Australia’s a Small-Fry Tech Hub but Growing Fast

When Eden Attias began weighing where to take his drone-safety startup public, Australia may not have seemed the obvious choice. His Israel-based company would have been at home among the vibrant tech plays on the exchanges in Tel Aviv and Toronto, but the promise of proximity to Asian customers—and potential investors—ultimately won out. “We already have clients around the region, in Japan and New Zealand, so we will need a hub over there,” says Attias, the chief executive officer of ParaZero Ltd. and a retired Israeli air force pilot. “Australia is a good place to go.” He expects to raise A$5 million ($3.8 million) when ParaZero lists on the country’s main exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange, by the end of May.

Australia’s pitch may have played well with Attias, but many tech outfits are dubious about joining a market that’s dwarfed by foreign competitors and offers little exposure to Silicon Valley. The exchange is pushing to have 250 tech companies by yearend, says Max Cunningham, who runs the listings business. That’s up from about 230 at the end of April.