Cheques flow for Australian AI startups, but talent remains tight
A new report lists the top five VCs investing in Australian AI – and they're not all the usual suspects. The age-old talent shortage problem, meanwhile, threatens to constrain the sector's growth.
Everyone’s interest in AI was piqued by the release of tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT a year ago, including Australian VCs that have written some large cheques for AI startups. A new report shows that the top investors in the sector are not just the "usual suspects" either.
The report, released today by the National AI Centre (NAIC), flags that while generative AI technology is relatively new, the issues threatening the local startup sector are not: talent shortages. Interestingly, another government report released on the same day looked at jobs that are likely to be impacted by AI.
Just this week, Australian startup Leonardo.Ai, which uses generative AI tools to create everything from architectural designs to gaming characters, raised $47 million from investors Blackbird, Side Stage Ventures, Smash Capital, TIRTA Ventures, Gaorong Capital and Samsung Next.
“Leonardo.Ai has enjoyed an unprecedented beginning to its life, from a few thousand users when we first met the team ten months ago to over six million now,” Blackbird partner Niki Scevak said.
