Sydney & Auckland – October 2025 – Manuka AI, a Data & AI consultancy dedicated to helping enterprises achieve excellence on Databricks, today announced the launch of Manuka AI Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). This expansion builds on the successful launch of Manuka AI UK earlier this year, continuing the company’s mission to accelerate customer success with data and AI.
Backed by venture builder Tquila through their Fund of Founders, Manuka AI is creating a new brand of services business with a global footprint. Along with the investment in Arcbricks in Japan this investment marks the next step in Tquila’s global rollout and expansion strategy, with future expansion planned across Europe, Middle East, and North America in the near term.
This announcement extends Tquila’s proven track record of building high-growth technology services companies across Google, ServiceNow, UiPath, Microsoft (Azure & D365), AWS, You.com and more.
As an AI-first consultancy, Manuka AI ANZ leverages the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to help customers maximise value from their data, whether by accelerating outcomes on existing Databricks footprints or adopting cutting-edge Data and AI innovations. Databricks has more than 20,000 customers globally and is recognized as a leader by analysts including Gartner, IDC, and Forrester—, driven by its rapid pace of innovation and its ability to unify data, analytics, and AI at scale.
Recent analyst reports highlight the scale of the opportunity: ADAPT finds Australian enterprises are investing an average of AU$28 million annually in data and AI, yet 72% report failing to achieve measurable ROI, while the Governance Institute of Australia notes that 93% cannot effectively measure AI ROI and 88% struggle to integrate AI into legacy systems—underscoring a major skills and execution gap that Manuka AI is poised to address.
Stephen Aitken, CEO and Co-Founder of Manuka ANZ, said: “Enterprises across Australia and New Zealand are accelerating their AI agendas, but many are still struggling to scale beyond isolated pilots. ADAPT research shows organisations are investing an average of AU$28 million per year in data and AI, but only 24% have AI-ready data architectures. This is the gap Manuka AI is here to close. With Databricks Data Intelligence Platform and our AI-first mindset, we help ANZ enterprises – across all industries rapidly deploy use-cases that operate at scalable, and deliver valuable, outcomes.”
Jeff Clark, Chief Growth Officer and Co-Founder of Manuka ANZ, said: “In ANZ, the appetite for AI innovation is enormous, but the shortage of AI practitioners is holding back progress. The Governance Institute of Australia found that 93% of local organisations can’t effectively measure AI ROI, and 88% struggle to integrate AI into legacy systems—a clear signal that capability, not ambition, is the bottleneck. That’s why we’ve brought the ‘Manuka Way’ to ANZ: our proven methodology for building The Intelligent Enterprise—an organisation that embeds AI across its entire process flow, turning strategy into execution and delivering measurable value from every use case.”
Michael McCannon, Partner at Tquila, said: “We are delighted to back Stephen, Jeff, and the Manuka AI ANZ team. Stephen has successfully partnered with Tquila on multiple ventures before, leading companies from startup to exit, and his expertise - combined with Jeff’s growth leadership - sets the stage for something truly exceptional. Extending the Manuka AI pure play brand into ANZ gives customers a platform to leverage significant experience and success from the group across the UK&I, Germany and our related offshore resource centres. With Tquila’s financial backing, strong network and Databricks as the outright leader in its space, this investment marks another exciting step in our global rollout.”
About Manuka
Manuka AI is a Databricks-focused consultancy dedicated to delivering data and AI excellence. With operations in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand and future expansion planned across Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific & Japan, and North America – Manuka AI helps enterprises accelerate their path to value with Databricks, leveraging AI-first strategies, data-driven execution, and outcome-focused delivery. Founded by serial entrepreneurs Stephen Aitken and Jeff Clark, Manuka AI is backed by venture builder Tquila via their Fund of Founders. For more information, email: jeff.clark@manuka-ai.com.au Call +61 421 005 043
