Australian AI founders are ditching 'build from anywhere' and rushing back to San Francisco
The post-COVID consensus that global tech companies could be built from Australia is under threat, with the AI boom and American exceptionalism luring local founders back to the US.
A new generation of Australian startup founders are relocating to San Francisco at a pace not seen in years, drawn by larger funding rounds, proximity to frontier AI labs and a growing expectation among American customers that serious companies have headquarters in the United States.
The shift marks a stark reversal from the pandemic-era consensus that founders could build globally competitive technology companies from Melbourne or Sydney.
For AI-native startups — those building products on top of large language models — the calculus has changed.
"I think if you're not super ambitious, you can be in Australia. I think if you're super ambitious, you need to be here," said Max Marchione, CEO of Superpower, an AI health startup.
