At a glance
| Booth | S7440 |
| Country | TW |
| Website | investment.nsw.gov.au |
Company profile
Investment NSW represents New South Wales within a state economy that it describes as Australia’s largest by population and economic scale, with a stable and secure economic and political environment. Its description of the NSW technology environment combines an established economy with an innovation ecosystem, a large technology workforce and strong research capabilities. NSW is home to Australia’s largest innovation district, which forms part of the state’s infrastructure for technology companies and research-driven activity. Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, is identified in the material as the 7th top digital city in the world and the 4th top city globally for entrepreneurial success. Investment NSW uses those digital-city and entrepreneurial indicators together with the state’s research base and technology workforce to describe an ecosystem for technology businesses to establish and grow. The agency’s technology-facing activity sits within a broader role connecting business, government and global markets, rather than operating only as a single-sector promotion body.
Exhibits
Investment NSW connects businesses, government and global markets to deliver the state’s economic priorities and to support innovation, industry, investment and trade. For NSW businesses pursuing international markets, its service scope includes assistance to export both products and services rather than limiting export support to physical goods. The agency also produces rigorous evidence intended to inform public-sector policy and decision making, linking market activity with analysis used across government. Its stated investment work includes attracting investment and skills into focus sectors, supporting the state’s innovation ecosystem and delivering transactions for whole-of-government outcomes. Its service portfolio includes pathways for businesses seeking to invest in NSW, export from NSW, engage with innovation programs, study in NSW, submit unsolicited commercial proposals, or understand skilled migration pathways. Investment NSW describes its investor support as attracting, expanding and retaining high-impact strategic investments from both global and local businesses and helping them establish or grow in Sydney and across NSW. For exporters, the agency offers guidance, tailored programs and strategic connections for companies entering global markets for the first time as well as businesses expanding existing export activity. Its innovation function is described as supporting startups and the growth of key industries and precincts, while the unsolicited-proposals pathway gives non-government organizations a route to present innovative commercial proposals to the NSW Government. NSW is described as Australia’s economic centre, with Sydney serving as the country’s largest city and financial capital and ranking 24th globally for headquarters among the world’s 2,000 largest public companies. The state profile lists 8.3 million residents and gross state product of $821 billion, while noting more than 280 languages spoken and 2.3 million residents born overseas. Regional NSW is presented with natural-resource strengths including critical minerals and agricultural land, a large skilled workforce, and air, rail, road and sea infrastructure connecting regional activity with external markets. Investment NSW assists new investors by addressing market-entry barriers and providing direct professional help through industry introductions and government connections. The agency also works with federal counterparts on investment processes and on promoting focus-sector value propositions for businesses considering New South Wales. The investment material links strategic investment with infrastructure funding, stronger supply chains, employment, industry capability and the transition to a low-carbon economy. It also describes foreign direct investment as a channel for knowledge sharing between multinational firms and local businesses and for adoption of technologies such as advanced manufacturing and digital solutions. The state’s innovation profile reports that NSW startups attracted 65% of capital invested in Australian startups in 2024. Digital technologies are one of nine NSW focus sectors, and the digital-sector profile lists a technology workforce of more than 340,000 people with an expectation of 500,000 by 2030. The same digital profile lists 17 unicorn companies, 28 additional high-growth startups and an annual economic contribution of $67 billion from digital technologies. For artificial intelligence and machine learning, NSW is reported as home to 45% of Australia’s AI companies, 2 of the country’s top 5 AI research universities and 41% of the nation’s software and application developers. The quantum-technology profile identifies 4 of Australia’s top 5 quantum startups and 4 of 8 top-ranked quantum universities, together with the Sydney Quantum Academy as a coordinated quantum training program. NSW’s digital-technology scope also includes smart-city and Internet of Things applications in traffic management, energy efficiency, urban sustainability and resilience. The fintech profile lists 64% of Australia’s fintech startups in NSW, 65% of national fintech capital raised in 2024 at $947 million, and a sector value of A$45 billion compared with A$250 million in 2015. Investment NSW’s free digital-sector support includes market insights and intelligence, links to NSW Government programs, advice on approval processes, connections to potential partners and locations, and coordination of familiarisation visits. The NSW Trade and Investment Strategy 2035 is described as a ten-year plan to grow and diversify exports, attract investment, strengthen industries and improve productivity, economic complexity and resilience. The strategy is anchored in three NSW Industry Policy missions covering secure and affordable housing, the net-zero and energy transition, and a stronger local manufacturing industry. Its trade analysis notes that in 2023–24 nearly 45% of merchandise exports went to the state’s top three trading partners, coal represented 23% of total export value, and more than 40% of export value was concentrated in the top three products. The first strategy pillar focuses on market access and export readiness for high-growth potential exporters, including small and medium-sized enterprises, with the stated aims of diversification, job creation, competitiveness and global market integration. The remaining pillars cover growing and diversifying markets, attracting investment to support growth and productivity, and using targeted investment to advance the missions set by NSW Industry Policy. The strategy’s focus sectors are housing, net zero and energy transition, local manufacturing, agrifood, defence and aerospace, digital technologies, international education, life sciences and healthcare, and mining equipment, technology and services. Across these functions, Investment NSW’s offer to companies combines investment attraction, export assistance, market intelligence, government connections and sector-specific support rather than a single product or equipment line.
Capabilities and products
- strategic investment attraction and retention
- NSW investment setup support
- industry introductions and government connections
- export guidance and tailored programs for NSW businesses
- market insights and intelligence support
- connections to NSW Government programs
- approval process advice
- partner and location matching
- familiarisation visit coordination
- pathway for innovative commercial proposals
- investment process streamlining collaboration
- innovation ecosystem support