KPMG High Growth Ventures has revealed the five start-ups who are finalists for the Australian leg of the KPMG Global Tech Innovator competition.
The competition, which seeks to recognise the world’s most innovative and exciting tech start-ups, received a record-breaking number of entries in Australia, with over 155 submissions. Ultimately, only five were chosen.
The Finalists:
- DoveTail Electric – provides an integrated electric system that includes electric motors and battery packs to turn existing airframes into zero-emission commercial aircraft for short flights.
- Eden Brew – developed a technology that uses precision fermentation to brew casein (dairy) proteins which are nature-identical to dairy milk.
- Gelomics – develops solutions that allow pharmaceutical companies to grow human tissue in a petri dish as an alternative to animal experiments.
- InTruth Technologies – a developer of a wearable-compatible app that tracks your emotional state in real-time. The app provides hyper-personalised AI insights, acting as a personal emotion coach and decision-making tool.
- Sustainable Salons – establishes partnerships with salons to collect and repurpose waste materials like hair, metals, plastics, and chemicals. They then transform the materials into valuable resources, such as hair booms for oil spills, soil treatments for plants, and plastic for closed-loop products.
In Sydney tonight, the five finalists will present their solutions in front of a panel of judges and industry leaders. Judges will select a winner based on the criteria: Innovation and disruption, Market potential, Customer adoption, Marketing/buzz, Long-term potential, and Quality of pitch.
Winner to represent Australia in Lisbon
The winning start-up will represent Australia as a finalist at the KPMG Global Tech Innovator final. The event will take place in November at Web Summit in Lisbon. It will see representatives from countries around the world present their innovations in front of 70,000 investors, policymakers and industry leaders.
Amanda Price, Head of KPMG High Growth Ventures, said, “Going global is an imperative and a challenge for Australia startups. We were delighted with the breadth and depth of Australian innovation we saw during the process to select these finalists. Each entry was unique and demonstrated a high level of global potential, making the selection process incredibly challenging.”
The judging panel for the competition includes:
- Josh Geelan, Partner – KPMG Enterprise
- Emerald Scofield, Investment Associate – Main Sequence
- Jerry Stesel, Co-Founder and General Partner – OIF Ventures
- Melissa Widner, CEO – Lighter Capital, and
- Chris Gillings – VC investor – Five V Capital and Founder – Cut Through Venture.
