Your weekly dose of everything you need to know about the Australian Tech & Innovation ecosystem.
A huge welcome to the 28 new subscribers that have joined us since last week’s edition.
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We’ve had an uncharacteristically quiet week at Hype Man Media, as we are finally finding breathing space following our most recent sojourn to Asia.
And get ready for the first part of our upcoming event series with Vanta on Wednesday.
The same can’t be said for the Australian Startup ecosystem, where we’ve seen big valuations, even bigger charitable giving, a new Innovation Minister, plus the unveiling of this year’s MAP cohort of Startups. Read on to hear all about it.
Plus for your usual roundup of top headlines, events and opportunities from across the Australian ecosystem.
Yours Always,
Dickie Currer
Author & Founder of Hype Man Media
Top headlines from the week
Melbourne Founded FinTech Airwallex now valued at just short of $10 billion
The new valuation comes following a Series F funding round, where the Aussie founded and Singapore HQ’d Scaleup raised $465 million from Investors including Square Peg, Airtree, Salesforce Ventures, Hostplus and Blackbird.
This makes the global Payments platform the third most valuable Australian Startup behind stalwarts Canva and Atlassian and further confirms why the country is known as a strong exporter of FinTech across the globe.
Speaking of Canva, Co-Founder Cameron Adams commits to the “Giving Pledge”
The philanthropic Foundation, originally Founded by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett in 2010 has a new member. With the Canva Co-Founder and his wife Lisa Miller this week pledging to donate at least half of their estimated $7 billion wealth to environmental causes.
Miller is herself deeply dedicated to environmental causes, as the CEO and Founder of Wedgetail Ventures, a green fund that invests in sustainability companies.
Tim Ayres is our new Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science
Senator Ayres, who was the former Future Made in Australia Assistant Minister is coming in to replace the popular Ed Husic as Industry Minister. After Prime Minister Anthony Albanese removed Husic from this frontbench earlier this month following his reelection.
Ayres is a staunch Manufacturing advocate having also served time as Assistant Minister for Manufacturing. He will be backed up by deputy MP Andrew Charlton of Parramatta.
It’ll be interesting to see whether Ayres and Charlton will have the same appetite for putting Tech at the forefront of their Industry agenda as the departing Husic, who was popular with the Startup community, did.
We missed a Startup who pitched at last week’s Digital Health Festival
In last Sunday’s edition we featured the Founders who pitched at DHF 2025, though have since realised we missed one!
In the interest of making sure everyone feels the Hype, check out Rise below:
Rise is the compliance operating system for NDIS and healthcare providers. They simplify audits, automate documentation, and keep providers aligned with changing regulations—so they can focus on delivering exceptional care. Rise turns messy admin into meaningful, real-time insights.
👉 They’re currently raising and welcoming early partners. If you're an investor or provider passionate about fixing broken systems in care, head to www.riseos.care and sign up for early access
19 Startups that caught our eye this week
Yes you read that right…19 Startups!
Why 19 you ask? Because that’s how many amazing Startups are in Melbourne Accelerator Program’s (MAP) Velocity cohort of 2025. Powered by the University of Melbourne.
Read on below to hear about this year’s cohort and shout out if you can help them out:
1. Aetherscope
Founder: Aden Diamond
Aetherscope is an innovative platform that builds generative artwork with mathematics and sound, aiming to disrupt both the education sector and live events scene.
2. Archley’s
Founder: Jessie Leondiou
Archleys creates reflective tools, journaling courses, and creative prompts that help people think deeply, shift perspective, and build self-awareness.
3. Banded Social Pvt Ltd
Founders: Jialu Sun, Matt Strutton and Kanmantha Mounika Reddy
Banded is a student networking app that seamlessly blends social and academic features to foster stronger connections among students.
4. Big Brain Insights
Founders: Planning Saw and Phil Yang
BigBrain Insights is an AI-powered research news platform delivering clear, expert-verified summaries from top journals, bridging the gap between cutting-edge science and everyday understanding.
5. Cortexa
Founders: Eechan Liu and Joyce Hu
An AI-powered daily check-in call for ranting and voice journaling.
6. Elen Med Tech
Founders: Fernando Gargollo, Ryan Armin, Charlotte Jones, Charlotte Thomas and Jayde Wang
Elen Med Tech is focused on creating a specialised ultrasound to help diagnose endometriosis, a painful disease that affects 1 in 10 women and currently takes an average of 7 years to diagnose.
7. Emojo
Founders: Prue Salter and Shannon Tyrer
Emojo transforms surveys into meaningful conversations. Our animated, interactive surveys make giving feedback fun and easy for everyone, no matter their language or ability.
8. HuddleHub
Founder: Joey (Xinyue) Hu
HuddleHub's AI agent creates, recruits and manages events around your interests, effortlessly. From booking venues to tracking attendance, AI handles the logistics with fair cost-sharing and reward distribution based on your contribution.
9. KindHuman.app
Founders: Raymond Chan and Taryn Tsui
Using AI to transform reflections and memories into meaningful narratives, making self-expression, connection with loved ones, and legacy preservation effortless and deeply personal.
10. Loma Strata
Founders: Radek Rozkiewicz
Body corporate is complicated, expensive and often fails the owners. Loma Strata provides transparency to the complexity, empowering owners to self-manage and save money.
11. Lucid Ant
Founders: Carla van Laar and Henry de Oleveira
On a mission to create an online platform that supports mental health and wellness through creative and participatory activities, fostering a sense of belonging and connection.
