Media Release For the first time, Sydney’s innovation ecosystem has been mapped, showcasing a vast network of interconnected districts, places and capabilities stretching north to south, and east to west.
Developed by urban policy think tank Committee for Sydney and the Sydney Innovation District Alliance, the new map reveals the vital arteries through which innovation flows across Sydney, elevating the city’s story from individual precincts or sectors to a network of places, opportunity and diversity.
Greater Sydney is Australia’s largest and most complex urban economy, generating more than 20 per cent of the nation’s GDP. It is home to two of the world’s top 25 universities, nearly half the nation’s scale-ups and has the largest startup ecosystem in the Southern Hemisphere. Talent, capital, research and business all intersect here, and yet it’s not what the city is known for on the global stage.
Jeremy Gill, report author, Head of Policy at the Committee for Sydney and Chair of the Sydney Innovation District Alliance: “Incredible innovation is happening underneath our noses right across Sydney, but we haven’t done a great job of telling the city’s story.”
“Tech talent, researchers and investors need to know Sydney’s not just a great place to start out, it also has the infrastructure and resources they need to grow and scale.
“This atlas of innovation is the first step in turning that around and saying to local startups and international businesses alike, there is a home for you to land and grow in Sydney.
“Whether it’s biomed in Randwick, pharma in Macquarie Park, advanced manufacturing in Bradfield or deep tech in Tech Central, this map shows where Sydney’s innovation ecosystem is firing.
“We know Sydney is Australia’s innovation city. It’s where the industries of the future are emerging and ideas, talent and capital are colliding. We don’t have to invent that advantage; we have it and this map shows it.
“The opportunity we have now is to back it. We have long called for the development of an innovation or economic development strategy for Sydney. As the country’s largest economy, taking a place-based approach to supporting innovation in Sydney can only have positive flow-on effects for the state and the nation.”
Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, Anoulack Chanthivong, said: “Our innovation ecosystem is incredibly rich and wide-reaching, stretching right across the city and touching almost every sector.
“Whether it’s deep tech, health sciences or net-zero, companies can find their place in Sydney.
“This map is a great addition for our city. We’re telling the world that not only is Sydney open for business, but business is thriving here and we have the resources, talent and capabilities to grow innovation’s next unicorn.”
Sharmila Fernando, Head of Marketing, Space Machines Company, said: “Space Machines Company’s journey so far is a perfect example of Sydney’s innovation ecosystem at work. We have tracked the full arc of the Southern Enterprise Corridor as we have evolved through different lifecycles. Now we are adding Bradfield, the next chapter as we enter a new phase of growth.
“Knowing where to go as we scale has been invaluable. Not only this, but being located close to other startups, accelerators and businesses in the ecosystem has given us access to expertise that we may not have gotten elsewhere in Australia.”
Read the full Sydney Innovation Atlas report: https://sydney.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Committee-for-Sydney-Sydney-Innovation-Atlas_May-2026.pdf