Aug 6, 2026 – 5.00amAustralia has spent the past month deciding what founders and investors here deserve in return for the risks they take – increasingly on the global stage. This maturing economic debate has seen a consultation on carving start-ups out of this year’s capital gains reform that closed on July 10, and a new national AI framework, which landed days after, trying to identify what the nation’s responsible AI game plan should entail.Neither move, on its own, answers the harder question underlying both: what does it actually take for a small, open economy to build the kind of globally competitive companies that some countries build almost as a matter of course? And how can we do it successfully from Australia?Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
Australia’s next tech giant must think globally from day one
My long career in Silicon Valley has taught me that no country or tech company becomes globally relevant by accident.
TL;DRAI
Australia closed July consultation on startup tax incentives and launched AI framework to build globally competitive tech companies. For tech leaders, policy alignment (tax+governance) is essential; responsible AI frameworks increasingly shape capital and talent flows.
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