One of many rising stars of Australia’s synthetic intelligence startups, Relevance AI, was named Startup of the Yr on the Startup Day by day Greatest in Tech Awards 2025.
The win for the Sydney startup, which is pioneering the way forward for work by way of agentic AI, with a platform that lets anybody construct a workforce of AI brokers, got here after taking dwelling the AI Gamechanger award earlier within the night.
The gala dinner with greater than 200 friends at Sydney’s ivy Ballroom was a celebration of the nationwide startup ecosystem, with founders and winners from Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, NSW and Victoria.
As soon as once more, a number of awards went to girls main the best way, together with LaunchVic-backed Press Play Ventures, which took out The GSD Award for its position in serving to Victorian girls grow to be entrepreneurs, with 120 girls who’ve taken half in this system happening to launch 104 startups.
Paz Pisarski, founding father of The Group Collective, which trains individuals to be neighborhood builders, was named the Future Chief of the Yr, whereas Greatest New Founder went to Rebecca Keeley, founding father of speech pathology app Yarn Speech.
Startup Day by day editor Simon Thomsen stored the celebrations going because the occasion host, whereas keynote speaker Dr Ian Oppermann, a world thought chief on the digital economic system and serial founder, spoke of his expertise as a knowledge scientist and his position in creating 3G and 4G – the inspiration expertise for cell communications.
Thomsen stated the third annual awards set a brand new document with greater than 270 nominations, whittled all the way down to 56 finalists and winners throughout 14 classes.
“Choice standards was based mostly on key achievements, degree of affect and tech innovation, and the way they’re contributing to creating the world a greater place,” he stated.
“Range, fairness and inclusion are central to Startup Day by day’s ethos. That’s why entry to the awards is free, and we provide our finalists a complimentary ticket to be a part of the enjoyable. We wish to embody founders simply beginning out.”
Thomsen added he was happy to see girls and numerous founders well-represented among the many finalists and winners.
“One of many friends stated they had been pleasantly shocked by the variety of girls within the room for tech awards. I replied that ‘It’s not by chance, however by design. When you’ve got the need, it may be executed’,” he shared.
Crowd favorite among the many 14 winners was Clayton Franklin, a Western Australian Indigenous founder protecting mining vehicles to electrification. Sporting his trademark Akubra with a crimson cattle tag on the again – WA bling? – his local weather tech startup, Electrical Energy Conversions Australia, received Most Revolutionary Startup, and he shared information that they’d simply signed a serious take care of Qatar to transform their truck fleets.
The Startup Day by day Greatest in Tech Awards 2025 had been supported by main accomplice AWS Startups, with supporting accomplice Vanta. Award companions embody Carta, techvisa, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, Tank Stream Labs, The Nudge Group and The Pillars, with Good Firm, Fishburners and Startup&Angels as neighborhood companions.
Right here is the total checklist of winners from the Startup Day by day Greatest in Tech Awards 2025:
Asseti – Scaleup of the Yr
Supported by AWS Startups
Asseti has received a number of Fortune 50 clients, beating well-funded rivals with no US workforce on the bottom.
The corporate is now money stream impartial and elevating a Collection A.
Relevance AI – Startup of the Yr
Supported by Vanta
Relevance AI provides groups the facility to rent digital teammates – AI brokers that may act autonomously, deal with complexity, and scale operational excellence.
In contrast to conventional automation instruments that depend on inflexible logic and developer-led builds, the Relevance platform empowers subject-matter consultants to create, handle, and collaborate with AI brokers with out writing code.
Electrical Energy Conversions Australia (EPCA) – Most Revolutionary Startup
Supported by Tank Stream Labs
EPCA is the primary Australian firm to retrofit a 100-tonne mining haul truck from diesel to full battery-electric. Proudly Aboriginal-owned and operated by Clayton Franklin, EPCA is main the decarbonisation of the Western Australian mining fleets, eradicating emissions from operations and manufacturing, the place most carbon is already embedded. Retrofitting affords a quicker, lower-cost, and extra sustainable path to electrification, maintaining helpful belongings in service whereas aligning with ESG targets.
Cauldron Ferm – Greatest Regional Startup
Supported by Carta
It’s back-to-back wins for Cauldron Ferm, which additionally winner the 2024 Greatest Regional Startup award. Cauldron is pioneering the following frontier in biomanufacturing to rework how every thing from meals to fibres, animal feed, fuels, and extra are created.
Over the previous 12 months below founder Michelle Stansfield, the regional NSW biotech obtained federal and Queensland authorities funding to construct a biomanufacturing facility within the tropical north.
Relevance AI – AI Gamechanger
Supported by AWS Startups
That is the second award for Sydney startup is pioneering the way forward for work by way of agentic AI, not chatbots or copilots. The platform lets anybody construct a workforce of AI brokers and in Might this 12 months, introduced a $37 million Collection B increase led by Bessemer Enterprise Companions.
Mick Liubinskas – Trade Champion
Supported by Good Firm
Local weather Salad, a neighborhood of 700 local weather tech firms and 10,000 supporters, is the newest journey for one of many pioneers of Australia’s startup sector, Mick Liubinskas.
