Australia's AI edge is data, not models, says National AI Centre
Lee Hickin, executive director of the National AI Centre, says Australia's AI advantage sits in applying AI to industries with unique local datasets, not building frontier models to compete with OpenAI or Anthropic.
"Where does Australia have data and insights and knowledge that is unique to us," Hickin told SmartCompany at the ARM Hub's Propel-AIR 2.0 launch in Brisbane.
Hickin also serves as CPO at Neural Notes, an Australian AI company building enterprise-grade AI for regulated sectors: healthcare, education, agriculture, financial services. The company focuses on sovereign, sector-specific AI aligned with the National AI Plan's emphasis on transparent, policy-compliant systems.
What this means for sales teams
Australia's AI market is projected to exceed $80 billion by 2033, growing at 30% CAGR. Enterprise adoption is already high: 68% of Australian businesses are at production stage with AI, ahead of most markets.
The government is backing this with $2.5 billion for AI innovation, R&D tax offsets at 43.5%, and infrastructure investments from AWS ($20 billion), Microsoft ($5 billion), and OpenAI/NEXTDC ($7 billion).
For enterprise sales teams, this means the market is moving fast on implementation, not evaluation. The opportunity is in sector-specific tools for agriculture, healthcare, education, and financial services, where Australia has unique regulatory requirements and data sets.
Generic AI sales tools face commoditization. Vertical-specific solutions with sovereign data handling are the differentiation point. If you are selling AI tools in ANZ, the question is not "can it do prospecting" but "does it handle Australian privacy law and industry-specific compliance."
Neural Notes competes in a market favoring collaborative, energy-efficient infrastructure and local partnerships like SambaNova with SouthernCross AI. No public data exists on Neural Notes' funding, revenue, or headcount, but it operates in a segment the government is actively supporting through AI Adopt Centres and the AI Safety Institute.
The comp angle
No public hiring data for Neural Notes, but the broader AI sector in Australia is adding roles fast. Watch for enterprise AI sales positions focused on regulated industries: those will be the growth territories in 2026-2027.