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Melbourne-based artificial intelligence developer Maincode plans to take on market leader ChatGPT with the launch of Australia’s first sovereign large language model (LLM), known as Matilda, later this year.
While the technology remains in the development phase with a beta version planned to be demonstrated at innovation conference SXSW Sydney in October, Maincode co-founder and CEO Dave Lemphers says the move provides sovereign security for domestic organisations which currently employ foreign-owned cloud infrastructure for their AI needs.
“Matilda is about giving Australian enterprises a fully sovereign alternative, matching world-class AI capability with local control, governance and accountability,” Lemphers tells Business News Australia.
“That way, we can safely enjoy the productivity benefits of AI while also securing the economic benefits for generations to come.”
Matilda is described by Maincode as “the first output of a fully sovereign, end-to-end process that takes data from collection all the way through training to produce a working LLM”.
“Right now, most Australian businesses are tapping into AI through APIs and cloud services from overseas providers such as US-hosted systems like OpenAI’s GPT-4, Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service, or Google’s Vertex AI,” says Lemphers.
“Even when using open-source models like LLaMA or Mistral, many are running them on foreign-owned cloud infrastructure.
“That offers convenience, but it sends billions of dollars offshore every year, along with intellectual property that could be growing our economy and building sovereign capability here at home.”
Maincode, a company that is backed by Stake's billionaire co-founder Ed Craven, points out that a sovereign AI LLM such as Matilda is trained, deployed, and operated entirely in Australia, on Australian-owned infrastructure, by Australian talent.
Among the benefits this technology is said to deliver are economic growth by keeping investment, innovation and high-value jobs in Australia, as well as data sovereignty where sensitive or strategic information never leaves the country.
Lemphers says Matilda also aligns with local laws and values as the model’s training process and outputs reflect Australian legal, cultural and ethical standards.
He also cites “national resilience” as a critical advantage where Australian organisations reduce dependence on foreign platforms “that can change terms, pricing, or access at any time”.
“It is also a security issue. Many overseas AI services are subject to foreign laws, like the US CLOUD Act, which can compel access to data stored by American companies, even if that data is about Australians and held offshore,” says Lemphers.
“For sectors like healthcare, law, finance, and defence, that is a clear risk. With Matilda, sensitive information stays in Australia under Australian jurisdiction, and the model is built to serve the national interest.”
Matilda has achieved a research and development milestone with Phase 1 proving the process works at a smaller scale. Maincode says it has validated every stage of the pipeline using “Australian data, infrastructure and talent”.
“By proving we can design, train and deploy a sovereign model here in Australia, we’ve laid the groundwork for two future growth paths, scaling Matilda’s own capabilities and making the underlying process available for others to create sovereign models of their own,” says Lemphers.
Maincode plans to introduce a collection of Matilda-based models at SXSW Sydney in October for the public to explore.
“This is the moment where people get to meet Matilda, not just read about her,” says Lemphers.
“We want Australians to experience what a sovereign AI model feels like - and to imagine the possibilities of one built for them, by them.”
Lemphers describes AI as “the next industrial revolution” and he sees developments such as Matilda as critical to the country’s economic future.
“If Australia’s role is limited to being a consumer of foreign-made AI, we miss the chance to build new industries, create high-value jobs, and secure our place in the global economy,” he says.
“To not build this capability here, on Australian soil with Australian talent, is both un-Australian and short-sighted. We have a responsibility to future generations to give them industries they can lead, not just tools they rent.”
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