Here are the 23 startups chosen by Cicada Innovations for Tech23

Deep tech incubator Cicada Innovations has chosen its first cohort of startup founders showcasing world-changing innovations at the annual deep technology conference Cicada x Tech23.

Cicada became custodians of Tech23 last year, reviving Australia’s longest-running deep tech event to support Australian deep tech innovators

The 23 ventures were chosen from more than 130 applications nationally – highest number received in Tech23’s 13 years.

They’re group under five overarching categories aimed at asking big questions about how we build the future to tackle broad-reaching problems, from ending waste and creating truly circular economies; to the rebuilt environment and creating sustainable, smart and biodiverse cities; shifting the mindset in medicine from cure to prevention; co-designing with nature by creating systems guided and powered by the natural world and supercharged by technology; and reimagining time by using advances in manufacturing, infrastructure, and computing to change how we use and experience our most valuable and limited resource: time.

Cicada coincidentally celebrates its 23rd anniversary this year, and CEO Sally-Ann Williams said they have stayed true to Tech23’s DNA of celebrating radical Australian innovation and deep technological advancements, but has given the conference a makeover by moving away from pitches and prizes.

Cicada Innovations CEO Sally-Ann Williams

This year’s Cicada x Tech23, on July 26, will feature a series of inspirational talks and in-depth panel discussions focused on addressing how we solve some of the world’s biggest problems in a ways that transcend individual industries or technologies.

“Deep technologies are remarkable breakthroughs in science and engineering, with the potential to have a far-reaching impact on big, seemingly intractable, issues in the world. Deep tech ventures, like the 23 companies at Tech23, are finding commercial applications for these innovations,” Williams said.

“To really understand the impact of deep tech ventures, we must think systemically, not through niches of technology or individual industries.

“These ventures often utilise or develop innovations in fields such as AI, biotech, robotics, quantum, and it’s rare for these innovations to have applications in one sector alone, such as aerospace or medicine. “

Williams cited examples such as using space technologies to monitor agricultural conditions or provide healthcare solutions, and AI applied both to the monitoring of a patient and as a smart cities solution.

“At Cicada x Tech23, we want to spark this meaningful conversation and ask questions that urge us all to dream big, imagine new holistic approaches and think in systems, not silos,” she said.

More on Cicada x Tech23 including booking tickets for the one-day conference in Sydney on July 26 is available at cicadainnovations.com/cicada-x-tech23