One of many rising stars of Australia’s synthetic intelligence startups, Relevance AI, was named Startup of the Yr on the Startup Every day Finest in Tech Awards 2025.
The win for the Sydney startup, which is pioneering the way forward for work by agentic AI, with a platform that lets anybody construct a crew of AI brokers, got here after taking residence the AI Gamechanger award earlier within the night.
The gala dinner with greater than 200 company 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 way in which, together with LaunchVic-backed Press Play Ventures, which took out The GSD Award for its function in serving to Victorian girls turn into 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 folks to be group builders, was named the Future Chief of the Yr, whereas Finest New Founder went to Rebecca Keeley, founding father of speech pathology app Yarn Speech.
Startup Every day editor Simon Thomsen saved the celebrations going because the occasion host, whereas keynote speaker Dr Ian Oppermann, a worldwide thought chief on the digital financial system and serial founder, spoke of his expertise as a knowledge scientist and his function in creating 3G and 4G – the muse expertise for cell communications.
Thomsen mentioned the third annual awards set a brand new report with greater than 270 nominations, whittled right down to 56 finalists and winners throughout 14 classes.
“Choice standards was primarily based on key achievements, degree of impression and tech innovation, and the way they’re contributing to creating the world a greater place,” he mentioned.
“Variety, fairness and inclusion are central to Startup Every 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 embrace 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 company mentioned they have been pleasantly shocked by the variety of girls within the room for tech awards. I replied that ‘It’s not accidentally, however by design. When you have the need, it may be accomplished’,” he shared.
Crowd favorite among the many 14 winners was Clayton Franklin, a Western Australian Indigenous founder protecting mining vehicles to electrification. Carrying his trademark Akubra with a crimson cattle tag on the again – WA bling? – his local weather tech startup, Electrical Energy Conversions Australia, gained Most Modern Startup, and he shared information that they’d simply signed a significant cope with Qatar to transform their truck fleets.
The Startup Every day Finest in Tech Awards 2025 have been supported by main associate AWS Startups, with supporting associate Vanta. Award companions embrace Carta, techvisa, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, Tank Stream Labs, The Nudge Group and The Pillars, with Sensible Firm, Fishburners and Startup&Angels as group companions.
Right here is the complete record of winners from the Startup Every day Finest in Tech Awards 2025:
Asseti – Scaleup of the Yr
Supported by AWS Startups
Asseti makes use of AI to analyse visible information at scale, remodeling asset and facility administration. The corporate has been rising at 500% year-on-year after elevating simply $2.5m in capital.
Asseti has gained a number of Fortune 50 clients, beating well-funded rivals with out a US crew on the bottom.
The corporate is now money circulation impartial and elevating a Collection A.
Relevance AI – Startup of the Yr
Supported by Vanta
Relevance AI offers 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 specialists to create, handle, and collaborate with AI brokers with out writing code.
Electrical Energy Conversions Australia (EPCA) – Most Modern 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 presents a quicker, lower-cost, and extra sustainable path to electrification, retaining worthwhile belongings in service whereas aligning with ESG targets.
Cauldron Ferm – Finest Regional Startup
Supported by Carta
It’s back-to-back wins for Cauldron Ferm, which additionally winner the 2024 Finest Regional Startup award. Cauldron is pioneering the subsequent frontier in biomanufacturing to remodel how every little thing from meals to fibres, animal feed, fuels, and extra are created.
Over the previous yr underneath founder Michelle Stansfield, the regional NSW biotech acquired 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 agentic AI, not chatbots or copilots. The platform lets anybody construct a crew of AI brokers and in Could this yr, introduced a $37 million Collection B elevate led by Bessemer Enterprise Companions.
Mick Liubinskas – Trade Champion
Supported by Sensible Firm
Local weather Salad, a group of 700 local weather tech corporations 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 function in constructing local weather options and likewise been a powerful advocate for variety, 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 – Finest Sustainability Startup
The textile business is likely one of the world’s most polluting sectors, answerable 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 unsafe chemical substances in dyeing and ending: resulting in zero wastewater, lowering GHG emissions by 94%, and slicing chemical use by 97%.
It additionally improves office security and allows just-in-time manufacturing, to scale back overproduction and textile waste.
Cell Bauhaus – Finest New Thought
Supported by Fishburners
The mission at Cell Bauhaus is to deliver computer-aided design to biology, permitting engineers to check and refine organic programs computationally earlier than constructing them, dramatically lowering each time-to-market and growth prices.
The implications are far reaching – predictive organic design may speed up growth of safer greener bio-chemistries, drought-resistant crops, and personalised therapeutics from many years to years.
Rebecca Keeley, Yarn Speech – Finest 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 very important speech pathology companies, redesigning how allied well being companies are delivered throughout Australia within the course of.
What units Bec aside is her distinctive mixture of medical 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 members of their youngster’s growth.
Sumith Jitta, Lawpath – Finest Technical Chief
Sumith Jitta is the top of engineering at Lawpath and the visionary architect behind one among Australia’s most transformative legaltech platforms.
With twenty 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 means to bridge engineering with empathy. He leads a crew of over 30 engineers, product designers, and information scientists with a peaceful readability, unblocking complexity whereas fostering a tradition of innovation and integrity.
Paz Pisarski – Future Chief
Supported by techvisa
Paz has turned an thought 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 developed into The Group Collective, now has a worldwide viewers of greater than 16,000 and 700+ communities throughout 18 nations.
Paz created Australia’s first reside cohort coaching program for group builders, legitimising what was as soon as seen as “fluffy” work into recognised strategic experience.
_Southstart – Startup Occasion of The Yr
_Southstart is one among Australia’s longest-running and most liked 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 best wines.
As Josh Garratt, CEO of Southern Angels mentioned: “_Southstart has constructed a cathedral to human connection. This isn’t a convention, it’s a pilgrimage for startups and traders who’re captivated with 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 folks they consider will reinvest their capital again into the ecosystem down the observe. Dom Pym and his crew underneath CEO Judy Anderson-Firth put money into fintech, local weather tech, women-led ventures, and startup infrastructure, unlocking capital by 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 corporations throughout 21 transactions, together with: main 2 x Euphemia Syndicate offers and backing 7 new startups.
As Heatseeker cofounder Kate O’Keefe mentioned: “Euphemia wasn’t simply our first cheque, they have 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 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 Every day Finest in Tech Awards 2025 companions:
