National AI Sprint case study

Bridging the gap between research and real-world AI solutions

Australia has world-class AI research and talented founders building breakthrough solutions.

The problem is that these two sides rarely connect in ways that create commercial impact at scale.

The challenge

Australia's AI ecosystem was fragmented. Research institutions were producing developments that stayed in labs. Startups were building solutions without access to the technical depth or partnership pathways they needed to scale.

Meanwhile, critical national challenges, from supply chain resilience to workforce transformation, demanded AI solutions that could move from prototype to deployment quickly.

The gap was structured collaboration between research, startups, and the enterprises that could adopt their solutions.

The solution

Stone & Chalk partnered with the National AI Centre (CSIRO), Google Cloud, and Australia's leading research institutions to create a 12-week commercialisation sprint that connected these dots systematically.

We focused on five national priority areas where AI could deliver immediate impact: supply chain efficiency, governance transparency, cost of living solutions, quality of life improvements, and workforce enhancement.

The program provided startups with technical mentorship, research partnerships through CSIRO's SME Connect, and direct pathways to R&D funding.

Every element was designed for one outcome: turning promising AI research into scalable commercial solutions that solve real problems.

The impact

Over 200 companies engaged. 35 advanced to intensive development. Three winners secured $500,000 in R&D funding and are now scaling solutions that address real national challenges:

• Dragonfly Thinking built AI-powered decision support tools for complex enterprise processes
• Kindship created 'Barb', an AI assistant helping Australians navigate the NDIS system
• Empathetic AI launched 'Luna', an AI co-pilot for tax compliance and planning

More importantly, the National AI Sprint proves what's possible when industry, research, and government align around commercial outcomes. It created a systematic approach for building Australia's sovereign AI capability by backing our homegrown innovators at scale.

The model is now being replicated across other technology sectors.