Stone & Chalk has been appointed as a key anchor tenant and operator of the start-up hub, and was selected, through a robust selection process, for its track record and leadership in building thriving innovation ecosystems that create exciting new employment and investment opportunities.

Premier Steven Marshall said the South Australian Government is pleased to announce Stone & Chalk as a strategic innovation partner to help South Australia stake its claim in the innovation age.

“We look forward to commencing our partnership with Stone and Chalk, a global innovation leader, as a key anchor tenant for Lot Fourteen and operator of the start-up hub to fulfil our ambition to have the highest rate of business start-ups of any state in Australia,” Premier Marshall said.

“Each state in Australia has a limited window of time within which it can create a new and sustainable source of competitive advantage. South Australia provides an ideal environment for entrepreneurs to grow their ideas and take them to market, and the start-up hub will support our local innovators and entrepreneurs to thrive in fast-growing industries such as cybersecurity, defence, space, artificial intelligence and robotics.

“Our goal for South Australia is to lead the nation in designing, manufacturing, and exporting world-leading defence, spacetech, and smart city innovation, creating a real capability that lasts beyond government-funded projects, and which attracts investment and customers from around the world.

“Partnering with Stone & Chalk will put South Australia in the best possible position to achieve this goal - it will help increase entrepreneurial activity, jobs and economic growth, and keep our state at the forefront of global innovation and enterprise.

“Its residents and alumni in Sydney and Melbourne have also already secured over $330 million in funding and created over 600 direct jobs, and are considered some of Australia's most promising high-growth technology scaleups,” Premier Marshall concluded.

Lot Fourteen is situated alongside the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, within five minutes walking distance from the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia, and the Adelaide CBD.

Stone & Chalk CEO Alex Scandurra said that the Lot Fourteen start-up hub will connect start-ups, scaleups, mentors, corporations, researchers, investors, creatives, and academia in a curated ecosystem that forms a “marketplace for supply and demand in innovation.”

“Stone & Chalk might be most readily known for its leadership in nurturing and scaling high-growth fintech companies that are transforming the way we consume financial services,” Mr Scandurra said.

“However, underlying this is a broader capability in building thriving innovation ecosystems where communities of mutual benefit form and produce the type of high-growth companies that are creating the industries and jobs of our future. Achieving this requires far more than the simple provision of space.

“It requires an ability to help large organisations - including governments - identify the problems that are best solved from the "outside-in” and orchestrate commercial outcomes between innovators and partners.

“It’s also imperative to play to the individual strengths of each different community. In Sydney for example we have a strong marketplace across fintech, insurtech, cybersecurity, data sciences, and regtech. In Melbourne this expands to incorporate agtech, medtech, and the creative industries. And in Adelaide we’ll leverage our capability to help develop and nurture spacetech, defence, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and smart cities.

“Together with our government and corporate partners, and our key industry associations, Stone & Chalk is creating a national innovation capability and marketplace which is driving the future development of our industries and ultimately the economy. When people talk about the future of work, we are already helping to create it one start-up and scaleup at a time.

“We look forward to supporting the South Australian Government with their innovation agenda and seeing the impact of bringing the ecosystems of Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide together,” he concluded.

Stone & Chalk will soft launch at Lot Fourteen in the third quarter of 2019, and will soon commence the interview and selection process for residency within the precinct.