The 23 were selected from a record-breaking 236 applicants – a 57% increase on last year – for the annual event in Sydney.
Cicada x Tech23 spotlights deep tech startups from across the country that are developing sovereign capability in critical technologies and commercial-ready innovations in physical AI, health, energy, infrastructure, sustainability, advanced manufacturing and industry.
Since 2023, alumni including Syenta, Nutromics and Uluu have collectively raised over $280m and nabbed industry partnerships and government deployments from their involvement in Tech23.
Cicada Innovations CEO Liza Noonan said the 2026 cohort showcases the ingenuity, ambition and scientific excellence emerging from Australia’s deep tech ecosystem.
“Tech23 shines a spotlight on the founders building Australia’s future, and the technologies they’re bringing to life,” she said
“What excites me most isn’t just the technologies being developed with breakthroughs in science and engineering, but the new industries, capabilities and opportunities these companies have the potential to unlock.
When Australian deep tech founders succeed, their impact extends far beyond a single company. They create new competitive advantages, strengthen supply chains, attract investment and build the foundations for the Australian industries of tomorrow.
Cicada x Tech23 is on Wednesday, September 9. Tickets are available here.
Here are the 23 startups selected
ALBON treats wastewater from agricultural and food processing facilities with a cost effective, low-energy algae, turning it into bio-fertiliser.
ANT61’s Beacon is a ‘hardware guardian’ that recovers failing satellites, reducing the number of spacecraft that fall from the sky and opening the final frontier for all.
Arelis’ non-invasive urine test will reduce endometriosis diagnosis time to days instead of years for the 190 million people affected by the disease, meaning that patients can access answers and care much earlier.
Armatide Pharmaceuticals’ next-generation, targeted therapy could reach and treat cancer cells more effectively than current treatments.
Blue Carbon transforms ocean energy into essential services using autonomous ocean infrastructure to provide abundant water, food and environmental resilience for every coastal community.
Clean & Recover turns mine-contaminated water from a costly waste problem into a revenue stream, recovering metals, clean water and sulphates while lowering treatment costs and protecting surrounding water reserves.
Corellian Technologies’ compressor-less, heat-driven cooling system uses the very same heat that warms a building to drive cooling and dehumidification, reducing the operational footprint of a building by up to 95%.
Cortisonic is introducing a new computational element that brings ultra-low power processing to the edge, while eliminating dependence on centralised data centres.
Dentroid is addressing the needle pain and fear in dentistry and medicine with gentle solutions that could redefine dentistry.
Forward Deployed advanced sensing and robotics for hazardous environments, delivering instant, lab-grade chemical threat identification that keeps personnel out of harm’s way.
Gega Elements refines gallium – the critical mineral foundational to AI hardware – in a cheaper, more sustainable manner than current technologies.
Hydro Harvester creates water from the air, for anyone, anywhere, providing a reliable and sustainable water supply for communities farms and industries regardless of drought, water scarcity or location.
Monadd-AI allows SMEs to ‘skip the data centre’, cutting infrastructure costs by 20 times with its cloud-scale AI that utilises standard desktop hardware but delivers the same capability and quality.
MP Space has adapted EV and volume grid battery technologies for usage in space, making power in space cheaper, more performant and more reliable.
Parking Spotz installs wireless digital infrastructure in building basements that brings 70% of critical building systems online for the first time – unlocking smarter, more sustainable cities.
PremieHealth decodes the bioactive intelligence in marsupial milks to create a new class of neonatal nutrition, reducing death, disease and lifelong developmental disadvantage in pre-term babies.
Space CoLAB is tackling the $10 trillion quantum hacking, harvesting, tapping and jamming threat head on, with its world-first quantum native communications system – HaloCore.
Stratoship fills the data gap between satellites and ground stations with stratospheric infrastructure that detects natural disasters in real time.
Sydekick Robotics provides machines with the human-level dexterity and adaptability required to automate the manufacturing sector worldwide.
SydSol turns everyday surfaces into solar panels, so buildings can generate their own clean energy.
Thermal Dawn utilises thermal batteries to heat and cool homes at the fraction of the cost of a lithium battery, slashing a household’s electricity bills and carbon footprint.
Ultra Bionics is developing a minimally invasive implant that ‘steers’ therapeutic stimulation to precise cortical regions across the entire brain in a manner that is safer and more effective than deep-brain stimulation.
Undatech has developed a certified protective base layer for high-risk industry personnel on the frontline that eliminates preventable injuries and closes the safety gap for women.
