An Australian AI startup listed on the ASX in August, which makes it one of the rare businesses I cover that the public can actually own a piece of. It is called SCX.ai, or Southern Cross AI, and the pitch is sovereignty.
The idea
Most AI tools send your prompts and data overseas. SCX keeps them onshore, in Australian data centres under Australian rules. For government and a lot of enterprises, that matters.
The clever bit
SCX does not train AI models. It runs them, which is called inference. Instead of the power-hungry GPUs everyone is chasing, it uses ASIC chips from US company SambaNova Systems. Its first node sits in Equinix’s SY5 data centre in Sydney. The company points to an industry report claiming 2.5 to 5.6 times the performance per watt of comparable GPU setups for some workloads.
The raise
SCX raised $40M in a fully underwritten float at 30 cents a share, and began trading under the ticker SCX on 21 August 2026. Founder and CEO David Keane reportedly only started the business in late 2025, so this has come together fast.
Worth knowing
At the end of May SCX reported $5.4M in contracted annual recurring revenue. By 31 July that was $6.5M, with 49 paying customers, up from 13. A lot of the performance numbers are still the company’s own and waiting on independent validation. Early days, big ambition.
My read
A homegrown sovereign AI business listing on the ASX is a genuine first, and I am keen to watch it run. Not financial advice, just a story worth following.