Goterra and Agili8 are two very different startups solving vastly difference problems. But they’re both brilliant ideas, which is why they were named the first joint winners in the 2024 Startup Daily Best in Tech Awards as Most Innovative Startup.
Goterra has developed a closed-loop modular robotics system that transforms food waste into high-value, low-impact protein for livestock feed and soil conditioner using fly larvae.
Agili8 closes the gaps of healthcare inequity especially for Aboriginal, rural, regional and remote communities where clinicians are scarce and healthcare is inaccessible due to distance.
Startup Daily editor Simon Thomsen said the standard of finalists was extraordinarily high, amid more than 40 entries in the Most Innovative category, and after much debate and deliberation, the judges decided to announce co-winners for the category.
“The fact that our winners span climate tech and health tech show how diverse Australia’s innovators are, with one coming from the ACT and the other from Western Australia,” he said.
“But their solutions impressed the awards judges equally to make them joint winners for the Most Innovative Startup award.”
The Most Innovative Startup category was presented by by x15ventures. The other finalists were Nourish, which created the world’s first animal-free fats using precision fermentation, as dairy and meat replacement for flavour; and the medtech startup Tetratherix, which has developed biostealth polymer technology that is revolutionising targeted therapeutic delivery and regenerative medicine.
Goterra’s big year
It’s been a big 12 months for founder Olympia Yarger, since Goterra was named the 2023 Best Sustainability Startup.
Following a $10 million bridging round a year ago, Yarger has been raising to take Goterra to the next level following a range of new partnerships, including Brisbane’s Howard Smith Wharves entertainment precinct. The City of Sydney is also trialling Goterra, hoping to turn up to 600 tonnes of food waste into animal feed and fertiliser, alongside collaboration with Hyatt Regency Sydney to cut the hotel’s carbon footprint and environmental impact.
Food waste is directly responsible for 8% of carbon emissions globally and a third of all food produced is lost or wasted, costing the global economy around $940 billion annually. Goterra is turning it into money, using Black Soldier Fly larvae to eat and recycle it into protein, which is even being used as fish feed for the Tasmanian aquaculture industry. It also creates something called frass, an organic fertiliser that’s recycled for farming.
On the awards night earlier this month, Yarger’s flight took a right turn across the Pacific to meet with investors. So, Goterra’s head of strategy, Justin Frank, accepted the award, saying they were “really, really chuffed” to be a winner for the second year in a row.
“It means a lot to us. We’ve got a team of 55 people. They work so hard. We’re circular economy pioneers solving for a better future – that’s our purpose,” Frank told Startup Daily.
“That’s why we come to work. It’s why we work so hard. The team will be absolutely over the moon with this award.”
Agili8 makes care accessible
Founder Esther Oh said Agili8, an adjective meaning “empower to work smarter, faster, safer” was born out of her darkest moments, when clinician friends died from COVID while treating and her son lost his vision permanently aged just 16, during the lockdowns due to skills gaps and shortages in healthcare.
But the bigger issue Oh saw was that access to appropriate healthcare for people in remote areas is difficult, if not impossible for many.
“Most poor people died young, not because of incurable diseases, but because they had no money,” she said, having experienced her own near-death experience as a teen because her family was worried about being able to pay for healthcare.
She’s witnessed firsthand many bright Aboriginal children who lost their hearing and vision to curable diseases because they couldn’t get prompt medical treatment at the most critical time.
“That is why we are so passionate and purpose driven to virtual care to those most in need,” she said.
To create Agili8, Oh spent years travelling into the remote Western Desert region of Western Australia to stress test when she calls XRAI Vision (eXtended Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision) on the smart glasses.
The goal is to reduce human errors, and prevent critical time delays and knowledge gaps. The glasses connect via a mobile app and allow specialists to see, zoom, draw and highlight on the vision. There’s also AI assistance that is initiated when there is no human or internet available.
As a result, virtual care can be delivered anytime, anywhere on any device. All that’s needed is smart phone for the doctor/expert can send a one-time secured SMS or email for the patient to access “hospital in your home” convenience.
“We overcome all these barriers for health care, equity, and inaccessibility, and even affordability, which has a huge impact, not just for our state or our nation, it’s got huge impact for the world,” Oh explains.
“We also transform the way humans see, learn and collaborate in a virtual and immersive merged reality environment, where learning is hands-on, on-the-job and personalised to each individual.”
Find out more about Goterra and Agili8.
See the full list of 2024 Startup Daily Awards winners here.
This article is brought to you by Startup Daily, with the support of x15ventures.
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