Australia’s national science agency CSIRO has unveiled the 10 successful teams selected to develop their high-potential innovative ventures through the ON Accelerate program.
The selected teams moving to the next stage of ON Accelerate are:
- DHI, a Monash University-affiliated team that leverages artificial intelligence to improve regulation technology and better detect and report discrepancies in listed companies’ disclosures;
- Green Shield, also from Monash University, which provides a class of materials that offer unique solutions to object camouflage;
- The v2Algae team, originating from the University of Technology Sydney, which is creating a new biotechnology specialty ingredient manufacturing segment for Australia;
- Rainstick, a Northern Queensland-based startup that seeks to combine indigenous knowledge systems and modern electrokinetics to encourage fungi and plants’ natural systems to grow faster and increase yield.
- The SpritzOM team, originating from Telethon Kids Institute, working to develop a low-cost nasal vaccine to prevent ear infections;
- The Application Development team at WEHI, which aims to deliver a solution that helps organisations working with animals improve their ethical treatment, lower the cost, and improve efficiency;
- Thaum, a startup team from the ANU Research School of Physics deep-tech incubator Momentum seeking to commercialise WhalePOD;
- Cognitag, a CSIRO-backed team that aims to harness the unmined potential of internet of things connected devices;
- CSIRO’s Reduced Sugar Juice team, which is working on naturally reducing the sugar content of juice drinks by up to 70 per cent without negatively affecting their nutritional value;
- And finally, CSIRO’s UpCell team, which has developed a process technology for the super-efficient and scalable production of specialised performance proteins in food-appropriate quality, quantity, and cost.
The selected teams are expected to complete immersion week in early February before undertaking the full 14-week ON Accelerate program.
As part of the initiative, teams will work closely with a team of experts and follow an individual development plan that would equip them with knowledge on everything business leaders and researchers need to know in order to become a market-ready venture.
By the end of the program, teams will graduate with a solid business model and a clear path to commercialisation, CSIRO said in a press release.
The ON Acceleration program has been part of revolutionising Australian innovation since 2015, according to CSIRO CEO Larry Marshall.
“Since the ON Program began in 2015, 66 new companies have been formed, raising more than $110m in investment capital and creating more than 500 jobs. I’m excited about the potential for this cohort to continue to create the new industries Australia needs to thrive in our innovative future,” he said.
