Meet the eight startups pitching at Startup Battlefield Australia
TechCrunch selects eight Australian startups to pitch at Startup Battlefield Australia during Stripe Tour Sydney on August 19, competing for Stripe fee credits and a Disrupt spot.
Investor · 4 deals
Media outlet hosting Startup Battlefield
Every published round TechCrunch took part in, and every parcel of existing shares it bought off another holder. Deals we hold but haven't published yet are not counted.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Role | Alongside | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apate.ai | Accelerator | 5 Aug 2026 | $11.4m | Lead | ARN (ARNnet), SmartCompany, Startup Daily, Dealroom, TechCrunch Australia | |
| Okra Solar | Accelerator | 25 May 2022 | $2.1m | Participant | SmartCompany, TechCrunch Australia | |
| Preve | Accelerator | 5 Aug 2026 | - | Lead | TechCrunch Australia, Startup Daily, SmartCompany | |
| BioticsAI | Accelerator | 15 Sep 2023 | - | Participant | TechCrunch Venture, Startup Daily |
Everyone TechCrunch has named to a program in published coverage. A place in a program is not a raise: the cheque is the figure recorded with the place, which is the program's standard terms where we hold them, and a blank is one we don't.
Companies TechCrunch has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apate.ai | Helps banks, telcos, and governments dismantle scam operations | 5 Aug 2026, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
| BioticsAI | 15 Sep 2023, Accelerator | 1 | 0 | |
| Okra Solar | 25 May 2022, Accelerator | 1 | 0 | |
| Preve | Helps physical therapy clinics improve patient retention and clinical outcomes | 5 Aug 2026, Accelerator | 1 | 1 |
Fund closes reported for TechCrunch, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies TechCrunch has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal TechCrunch did.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Isabelle Johannessen | Director of Startup Battlefield | TechCrunch Australia |
Stories naming TechCrunch. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
TechCrunch selects eight Australian startups to pitch at Startup Battlefield Australia during Stripe Tour Sydney on August 19, competing for Stripe fee credits and a Disrupt spot.
Profile of BioticsAI, launching AI software that spots missed fetal abnormalities in pregnancy ultrasounds and auto-generates reports, presenting at Startup Battlefield; it has raised pre-seed money from Techstars Boston, Blackbird and Startmate.
Sydney solar startup Okra Solar announced a $2.1 million round led by Explorer Investments and Didendum to scale its mesh-grid technology, having earlier won TechCrunch's 2019 Shenzhen Hardware Battlefield event.
A year-end reflection on Australian agtech's 2017 rise, covering FluroSat's investment round, several startups' funding totals, SproutX's first accelerator cohort, Observant's acquisition, and the author's hopes for 2018.
Also Tenacious Ventures portfolio·Cotton Research and Development Corporation