ANNA Money unveils Australia’s first AI-powered virtual office at Sydney’s iconic Cadbury Chocolate Factory
Sydney, August 2025 — As Australia grapples with a productivity slump and more than 326,000 new companies registered in the past year, ANNA Money is stepping up to support small businesses and startups, the backbone of the economy. Today, the company unveils Australia’s first AI powered virtual office, situated in the iconic Cadbury Chocolate Factory at The Rocks, offering affordable “prime real estate” and streamlined compliance for founders looking to grow without the cost and complexity of traditional office space. It's quite literally a case of old meeting new.
A timely solution for a national challenge
With labour productivity at a 60 year low, there is an urgent need to give entrepreneurs smarter, more affordable business infrastructure. For thousands of startups, securing a premium business address has traditionally meant expensive leases or coworking memberships that drain capital better spent on growth. Add the burden of managing mail and compliance, and many founders find themselves bogged down in admin instead of building their business.
ANNA Money is rewriting the playbook. The company has launched Australia’s first AI powered virtual office in Sydney’s historic Chocolate Factory at The Rocks, one of the city’s most coveted business precincts. Once a Cadbury production hub, 212 Cumberland Street has been transformed into a digital business base, combining affordable, prestigious addresses with proprietary AI technology that radically simplifies mail and compliance management.
“We’re opening the door for startups and SMEs to access landmark business addresses without the heavy costs and admin headaches,” said Ryan Edwards Pritchard, CEO of ANNA Money in Australia (pictured above). “Our AI powered virtual office is a historic first for Australian entrepreneurs. It brings real-time intelligence and actionable insights straight to their fingertips, making admin effortless and freeing them to focus on growth.”
A launch with personal meaning and timely relevance
The launch comes as the Sydney Startup Hub prepares to close its doors on the 1st of October, leaving hundreds of founders searching for new solutions. “This story is personal for me,” Edwards Pritchard adds. “When I first arrived in Australia in 2020, I literally built and ran my fintech startup Cape out of the Sydney Startup Hub coffee shop with no team, no product, just a laptop, a long black and banana bread. Its closure highlights how much we need new models to support early stage founders, and our virtual office is exactly the kind of creative and practical solution that is needed now.”
How it works
The service provides a legally registered business address at 212 Cumberland Street in The Rocks, keeping founders’ personal home addresses off the ASIC register while boosting their professional image. Behind the scenes, ANNA’s AI scans and filters all incoming mail, extracting key details such as invoices and compliance deadlines, then summarises the content and sends instant alerts via the ANNA app and email, so founders never miss important actions.
Integrated business infrastructure
The virtual office is fully integrated with ANNA’s broader platform, which includes digital banking, automated bookkeeping, tax support and ASIC filings. Together, they provide a complete business setup in minutes, with tools that give founders real time visibility of cashflow, invoicing and compliance.
Early bird offer
To support startups impacted by the Sydney Startup Hub closure, ANNA Money is offering 12 months of the virtual office service free to the first 1,000 company formations.
About ANNA Money
Founded in the UK and rapidly expanding in Australia, ANNA Money leads in AI-powered financial tools and expert support that remove admin burdens for startups and SMEs. Its virtual office service cements ANNA’s place at the forefront of innovative business infrastructure solutions.