Mick based 4 startups, plus incubators and accelerators with Pollenizer, Startmate and muru-D. He’s a believer that Australia will play an enormous position in constructing local weather options and likewise been a robust advocate for range, fairness and inclusion. He’s written two books – most significantly, She’s Constructing A Robotic, a novel to encourage teenage ladies into the world of STEM.
Watch and hearken to Mick on the newest episode of our podcast, Startup 360, proper right here.
Xefco – Greatest Sustainability Startup
The textile business is likely one of the world’s most polluting sectors, chargeable for 20% of world industrial water air pollution and three% of world carbon emissions.
Xefco is fixing this drawback at its supply. Their breakthrough expertise eliminates the necessity for water, steam, and dangerous chemical substances in dyeing and ending: resulting in zero wastewater, decreasing GHG emissions by 94%, and reducing chemical use by 97%.
It additionally improves office security and allows just-in-time manufacturing, to cut back overproduction and textile waste.
Cell Bauhaus – Greatest New Concept
Supported by Fishburners
The mission at Cell Bauhaus is to convey computer-aided design to biology, permitting engineers to check and refine organic methods computationally earlier than constructing them, dramatically decreasing each time-to-market and improvement prices.
The implications are far reaching – predictive organic design might speed up improvement of safer greener bio-chemistries, drought-resistant crops, and personalised therapeutics from many years to years.
Rebecca Keeley, Yarn Speech – Greatest New Founder
Supported by Nudge Group
Darwin-raised Rebecca is a speech pathologist who devoted her profession to creating healthcare extra accessible, notably for households in rural and distant areas.
She launched Yarn Speech in 2024, a first-of-its-kind digital resolution and app, reshaping how Australian households entry important speech pathology providers, redesigning how allied well being providers are delivered throughout Australia within the course of.
What units Bec aside is her distinctive mixture of scientific experience and entrepreneurial imaginative and prescient. Yarn Speech is co-designed with clinicians, for clinicians and households so households have the instruments to be energetic contributors of their little one’s improvement.
Sumith Jitta, Lawpath – Greatest Technical Chief
Sumith Jitta is the top of engineering at Lawpath and the visionary architect behind certainly one of Australia’s most transformative legaltech platforms.
With 20 years of expertise spanning AI, information structure, and enterprise platforms, Sumith has led Lawpath’s evolution from a promising startup right into a scalable, AI-driven authorized infrastructure engine powering greater than 500,000 Australian companies.
What units Sumith aside is his potential to bridge engineering with empathy. He leads a workforce of over 30 engineers, product designers, and information scientists with a relaxed readability, unblocking complexity whereas fostering a tradition of innovation and integrity.
Paz Pisarski – Future Chief
Supported by techvisa
Paz has turned an concept throughout Melbourne’s lockdowns right into a motion that’s reshaping Australia’s startup ecosystem and the world. What began as a 17-person meetup has advanced into The Group Collective, now has a world viewers of greater than 16,000 and 700+ communities throughout 18 nations.
Paz created Australia’s first reside cohort coaching program for neighborhood builders, legitimising what was as soon as seen as “fluffy” work into recognised strategic experience.
_Southstart – Startup Occasion of The Yr
_Southstart is certainly one of Australia’s longest-running and most cherished innovation festivals, born in 2013 to bridge the emotional, relational, and structural gaps within the startup journey. The three-day Adelaide gathering that delves into coronary heart and thoughts, in addition to loads of South Australia’s most interesting wines.
As Josh Garratt, CEO of Southern Angels stated: “_Southstart has constructed a cathedral to human connection. This isn’t a convention, it’s a pilgrimage for startups and buyers who’re enthusiastic about altering the world collectively.”
Euphemia– Startup Investor of the Yr
Supported by The Pillars
Euphemia is on a mission to Go Huge and Develop Dwelling, and its secret mission is to create extra “Euphemias” by backing individuals they consider will reinvest their capital again into the ecosystem down the observe. Dom Pym and his workforce below CEO Judy Anderson-Firth put money into fintech, local weather tech, women-led ventures, and startup infrastructure, unlocking capital by way of a 245+ sturdy Euphemia Syndicate on Aussie Angels, and new fintech fund, Triple Bubble.
Within the 18 months main as much as nomination, Euphemia invested almost $2 million in 14 firms throughout 21 transactions, together with: main 2 x Euphemia Syndicate offers and backing 7 new startups.
As Heatseeker cofounder Kate O’Keefe stated: “Euphemia wasn’t simply our first cheque, they had been our first believer.”
Press Play Ventures – The GSD Award
Supported by Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
Press Play Ventures, launched in 2024 with help from LaunchVic, has helped 120 girls to launch 104 startups, driving a 12% uplift within the variety of girls founders in Victoria in comparison with 2023. Press Play’s 12-week pre-accelerator helps girls transition from employment into entrepreneurship by way of fully-funded and partial scholarships, zero fairness, and hands-on, high-touch help.
It’s alumni are 65% mid-career girls over 35, 62% multicultural, and 73% new to startups.
Thanks to our Startup Day by day Greatest in Tech Awards 2025 companions:
