The brand new Startmate accelerator program to kick off the yr options a formidable 19 startups in Summer time ’26.
Startmate has invested $2.28 million within the cohort, giving every startup $120,000 for a 7% stake.
New CEO Phoebe Pincus mentioned the contemporary investments will not be about hypotheticals, however quite founders constructing the infrastructure behind the world we reside in and the instruments that take away friction from the methods we depend on each day.
“At a time when there’s debate about whether or not Australia can produce globally aggressive know-how corporations, this cohort speaks for itself. 19 corporations. 42 founders,” she mentioned.
“The ambition is greater, the issues are more durable, and the expertise pool is deeper than ever.”
The concepts vary from decreasing development and manufacturing waste, to automating authorized diligence and authorities tenders, and rethinking psychological well being care.
Startmate’s head of founders, Emma Grife, mentioned what unites the Summer time ’26 cohort is an obsession with fundamentals: time saved, prices decreased, threat eliminated, outcomes improved.
“The S26 founders are relentlessly centered on actual buyer ache, rigorously testing hypotheses to make sure what they construct delivers significant, defensible worth. They’re not chasing 10% enhancements, they’re rethinking methods from the bottom up,” she mentioned.
“Many are already in market, operating pilots, signing prospects, and constructing in advanced, regulated, or neglected industries as a result of that’s the place actual impression compounds.”
Right here’s who they backed.
Alloovium
Brisbane, Qld
alloovium.com
One-liner: Alloovium helps development groups discover solutions quick and lower admin work
Development groups spend 35% of their time trying to find data, resolving conflicts, and fixing errors. Poor knowledge and miscommunication drive 59% of world rework, contributing to a $1.6T annual productiveness hole. Alloovium tackles this head-on.
Alloovium is a collaborative AI workspace that centralises a agency’s inner information throughout paperwork, emails, and business platforms, delivering verifiable, audit-ready solutions with citations. It additionally automates repetitive workflows throughout instruments like SharePoint, Outlook, Phrase, and construction-specific software program.
Based by civil engineer Zander Schweitzer and engineer/AI researcher Cielo Nicolosi, Alloovium’s objective is to unlock $10B+ in misplaced worth yearly and change into the default workspace for development and heavy business globally.
Founding group: Zander Schweitzer, Cielo Nicolosi
Ascenda
Gold Coast, Qld
ascenda.one
One-liner: Ascenda helps psychologists help sufferers between periods.
Demand for psychological well being care is rising quicker than the scientific workforce, leaving sufferers unsupported between appointments and rising dropout charges. Ascenda extends care past the remedy room.
Ascenda permits psychologists to run structured, AI-assisted affected person check-ins between periods, giving clinicians early visibility into progress and threat whereas serving to sufferers keep engaged and supported in day by day life. Care will be adjusted sooner, not weeks later.
Based by Nathan Challen, a serial know-how founder, and Hamada Els, a scientific psychologist and apply proprietor, Ascenda is working with business and company co-design companions, has secured 15 Letters of Intent, and is operating lively pilots in non-public healthcare settings, and is in discussions with public well being methods and a global insurer.
Founding group: Nathan Challen, Hamada Els
Brainwaves
Melbourne, Vic & Singapore
getbrainwaves.com
One-liner: Brainwaves accelerates advertising and marketing technique by reducing by means of course of, serving to model groups get to sharp insights and daring concepts quicker.
Advertising technique is sluggish, handbook, and buried in course of. An excessive amount of data and too many guardrails uninteresting the pondering, whereas grunt work leaves much less and fewer time for the basics of progress, perception and creativity.
Brainwaves adjustments that, serving to groups synthesise analysis, extract significant patterns, and speed up the trail from fragmented inputs to sharp insights and daring technique. Brainwaves is on a mission to get advertising and marketing groups again to managing concepts, not course of.
Based by Jamie Brownlee (20 years in model technique at Publicis, former CMO of Euronews), Ben Crawford (ex-CCO at UM), and Tom McKenzie (founding engineer at Mr Yum, constructing AI brokers for 3+ years), Brainwaves is focusing on a $100B+ world technique market.
Founding group: Jamie Brownlee, Ben Crawford, Tom McKenzie
cascayd
Melbourne, Vic
One-liner: cascayd lets progress groups create and launch web site A/B exams in seconds
Launching A/B exams typically takes weeks, counting on developer time and guesswork to determine what to check. cascayd turns experimentation right into a one-click workflow.
cascayd repeatedly audits your web site, identifies high-impact take a look at alternatives, and lets progress groups launch experiments immediately, with out ready on builders. Testing turns into steady, quick, and data-driven.
Based by Chirag (ex-Product at Edrolo, ex-Ops at Edsemble) and Will (pc science dropout, exited founder, coding since age 13), cascayd’s imaginative and prescient is straightforward: each web site customer will get a totally optimised expertise, routinely.
Founding group: Chirag Babu, Will O’Brien
CheckGen
Melbourne, Vic
One-liner: CheckGen helps skincare corporations and clinics show outcomes and personalise therapy by means of molecular pores and skin testing.
Skincare suppliers rely largely on visible evaluation, leaving them unable to show therapy effectiveness or personalise care past trial and error. CheckGen brings molecular proof to skincare.
CheckGen is growing a tool that measures pores and skin biomarkers, enabling clinics to trace therapy outcomes over time and ship personalised suggestions based mostly on biology, not look.
Led by Maria Faleeva, a biomedical researcher with a PhD in mobile well being and ageing, and Dr. Oliver Wright, a medical physician, CheckGen goals to make molecular pores and skin evaluation the worldwide basis for personalised and efficient skincare.
Founding group: Dr. Maria Faleeva, Dr. Oliver Wright
CrossCourtAI
Sydney, NSW
crosscourtai.com
One-liner: CrossCourtAI delivers funding screening and quarterly reporting for institutional actual property and personal credit score companies in minutes, not days
Institutional actual property and personal credit score groups spend as much as 70% of their time on screening, reporting, and fund administration. CrossCourtAI provides that point again.
CrossCourtAI’s AI-first platform, Harper, generates funding papers, monetary fashions, and asset updates in minutes. Groups evaluation and refine as a substitute of constructing from scratch, accelerating selections and bettering capital allocation.
CrossCourtAI is led by Sai (ex-J.P. Morgan, Barrenjoey, Cerberus Capital), James (ex-Product at V-DAQ), and Randula (ex-Optiver). Collectively, the group combines deep institutional finance expertise with robust product and engineering functionality to construct what they purpose to change into Australia’s most trusted actual property working system.
Founding group: Sai Naicker, James Oliver, Randula Ariyawanse
Deeligence
Melbourne, Sydney, London & New York
One-liner: Deeligence makes use of agentic AI to ship exact authorized due diligence stories for regulation companies and buyers in hours, not weeks.
Authorized diligence is sluggish, costly, and damaged. Shoppers wait weeks and pay a whole bunch of 1000’s for stories, whereas regulation companies lose cash delivering them. Deeligence is reimagining diligence from the bottom up.
Utilizing specialised AI brokers and real-time collaboration, Deeligence identifies as much as 87% of deal-breaking dangers on day one; guaranteeing groups don’t throw good cash after unhealthy offers.
Based by former high tier attorneys and tech veterans Elena Tsalanidis and Justin Hansky, who lived the 2am spreadsheet hell firsthand. Deeligence is making a way forward for AI-generated diligence with senior lawyer oversight; quicker, cheaper, and dramatically simpler.
Founding group: Elena Tsalanidis, Justin Hansky
FlowGo
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia & Sydney, NSW
flowgoai.com
One-liner: FlowGo is the AI accounting workforce that runs inside your WhatsApp, Telegram and E mail.
Enterprise doesn’t simply occur in textual content. FlowGo’s AI brokers perceive the chaos of real-world operations, immediately processing voice notes, pictures of receipts, PDFs, and spreadsheets instantly from chat and electronic mail.
They deal with the repetitive grunt work from gross sales order entry and buy order 3-way matching to provider account administration and reconciliation, performing because the clever bridge between enterprise communication channels and accounting methods, automating the complete monetary lifecycle while not having emigrate knowledge or exchange the methods you belief.
Led by founders who’ve managed $15B+ in transaction quantity and scaled workflows for 50,000+ SMEs, FlowGo brings deep operational credibility from day one.
Founding group: Anthony, Jason
iBnkVault
Melbourne, Vic & Wyoming, US
ibnk.xyz
One-liner: iBnkVault helps companies transfer cash throughout borders immediately and at decrease value
At present, worldwide funds can take days to settle, with cross-border charges typically reaching 3–5%. Companies are left ready on funds they’ll’t monitor and delays they’ll’t clarify.
iBnkVault replaces this with a quicker, extra direct option to transfer cash globally. By routing funds by means of probably the most environment friendly paths and utilizing stablecoins behind the scenes, funds that after took days can change into obtainable in real-time in choose corridors. This cuts settlement friction by as much as 80%, changing sluggish, fragmented cross-border funds with an easier, quicker option to transfer cash worldwide.
