Ethics-driven Australian AI venture launches with largest local AI infrastructure

A new ethics-driven Australian AI venture, Sovereign Australia AI, has launched with an investment in commercial Australian AI infrastructure which the founders says is designed to keep our nation in control of its digital future. The company says it is committed to setting a new benchmark for transparency and ethics in artificial intelligence, with $10 million set aside to compensate copyright holders whose data is used to train its initial models. Sovereign Australia AI users will know how its models are built, what data they are trained on, and that they reflect Australian values.

Sovereign Australia AI was founded by Troy Neilson and Simon Kriss. Troy combines more than 20 years of startup and commercialisation experience with a PhD in AI and Machine Learning and has overseen over 100 AI-driven solutions across diverse industries. Simon is an AI strategist who has advised large corporates, government bodies and the United Nations on aligning AI technology with commercial and policy objectives. Sovereign Australia AI has also added Annette Kimmet AM, former CEO of the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission to its board.

The company has placed Australia's largest-ever order for sovereign AI capacity — 256 of the latest NVidia Blackwell B200 GPUs, to power model development at a scale previously unseen in Australia, creating a sovereign capability to create Large Language Models (LLMs) that are of a size that is on par with many foreign frontier models. The hardware will be hosted in secure, Australian-based data centres operated by NEXTDC, ensuring data sovereignty and compliance with Australian privacy and security standards.

Sovereign Australia AI says it has earmarked a minimum of $10 million to source copyrighted materials needed for its models. The company’s mission is to create AI models that are Australian owned, Australian controlled, and trained with ethically sourced datasets. Its upcoming Ginan and Australis models are designed to reflect the culture, language and principles of this nation, and to provide an alternative to offshore systems that may embed foreign values and biases.

To maximise transparency, Sovereign Australia AI says it will openly provide visibility of the data used to train its models. They will also open source the Ginan research model for free public use. This open and proactive stance sets a new benchmark for what is meant by the term ‘ethical AI’.

Sovereign Australia AI has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Australian Computer Society (ACS). Under the agreement, Sovereign Australia AI will develop a bespoke AI capability for ACS, Australia’s peak professional body for the ICT sector.

“ACS is excited to collaborate with Sovereign Australia AI to help ensure Australia’s technology workforce has access to sovereign, ethical AI built with our nation’s values at its core,” said ACS CEO Josh Griggs.

Co-founder and CEO Simon Kriss said the launch marks a critical step towards securing Australia’s digital future.

“We are already seeing how AI is shaping the way people think, work and engage with information. If the foundational AI models Australians rely on are built offshore, we risk losing control over how our national values are represented,” he said. “Sovereign Australia AI will ensure we have a home-grown alternative that is ethical, transparent, and built for trust. We believe, as an industry, we must define what we mean when we say ‘ethical AI’ — simply saying you are ethical is not enough.

“We want to set that benchmark high - users should be able to understand what datasets the AI they use is trained on. They should be able to be aware of how the data has been curated. They should expect that copyright holders whose data was used to make the model more capable are compensated. That’s what we will bring to the table.”

Co-founder and CTO Troy Neilson said the focus is on sovereignty and trust rather than competition.

“Building sovereign AI capabilities here at home is a significant technological challenge, but we have the expertise in Australia to get the job done,” he said. “We are not trying to directly compete with ChatGPT or other global models, because we don’t need to. Instead, we are creating our own foundational models that will serve as viable alternatives that better capture the Australian voice.

“There are many public and private organisations in Australia who will greatly benefit from a truly sovereign AI solution, but do not want to sacrifice real-world performance. Our Ginan and Australis models will fill that gap with a capable, ethical alternative.”

Image: Sovereign Australia AI founders Troy Neilson(L) and Simon Kriss (R).