News

The 2025 National Startup Muster Survey revealed South Australia’s support for startups is ranked the highest in the nation.

Initiatives under the South Australian Government’s Research and Innovation Fund were also featured in the results. Now recognised as the nation’s top entrepreneurship event for the third-year running, South Australia’s _SOUTHSTART festival has been voted as the most recommended annual conference for startups and scaleups.

From 2018 to 2025, _SOUTHSTART events have:

• Hosted more than 600 speakers from around the world
• Attracted more than 10,000 attendees
• Hosted investors with more than $30 billion of funds under management
• Resulted in more than 100 industry partnerships
• Supported the state’s startups to foster valuable business connections and access global expertise.

The heart of the state’s innovation districts, Adelaide’s Lot Fourteen also received a top mention as being one of the precincts almost half of startups identified being a part of.

With a focus on defence, space, high-tech and creative industry sectors, Lot Fourteen focuses on the state’s competitive advantages in defence, space, high-tech and creative industries to increase productivity and support the development of new-to-world products and services.

The Startup Muster Survey results reflect the state’s growing startup ecosystem and the South Australian Government’s commitment to supporting local startups by connecting founders with the tools, knowledge and resources required to accelerate business success.