Perth has fallen nine places in the newly released StartupBlink Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025, a widely used global benchmarking of startup and innovation ecosystems across 1,450+ cities in 118 countries.
Perth now ranks 192nd globally, down from 183rd in the 2024 edition. The city remains the fourth-ranked startup hub in Australia but continues to underperform relative to the growth seen in other Australian capitals and dynamic ecosystems across the Asia-Pacific region.
The result sends a clear signal: unless Western Australia makes stronger, coordinated investments into its innovation ecosystem, it risks falling further behind in what is an increasingly competitive global race to attract talent, capital, and high-value industries.
Perth’s ecosystem growth well below global average
Perth’s ecosystem recorded a growth rate of just 7% over the past year, well below the global average of 21% and slower than Australia’s national growth rate of 24.8%.
This places Perth in contrast to other major Australian cities. Sydney rose five places to 31st globally, with an ecosystem growth rate of +42.7%, while Melbourne maintained a strong 42nd position with +22.8% growth.
In StartupBlink’s analysis, both Perth and Brisbane saw nine-place declines specifically due to their low growth rates of under 10%.
Australia’s ecosystem continues multi-year decline
At the national level, Australia remains 12th globally, but this marks a continued downward trend. In 2021, Australia was ranked 9th; since then, its position has slipped each year.
Australia’s overall ecosystem growth this year of +24.8% was positive but slower than both the Asia-Pacific average (+27.4%) and the top-tier global ecosystems.
Beyond Sydney and Melbourne, performance among Australia’s secondary cities was mixed. Brisbane, Perth and Hobart all fell in the rankings, while Adelaide, Canberra, Wollongong and Newcastle recorded gains.
Of concern, no new Australian cities entered the global top 1,000 ecosystems this year — a signal that national ecosystem expansion is plateauing.
Why is Perth falling behind?
Comparative underinvestment
One of the clearest reasons for Perth’s lagging growth is comparative underinvestment in ecosystem-building compared to other Australian states.
In New South Wales, the state government has committed $48.2 million to build the Tech Central innovation district in Sydney — a major initiative that has successfully attracted anchor tenants like Atlassian, Canva and a growing cluster of technology companies. The precinct is designed to host 25,000 innovation jobs and 10,000 students in the coming years.
Similarly, Victoria has supported its ecosystem through LaunchVic, an independent agency that has invested more than $45 million into Victoria’s startup sector since its inception. The program funds founder education, pre-accelerator programs, angel networks, and targeted initiatives to boost participation among underrepresented groups. This investment has contributed to Melbourne becoming one of the most dynamic tech hubs in the Asia-Pacific.
In contrast, Western Australia’s primary mechanism is the New Industries Fund, with a previous budget of $25.8 million and a commitment of $40 million over the next four years to renew the NIF. While the fund has supported valuable programs, its scale of investment is significantly lower than comparable eastern state initiatives.
In the lead-up to the WA state election, StartupWA recommended that the State Government should increase its investment to at least $100 million over the next four years to enable ecosystem growth at a competitive pace.
Without a step change in financial commitment, WA risks being left behind as other ecosystems continue to scale their startup and innovation sectors.
Fewer major success stories
The presence of major startup success stories is a critical driver of ecosystem growth. Unicorns, large exits, and nationally visible tech companies serve as magnets for investment, inspire new founders, and build confidence among external investors considering a market.
Regions with frequent success stories — such as Sydney and Melbourne — benefit from network effects that attract talent and capital, creating a virtuous cycle of growth.
In Perth, while there have been some notable exits and successes in recent years, the ecosystem has not produced a new wave of standout stories at the same frequency or visibility as its east coast and foreign counterparts.
Both StartupWA and the Parliamentary Inquiry into innovation in Western Australia identified this as a key issue. Both recommended that more resources be committed to systematically promoting WA startup success stories, both within the state and to national and international audiences. Building a strong narrative about WA’s innovation strengths is critical to attracting future investment and talent.
Investment and scaling gaps
Historically, Perth’s ecosystem has faced gaps in local early-stage investment and scaling infrastructure. However, recent progress is noteworthy.
Through the WAVES and WAVC programs, delivered via the New Industries Fund, the State Government has helped catalyse growth in local venture activity.
Local VC firms such as FundWA and Purpose Ventures have become increasingly active, deploying capital into emerging WA startups. The presence of these funds is helping to address a long-standing funding gap in the market.
While this is a positive development, Perth still lacks the depth and diversity of venture capital and later-stage investors that are present in larger hubs. Further growth in the local investor community will be critical to enabling more Perth startups to scale globally.
Global connectivity and visibility
Perth’s geographic isolation continues to be a barrier to global connectivity. The StartupBlink report highlights that Australia’s distance from key international markets, combined with time zone challenges, can limit international partnerships and cross-border scaling.
While Perth’s strategic proximity to Asia offers opportunities, more focused efforts to build international visibility and connections are needed to overcome these structural challenges.
The case for WA to act now
The StartupBlink Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025 offers a timely reality check for WA’s innovation ambitions. The State has strong foundations — deep sectoral strengths in resources, energy, Agtech, space, defence, and health — but is at risk of falling behind without stronger action.
Building a globally competitive innovation economy requires consistent and sustained investment. Other states and precincts have shown that strategic government leadership and funding can shift the trajectory of an ecosystem. Western Australia must follow suit.
A significantly larger and more strategic State Government commitment is needed — one that matches the ambition of top-performing ecosystems. This should include increased support for innovation hubs, a major expansion of ecosystem programs and funding, greater support for local venture capital, and targeted efforts to build Perth’s global brand as an innovation hub.
The benefits are clear. Thriving startup ecosystems create high-value, future-focused jobs, drive economic diversification, and help build a more resilient economy in the face of global disruption.
An inflexion point for WA
Perth’s nine-place drop in the StartupBlink rankings is a warning sign — but also an opportunity. With the right leadership and investment, WA can accelerate its progress and position itself as a major player in the global innovation economy.
The time to act is now. Other ecosystems are not standing still, and neither can we.