In keeping with our recent deep dives into the Kuala Lumpur and Queenstown tech ecosystems, this month we shine a light on South Australia. Proving that one visionary leader can make a world of difference, former Premier Steven Marshall led a meaningful economic transformation. The results may well shock you!

Enjoy, from all of us at North Ridge Partners.

Original Thinking From North Ridge Partners

Adelaide’s Lot Fourteen innovation hub - modelled on F Station in Paris - has already attracted ~A$750m in government funding, proving a magnet for 100 tech companies across the Defence, Cybersecurity and Space industries. That’s helping the state to move well beyond its legacy manufacturing base and punch well above its weight. Read all about it here.

What we’ve been up to

Our partner Pete Hynd has been locked away for over a year advising Australian financial technology company Spaceship. We’re thrilled for the entire Spaceship team on its acquisition by eToro in a complex, landmark $80m cross-border deal. North Ridge Partners acted as corporate advisor during Spaceship's journey, including leading its growth rounds, and this exit.

Big Tech

• OpenAI raises $US6.6bn and welcomes SoftBank and Nvidia to the register, while Nvidia’s CEO says demand for next-generation Blackwell chips is insane. Correlation probably implies causation on this occasion.

• Back to the Metaverse – Zuckerberg unveils AR glasses.

• Google chases its LLM rival on reasoning AI.

• Data centre requirements drive a $US100bn increase in finance leases for Microsoft as it stakes out its AI turf.

Asia Pacific Tech News

• One deal to rule them all: AirTrunk.

• Gen AI surges: 70% of APAC organisations say their Gen AI usage increased last year and most described the increase as significant.

• Indian online food delivery business Swiggy moves towards an IPO.

• Alibaba earmarks $US5.7bn in support for its merchants for this year's Single’s Day.

Stuff We Found Interesting

• From the horse’s mouth - Sam Altman on the future of intelligence, in his own words.

• 25X - ByteDance is hoovering up the world’s online data with tools that leave OpenAI in its wake.

• E-commerce giant Shein is fast fashion's biggest polluter, and AI is to blame.

• Hyperscalers face carbon emissions blowback of the sustainability impact of generative AI comes into focus.

Tech Investment Banking Across Asia Pacific

North Ridge Partners advises tech companies across the Asia Pacific on strategy, capital raising and M&A. We’re experienced dealmakers who have built and sold many tech companies. In partnership with GP Bullhound, we have 200 bankers in 17 global offices.

Contact us here.

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