12. Home.r
Founder: Sam Neave
A no-nonsense digital foreman for first-time owner-builders and renovators, helping turn vague trade quotes into clear scopes of work, sanity-checked checklists, and confident next steps – so you can build smart, not blind.
13. Onethird
Founder: Ben Xu
Onethird optimises sleep, rest, recovery and well-being for our customers through scientific and innovative technologies.
14. Orbit
Founders: Terry Kim, Amanda Chen
Orbit reimagines professional networking by addressing the gaps in traditional platforms, empowering users to build authentic relationships through seamless discovery, meaningful engagement, and evolving opportunities within an inclusive, growth-driven network.
15. Plot
Founders: Lenin Ocegueda de la Cruz and Christopher Bailon
Maximising your land sustainability through the power of science, research and community efforts. One plot at a time.
16. Restify
Founder: Devipriya Selvaraj
A ‘one stop shop’ for death care services connecting families and various providers in the market ranging from will planning/management to grief support services and anything in between.
17. Sansarai
Founder: Alakshendra Swarup
Sansarai specialises in AI agents that act as virtual product managers, empowering digital product teams and organisations to innovate smarter and faster.
18. SixthFlow Research
Founder: Kavindu Hettiarachchi
A pioneering R&D company that combines rigorous scientific research with practical engineering to create solutions for complex technological challenges.
19. URautoAI
Founder: Yavuz Uragun
An AI-powered no-code platform that uses natural language to automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks, rapidly prototype new product ideas and connect SaaS tools with ease.
Velocity is MAP’s pre-accelerator program, designed for the earliest stage of the founder journey. It’s all about growing mindset, clarity and community – the stuff that matters before anything scales.
You can read more about the program and it’s 2025 cohort here
Events to watch out for
27 May - Sunshine Coast - OCL Beachside Yoga & Brekky - Beachside Yoga & Breakfast in Maroochydore, powered by Oury Clark and ACS Labs.
28 May - Melbourne - Taking your Startup to Asia - We’re hosting a breakfast in partnership with the legends at Vanta, to help you take your Startup to Asia, come and join us!
28 May - Sydney - UNSW Pioneering Investors Summit - a half-day event exploring how investors can build conviction and confidence in backing frontier technologies.
29 May - Melbourne - Networking Lunch & Learn with Oury Clark - a Lunch & Learn session covering the key things that you need to know about setting up in the UK. Co-hosted by Hype Man Media and ACS Labs.
29 May - Sydney - AI pitch night with CAANZ - The team at Fishburners are teaming up with the Chartered Accountants to showcase the best AI Startups in NSW.
29 May - Sydney - In the Blink of AI: Live Show! - Your favourite AI podcast is doing the first-ever LIVE SHOW in Sydney for the 30th episode, with Georgie Healy (Google, AI) interviewing Andrew McCarthy (Head of Notion for APAC + ASIA).
5 June - Melbourne - Stone & Chalk Ecosystem Mixer - Designed to foster meaningful connections across the Victorian startup ecosystem, this event brings together founders, mentors, investors, and ecosystem supporters in a relaxed, community-driven setting.
11 June - Melbourne - Notion x Antler: Founders Mixer - Notion and Antler are teaming up to bring you a night of good vibes, great convos, and even better company.
16 June - 27 June - Cairns - Tropical Innovation Festival - TIF is back this June for a massive celebration of innovation, entrepreneurship, and connection in the heart of Cairns.
28 August - Brisbane - SomethingTech - a two day showcase that puts a spotlight on Queensland and Australian companies who are developing emerging technology.
10 September - Sydney - Cicada x Tech23 2025 - Australia's Biggest Deep Tech Festival is back, providing a gateway to real Australian ventures delivering global impact and commercial success.
Opportunities
Applications are now open for AO Startups
Applications for the mid-year intake of AO StartUps, the pioneering sports and entertainment tech program powered by Tennis Australia and the Australian Open, are open until May 28
Find out more about the program and apply here
SXSW Sydney Pitch submissions are open
Showcasing the next wave of ground-breaking, impactful, and exciting startups that will disrupt industries and change our lives for the better.
Finalists will be chosen from the public submissions process linked here, and they’ll present their ideas in the Pitch Rounds during SXSW Sydney, with the winners of the rounds going through to the Grand Final. From there, the judges will determine a Grand Final winner, who will win the opportunity to pitch their idea at their choice of SXSW in Austin or SXSW London, in 2026.
Pitch Info Webinar: 2 - 2:30 PM AEST Tuesday, May 20, 2025, RSVP here
Submissions close: 11:59 PM AEST Monday, July 7, 2025
Successful Applicants notified: by 22nd August 2025
SXSW Sydney Pitch will run from 15 - 16 October 2025
Apply to be a part of the Startup World Cup
The Startup World Cup is a global series of competitions and conferences designed to connect startup ecosystems worldwide and showcase the most innovative entrepreneurs. Compete for the prestige of winning the Startup World Cup and a $1M investment prize!
The competition consists of three stages:
Regional finals – more than 100 competitions worldwide
Semi-finals & grand finale – hosted in San Francisco on October 17, 2025
For the first time in Melbourne, this exciting event will take place on July 22, 2025, apply here.
With the Sydney edition, taking place during Startup & Angels Investor Week from 4 Aug - 7 Aug, apply here.
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Until next time!
Dickie