Based by Yi Zhang, who constructed blockchain networks, and Ivy Fan, who has managed tens of millions in cross-border capital flows, the group is rebuilding monetary infrastructure for contemporary commerce; beginning with e-commerce retailers.
Founding group: Ivy Fan, Yi Zhang
Lockii
Melbourne, Vic
lockii.app
One-liner: Lockii is the merchandise rental system that makes contactless rent secure and worthwhile
Regardless of being a $300B+ world business, leases nonetheless depend on employees and handbook handovers. Lockii permits 24/7 contactless leases utilizing sensible locks, identification verification, and software program.
From trailers to kayaks, Lockii makes bodily belongings rentable immediately; anyplace, with out human involvement.
Founder Bodhi spent 6+ years constructing bespoke methods for automated rental corporations. Lockii productises that have to energy the following technology of scalable rental companies.
Founding group: Bodhi Hawken
Neuralindex
Melbourne, Vic
neuralindex.ai
One-liner: Neuralindex is the intelligence layer for smarter property buy selections
Property portals are speeding to undertake AI search, however listings nonetheless lack the perception patrons must make selections. Consumers depend on advisors and scattered analysis, slowing transactions and limiting platform belief.
Neuralindex turns itemizing knowledge into agentic search and choice intelligence. Portals reply advanced purchaser questions whereas serving to customers perceive threat earlier and buy with larger confidence and quicker.
Based by former aerospace engineer turned AI specialist Naveed Nekoo, proptech veteran Mat Heywood, and machine studying engineer Son Duong, Neuralindex turns property itemizing portals into trusted choice instruments; not simply locations to browse.
Founding group: Naveed Nekoo, Mat Heywood, Son Duong
Guin
Sydney, NSW
guin.ai
One-liner: Guin is an agentic video editor that turns your organization’s video library into on-brand advertising and marketing movies in minutes
Most advertising and marketing movies are repurposed from present content material however right now’s workflows are sluggish, handbook, and costly. Guin makes use of video intelligence to make uncooked footage immediately searchable, editable, and publish-ready.
Search movies for exact moments, inform it what you need, and get an on-brand first lower in minutes. Vibe enhancing with out the training curve.
Based by Anish Deenadayalan, a second-time founder whose earlier firm was acquired by Freshworks, Guin has already onboarded pilot prospects and processed over 200 hours of video since launching in stealth.
Founder: Anish Deenadayalan
Superstat
Melbourne, Vic
superstat.com.au
One-liner: Superstat reveals sports activities groups how one can win with AI evaluation of their video games
Sports activities groups typically lack clear, goal perception into how one can enhance efficiency. Information is dear, sluggish, and arduous to interpret. Superstat adjustments that.
Superstat delivers automated stats and actionable insights, not simply numbers, serving to groups strengthen what works, repair what doesn’t and giving golf equipment an unfair, sport successful benefit.
Their founders are earlier sports activities tech founders who’ve labored with native gamers and golf equipment in recruitment for the final 4 years. They hear the ache factors of those golf equipment day by day, and wish to assist extra golf equipment get extra wins on the board.
Founding group: Cordelia King, Kai Bloomfield, Sam Hung
Talentsheet
Sydney, NSW
talentsheet.xyz
One-liner: Talentsheet finds the place your perfect prospects already listen and how one can attain them
Advertising right now is a guessing sport. Manufacturers are losing billions of {dollars} advertising and marketing to individuals who don’t care about their merchandise – with their groups stumbling from “the place do I start” to “did this even transfer the needle?”
Talentsheet removes the uncertainty by figuring out the creators, podcasts, communities, and types your perfect prospects already belief, and how one can attain them organically.
Based by Dexter, Oliver, and Ben, whose backgrounds span shopper behaviour, engineering, and elite efficiency, Talentsheet helps manufacturers cease shouting into the void and begin displaying up the place it issues.
Founding group: Dexter Todd, Oliver Bagin, Ben Abbatangelo
Tendor
Sydney, NSW
tendor.ai
One-liner: Tendor automates authorities tenders from discovery to submission
Authorities procurement represents a large alternative for Australian companies, however the complexity retains most SMEs out: alternatives are scattered throughout dozens of portals, necessities are buried in bureaucratic language, and creating compliant responses calls for specialised experience and numerous hours.
