Aussie tech could grow to $250b. What does this mean for ASX tech shares?

A new tech supergroup wants to position Australia as the startup capital of the world within 10 years.

Sebastian Bowen

Author Bio Sebastian Bowen has been a Motley Fool contributor since late 2018. Sebastian found his passion for writing and educating others about shares and all things finance after completing his studies in political, economic and social science and enjoys bringing this passion to life at the Fool. His investment philosophy is a simple one – buying high-quality companies at prices that make sense. When he’s not researching his next investment at all hours of the morning, Sebastian enjoys classic movies and likes to unwind with a good book, newspaper or record. Areas of Expertise Dividend investing ETFs Education Bachelor of Political, Economic, and Social Sciences (Government and International Relations), University of Sydney Social Media X/Twitter Favorite Investment Quote "In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine." – Benjamin Graham

Published August 11, 2021 3:55 pm AEST

ASX tech shares have certainly become more than a passing fancy for ASX investors. With fabled success stories like Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC), it's certainly hard to ignore this sector in these strange times.

But could we just be seeing the start of the ASX tech revolution? My Fool colleague Mitchell Lawler reported this morning that the movers and shakers at Afterpay and fellow Aussie (albeit US-listed) tech company Atlassian Corporation PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM) have teamed up in a "push for Australia to become an irresistible hub for tech startups".

The best heads at Afterpay and Atlassian will be joined by the best and brightest from 22 other tech leaders to form the Tech Council of Australia (TCA). As well as Afterpay and Atlassian, the members of the new TCA include many ASX-listed tech companies. These include the likes of Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART), Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL) and Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1). But it will also include some unlisted ASX tech players like Canva and SquarePeg. As well as some global tech titans like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Alphabet Inc's (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google.

An ASX tech A-team

The council's board will reportedly be made up of Atlassian's Scott Farquhar, Mina Radhakrishnan from :Different, Afterpay's Anthony Eisen, and Canva co-founder Cliff Obrecht. And its chair will be Robyn Denholm, who is one of the most famous tech stewards in the world in her position as chair of Elon Musk's Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA).

So what does this 'A-team' of Aussie tech have in mind for the future of the ASX tech sector?

Well, according to a report from news.com.au, the TCA has 3 overarching goals:

To "help position Australia as the startup capital of the world within 10 years"
Aussie tech to employ 1 million people by 2025
To grow the value of the Aussie tech industry to $250 billion by 2031

As my Fool colleague discussed this morning, Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes reckons Aussie tech is worth around $167 billion today, so an increase to $250 billion would represent a meaningful expansion of the local tech sector. According to the news.com.au report, the TCA will aim to reach its goals by:

supporting growth of, and investment in, Australia's tech sector
generating more jobs
helping develop regulation for new and emerging technologies, and
taking on the responsibilities of not-for-profit organisation StartupAus

Good news indeed for any ASX tech investors out there today!

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