Here are the 12 startups from Startmate’s Summer23 cohort

Startmate has unveiled its Summer23 accelerator cohort, a week after news that mining billionaires Andrew and Nicola Forrest are investing in female founders in the cohort.

CEO Michael Batko believes this year’s group is on a trajectory to have a disproportionate impact in terms of both ambition and global presence.

“This cohort has been global from day one and is already meaningfully changing lives across the world,” he said.

Batko says the problems they’re solving are “systematic, far-reaching, and incredibly pressing — from treating depression and ensuring worker safety to democratising access to medical information and reducing CO2 emissions.”

Some innovative startups are making waves in various fields.

Kapture, for instance, is working on membrane technology that captures CO2 emissions before their release into the atmosphere.

Kelpy, on the other hand, has developed seaweed-based packaging that can be mass-produced using existing equipment.

To democratise the home rental process, Nook has also come up with an interesting solution.

In healthcare, Resonait is working on a wearable medical device to help treat depression at home.

At the same time, Turnto has emerged as the go-to source for reliable information on various health conditions worldwide.

“Startups are born when people obsess about a problem that haunts them at night, which they find themselves determined to solve at any cost,” said Batko.

Batko feels that Startups are born when people obsess about a problem that haunts them at night, which they find themselves determined to solve at any cost.

“But entrepreneurship is a road riddled with failures, experiments and hardships — and so the Startmate Accelerator exists to increase the chance of success by providing access to expert advice, mentorship, capital, talent and credibility.

“To date, the Accelerator has invested $14.8 million in 207 companies now valued at more than $2 billion,” he said.

Here are the 12 startups in Startmate’s Summer23 cohort and brief pitches on their ideas.

AI-NC Founders George, Tom, and Max

AI-NC

AI-NC is a Melbourne-based startup reshaping how machined parts are designed and manufactured.

By bringing spell-check functionality to engineering designs, AI-NC provides engineers with manufacturing expertise and manufacturers with automated quoting and communication tools, ultimately reducing inefficiencies and costs at each stage.

Founders: George Juliff, Max Myer + Thomas Miles

Kapture Founder Raj

Kapture

Kapture is a Melbourne-based startup on a mission to decarbonise diesel generators.

Kapture has developed low-cost, user-friendly membrane technology that captures CO2 emissions before they are emitted into the atmosphere — the by-product can be used as low-cost fertiliser to increase carbon levels in the soil.

Founder: Raj Bagri

Flux Robotics

Flux Founder Jordy

Flux Robotics is an Australian startup building farm robots that can sense and actuate in a paddock at a millimeter-level scale.

Flux’s first product uses AI to detect and spray weeds within vegetable crops, reducing pesticide use for the farmer. Flux is developing an ecosystem of robotics products using the same Sense-Think-Do technology to manage weeds across different farming systems worldwide.

Founder: Jordy Kitschke

gridmo founders Jarman and Damien

gridmo

gridmo is a Melbourne-based startup accelerating the connection of renewable generation to the grid.

gridmo is a software platform that standardises and automates the engineering process required to connect generation to the grid. Currently, this process can take up to several years — but gridmo is committed to reducing the time and cost of this process by order of magnitude.

Founders: Damien Vermeer + Jarman Stephen

Kelpy founder Finn

Kelpy

Kelpy is an Australian startup that develops planet-friendly seaweed bio-packaging solutions capable of mass manufacturing on existing equipment.

Kelpy already has a global network of seaweed farms that ensures regenerative supply for a circular product and provides economic and social uplift to coastal communities and women.

Founder: Fionnuala Quin

Nook founders Nick Michael and Eddie

Nook

Nook is a Sydeny-based startup that makes renting a home as easy as reserving an Airbnb, with no disappointing open houses or frivolous applications, helping renters to secure a home they love without the stress & increasing the valuation of our partner agencies.

Founders: Edward Dostine + Nicholas Ruzhnikov + Michael Watson

Pitcrew AI

Pitcrew AI founders Joe, Tim, and Pat

Pitcrew AI is a Newcastle-based autonomous vehicle technician that inspects on-road, off-road, and rail vehicle fleets.

Pitcrew utilises thermal imaging to detect significant maintenance issues earlier than human inspectors could, keeping workers safe and avoiding unscheduled downtime.

Founders: Joe Bullock + Patrick Ivory + Tim Snell

Polymath

Polymath founders Sophie and Krinn

Polymath is an Auckland-based startup changing how children learn mathematics with a gamified, personalised, and enjoyable learning app for students.

Polymath brings parents and teachers valuable insights, empowering them to help their young students reach for the futures they dream of.

Founders: Sophie Silver + Christian (Krinn) Silver

Reactory Limited

Reactory founder Mark

Reactory is an Auckland-based startup building a scalable reactor platform that can efficiently mature liquids — specifically, spirits such as whiskey.

Reactory’s technology will bring rapid product testing to the spirits industry for the first time, reducing environmental footprints and lowering production costs.

Founder: Mark Eltom

Resonait

Resonait is a Sydeny-based startup accelerating the pathway to recovery from depression.

Resonait founder Cameron

Complementing the work of clinical psychologists, Resonait is developing a new, wearable medical device that will help people to recover faster from depression from the comfort of their own homes.

Founder: Cameron Higgins

SplootCode

SplootCode is a Sydney-based startup that makes building with Python very simple.

SplootCode is a development platform where building real-world software is approachable and efficient without sacrificing the capabilities of what can be built with code.

SplootCode founders Mattia and Katie

Founders: Katie Bell + Mattia Fregola

Turnto

Getting a serious health condition sucks. Then, finding the best, cutting-edge treatments and people to turn to is impossible and depends mostly on luck.

The Brisbane-based startup, Turnto is solving this problem by building the home for all voices and insights for every health condition. Turnto is on a mission to build a global health conversation and accelerate breakthroughs for everyone.