Tendor makes authorities procurement accessible by proudly owning the complete tender course of from discovery to submission. It aggregates alternatives right into a single platform, makes use of AI to translate advanced necessities into clear standards, and automates compliance-heavy drafting so companies can deal with proving they’ll ship.
Based by Jason Cai, a technical founder with deep experience in AI agent methods and cloud infrastructure, Tendor is constructed from firsthand perception into how damaged authorities tendering actually is, enabling companies to compete on benefit, not paperwork.
Founder: Jason Cai
Thermal Daybreak
Sydney, NSW
thermaldawn.com
One-liner: Thermal Daybreak makes house heating and cooling cheaper utilizing thermal storage
Heating and cooling is dear. Australian households spend over $1,400 a yr simply to remain snug, and as extra properties set up air conditioners, the stress on the electrical energy grid retains rising.
Thermal Daybreak makes heating and cooling cheaper. Their system makes use of solar energy or cheaper off-peak electrical energy and might run heating and cooling at as much as 10× decrease value than conventional batteries. This helps households get monetary savings whereas additionally decreasing pressure on the grid throughout peak occasions.
Based by Nick and Linda Zeniou, who carry over a decade of expertise designing heating methods, constructing sensible controls, and manufacturing dependable shopper {hardware}. They’re constructing in Australia with a transparent objective: to make snug properties inexpensive for households in all places, and assist transition vitality methods towards renewables.
Founding group: Nick Zeniou, Linda Zeniou
Vixia
Sydney, NSW
vixia.ai
One-liner: Vixia prevents manufacturing downtime and defects utilizing AI-powered cameras
Unplanned downtime prices world producers $1.4 trillion annually, with 23% attributable to human error. Trendy manufacturing traces are too quick, variable, and sophisticated for handbook monitoring, and conventional machine imaginative and prescient methods are costly, brittle, and take months to deploy.
Vixia’s AI-powered digicam system displays manufacturing traces in actual time, detecting rising points so operators can intervene earlier than defects cascade into downtime or scrap. The system deploys in below an hour and repeatedly improves by means of human suggestions, sustaining efficiency regardless of adjustments in lighting, supplies, and environments.
Vixia is based by Storm and Matt, each manufacturing engineers who’ve led groups to design, construct, scale, and optimise manufacturing traces firsthand. Their imaginative and prescient is to create the real-time notion layer that permits factories to change into self-correcting methods, autonomously stopping essential points earlier than they happen.
Founding group: Matthew Eyles, Storm Drury
Wiingman
Sydney, NSW
wiingman.io
One-liner: Wiingman is the enterprise AI system automating admin and decision-making for main occasions
Greater than 30 million main enterprise occasions are organised globally annually, supported by an estimated $900 billion in administrative spend. Regardless of rising scrutiny and compliance necessities, most occasions are nonetheless deliberate utilizing Phrase paperwork, slide decks, shared drives, and conferences; creating rework, delays, and pointless threat.
Wiingman replaces this fragmented method with an end-to-end enterprise system that generates occasion documentation and guides planning, threat administration, supply, and approvals in a single place. By structuring selections early, Wiingman reduces admin overhead, eliminates rework, and accelerates supply with out compromising governance.
Led by a founding group with over 50 years of mixed expertise throughout enterprise occasion operations, threat and compliance, stakeholder administration, and approval-heavy environments, Wiingman goals to modernise how main occasions are organised and executed.
Founder: Hailey Mason
Zabidou
Sydney, NSW
zabidou.com
One-liner: Zabidou permits low-cost, AI inspection on industrial manufacturing traces to catch defects in actual time
Most producers know they’ve high quality management gaps however efficient end-of-line inspection stays out of attain. Current methods are costly, disruptive to put in, and troublesome to combine, so vegetation fall again on handbook checks which might be sluggish, inconsistent, and straightforward to overlook. When defects slip by means of, total shipments will be rejected, leading to main monetary loss and reputational injury.
Zabidou delivers automated, in-line high quality assurance at 1/tenth the fee and 10× the velocity of present methods. It retrofits instantly into present manufacturing traces and makes use of AI-powered, laser-enhanced imaginative and prescient to identify floor defects and contamination in actual time — with out slowing or stopping manufacturing.
Based by Cibby Pulikkaseril (prev. based Baraja), with Nathan Kirchner as VP of Product and Evangeline Sturges as Ahead Deployed Engineer, Zabidou is unlocking scalable, retrofit high quality management for high-volume manufacturing worldwide.
Founding group: Cibby Pulikkaseril (CEO), Nathan Kirchner (VP of Product), Evangeline Sturges (Ahead Deployed Engineer)
