Twelve startups – with 10 having female founders – have been selected for the NSW government-backed Techstars Sydney accelerator.
Artificial intelligence features heavily in the cohort, which spans health to sustainable fashion, parenting and support for women entrepreneurs, including Jamie, led by two female founders, which is developing an AI companion for women to assist with stress management, confidence building and relationships.
Cofounder and CEO Sreyna Rath said they’ll use Techstars to to refine their strategy and launch Jaimee internationally.
“Meeting the other founders, I was impressed by the high quality of commercial thinking and the diverse range of ideas, from support for disadvantaged groups to sustainability, and in our case, addressing the gender data gap in AI,” she said.
The startups will now take part in a 13-week program at Sydney’s Tech Central, receiving training and access to a network of mentors to grow their entrepreneurial skills. It concludes with a Demo Day on December 5.
Techstars managing director Kirstin Hunter said the program, now in its second year, also provides funding and fundraising opportunities, workshops and other resources.
“I’m excited to welcome the 2024 founders to the Techstars Tech Central Sydney accelerator,” she said.
“These founders are the most diverse group ever seen in a generalist accelerator in Australia – not just in who they are, but in the type of problem they are solving, and the scale of impact that they will deliver through their businesses.”
NSW innovation, science and technology minister Anoulack Chanthivong said fostering greater diversity among founders was one of the issues to emerge during consultation on our Innovation Blueprint. The minister announced plans for the blueprint 12 months ago, but it has yet to be released.
“The NSW Government is proud to support Techstars with its world leading accelerator program at Tech Central, which will foster the next generation of entrepreneurs in our innovation system,” he said.
SeenCulture founder and CEO Nikki Tugano was among the class of 2023 and went on to raise $1 million, backed by the Victorian government’s $10 million Alice Anderson fund for women founders.
The workplace talent management platform helps managers in their decision-making around employee issues, including performance, pay reviews and promotions and counts Atlassian and Culture Amp among its customers.
“Being a part of the Techstars program was without a doubt the best thing that has happened to SeenCulture and has been instrumental to laying the foundations for our early-stage startup to succeed,” Tugano said.
“Techstars helped us build such a strong and credible reputation that lowered our barriers to funding, which was a big contributor to our ability to raise our $1 million in investment.”
The 12 startups in the 2024 Techstars Sydney accelerator program are:
Canopy, an AI-enabled misconduct and psychosocial safety reporting platform.
Dispute Buddy, which. reates searchable timelines of texts and messages to resolve legal disputes quickly.
Earthletica, an Australian-designed activewear utilising cutting edge sustainable materials and practices, co-founded by Paris Olympics gold medallist Bronte Campbell.
Female Startup Club, which connects female entrepreneurs with the training and resources they need to build their businesses.
Gether, an AI-assistant that frees working parents from their mental load.
Heatseeker, an AI-enabled platform to help companies grow through quick and easy market tests.
Jaimee, an AI companion for women to assist with stress management, confidence building and relationships.
NEVAM CX, which mpowers brands to perfect their customer experience across every channel.
OD-AI, which supports organisations to implement the policies, processes and training to create best practice compliance.
Shutterspeed is an automatic time/cost tracker and business assistant to make content creation more efficient and profitable.
Understanding Zoe, which supports parents and carers of neurodivergent children to apply therapist recommendations at home, school and beyond.
Visuo, which delivers AI powered personalised video experiences to enable brands to drive better customer acquisition, loyalty and retention.
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