Hyped: ANZ Startups - 12 October 2025
Dickie Currer
Victorian Startup Ecosystem Hero of the Year 2025 🏆 I connect Global Startup Ecosystems through Storytelling, Community building and cross border initiatives 🌏 Founder | Investor | Emcee | Mentor
As this reaches your inbox I’ll be somewhere in woop woop, as I make the 10 hour drive from Melbourne to Sydney for this year’s SXSW!
I’ll be at the festival Monday and Tuesday (and speaking at New India House Tuesday arvo) before heading off for another conference in Beijing. More on this in next week’s edition.
If you’re a reader and will also be at this year’s SX, then please come and say hello!
In honour of the big week in Sydney that’s upon us, we’re featuring all of the Startups that are part of the event’s pitch competition this year. I still have the most fond memories of emceeing the inaugural SXSW Sydney pitch comp back in 2023.
Good luck to everyone that’s a part of this one!
Also a huge thanks to the members of our community in Melbourne that filled the room for our breakfast with Deel on Wednesday morning. With time in Australia becoming more fleeting by the day, these moments are even more special.
I’d love you to join us at our next function on October 31st and be a part of our last event for the year, you can register for free here
Until then travel safe,
Dickie Currer - Author & Founder of Hype Man Media
Top headlines from Australia
Everything you need to know about Australian Startups in the last week
Zeller begins global push with move into UK’s £1.3 trillion SME market
Zeller, the Australian fintech redefining business banking, today announced its upcoming launch into the United Kingdom, its first international market, and the beginning of an expansion strategy to deploy Zeller’s leading all-in-one payment and financial ecosystem globally.
The UK is Zeller's first international market, as part of the global expansion strategy of one of Australia’s fastest growing technology companies. Zeller has grown to serve more than 100,000 Australian businesses in under five years, employs over 320 people, and reached unicorn status in 2022.
UK businesses process over £1.3 trillion in card payments annually, opening Zeller up to an opportunity 4 times the size of Australia. Zeller’s UK launch will create over 40 new jobs in the next 3 years.
2 Aussie Startups named in global 40 for AWS Gen AI Accelerator
Melbourne-based Pluralis Research, and Sydney’s Mary Technology will join the eight-week program, designed to help early-stage startups scale foundational generative AI technologies.
Now in its third year, the AWS program gives participants up to US$1 million in AWS credits, mentorship, and access to AWS’s full AI technology stack.
Plurais Research, focuses on collective AI creation, with a collaborative foundation-model development through shared training protocols. And Sydney’s Mary Technology is a legaltech startup that has developed what it calls a ‘fact management system’.
Previous Australian alumni for the program include Relevance AI, Leonardo.ai, Splash Music, and Marqo.
Time Magazine’s best Inventions of 2025 has just dropped and includes several founded in our corner of the globe
The list includes 300 of the best inventions making the world better, smarter, and more fun. The incredible innovations from ANZ include:
We love seeing Aussie Inventions and their Innovators recognised across the world!
The Teens in Business Awards are back, recognising the best young Entrepreneurs in Australia
The initiative run by Not for Profit Young Change Agents recognises young people (aged 10-18) across Australia who have incredibly creative ideas, are developing and running amazing businesses, and are creating value for their communities.
Nominations for this year’s awards close on 15th October, you can nominate a young person or recommend them to nominate themselves here
And join the final showcase online on 5th November to see the amazing things young people are doing. Register for free here.
Top headlines from New Zealand
Kia ora from Aotearoa! Here’s what’s happening across the startup ecosystem, thanks to our NZ correspondent Pauli Sosa:
Want more updates like these? Check out Startup Digest New Zealand to stay in the loop with events, opportunities, and ecosystem news.DICKIE10
23 Startups that caught our eye this week
Our weekly spotlight on some of the region’s most exciting emerging Startups. If you’re reading this and you can help them out then don’t hesitate!
This week we’re moving away from our usual deep dive on 5 Startups, instead spotlighting the 23 Startups taking part in next week’s SXSW Sydney pitch competition.
The finalists will battle it out across 7 categories, with a winner from each going through to the grand final. With the winner of that having the chance to pitch at SXSW Austin or London.
You can read more about the pitch competition and program here.
