SOUTHSTART

“I actually came here for love, physics, and the weather.” Eleven years later, Dr Milad Dakka still calls Adelaide home.

He built a PhD in physics here, then taught university maths and statistics, until a deep learning textbook changed course: he read it “like it was English,” and nothing felt like work again.

An AI engineering role at the startup behind Life Whisperer led to Polydatum, his own venture, and then Sketch Deck AI, built almost by accident for a former student and now running multi million dollar ARR.

Across it all, he kept hitting the same problem: the real inefficiency in any organisation lives in the handoffs between teams. That thesis became Colabyr, an end to end AI driven software platform, built with co-founder Lenny.

Two SOUTHSTART presentation slots later led to Colabyr’s biggest enterprise opportunity yet. “To that directly, I would thank SOUTHSTART,” he says.

Read Milad’s full story on https://southstart.co/stories/milad-dakka/

Last week, we spent some time in the City of Onkaparinga scouting locations for next year’s events.

We discovered some beautiful venues, but more importantly, the time gave us space to think deeper about what SOUTHSTART 2027 should look and feel like.

Every year, we shape the festival around the climate, the conversations, the feedback and, most importantly, what our community is looking for. This has never been more true than with the festival we’re currently building.

SOUTHSTART 2027 is taking shape, and we’d love you to be part of it.

If you’re interested, let us know!

AI has never been more relevant.

Most of us interact with it every day, whether we’re scrolling social media, searching for a recipe or asking it to solve a problem.

And while the conversation around AI isn’t always a comfortable one, there’s one sentiment that has continued to shine through our dinner series:

“The pleasure of good food, great company, and human conversation is something AI can’t touch.” The Table Edition 01 Attendee

So tomorrow, we’re setting The Table again in Sydney to continue the human conversation.

Wednesday 9th September
6.30pm – 9.30pm
Percy, 139 Murray Street, Pyrmont NSW 2009

Confirm your seat Southstart.co/the-table/

Building something of importance is lonely work. But it doesn't have to be.

SOUTHSTART brings founders, funders and operators, all in one room, all thinking bigger together.

Save your seat for 2027 → https://www.southstart.co/eoi/

PRECINCT | _SOUTHSTART RESONANCE 2026 Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

To everyone who showed up last week... Thank you. Genuinely.

Your questions, your honesty, your willingness to be in conversation with strangers about things that actually matter... that's exactly what we do this for.

And now, as we enter a period of rest & reflection, we’d love to hear from you.

Please take 5 minutes & answer our post-event survey powered by Square Holes, to help us shape what comes next.

Survey: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8739786/142b28af3098

As a thank you, you'll go in the draw to win 2 x SOUTHSTART 2027 tickets, plus receive $50 off next years ticket guaranteed.

The next chapter is already taking shape.

More on that, alongside deeper reflections & sharing, soon.

The final day has arrived and it’s time to slow down a bit.

The last few days have been a whirlwind of connections, ideas and conversations so now we get ready to wind down the event with OFFSITE hosted in Adelaide’s beautiful southern w**e region - McLaren Vale.

Today is about:

→ Shared travel, meals, and conversations
→ Space to think bigger and reflect on what you’ve learned
→ Building relationships that last beyond the festival

Sometimes the most important insights come away from the stage.

📍 Beresford Estate & Vale Taphouse
🚌 Shuttle from City departing Lot Fourteen at 8:50am (7:45am for early morning Sound Bath Experience)
🔎 See the full program: https://www.southstart.co/program/offsite
📱Reminder to download the SOUTHSTART app for your personalised schedule and notifications!

Let’s close the festival together.

DAY 2 - LET'S GO!

Today is where ideas collide and clarity emerges.

Get ready to meet and mingle with the full SOUTHSTART community at ASSEMBLY powered by ACS (Australian Computer Society) hosted at the National W**e Centre.

A quick look into the day:
→ Inspiring talks and panel discussions
→ Curated conversations across industries and technologies
→ Time and space to meet the people moving ideas forward

📍 National W**e Centre | 8am start
🔎 See today’s program: https://www.southstart.co/program/assembly
📱Reminder to download the SOUTHSTART app for your personalised schedule and notifications!

Let the conversations continue!