Sydney, 27 August 2026
A new national initiative designed to connect Australian AI companies with major enterprise buyers has been launched today by Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy Dr Andrew Charlton MP.
The Buy Australian AI Partnership will create a new pathway for ambitious Australian AI companies into the nation’s banking, insurance and superannuation sectors, helping bridge the gap between homegrown AI capability and enterprise demand.
Stone & Chalk is delivering the Partnership, with the National AI Centre as Principal Sponsor and ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Cuscal, National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac Banking Group as Founding Enterprise Partners. The initiative supports the National AI Plan’s commitment to strengthen Australian AI capability and create stronger pathways between innovation and adoption.
The Partnership brings together a broad coalition of industry bodies, technology organisations and ecosystem partners, including Gradient Institute, Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA), Australian Banking Association (ABA), Insurance Council of Australia, Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), FinTech Australia, Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), Superteam Australia (Solana) and MYOB.
The Partnership supports a national cohort of Australian AI startups and scaleups with expert advice, industry practices, and engagement opportunities.
From the national cohort, selected companies will complete an intensive eight-week accelerator, with deeper access to financial services enterprises, specialists and decision-makers. Activities will be shaped to support commercial readiness in startups to engage with enterprise, including AI assurance, regulatory requirements, procurement navigation and technology implementation.
The initiative responds to a persistent challenge in Australia’s AI ecosystem: strong local capability does not always translate into enterprise customer wins. Australian AI companies can struggle to gain visibility with large organisations and navigate complex assurance and procurement processes, while enterprises need greater confidence that emerging Australian AI solutions can meet their technical, regulatory, security and operational requirements.
Stone & Chalk CEO Stela Solar said, “Australia already has the talent, the technology, the startups. Now, Australian enterprises are opening their doors to homegrown innovation. This completes the loop on the flywheel critical for Australians to experience not only productivity gains, but also the wealth gains that AI can contribute to Australia.
“The Buy Australian AI Partnership brings leaders across the financial sector who stand united to support Australian AI. By pairing them with ambitious startups and scaleups, we’re solving the challenges that matter to the industry, the Australian community and the country.
"When industry works together on shared challenges, it sends a powerful demand signal to Australian innovators to build in Australia, stay in Australia, and use Australia as a base for global expansion.
“The call is now open to startups and scaleups nationally with solutions for financial services. Selected companies will progress through an 8 week capability booster to prepare them for the realities of enterprise adoption - including support with AI assurance hurdles, financial services regulatory needs, enterprise procurement requirements, and the realities of enterprise technology implementations - before being connected with real commercial opportunities.
“For Stone & Chalk, we help founders go further faster, and this is a prime example of how we help strong Australian AI technologies break into some of the largest enterprises in Australia."
Lee Hickin, Executive Director of the National AI Centre, said initiatives that connect Australian AI capability with market demand were essential to delivering Australia's AI ambitions.
“To capture the full economic opportunity of AI, Australia needs to back local companies developing AI solutions, creating high-value jobs and building capability in areas where our economy can compete.
“The Buy Australian AI Partnership is an important bridge between those two objectives. It helps turn business demand for AI into commercial opportunities for Australian companies, strengthening local capability while accelerating adoption across the economy.
“That is how Australia captures more of the value created by AI and turns local innovation into economic growth,” he said.
The Buy Australian AI Partnership will initially focus on financial services, one of Australia’s most sophisticated markets for technology adoption, combining advanced AI adoption with exacting requirements across trust, security, regulation, risk and implementation.
For Stone & Chalk, the financial services focus reflects its origins. Established more than a decade ago as a fintech hub working alongside Australia’s major financial institutions, Stone & Chalk has seen firsthand what can happen when Australian innovators engage with leading enterprises. Australia is now home to more than 800 fintech companies, contributing $13.6 billion directly to the economy each year, within a financial services sector worth around $10 trillion.
Expressions of interest open today and close 24 September 2026: https://www.stoneandchalk.com.au/buy-australian-ai
The Buy Australian AI Partnership will run from early October.
ENDS
Additional quotes:
Don Patra, Group Chief Information Officer, ANZ
"We're pleased to support the Buy Australian AI Partnership as a Founding Enterprise Partner. At ANZ, we believe backing local AI startups and scaleups is good for both our industry and the broader economy. Building technology capability for the future is central to our deliberate, responsible approach to adopting AI to deliver better outcomes for our customers.”
Ranil Boteju, Chief AI Officer, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)
"Australia has proven it can develop and export world-leading technology and AI products. This partnership will help local AI companies build capability, accelerate growth and scale globally, positioning Australia to capture more of the economic opportunities AI creates."
Freya Smith, Chief Client Officer, Cuscal
“We’re excited to take part in this partnership. Financial services innovation must be built on trust. As AI capabilities develop, our industry needs to explore how they can be adopted responsibly, securely and in ways that deliver meaningful value for customers. Cuscal brings deep payments expertise, a strong understanding of regulated financial services and a history of helping organisations adopt new capabilities at scale. We look forward to contributing that perspective and engaging with Australian AI companies through the Buy Australian AI Partnership.”
Pete Steel, NAB Group Executive, Digital, Data & AI, NAB
"NAB is proud to join the Buy Australian AI Partnership as a Founding Enterprise Partner. Connecting Australian AI companies with large organisations creates opportunities for local innovators to develop their ideas into trustworthy, commercially viable AI solutions. Initiatives like this play an important role in building Australia's AI capability for the future."
Dan Jermyn, Westpac Chief AI Officer, Westpac
“AI is one of the most significant technology shifts of our time and has the potential to drive productivity, improve businesses performance and contribute to economic growth across Australia. We're proud to support an initiative that will help Australian AI companies demonstrate their capabilities, build commercial momentum and scale their businesses. If we can help more Australian innovators turn great ideas into successful businesses, that’s good for the economy, good for our customers and good for Australia’s prosperity.”
Bill Simpson-Young, Chief Executive, Gradient Institute Ltd
"AI will transform business, society and the lives of Australians. For those transformations to benefit Australians, we need a thriving local AI industry - one that develops and deploys AI technologies safely and responsibly. I'm pleased that Gradient Institute is a delivery partner in this program, bringing our expertise in safe and responsible AI to help Australian companies build solutions that earn the trust of the organisations adopting them and of Australians affected by them."
Kinsleigh J, Country Lead, Superteam Australia
“Superteam Australia is excited to support the Buy Australian AI Partnership and help connect local founders with the industry relationships, commercial opportunities and global ecosystems they need to scale. As AI systems scale, so does the demand for programmable financial infrastructure. With its speed, low costs and open architecture, Solana is a natural choice for AI companies building systems capable of transacting, coordinating and moving value in real time. This partnership gives us an important platform to help Australian companies explore these opportunities while solving real challenges for industry.”
Media contact
Olivia Grandjean-Thomsen (Group Executive - Marketing, Stone & Chalk)
0402136788
Stela Solar and Lee Hickin available for interviews
About Stone & Chalk
Stone & Chalk is a purpose-driven not-for-profit that helps technology founders go further, faster. We do this through expert-led programming, access to investors and customers, partnerships with corporates and government, a community of peers, and collaborative workspaces to build from. Over the past 10 years, we have supported 3,000+ companies to raise a collective $4.2 billion in funding, with 50,000+ jobs created.
About the National AI Centre
The National AI Centre is the Australian Government's lead body helping organisations understand and use artificial intelligence safely and responsibly. It works with organisations to identify where AI can add value and how to use it effectively. Through practical guidance, programs and partnerships, the National AI Centre helps organisations move from curiosity about AI to adoption that delivers real value.
