Launch of the AIML Shop: New initiative turns innovative research concepts into impactful commercial products

In June 2025, AIML announced the launch of the AIML Shop, a remarkable, cutting-edge initiative that leverages AIML鈥檚 world-class academic research and engineering capabilities to transform research concepts into adoptable, open-source, and commercial products.

In development since late 2023, AIML Shop is an initiative of AIML鈥檚 Centre for Augmented Reasoning (CAR), which is funded by the Department of Education. CAR has also provided operational support to the AIML Shop with AIML鈥檚 Industry Solutions team supplying extensive technical support to the project as well.

鈥淢uch like a shopfront, [AIML Shop] presents software tools鈥攅ither as source code or its functional outputs鈥攐n a publicly accessible website,鈥 said Dr Nisha Schwarz, CAR Program Manager, who provided both technical and managerial oversight to get the AIML Shop up and running. 鈥淭hese tools can be explored by external stakeholders, customised to their needs, and purchased for broader application.鈥

AIML Shop鈥檚 goal is to enhances AIML's world-class research by making advanced tools, such as machine learning models and software solutions, accessible for industry adoption. This not only promotes the practical application of research but also supports AIML researchers and engineers in expanding their entrepreneurship skills and creating a track record of product development.

鈥淭he Shop exists to shorten the distance between a breakthrough and a business outcome,鈥 said AIML Engineering Manager, Jonathon Read. 鈥淚t democratises access to advanced machine learning ML so [that] small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and publicsector teams aren鈥檛 locked out by cost or complexity.鈥  

鈥淭he site helps us to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset inside AIML, so that a student who publishes a toptier Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) paper also learns gotomarket basics,鈥 Read continued. 鈥淚t also showcases South Australian innovation on a global stage, positioning LotFourteen as a goto hub for applied AI.鈥

Photo of Nisha Schwarz

Dr Nisha Schwarz, CAR Program Manager

By fostering entrepreneurialism within the research community, AIML Shop aims to reward innovation, support future commercialisation efforts, and solidify AIML's position as a leader in translating academic research into real-world solutions.

Purchase customisable code

Visitors to the AIML Shop are provided with a list of 鈥榩roducts鈥 that are actually commercial or academic licenses to purchase code from companies. Once they鈥檝e purchased the license, users are then able to customise and adapt the code to suit the unique needs of their organisations.

There are currently nine 鈥榩roducts鈥 on the AIML Shop, focused on everything from building and deploying intelligent document search capabilities to identifying and correcting mislabelled data.  Each product on the AIML Shop undergoes a rigorous screening process before it is added to the page.

鈥淕etting the first nine products onto the AIML Shop required significant collaboration and effort from the engineering team and both past and present engineering managers,鈥 said Schwarz. 鈥淭heir work involved refining and adapting research outputs to meet the expectations and needs of [our] technically savvy audience.鈥

鈥淎 formal submission process was established; if the submission was deemed sufficiently innovative, it was escalated [and] presented to the Innovation Fund Advisory Committee,鈥 she continued. 鈥淭he committee assessed each proposal based on its novelty, feasibility, and resource requirements. Out of approximately 30 initial submissions, nine met the criteria and were selected for the launch.鈥

鈥楻别蝉别补谤肠丑grade depth and productgrade polish鈥

鈥淎 lot of universities talk about 鈥榗ommercialisation鈥, but very few host an alwayson storefront that lets industry download, license, and deploy ML tools the same day,鈥 said Read.

Jonathon Read

Jonathon Read, AIML Engineering Manager

鈥淲hat I like about AIML shop is that it has researchgrade depth and productgrade polish,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 also like the duallicense model [that allows] educators and nonprofits [to] experiment for free, while commercial users can unlock support, no drawnout techtransfer negotiations.鈥

鈥淎IML鈥疭hop is only a few products old, yet those first launches already give our engineers a direct runway from lab to marketplace,鈥 Read continued. 鈥淏y releasing open鈥憇ource where we can, we aren鈥檛 just shipping code, we鈥檙e laying the [foundation] for an ecosystem where every new contribution accelerates the next and helps shape the future of machine learning.鈥

Non-commercial users can utilise the AIML Shop free of charge, ensuring further research and democratising access for educators and researchers worldwide. As a research institute, this was critical to AIML鈥檚 long-term goals for the initiative.

鈥淥ver the next few years, I would like to see the AIML Shop become a widely adopted platform across AIML, for researchers, engineers, and students alike,鈥 said Shwarz. 鈥淚deally, it would become a standard avenue for showcasing innovations, receiving real-world feedback, and connecting with potential users or commercial partners.鈥

鈥淚 also see the potential to launch more within the shop including free services that align with the aims of both AIML and [the] University to help AI adoption in Australia flourish as a whole,鈥 said Read. 鈥淎 partner marketplace would be great too where local startups can list plug鈥慽ns and support services, turning the Shop into an ecosystem, not just a store.鈥

To access the AIML Shop, please visit /aiml/our-key-initiatives/aiml-shop

Tagged in AIML Shop, artificial intelligence, machine learning, commercialisation