The Sydney Startup Hub home to popular accelerators and dozens of budding companies will be shifted out of the CBD to the Tech Central precinct next year to get founders closer to researchers and larger companies.
The move south will break the current York Street lease three years early and comes after doubts about the value of an arrangement that was costing the government $15 million annually while keeping the hub out of Sydney’s premier innovation precinct.
The decision was revealed by the state government on Friday ahead of a NSW innovation ‘blueprint’ that has been pushed back to 2025, extending the current 14 month wait on new policy.
The Sydney Startup Hub is expected to be in its first new home in eight years by next October.
The shift out of the CBD will land the hub, anchor tenants Stone & Chalk, Tank Stream Labs, and Fishburners, in “a location in the heart of Tech Central” in October next year, the state government said.
In September, officials told an estimates hearing the government had been engaging with the three anchor tenants and residents about what else is available.
Investment NSW’s then-innovation lead Liza Noonan the market had changed since the Sydney Startup Hub launched in 2016 to get tech founders closer to customers, investors and artners.
“When the Sydney Startup Hub was created, it was a very different market environment and I think, since that time, feedback from startup residents and also the anchor tenants would tell us that the market for good quality accommodation and co-working space for startups in the Sydney CBD has evolved quite significantly,” she said.
Innovation minister Annoulack Chanthivong declined to commit to keeping the hub put at the time, and on Friday confirmed the move to Tech Central to give startups “the best chance to flourish”.
Tech Central spans six neighbourhoods around the Central train station, with The University of Sydney, UTS, CSIRO’s Data1, deep tech incubator Cicada Innovations as well as leading firms Atlassian, Block and Canva all calling it home.
Confirmation on Friday that the Innovation Blueprint won’t arrive until some time in 2025 will add to frustrations about slow moving policy and stripped back support since the Minns government was elected early last year.
The government also announced on Friday that a new strategy for the Tech Central will be developed next year by Investment NSW and include more consideration of housing, creative industries and 24 hour economies.
The agency, which has been subject to cuts, a move and scaled back or scrapped programs under the Minns government, has also been handed responsibility for growing Tech Central by connecting residents and attracting investment.
The heads of anchor tenants Stone & Chalk, Tank Stream Labs, and Fishburners did not immediately respond when approached for comment on Friday.
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