VXT Co-Founder Luke Campbell has been named the 2025 Xero Hi-Tech Young Achiever of the Year at the New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards.
The award recognises his leadership, resilience, and innovative approach to building one of the country’s fastest-growing startups.
As CEO and co-founder of VXT, Luke has overseen 250% year-on-year growth and helped secure millions in investment.
Most recently he played a key role in achieving a NZ$45 million valuation during a funding round led by Silicon Valley’s Alpine Ventures.
But his journey to success hasn’t come without personal cost.
“Spine fusion surgery was hard. Keeping VXT alive was harder,” Luke told the audience during his acceptance speech.
At just 16, Luke underwent complex spinal surgery. It was an experience that taught him how to survive under extreme pressure.
That lesson proved crucial years later when, during the height of the COVID pandemic, he was pitching to every venture capitalist and angel investor he could find, often with just weeks of runway left.
“In 2020 we were struggling,” he said.
“Everyone rejected us. For years we hung on with no more than a few months of runway at any given time.
“Whenever we’d run out of cash, I took personal loans or guarantees. By 24 years old, I’d racked up more than half a million dollars [in debt].”
That relentless perseverance paid off. As of early 2025, VXT has reported $3.6 million in annual recurring revenue and is on track to reach $7.5 million by year’s end.
The Hi-Tech Award judges praised Luke’s ability to overcome adversity, drive innovation, and lead with purpose.
“Luke’s being recognised for his problem solving skills and innovative approach,” the judges said.
“He overcame personal challenges, including major surgery and is focussed on alleviating others' pain through his work.
“Under his leadership, VXT has seen a remarkable 250% growth in the past year.
“Luke's ability to navigate uncertainty, make bold product decisions, and unite his team around a shared vision really impressed the judges.”
In his speech, Luke thanked his family, team, and early backers (including GD1 and Phase One Ventures) before offering his characteristically unfiltered take on the startup world.
“Most startups die. Most startup investors lose money because they struggle to differentiate great founders from bad ones. And of course they do, because they don’t build them. We do.”
VXT also a finalist for start-up award
VXT was also a finalist for Hi-Tech Start-Up Company of the Year in a testament to the company’s growing impact on the global legal tech stage.
Today, VXT is making waves in the legal technology space, serving law firms across New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the UK and the US. VXT’s monthly recurring revenue is growing 10% per month and users have made more than 9 million calls.
With features like AI phone call transcripts and summaries, contact syncing, and integrations with legal software that lawyers use every day, VXT is helping law firms save time, mitigate risk and increase their revenue.
There are more than 20 staff today and VXT is continuing to grow and hire more staff.
More features are planned, with an AI, note-taker, virtual receptionist, and replacement for Microsoft Teams all front of mind.
Since the March raise, a transaction between shareholders upped the value of the firm again, this time to $57m.
Follow VXT on LinkedIn to keep up with the latest milestones and announcements.
About the NZ Hi-Tech Awards
The New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards celebrate innovation and excellence across software, electronics, telecommunications, mobile, agritech, creative tech and beyond.
Organised by the NZ Hi-Tech Trust, the awards showcase the boldest minds and businesses pushing Aotearoa forward. Learn more at www.hitech.org.nz.
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