Australia risks wasting AI opportunity under new US chip rules, Nvidia partner says
Australia has a rare chance to lead on AI under new US chip rules, but Xenon Systems' Dragan Dimitrovici says the government is still stuck in planning mode.
The founder of one of Nvidia’s leading local resellers has hit out at the federal government for failing to seize on a multi-billion dollar opportunity to establish Australia as a regional AI hub — warning that rivals across Asia are already moving ahead.
Dragan Dimitrovici, founder of Melbourne-based Xenon Systems, says new US export controls on high-powered processors have handed Australia a rare global advantage in the race to build advanced AI infrastructure. The rules — known as the AI Diffusion Framework — take effect in May and will restrict the sale of cutting-edge chips from companies like Nvidia to much of the world.
Australia is one of only 18 countries exempt from restrictions under the regime.
“There is a huge opportunity for Australia to become the next AI computing centre of Southeast Asia,” Dimitrovici said. “We see in the next two to three years the possibility of billions of dollars worth of AI systems being built in Australia.”
