Sydney-founded software startup LiveTiles strikes deal with Victorian government to create 500 jobs at Geelong headquarters

Sydney-founded, US-based software startup LiveTiles has come home to roost, striking a deal with the Victorian government to establish an Asia-Pacific headquarters and innovation centre in Geelong.

LiveTiles is a cloud-based educational software platform aimed at corporates and other organisations, launched in 2014 by founders Karl Redenbach and Peter Nguyen-Brown. The company raised $12 million earlier this year, hiring former Microsoft global strategist Michael Maurer to lead its expansion across Europe.

However, the focus this week has been on the regional Victorian town of Geelong, where the Andrews government last week joined Redenbach to sign an agreement to launch the company’s Asia-Pacific headquarters in the region during 2018.

LiveTiles is listed on the ASX, with a current market capitalisation of $123.23 million.

While Geelong might not seem an obvious location for an ASX-listed startup’s APAC region headquarters, the town has started to emerge as an innovation hub, with accelerators such as Runway Geelong taking root.

Speaking to StartupSmart, chief financial officer at LiveTiles Matt Brown says the Geelong office was one of many regional headquarters the company has, including one in Hobart. Read more

Dominic Powell - Smart Company - 27 Nov 2017