Hopefully, if you’re here you know the drill by now: each day this week editor-in-chief Simon Crerar (SC) and senior tech reporter Tegan Jones (TJ) are bringing you all the news, views and “overheard at the ICC” SXSW Sydney gossip they can: thanks for joining us, email us here if you have any juicy news or hot-takes.
Yesterday TJ spent the arvo at Google HQ, at an event that brought together women founders and investors to discuss the future of tech and the startup ecosystem (she also got to hang out with Abi – Andromeda Robotics’ aged care-focused robot).
SC started his day interviewing the co-founders of unicorn startup Eight Sleep, and finished it at the Shark Tank premiere after party. In between, he bumped into Capital Brief‘s VC and startup correspondent Bronwen Clune, who said: “We’re all reading your blog!”.
Today’s big highlight is the heats for the SXSW Sydney Pitch.
ICYMI: Day One: Pre-seed exclusive, $12 tampons, Demo Day | Day Two: Startmate hangovers, TJ meets Abi, website issues | We need a local SXSW like we need The Office, Oz| 1,547 attendees at record Startmate Demo Day | Mel Perkins keynote takeaways. | SXSW Bingo!
Simon:
There was terrific energy in the SXSW Sydney Pitch: Climate Tech & Sustainability heats this afternoon, as a packed room witnessed pitches from Brisbane-based CO₂ removal company Carbonaughts, Victorian leaf protein company The Leaf Protein Company, and Western Australia ocean energy tech company WaveX.
After slick, tight pitches from all three founders, the judges – EnergyLab CEO Megan Fisher, Lucetia Group CEO Georgie Skipper and Square Peg VC partner James Tynan – unanimously decided that WaveX would barrel into tomorrow’s final.
In his slick, information-dense pitch, co-founder Simon Renwick explained how WaveX creates “wave energy when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow”.
In a convincing explanation of the power and potential impact of his startup’s giant floating generators – “each bigger than this room, cylindrical, 15m in diameter with three connected together, each big enough to land a helicopter on” – Renwick explained how WaveX will leverage existing oil and gas infrastructure and give existing win farm operators a new new option, arguing that “the wind farm producers of today will become the wave producers of the future”.
Renwich and his two experienced co-founders “have installed a million tonnes of offshore material in our previous careers”, which seems ~ a lot ~ and certainly helped persuade the judges WaveX’s vision is deliverable.
Tomorrow’s final kicks off at 3.30pm in Cockle Bay 2, ICC. SC
Tegan:
The SXSW Sydney Pitch event is on the home stretch. I managed to get along to the enterprise, big data and AI heat. But to be honest, the three finalists were really more operating within that final AI category. Not surprising given the current funding appetite for it.
The first pitch came from Lawrence Kusz, founder of Chatstat, which uses AI to proactively address cyberbullying.
Inspired by his niece, Kusz emphasised Chatstat’s ability to monitor content and provide early interventions, helping improve well-being – including within the workplace – and safety with gen AI.
Next up was Dr Ariella Heffernan-Marks, founder of Ovum AI. I interviewed Dr Heffernan-Marks back in April for Neural Notes about the startup, which is looking to address the gender health gap through an AI-powered app.
Going beyond this, it is developing Australia’s first longitudinal AI women’s data set so it can offer a holistic, personal health assistant designed with and for women.
Lastly we had Michael Cerbara, co-founder of Tensis. He pitched an AI-driven document automation tool for legal professionals. It claims to offer courtroom-ready documents drawn from fragmented data.
After a short deliberation, the judges (including Build Club’s Annie Liao) named Ovum AI the winner, due to its refined business model and massive market potential (50% of the population) that addresses an underserved need in women’s healthcare. TJ
An anonymous contributor has helpfully compiled this SXSW Bingo card for your enjoyment.
We’re halfway through the week, how close to SXSW Bingo Full House are you?!
How many can you cross out? Click here for the full Bingo card.
Simon:
Sadly my green smoothie/bicycle incident meant I missed the session I was most excited about today, bearded legend Sam Elsom explaining how his awesome Tasmanian scale-up Sea Forest is tackling climate change by deploying science, tech and seaweed to transform the future of farming by cutting methane emissions from cattle and sheep by up to 90%.
In a quick chat side stage after his event, CEO Elsom revealed he has a major, very exciting partnership close to closure. He didn’t explicitly state that this was off the record but I don’t want to jinx something so seismic so will keep it zipped. SC
Simon:
On my way to the ICC on a lovey Lekker bike borrowed from my hotel this morning I was feeling very smug with myself as I zipped past the Sydney traffic in a snarled-up CBD and onto the Anzac Bridge approach over Darling Harbour.
Unfortunately, the Dutch engineering (or Scottish idiocy) meant that the Smart Cables to attach a bag to the back unsmarted themselves over a bumpy stretch of poorly maintained highway and ended up on the tarmac at approximately 50kmph, causing something of a disturbance on the roadway behind.
