Melbourne start-up founders warn that Australia is suffering from “brain drain”.

Two Melbourne brothers who quit their jobs less than a year ago to launch a legal start-up have raised $700,000 in seed capital, boosting confidence in Australia’s young entrepreneurial landscape.

Umar, 27, and Abdur-Rahman Butler, 25, jumped on the rapid boom in artificial intelligence (AI) with their family business Isaacus, an AI software model that the siblings refer to as “legal superintelligence.”

After less than 12 months, Isaacus is being used by over 600 law firms, governments and businesses – paving the way for the Victorian start-up to expand internationally.

The brothers are part of a new generation of Gen Z tech founders, following in the footsteps of their fellow Australian start-ups Canva and Atlassian.

But the Butlers say it hasn’t been easy to win the trust of investors in Australia and there is a risk of a “brain drain” as top talent moves to Australia in droves.