One of the most influential and exciting aspects of the SXSW Sydney Festival is the Tech & Innovation Expo!
The Tech & Innovation Expo highlights the most cutting-edge brands, companies, products, and services from the Asia-Pacific region, featuring talks, product demos, interactive installations, and much more across four days at Sydney’s ICC Exhibition Halls. Last year, over 80 companies across the globe made the trip to Sydney to cover tech markets from
social impact, entertainment, health & wellness, education to defense. This year I was super excited to return to SXSW Sydney and especially to the Tech & Innovation Expo, to see what differed and which companies made the return! Panels
Panels are a big part of the Tech Expo and SXSW Sydney as a whole. Technology experts and Developers come from all over the world to talk in panels and network with other professionals. The ICC has a few stages such as the Discovery Stage! This year's Discovery Stage was packed with exciting discussions on the future, from creative leadership to the latest tech. Attendees heard from Canva’s Head of Design, checked out the latest sport-tech breakthroughs with AWS and Swimming Australia, explored innovations in surfing with WSL, and learnt about the partnership between CommBank and the Matildas. The Discovery Stage featured over 40 sessions with more than 100 visionary innovators, so there was plenty to see!
There were smaller sections throughout the rest of the ICC that also held talks and panels, but were a little more intimate with the size of their rooms. I only caught a couple of sessions hosted by Twitch CEO Dan Clancy, but I still found them super informative and was excited to see that Livestreaming was still slowly being integrated into mainstream industry events like SXSW Sydney.
The Hub
The Hub hosted by Aussie Broadband, is a big part of the SXSW Sydney Tech & Innovation Expo, taking up a large part of the expo itself, directly in the center of the floor.
Last year the Aussie Broadband Hub was centered around a massive artificial tree, covered in lights and surrounded by chairs. If I remember correctly, there were also a couple of coffee stations for guests to grab their coffee. This year however, ABB went above and beyond and really encapsulated the idea of bringing the Aussie Backyard into the expo hall. There were cutouts of native fauna, a painted swimming pool floor and even a ute to really hone in on the Aussie experience. Aussie Broadband were also giving away merchandise at the clothes line in the back, and cooking up some snags (yes, edible ones) on the BBQ for guests to enjoy. There were also some picnic tables around the yard
for guests to take a seat if they needed to rest from the expo exploration. Overall, the Hub brought a lot of fun and quite a nice experience to the Tech & Innovation expo, promoting Aussie Broadband and giving attendees a luxurious place to hang out. I also kind of hope they can go even bigger and better next year!
AI Showcases
Every tech company had some sort of AI showcase at their booth , whether it was used in the production of their products or helping to advance the technology itself. One of the coolest AI related things was a little robot named ‘Norby’ who was brought in to represent Dell. You could ask the little guy questions and he would reply and show his emotions on his face screen. He could also come up with ideas and start up a conversation himself, or keep himself occupied by turning his eyes into a game of pong, if he got “bored”
Another AI exhibit that piqued the interest of the caffeine-loving crowd, was the virtual Barista at the AWS booth! The Virtual Barista was a screen that you could approach and trigger a round of questions regarding how you like your coffee. With questions from “How many sugars?” to “Would you like decaf?” There were probably approx. 5 in total to answer
and once completed, attendees could review their preferences and send it as an order to a barista behind a coffee machine nearby. The Virtual Barista would also give you a number which would be called when the order was finished. I definitely liked the idea of this one, as I was running purely on coffee each morning!
AI was a bit of a Hype word for this year’s Tech & Innovation expo and a lot of the exhibitions were around Generative AI. Attendees are exploring interactive demos and discussions on how AI can collaborate with humans to push the boundaries of art, music, and innovation using the data that these developers were feeding it. Generative AI, when used the right and ethical way, is an incredibly powerful tool, opening up endless creative possibilities across different industries. As experts keep fine-tuning its capabilities, the future of AI looks incredibly promising, with even more exciting breakthroughs on the horizon.
VR
As Virtual Reality is a big development in both gaming and tech, it only makes sense that SXSW Sydney had a small corner for VR games at the Tech and Innovation Expo! From Flocked, a chaotic sheep sorting VR game, to The Buried Village of Te Wairoa an immersive retelling of the 1886 Eruption of Mt Tarawera and the results burying the village of Te Wairoa, in New Zealand.
I always look forward to Virtual and Augmented Reality booths at tech events such as this one, because VR and AR are really starting to make waves across different industries, from tech development to healthcare, entertainment, and beyond. These technologies are not only boosting user experiences but also changing how businesses design, train, educate, and collaborate. In tech, VR and AR make it easier to create prototypes, visualize data, and test ideas in virtual environments before they’re built in real life. As they keep getting better, these tools are opening up new possibilities, making work more efficient and unlocking fresh, immersive experiences across all kinds of fields, and this tech definitely deserves a space at SXSW Sydney.
Editing
One of the bigger booths at the expo was taken by Black Magic Design, showcasing their powerful Da Vinci Resolve video editing software. It was awesome to see them not only promoting their software, which is a game-changer for both amateurs and professionals (and mostly, free!), but also highlighting some of their new hardware, like the editing keyboard designed specifically for Da Vinci. The keyboard had all the essential shortcuts laid out, making the editing process feel even smoother and more intuitive. As someone who’s passionate about content creation, I couldn’t resist diving into their demos. The software itself is super impressive, and it's clear why so many creators rely on it for everything from color grading to full-scale video editing.
Editing plays such a huge role in tech and content creation, and it’s often one of the behind-the-scenes elements that drives everything we see online, from YouTube videos to feature films. With platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and even podcasts becoming massive parts of how we consume content, video editing is more important than ever. It’s not just about cutting footage; it’s about shaping the entire narrative and feeling of a project. That’s why I really wanted to cover Blackmagic's booth at the expo—because they’re at the forefront of making high-quality editing tools accessible to everyone.
Caricature Drawings
Zoho - a multinational computer software company - were promoting their business at the SXSW Sydney Tech Expo! They were giving out tote bags but were mainly garnering attention to their booth with their Caricature Artist! If you didn’t know, a Caricature is a picture or more often a drawing of a person or pet, with emphasized features to give off humorous appeal. It was a nice experience for attendees to sit down and have a chat with Artist Steve Panozzo, and get a free and personalized souvenir to take home with them. If you would like to scope out more of Steve’s work and potentially get a caricature down yourself, you can find him on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/stevepanozzo/
Free Tattoos
One of the most hilarious and contradictory, yet brilliant business booths was that of Removery - a laser tattoo removal booth, who was at SXSW Sydney promoting their business and giving out free, permanent tattoos. As in, there was an actual tattoo artist, the lovely Mia Barrix, stenciling and tattooing designs chosen by Removery onto attending guests.
The tattoo staff were only taking about 5-6 people per day, as there was only one artist and they had to fit in staff requests as well. If they had time to spare, they would take more if attendees were lingering. I managed to get one of the free tattoos, (my very first!) but it was during the very last day of the expo and the tattoo staff were only taking 2 names at a time. 6 people showed up at the time, so to alleviate the decisions and base it on luck, coloured brochures were put into a bag, 2 Blue and about 30 white, and whoever drew the blue would get the tattoo at the time. They did redraw a few more times throughout the door so guests arriving for different sessions wouldn’t miss out.
I loved the idea of this booth, they were allowing attendees to get free fine line tattoos, and on the off chance that they would come to regret it, they knew exactly who to come to - Removery, themselves!
Tech Expo Balcony
Another section of the Tech and Innovation Expo that took over the ICC, was out on the Balcony of the fourth floor. Zeekr, an Electric car company, was test driving two of their car models on a track out on the balcony. Guests who had Tech and Innovation adjacent passes got access to the area and could sign up to be taken around the track inside the electric cars, and shown the features of each one. The space was quite big and not only included the track but a seating area with a coffee machine and some free sweets, as well as a stage with a couple of show cars on display.
As a group we got shown the features of one of the bigger models - the people mover. There were 7 seats in total, and the front 4 had massage balls in them so passengers could relax on long trips. They also had built in individual air conditioning and speakers in the head rests of each chair, to give full surround sound. The two middle seats also had controls on their chair, which would allow the passenger to slide the seat back in towards the backseats (as long as no other passengers were in the back) and raise a foot-rest with full leg support for comfortability. Other features included multiple 360 cameras on the exterior of the vehicle and sensors on the front, for curb detection. It was a very luxurious tour and Zeekr honestly didn’t do too badly in designing their electric cars!
Giveaways - rode mics
Throughout the week, the Instagram team behind the SXSW Sydney account, were giving away Rode Mics, courtesy of Rode as a sponsor of the event. On each day, there would be a select amount of Microphones hidden around the ICC in a scavenger hunt-like fashion, and a video would be posted online notifying attending guests. On Friday, the most amount of
Rode Wireless Me Microphones were hidden - a total of 8 to be found, and I was lucky enough to be close enough on the day to get my hands on one! There’s no telling if they will do something similar at the event next year, but it did add a little bit of fun and adventure to exploring the expo floor.
Wrapping Up!
The SXSW Sydney Tech & Innovation Expo was an incredible experience, bringing together some of the most innovative companies and tech breakthroughs from around the world. From AI-powered robots like Norby, to virtual baristas making coffee orders a fun, futuristic experience, the event was packed with interactive showcases that highlighted how technology is shaping the future.
As the event wrapped up, it was clear that technology’s potential is only growing, with AI, VR, and AR leading the charge across industries. These tools are redefining how we work, create, and connect, and SXSW Sydney offered a glimpse into the limitless possibilities on the horizon. From new innovations in tech to unique experiences like getting free tattoos or winning Rode microphones, this year's expo wasn’t just about discovering new gadgets—it was about experiencing the future of technology firsthand. I can’t wait to see what next year’s event has in store!
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