Workato & Gulanga launch sovereign AI for Australia

Workato has agreed a partnership with Gulanga Group to offer a sovereign artificial intelligence solution to Australian government and enterprise customers. The arrangement also includes Gulanga's AI offering, Dukes, which is powered by Trellis Data's Agentaus large language model.

The deal links Workato's platform with Australian AI models assessed for data sovereignty requirements, and early testing and integration work with Dukes is already under way.

Australian organisations face growing pressure to adopt AI tools while keeping sensitive information under local control. The partnership is aimed at agencies and businesses that want to use AI systems while meeting governance and sovereignty rules on where data is handled and which models are used.

Under the agreement, Gulanga will help identify and assess Australian sovereign AI technologies for use with Workato, including large language models, domain-specific models and other emerging AI tools.

Workato will integrate selected providers into its platform so customers can use those models inside governed workflows. Customers will be able to choose between sovereign and non-sovereign models, while the platform remains model-neutral.

According to the companies, Dukes has been trained and fine-tuned on Australian data. They say this gives the model stronger knowledge of Australian law and policy than more general overseas alternatives.

John Deeb, Field CTO at Workato, said early work with the model had shown encouraging results. "When a government agency uses a model like Dukes to draft a policy document or take action specific to its domain, the response is faster, more relevant, and more economical than frontier models. We've seen that accuracy, performance, and cost benefit by plugging Dukes into the Workato platform," Deeb said.

Policy backdrop

The agreement comes as sovereign AI has become a more prominent issue in Australia's policy debate. Workato recently appeared before the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence, where its executives argued for platforms that allow local and overseas model providers to compete side by side.

Bhaskar Roy, Chief AI Officer at Workato, framed the issue around customer choice and the role of specialist models. "Reasoning is abundant, but results are not. Often you need specialised models to drive the right outcomes, powered by a neutral platform that provides the choice between sovereign AI and frontier models. Australia has all the key ingredients to be a global player in the AI space: natural resources, amazing talent, demand, and global trust as a nation. Workato is excited to partner with Australian AI providers to help drive innovation in Australia and globally," Roy said.

He added that testing of local models had shown positive signs for business use cases. "Early testing of Australian AI models like Dukes is very promising. We are committed to providing flexible technology choices to drive outcomes for Australian businesses," Roy said.

Indigenous link

The partnership also has an Indigenous economic element through Gulanga, a Supply Nation-certified Indigenous ICT provider. Gulanga said its role is not only to assess the market for sovereign AI tools, but also to build commercial structures that support Indigenous social outcomes.

Rick Higgins, Managing Director at Gulanga Group, said the company wanted sovereign AI to be seen as a commercial option rather than a compliance burden. "Traditionally, Sovereign AI technology is usually sold as an obligation, we think it should be an advantage. Gulanga's role is to understand the technology landscape, bring the right partners together, and make the sovereign choice the smart one. That's why, in partnership with Workato and Trellis Data, we established Dukes, with one key difference - the token economics helps fund Indigenous social outcomes. Dukes is faster and more economical than equivalent offshore models, and it delivers an Australian response. Dukes also carries the name of our late founder, Craig Dukes, who built Gulanga to establish new pathways for Indigenous people into the technology sector. His name is on the model, and his goal is funded by every token it processes," Higgins said.

One early customer voice came from the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which pointed to the importance of local hosting and governance for organisations handling sensitive information. "Using an Australian trained, managed, and hosted AI model offers an ideal option for organisations like RFDS that handle sensitive personal information, require strict alignment with local laws and policies, and need complete confidence in onshore data handling," said Ryan Klose, Executive CIO at Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Klose added: "We welcome Workato's commitment to providing this capability and look forward to leveraging this new capability."