Sydney’s tech super-cluster propels Australia’s AI industry forward

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Australia has experienced a remarkable surge in AI enterprise during the past decade. Significant AI research and commercialization concentrated in Sydney drives the sector’s development nationwide and influences AI trends globally. The city’s cutting-edge AI sector sees academia, business and government converge to foster groundbreaking advancements, positioning Australia as a key player on the international stage.

Sydney – home to half of Australia’s AI companies

Sydney has been pinpointed as one of four urban super-clusters in Australia, featuring the highest number of tech firms and the most substantial research in the country.

The Geography of Australia’s Digital Industries report, commissioned by the National Science Agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Tech Council of Australia, found Sydney is home to 119,636 digital professionals and 81 digital technology companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange with a combined worth of A$52 billion.

AI is infusing all areas of this tech landscape. According to CSIRO, more than 200 active AI companies operate across Greater Sydney, representing almost half of the country’s 544 AI companies.

“Sydney is the capital of AI startups for Australia and this part of Australasia”
—Toby Walsh, UNSW Sydney

With this extensive AI commercialization and collaboration in progress across Sydney, AI startups are flourishing.

“Sydney is the capital of AI startups for Australia and this part of Australasia,” according to Professor Toby Walsh, Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney).

He cites robotics, AI in medicine and fintech as three areas where Sydney leads the world in AI innovation.

“As a whole, Australia punches well above its weight in the AI sector,” Professor Walsh says. “We’re easily in the top 10, and by some metrics, we’re in the top five in the world. For a country of just 25 million people, that is quite remarkable.”

Sydney’s universities at the forefront of AI research

A key to Sydney’s success in the sector is the strength of its universities, which are producing outstanding research.

In 2021, the University of Sydney (USYD), the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) collectively produced more than 1000 peer-reviewed publications in artificial intelligence, contributing significantly to the field’s development.

According to CSIRO, Australia’s research and development sector has higher rates of AI adoption than global averages, with Sydney presenting the highest AI publishing intensity among Australian universities and research institutes.

Professor Aaron Quigley, Science Director and Deputy Director of CSIRO’s Data61 and Head of School in Computer Science and Engineering at UNSW Sydney, says…