Unicorn Day, the annual AWS-led gathering of founders, investors and startup operators, took over Sydney recently – and the message was loud and clear: Australia might be a small market, but our startups are playing on a global stage.
From an impressive lineup of speakers spanning AWS heavyweights to big-name customers and VCs, here are the 10 of the most important takeaways for ambitious startups and scaleups:
1. AI will transform every industry
The event was opened by the AWS MD for Australia and New Zealand, Rianne Van Veldhuizen, who shared that 83 per cent of startups believe AI will reshape their industry within the next five years.
At the risk of stating the obvious, the opportunity is massive. The challenge, however, is moving from hype to real-world impact, and standing out in an increasingly saturated AI market.
2. New programs are fuelling Australia’s AI spring
AWS used Unicorn Day to spotlight its Generative AI Accelerator, which has already supported startups like Splash and Leonardo.ai. In 2024, 80 companies globally participated in the eight-week hybrid program, which gives generative and agentic AI startups mentorship from program partners like NVIDIA and Mistral AI, and the chance to receive up to US$1 million in AWS credits. The latest cohort will be announced on September 24, 2025.
There’s also AI Spring Australia, the new initiative AWS has launched to strengthen national AI capability. The program will give startups and enterprises the tools and expertise they need to adapt across specific sectors and industries.
Unicorn Day 2025 was hosted by the the AWS ANZ Startup Team on August 11 at Illumina, Sydney.
3. The way software is built is changing — fast
Luke Anderson’s keynote hammered home a truth many founders are already grappling with: model reasoning and AI agents mean we need to shift how we think about software. It’s time to update how we build, deploy, and interact with software.
It’s a shift from static code to systems that take in data to act, decide and execute on our behalf.
4. But the fundamentals still matter
Identity, security, data foundations and cost-optimised infrastructure aren’t going anywhere. As Anderson put it, the foundations don’t disappear — they get more important.
5. Trust and resilience matter more than ever
AWS leaned heavily on its credentials: government-grade cloud security, 99.54 per cent uptime across APAC, and 2.7 times fewer outages than rivals. As AI-driven applications scale, reliability isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s existential.
6. Sustainability is part of the startup playbook
From AI-powered irrigation projects reducing water usage by 40 per cent to a $467 million commitment in renewable energy projects through 2025, AWS framed sustainability as core infrastructure for startups building the future.
7. Canva says constraints are a superpower
Canva’s Head of Design Experience, Alli McKee, argued Australia’s size has forced founders to think global from day one — which explains why the country punches above its weight with unicorn creation.
And she’s someone that would know – having built and sold her own AI design startup to Google before joining Canva and moving Down Under.
Canva’s Head of Design Experience Alli McKee shares the company’s 3-step test for startups. Image: Startup Daily.
8. A three-part test for every startup
Alli shared Canva’s framework for scaling products which should act as a litmus test for anyone building with global ambitions:
Who are you building for? Don’t just prioritise the loudest markets or customers, build for a global reach that will have the greatest long-term impact.
Is it simple enough? Canva lives by the principle of “three steps to done.” Can a user do everything within three steps?
Can it scale? AI now makes expansion faster and cheaper than ever. Opening new markets, and localising in foreign languages, has never been more achievable.
9. Amazon Bedrock and Q Developer are the new must-watch tools
AWS highlighted Bedrock as the fastest way to build and scale generative AI apps safely, alongside Bedrock AgentCore for runtime environments and Amazon Q Developer for AI-powered development lifecycles.
Translation: expect a very different software stack in 2025.
10. AI is best when it feels invisible
While AI dominated the day, Canva cautioned against chasing it for its own sake.
The real magic? “When AI disappears into the background, solving problems and elevating user experience without fanfare.”
Bonus: The Australian advantage
Before the champagnes flowed, AWS Heads of Startups/Scaleups NZ John Kearney closed out the day with a reminder that Australia’s startup ecosystem is already proven on the global stage.
With programs like AWS Activate, GTM Accelerator and the AWS Global Marketplace, the pathways to international scale are wider than ever.
Find out more about AWS programs for startups in Australia and New Zealand here.
This article is brought to you by Startup Daily in partnership with AWS Startups.
