Tech capital: Melbourne taking up the Slack

Malcolm Turnbull’s favourite group-messaging app Slack has found a new home in Melbourne.

After originally announcing plans to base its Australasian operations out of the city last month, The Australian reports that the startup now has a lease on a property.

The headquarters will open in mid-January and will eventually house 70 employees.

It’s another big win for the Victorian startup ecosystem, which has seen two other big tech players set up their regional headquarters in the city in the last month.

With state government assistance, Zendesk and GoPro will launch bases in Melbourne.

Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield told The Australian that there could be more tech jobs on offer in the city.

“We looked at a lot of places for our first office in Australasia,” Butterfield said.

“It came down to Singapore and Melbourne. There’s a ton of factors that go into it for us, but the biggest driver is the possible employee base.

“Melbourne has a little bit less competition than some other centres for talent but a very well-educated, English-speaking population that would make great employees for us.”

Slack launched in August 2013 and is now worth nearly $US3 billion, raising $US340 million from a range of investors.

The startup is growing rapidly, with 1.7 million daily active users and more than 250 employees across the world.

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