Building Australia’s Ethical AI Future, A Personal Milestone

Australia’s future in artificial intelligence must be sovereign, transparent, and ethical.
That belief is what led me to co-found Sovereign Australia AI, a new venture dedicated to building models that truly reflect Australian values.

This initiative isn’t just about technology; it’s about trust. Sovereign AI represents a national commitment to ethical foundations, open governance, and fair compensation for creators whose data helps shape tomorrow’s systems.

Below you’ll find the official launch announcement, a milestone I’m proud to be part of, and one that signals a new era of responsible AI for Australia.

Sovereign Australia AI Launches to Secure Our Ethical AI Future

“Sydney, Australia – September 9th, 2025 – A new ethics-driven Australian AI venture, Sovereign Australia AI, has launched with a record-breaking investment in commercial Australian AI infrastructure designed to keep our nation in control of its digital future. The company is committed to setting a new benchmark for transparency and ethics in artificial intelligence, with A$10M 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, two of Australia’s most respected AI leaders. 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 a globally recognised AI strategist who has advised large corporates, government bodies and the United Nations on

aligning AI technology with commercial and policy objectives. Together, they bring a rare blend of deep technical expertise, policy insight, and commercial acumen.

Adding to its leadership strength, Sovereign Australia AI has welcomed Annette Kimmet AM, former CEO of the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission to its board.

Sovereign Australia AI has entered a contract with Sharon AI (an NVIDIA Cloud Partner) to provide a private cloud service to be built on NVIDIA B200. The initial scope of the contract is for 256 x B200s. Sharon AI plans to locate the hardware in NEXTDC’s Melbourne M3 data centre, ensuring data sovereignty and compliance with Australian privacy and security standards.

This supercomputer will power model development at a scale previously unseen in the country, creating a sovereign capability to create Large Language Models (LLMs) that are of a size that is on par with many foreign frontier models.

Sovereign Australia AI has earmarked a minimum of AU$10M to source copyrighted materials as 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.

Transparency is at the heart of Sovereign Australia AI’s approach. The company 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 homegrown 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.”

Reflecting on the Launch

The launch of Sovereign Australia AI isn’t just a milestone for the industry — it’s a continuation of my mission to ensure that technology reflects the values of the people it serves. Ethical, transparent, and sovereign AI isn’t a vision for the future; it’s something we’re building right now.

If your organisation is exploring how to adopt AI responsibly — or you’d like to discuss how these developments may impact your business,  I’d be happy to help. You can get in touch directly through the Contact page to start the conversation.

Together, we can make sure Australia leads the world in AI built for trust.