Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has revealed the 12 deep-tech project teams that have been chosen to take part in the next phase of its ON Accelerate program.
ON Accelerate is a structured accelerator for entrepreneurial researchers, providing them with the tools and resources that will enable them to develop high-potential innovative ventures for launch in the Australian market.
The program provides researchers access to a network of industry experts and investors, enabling them to refine and validate their ideas for commercial success, ultimately helping them secure funding and build a company.
“ON Accelerate is about creating national benefits for Australia by giving researchers the skills they need to navigate their ideas along the often-fraught road between the lab and the market,” CSIRO Chief Executive, Doug Hilton, said. “Research commercialisation, science entrepreneurship and technical collaboration are all critical skills for Australia’s future and the ON program is equipping the next generation of innovators with the skills they need to make a difference for our future.”
The 12 teams moving to the next stage of ON Accelerate are:
- Jessie Technology has developed an autonomous data entry technology that enhances the quality of care for aged care residents by reducing the time needed for workers to input data and compliance documentation while also enhancing workforce retention and meeting aged care provider-compliant requirements.
- Automated Policy Management Systems (APMS) simplifies the security accreditation process for SMEs entering the Defence Industry by mapping relationships between security documents, streamlining DISP (Defence Industry Security Program) applications, and supporting ongoing compliance.
- ErythroSight is tackling the treatment of retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, by developing a novel therapeutic from patients’ own red blood cells.
- AquaTone Solutions harnesses the convergence of life sciences and machine learning to pioneer intelligent prawn farm management and deliver timely alerts to stakeholders on a local and global scale.
- Infinite Bioworks specialises in advanced starter cells to fuel the future bio-revolution by developing advanced materials and ingredients that positively impact the planet.
- RestorTOL has developed an immune tolerance platform that identifies disease-causing epitopes and immune cell receptors in healthy humans, which can be used to create vaccines and cell-based therapies for incurable diseases.
- Wild Yeast Zoo leverages native yeast strains from Australia’s diverse ecosystems, isolating and characterising them to unlock novel pathways for industries like brewing, baking, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels.
- Plasmid Therapy deals with the removal of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) genes from bacteria to prevent infections through an affordable and safe oral solution.
- Environmental Measurement Unit Systems (EMUS) delivers advanced heat stress management systems for athletes that optimises performance and keeps players safe.
- Cytophenix offers an AI-boosted antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST), delivering clinically actionable evidence of antibiotic effectiveness in 3-5 hours, compared to the current 2-5 days.
- Mycena Biochemicals has developed a versatile, productive, and sustainable bioreactor fermentation system.
- Continuous3D offers a fully automated solution for efficiently repairing critical metal components using sensors and advanced algorithms, significantly reducing robot program development time.
The selected teams will embark on an intensive immersion week in February in preparation for a rigorous three-month program proper. It is envisioned that the teams that will complete the full ON Accelerate program will have a robust business model in place, a well-defined route to commercialisation, and be viable startups.
