Business

31 July 2025

Lumin

Ōtautahi Christchurch’s 125 million user powerhouse.

Lumin Team in Vietnam

Tech Services

Hands up if you’ve ever used Lumin PDF?

If you’ve ever annotated a PDF, signed a contract digitally, or submitted an assignment online, chances are you’ve used Lumin – even if you didn’t realise it. With around 125 million users worldwide, Lumin is a global success story that started in Ōtautahi Christchurch, and still proudly calls the city home.

Local roots, global impact

In 2014, while studying Civil Engineering at the University of Canterbury and working on the post-earthquake rebuild with Downer, Max Ferguson noticed something inefficient: construction sites were drowning in paper.

So he did something about it.

Ferguson wrote the original source code for Lumin PDF in just three weeks. The product was a lightweight, browser-based tool that let anyone annotate, redact, or restructure documents in the cloud. What began as a simple tool to improve document workflows quickly gained global traction.

Lumin’s user base includes everyone from students and small businesses to global enterprises. Some of the world’s most recognisable brands – including Netflix, Uber, and Airbnb – use Lumin to manage documents securely and efficiently.

Closer to home, real estate giants like Bayleys and property tech leaders like Renti have integrated Lumin into their workflows.

“Whether it's sending out contracts, generating agreements, or collecting signatures, we help make those processes seamless,” says Ferguson.


Max Ferguson Lumin
Max Ferguson - Lumin Founder & CEO

A city reimagined

“I left in 2014, when Christchurch was still rebuilding. Back then, it was unclear what it would become,” recalls Ferguson. “Now, you look around and there’s incredible momentum. It’s well set up for tech companies like Lumin.”

He adds that the Christchurch mindset aligns naturally with tech. “There’s a real ‘get it done’ attitude here. If something’s broken or inefficient, people just fix it. That aligns really well with what we do at Lumin.”

Ferguson spent several years at Stanford University and immersed himself in the Bay Area startup ecosystem. But returning to Christchurch in 2021 reinforced something he hadn’t fully appreciated: the advantages of being remote.

The company employs around 100 people globally, with its development team based in Vietnam, support shared between New Zealand and the Philippines, and marketing operating out of both Ukraine and New Zealand.

"In Christchurch, we can stay focused on building great products without chasing every hype cycle. I actually see the remoteness as an opportunity."
Max Ferguson - Lumin Founder & CEO
Sales and Operations Team at Lumin
Sales and Operations Team at Lumin

Scaling smart, and fast

Lumin’s explosive growth hasn’t come by chasing trends, but by solving practical problems with discipline and speed.

“The biggest challenge is just the sheer speed of change,” says Ferguson. “Especially on the AI side – there’s something new every day. It’s complex to navigate, not just for tech companies, but for every kind of business.”

That pace has forced a shift in how the company builds.

“We can’t afford to work on something for 10 years and then unveil it – we’re working on much faster release cycles now.”

Their newest leap? Reinventing how contracts work.

“Our first major step away from PDF was launching our agreement generation product,” says Ferguson. “We asked ourselves: if we could reinvent how contracts work, what would that look like? We came up with a modern, mobile-friendly format, and took it from idea to launch.”
Max Ferguson - Lumin Founder & CEO

Building the ecosystem

Ferguson says Lumin is committed to Christchurch’s tech future. That includes mentorship, early-stage investment, and partnerships with local companies.

“The success of any tech company depends on the ecosystem it exists in. When you look at the biggest companies globally, none of them operate in isolation – they all lean on their partners, collaborate, and help grow the community around them.”

Education is another priority.

“We want to inspire young people to see the tech industry as an exciting, viable path. There are roles at Lumin today that many students wouldn’t even know exist and helping raise that awareness is something we’re passionate about.”

The Christchurch talent advantage

What sets Christchurch apart, in Ferguson’s view, is not just its quality of life – it’s the calibre and commitment of its people.


“One thing we’ve noticed is how many of our team members have returned to Christchurch from overseas or other parts of New Zealand. It really shows that people love this city – they want to live here.”
Max Ferguson - Lumin Founder & CEO

There’s a growing global ambition among Christchurch tech professionals too. “There’s been a really exciting wave of digital-native companies emerging from Christchurch – like Partly, Lodge, and Komodo – that are scaling fast.”

Trust in the age of AI

While AI is fuelling many of Lumin’s newest innovations, Ferguson is clear-eyed about its risks, especially when it comes to identity and digital security.

“There’s a lot of excitement about AI, but also legitimate fears – and one of the biggest is around identity and impersonation,” he says. “That’s why we’re investing heavily in digital trust.”

“We’re working with both local and national governments to explore how we can protect Kiwis online through things like digital ID and verified identity frameworks.”

What’s next?

Looking ahead, Ferguson envisions Lumin’s Christchurch HQ doubling down on product innovation, especially around digital trust and agreement management.

“We’re planning to grow significantly. We’ll be expanding our team here across engineering and data science while continuing to invest in the local tech ecosystem.”

His big ambition? To replace PDFs as the standard for agreements globally.

“That would be a massive shift, and something we’re really excited about.”

Advice for founders: Think big, start small

For others looking to follow in Lumin’s footsteps, Ferguson offers practical wisdom.

“At Lumin, we thought global from day one. Every time we build something, we’re thinking about how it’s going to work not just for New Zealand users, but beyond.”

“But having that big vision doesn’t mean you need to start by building a massive platform. Our first product was a simple browser-based PDF annotation tool. Solving that one small, specific problem got us over a million users in just a few months.”

His advice? “Be pragmatic. Have that big ambition but be clear about where you’re starting and what your first few steps are.”

Learn more about Lumin and explore Christchurch tech.

Want to work with Lumin or learn more about Christchurch’s tech ecosystem?

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