Category: Climate Tech & Sustainability
Finalists:
Category: Enterprise, Big Data & Artificial Intelligence
Finalists:
Category: Entertainment, Games & Media
Finalists:
Category: Future of Retail & Commerce
Finalists:
Category: Future of Work & Education
Finalists:
Category: Hardware, Manufacturing & Physical Solutions
Finalists:
Category: Health, Biotech & Medtech
Finalists:
Events to watch out for
The biggest and best events across our ecosystem, bringing our incredible community together.
Hype Man Media Events
31st October - Melbourne - Taking your Startup to the UK/Europe - The third part of our breakfast series with Vanta. This time we’ll be exploring the UK and Europe, with a raft of speakers telling you how to scale your Startup in those markets.
Ecosystem Events
14 October - Sydney - Community Coffee for Founders, Investors and Builders - Overnight Success x Vanta x Mighty Partners - Grab yourself a free coffee, courtesy of Overnight Success, Vanta, and Mighty Partners.
14 October - Auckland - STEM Happy Hour: Ada Lovelace Day - Celebrate women in STEM over engaging conversation in a relaxed setting.
15 October - Online - EnergyLab Scaleup Showcase - a 60min virtual event as we celebrate & showcase the 2025 EnergyLab Scaleup program cohort!
16 October - Sydney - Startup shore - grab your sunnies, a refreshing drink, and come hang with your party co-hosts Airtree, me&u and Linktree as we make some waves in tech together.
16 October - Christchurch - Ministry of Awesome: Coffee & Jam #365 -Christchurch’s longest-running founder meetup connecting innovators and changemakers.
16 October - Sydney - Brew & Build Sydney: Carta x Notion x HubSpot - an exclusive morning session dedicated to early-stage founders.
20 October - Auckland - Impactful Innovation ‘25 - Deep tech leaders share insights at Pipiri Lane ahead of Auckland Startup Wee
22 October - Adelaide - Tank Stream Suites Adelaide Launch Party - the launch of the brand new Tank Stream Suites Adelaide office.
23 October - Melbourne - Startmate Demo Day - W25 - Join Demo Day to meet the W25 founders, connect with ANZ's most vibrant startup community, and walk away buzzing with ideas (and maybe your next investment).
23 October - Melbourne - Invest in Alabama - a special briefing breakfast by Christina Stimpson, Chief Officer of Global Business at the Alabama Department of Commerce.
29 October - Melbourne - Master of Entrepreneurship Showcase pitch night - Showcase Pitch Night is an evening to celebrate the achievements and talent of the University of Melbourne’s Master of Entrepreneurship students.
29 October - Newcastle - I2N Accelerator Demo Night - After an intensive 13-week journey, each team has risen to the challenge and is ready to share what they have learned and where to next.
11 November - Sydney - Remarkable Disability Tech Summit 2025 - Join 250+ changemakers as we move Disability Tech from the margins to the mainstream. From keynotes and panels to immersive workshops and tech demos - this is where accessibility drives inclusive innovation.
8-12 December - Perth - West Tech Fest - Australia’s longest running tech and innovation festival providing opportunities for the local startup and tech community to connect with and hear from global leaders as they share insights into how to grow a successful business.
Opportunities
Programs, competitions and Accelerators to help you thrive and grow
Join the Spark Accelerator program
Run by Lightningning Ventures the Accelerator is aimed at empowering non-technical founders with the education and tools needed to build and scale their software businesses. Utilizing no-code tools like Bubble.io, the program helps founders become self-sufficient without needing to spend exorbitant amounts on agencies or give away significant equity.
Giving you world class NoCode & AI training from one of only 12 globally recognized Bubble.io coaches.
Submit your EOI here to find out more
Liked this edition, then:
Until next week,
Dickie
Thank you for the mention Dickie Currer! ❤️
Victorian Startup Ecosystem Hero of the Year 2025 🏆 I connect Global Startup Ecosystems through Storytelling, Community building and cross border initiatives 🌏 Founder | Investor | Emcee | Mentor
3wShout-out to Will Richards for bringing my attention to the Time Magazine content!
Experienced leader in innovation, partnerships, and sustainable development. Skilled in strategy, stakeholder engagement, and driving real-world impact. Open to new opportunities.
3w👏👏👏👏👏 Great to see so many ready to go fir SXSW