, and Postgrad Cert in Digital & Collaborative Learning.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Mind Lab is a faculty of academyEX, New Zealand's only private postgraduate institute for mid-career professionals. It designs and delivers Masters programmes, postgraduate certificates, and micro-credentials that build strategic, technological, and leadership capability. The portfolio centres on contemporary education, technological futures, organisational change and resilience, plus a proprietary AI for Business Learning Hub that sells organisational AI skills training to enterprise customers including ASB and Xero.

Product overview

academyEX is New Zealand's only private postgraduate institute for mid-career professionals, offering a portfolio of Master's programmes and micro-credentials designed to build strategic, technological and leadership capability. The core product portfolio includes four Master's programmes (Master of Contemporary Education, Master of Technological Futures, Master of Change and Organisational Resilience) and Postgrad Certificates (Digital & Collaborative Learning), which can be taken as standalone qualifications or stacked toward degrees. Supporting offerings include the AI for Business online learning platform powering AI skills for organisations, and community events such as the Converge Community Meetup and Master's Symposiums. The Mind Lab, Tech Futures Lab, and Earth Futures Lab operate as specialised faculties within the academyEX institution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Mind Lab: One of the faculties under academyEX, part of the faculties/themindlab/ section.
• Tech Futures Lab
• Earth Futures Lab

Products and services

• Master of Contemporary Education A Master's degree designed for educators, leaders, and learning designers who want to rethink what learning can be and create a future-ready educational system. The program is delivered in two parts via hybrid learning (online + in-person), emphasising action, impact, and purpose over theoretical study.
• Master of Technological Futures A Master's programme equipping senior leaders to understand and shape the technology shaping their world. Designed for those who need to make real decisions in a rapidly changing technological landscape, delivered via hybrid learning.
• Master of Change and Organisational Resilience A Master's programme focused on leading organisations through disruption while maintaining coherence, culture and purpose. Emphasises building resilience rather than just bouncing back, for leaders already managing change. Delivered via hybrid learning.
• Digital & Collaborative Learning Postgrad Cert A standalone postgraduate certificate focusing on social and technological changes in education, covering generative AI's impact on learning. Designed for educators to update their skills and critical perspectives; can be taken alone or as part one of the Master of Contemporary Education. Delivered via hybrid learning.
• AI for Business Learning Hub An online learning platform providing organisations across New Zealand with the skills to use AI confidently and effectively. Features AI for Good modules alongside business-focused AI training, and is currently deployed with enterprise customers ASB and Xero for workforce AI upskilling.

Quantifiable outcome

• Scholarships covering up to 50% of program fees available

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ASBcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerASB is a major New Zealand bank and customer of academyEX's AI for Business Learning Hub. academyEX powers AI skills training for ASB employees, providing organisational upskilling in AI adoption and usage.
• XerocoreGTM or Marketing PartnerXero is a New Zealand-based accounting software company and customer of academyEX's AI for Business Learning Hub. academyEX provides AI skills training programs for Xero's customers and/or workforce.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• University of Canterbury: NZ research university with postgraduate programs in education, business, and engineering. Competes for the same domestic postgraduate market with degree-granting authority and broader international brand recognition.
• University of Auckland: New Zealand's largest research university and primary competitor for postgraduate mid-career professionals. Offers comparable Master's-level programs in education, business, and technology, competing for the same domestic student pool as academyEX/The Mind Lab.
• General Assembly: Private professional education company focused on technology, data, and business skills for working professionals. Comparable model in targeting mid-career learners with cohort-based, employer-sponsored programs in adjacent technology and leadership verticals.
• Emeritus: Online executive education platform partnering with top universities to deliver postgraduate certificates and Master's programs to mid-career professionals globally. Closest direct model comparison to academyEX's hybrid online/in-person Master's delivery.
• Auckland University of Technology (AUT): NZ university with applied/practitioner focus, offering postgraduate programs in education, business, and technology. Closest public-sector analog to academyEX's action-oriented curriculum approach for working professionals.
• BrainStation: Private technology training provider offering professional courses and bootcamps in AI, data, and digital skills for working professionals. Comparable B2B/B2C model targeting corporate upskilling and individual career advancement in technology-forward roles.
• Victoria University of Wellington: Major NZ university with established postgraduate programs in education, business, and public policy. Competes directly with academyEX for mid-career professionals seeking NZ-based postgraduate credentials.

Broad incumbents

• Coursera: Global online learning platform with university-partnered postgraduate certificates, specializations, and degrees. Competes with academyEX for adult professional learners globally, including in NZ, with broader catalog and stronger international brand.
• Kaplan: Large diversified education provider offering professional training, test prep, and higher education pathways. Overlaps with academyEX on career-focused credentials and corporate training offerings, though at much larger global scale.
• LinkedIn Learning: Major online professional learning platform with broad catalog covering technology, business, and leadership skills. Direct substitute for academyEX's AI for Business and professional development offerings, with significantly larger audience reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NZMindlab
• Facebookfacebook.com/themindlabnz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/themindlab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Mind Lab