Ocean City Labs opens as hot new startup tech hub in Maroochydore

Maroochydore is now home to Queensland’s latest hot startup tech hub, Ocean City Labs.

Tegan Jones 28 April, 2023

New tech startup hub, Ocean City Labs, has opened its doors in Maroochydore after first being announced back in February.

The incubator is an offshoot of the Brisbane-based River City Labs and in partnership with emerging tech company Tablogs. River City Labs was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur, investor and Shark Tank alumni Steve Baxter.

The new facility will serve as a space for entrepreneurs on the Sunshine Coast to access programs, resources and co-working spaces.

Ocean City Lab members will also have access to all River City Labs services digitally.

“It’s great we are responding to that demand by having a presence for potential innovators and tech entrepreneurs to come to the heart of Maroochydore and enjoy the benefits of this facility,” Sunshine Coast mayor, Mark Jamieson, said at the opening of the new hub.

“Ocean City Labs is a great example of the work being done to build our innovation ecosystem and ensure that our region remains a leading place to live, learn, work and play.”

According to Tablogs founder and Maroochydore resident, Declan Vanderhor, there are already some startups working in the space.

“It’s exciting working in a space where we all get to learn from each other. We can’t wait to welcome other emerging businesses to Ocean City Labs,” Vanderhor said in a statement.

Beyond Ocean City Labs, Queensland is a growing startup hub in Australia

There couldn’t be a better time for the opening, with Queensland becoming a growing hotspot for Australian startups.

While Aussie unicorn SafetyCulture is a standout for the state, we’re seeing more investment and raises in the north — especially in the agtech sector.

Back in February, we saw SwarmFarm raises $12 million in Series A funding. Precision agriculture solutions startup, DataFarming, also saw $500,000 in Series A towards the end of 2022.

Queensland state Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick also announced a new $24 million Enterprise Acceleration Fund in October that will see the money invested in early-stage startups.

And now it looks like Maroochydore will help lead the pack.

According to StarupBlink statistics, the Sunshine Coast specifically boasts of the six largest startup ecosystems in Australia.

“Startups in Sunshine Coast excel in Energy & Environment, Foodtech, and Hardware & and IoT. There are some notable success stories contributing to the city’s growing Energy & Environment industry,” the StartupBlink website reads.

This seems to be a further indicator of a shift towards rural and regional startups — something we spoke to Fishburners CEO, Martin Karafilis, about back in December.

“Once upon a time you needed an office in the middle of a city. All of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, anybody can work anywhere,” Karafilis said at the time.

“Startups and entrepreneurs can be located in the middle of New South Wales, the middle of Australia and elsewhere on the globe.”

About the author

Tegan Jones

Deputy editor

A multi-award-winning journalist, Tegan has been reporting on technology, telecommunications and gaming for the past 10 years. She regularly appears on mainstream media channels as an expert tech commentator. Her previous roles include editor of Gizmodo Australia and global reviews editor at Finder. She has also served as a reporter and editor across Business Insider, Lifehacker and Kotaku Australia. Tegan is also the co-host of one of the top technology podcasts in Australia, Weird Tech. You can find her on Twitter @Tegan_Writes.