Resources set much of the agenda for AI in Western Australia. The problems mining and energy bring, from remote sites to safety-critical machinery, need different skills from a chatbot project in a city office. This guide covers the Perth firms in our directory, the state programmes worth knowing about and how to decide between a local, national or specialist partner.
What drives AI demand in WA
According to the WA Government, the state's resources sector delivered $226 billion in revenue from mineral and petroleum sales and production in 2025. Iron ore alone was worth $126 billion, on record volumes of 889 million tonnes.
In resources, AI projects tend to look different from office automation. Typical examples include predictive maintenance on fixed plant and mobile fleets, computer vision for safety and quality checks, forecasting for logistics and energy use, and search across large libraries of engineering and compliance documents. Much of this touches operational technology, not just office IT, so the bar for security, reliability and testing is higher.
If you sell to or work for the WA public sector, there are specific rules. Under the WA Government AI Policy and Assurance Framework, entities must complete a self-assessment for any project driven by AI or automated decision-making. Projects go to the AI Advisory Board when residual risk is mid-range or higher, when they are funded from the Digital Capability Fund, or when they cost more than $5 million. Vendors should expect to contribute to that assessment.
The Perth firms on our list
Mechanical Rock
Mechanical Rock has been operating since 2014 and also works in London. Its work spans cloud-native products, data platforms, DevOps and AI, delivered alongside client teams and mostly on AWS, and its homepage links to a post about earning the AWS AI Services Competency. If your data already lives in AWS, it is a strong local option.
AI Advancements
AI Advancements is a locally staffed firm in Osborne Park. The government's NAIC AI Directory says its founders have a research background at Curtin University, and the firm says it has worked with more than 70 Australian organisations. It covers AI strategy, custom builds such as reporting agents, chatbots and phone agents, computer vision, natural language processing, predictive analytics and staff training. It suits WA businesses that want one local team from first workshop to ongoing support.
National firms with Perth offices
V2 AI and Mantel Group both list Perth offices, and V2 AI names energy, utilities and resources among its focus industries. Deloitte also has a Perth office. These firms make sense for large projects that need governance, assurance and more delivery capacity than a small local team can provide.
Funding for WA innovators
WA's Innovation Booster Grant is funded through the $40 million New Industries and Innovation Fund (2025–29). It targets early-stage founders, startups and innovation-driven SMEs in Western Australia working in one of the state's priority sectors.
The 2026 guidelines allowed up to $50,000 per application for projects completed within 12 months, with applicants contributing matched cash funding of 15% or 20% depending on their tier. The money could only be spent on external support services, which included engineering design work and building a minimum viable product. In-house staff costs and standard hardware and software purchases were excluded. Rounds open periodically, so check the page for the next one.
Grants like this suit a narrow, well-defined piece of work, such as a prototype or a feasibility test, rather than a full AI system. If you plan to apply, choose your provider early: the 2026 application asked for the name of your selected support service, or a clear description of the service you would engage.
Questions for resources and energy projects
AI that touches a mine, plant or grid carries more risk than an office tool. Before you sign, ask:
- Has the firm worked inside an operational technology network? Plant control systems are usually kept apart from office IT, and connecting AI to them needs your OT and cyber security teams involved from the start.
- How will the model be proven before it affects operations? Ask for a shadow period in which the AI makes recommendations that people check before anything is automated.
- What happens when conditions change? Ore, weather and equipment all change over time. Ask how the firm will detect a drop in accuracy and retrain.
- Who supports it overnight? Many sites run around the clock. Agree support hours and response times in the contract, not after the first outage.
Edge AI on remote sites
Mine sites, processing plants, ports and pipelines are often far from a capital city and its data centres. Sending video or sensor streams to the cloud and waiting for an answer can be slow, costly or simply not possible. Running the model on site, on a camera, a vehicle or a rugged computer, avoids that.
These projects need skills that many cloud-focused teams don't use day to day: compressing a model to fit a small chip, choosing or designing hardware that copes with heat and dust, and writing firmware that keeps working when the link drops. None of the Perth firms on our list lead with this. Sydney-based Vedametric does. It distils models to run on GPUs, phones and microcontrollers, builds custom boards around edge AI accelerators and keeps inference on the device or inside your network. For a WA operation, pairing a specialist like this with your own site engineers or a local integrator keeps travel down while bringing in the embedded skills you need.
Local, national or specialist?
- Local firms such as Mechanical Rock and AI Advancements are easier to bring on site, share your time zone and know WA businesses.
- National firms bring larger teams, governance frameworks and experience across states, which helps on big or regulated projects.
- Specialists matter when the AI has to run on a machine or a device. Expect some travel, and plan site visits around testing milestones.
Perth is two hours behind Sydney and Melbourne, or three during eastern daylight saving. That is manageable, but ask an east-coast firm which hours its team will be available and whether anyone will be in Perth for key workshops. For budgeting, see our AI development cost guide.
Common questions
Can WA businesses get a grant to work with an AI developer?
Possibly. The WA Innovation Booster Grant offered up to $50,000 per application in its 2026 round, to be spent on external support services such as engineering design and building a minimum viable product, with matched cash funding of 15% or 20%. The 2026 round closed on 30 March 2026.
Do WA Government agencies have to assess AI projects?
Yes. Under the WA Government AI Policy and Assurance Framework, entities must complete a self-assessment for any project driven by AI or automated decision-making. Higher-risk projects, those funded from the Digital Capability Fund and those costing over $5 million go to the AI Advisory Board.
Which Perth AI firms work on AWS?
Mechanical Rock builds AI solutions, data platforms and cloud-native products mostly on AWS, and its site links to a post about earning the AWS AI Services Competency.
Can AI run on a remote mine site without internet?
Yes, if the model runs on the device or on a local server. That means compressing the model and choosing hardware that suits the site's power and environment. Edge specialists such as Vedametric in Sydney design both the model and the hardware.