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 HQ’s 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 alterd.
“I consider if you’re not super ambitious, you can be in Australia. I consider if you’re super ambitious, you required to be here,” stated Max Marchione, CEO of Superpower, an AI health startup.
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