Thankfully your author and the laptop he is writing on are okay. Unfortunately, the Simon Says Green Smoothie (and bag and glasses case) less so. If you’re stuck in a jam going over the Anzac right now, sorry. SC
Tegan:
Hey Sydneysiders, word on the street is that a certain EIC got into an altercation with a bike, resulting in a green smoothie going everywhere. Apparently there’s photographic evidence but this blogger is yet to see it. TJ
Tegan:
Considering I keep harping on about the undisclosed vending machine prices (plus convention food is always expensive), I decided to make it my mission to find as many good free stuff as possible.
And I want your help.
If you see anything being given away for free across the SXSW, let me know! Comment below or slide into my LinkedIn DMs.
What I’ve found so far:
Tim Tam cafe:
Free coffee and choccies.
Aussie Broadband booth (Tech and Innovation Hall):
Free coffee, black forest lamingtons, and a sausage sizzle at 12.00pm today. Disclosure: my fiancé works for the company. Ethics and free food are equally important to ya gal.
Temus One booth (Tech and Innovation Hall): Free wine tasting
Free meal and drink at the USA house:
And in true American style, the portions are huge. You’re welcome.
Cyber Wardens booth (Tech and Innovation Hall):
The free goodie bags have a pocket sunscreen and a multi-cable charger (SO useful for conventions).
C3.2
There’s a few goodies lurking around here (close to where all the pitch heats are).
You’ll find a HuskeeSwap stand where you can borrow and return sustainable KeepCups. Free coffee and sweet treats were on offer, as of about 3.00pm.
And right next door someone was also giving out free ice creams. Winner.
Back on the vending machine beat, I just heard some fresh gossip on the show floor.
There are also specific vending machines around the ICC just for high-vis vests — a requirement for bumping in for those exhibiting. This means if you don’t have one, your only option is to purchase from one of these bad boys with their lack of visible pricing and inevitable markups.
Amazing stuff.
Tegan:
Spotted! Felicity Ward at the Amazon Prime activation getting interviewed for the Australian reboot of The Office. TJ
Tegan:
Tegan:
It is Pitch Day at SXSW, which means for most of the day startups across a variety of categories will be battling it out for a spot in the grand final tomorrow.
Also, did you know SmartCompany has its own pitch competition in Sydney in November? If only there was a way to enter right now.
Anyway! If you’re interested in getting around some of the sessions, this is what’s in store:
I’m particularly interested in the AI, hardware and games pitches so I may just see you there. TJ
Tegan:
It’s day three and I’m starting things off strong with the airing of grievances.
First up, we have the SXSW browser-based schedule, which we first reported as having security issues yesterday. That has not been fixed (at least for me) and still looks like this:
And back to the undisclosed vending machine prices drama: it turns out a bottle of water is $6.10.
For those who were not playing along at home earlier in the week, we discovered tampons and gums were being flogged for $12.
And lastly, I can’t be the only one using the app and having their eyes constantly smacked by this gratuitous Mailchimp ad.
My favourite is when it freezes the screen.
Sidebar: please don’t judge my 18% battery situation, it is from yesterday, I swear.
That’s all of my whinging, for now. TJ
Simon:
Sometime today we will hit the halfway mark on SXSW Sydney. Will I be stopping for half-time oranges?! I probably should be; my diet so far has mainly consisted of back-to-back-to-back coffees and finger food at parties. I did manage a quick beer with Forbes Australia‘s editor-in-chief Sarah O’Connell yesterday evening – on Michael Lane’s expense account, not my CEO Will Hayward’s. 😉
I congratulated Sarah on the great splash Forbes has made Down Under, and learned a little bit more about the realities of putting on big events at the ICC. We didn’t discuss their inaugural 30 Under 30 list, but it’s terrific (I’m hoping for a 50 over 50 next year).
Like a good Girl Guide, Sarah headed home for an early night, while I zipped over to the Golden Age Cinema for the premier of the latest season of Network Ten’s Shark Tank, featuring return judges Jane Lu, Robert Herjavec and (30 Under 30 listee) Davie Fogarty, plus new judges Nick Bell and Maxine Horne.
It was a terrific night, with the audience whooping and hollering as Jane promised: “The sharks are sharkier, the deals are bigger, this is the best season yet”. I’m pretty sure half the audience were Jane’s employees, but I was whooping and hollering too: she really is as wonderfully direct and ALIVE in real life as she is on screen.
After the screening – which was terrific, we’ll have a review live soon – Jane herded us into a fleet of stretch limos for a drive into the CBD and an intimate after party mostly populated by influencers, and “professional reality TV stars”. I stuck to the Peroni 0.0% and enjoyed the entertainment. I also had a great chat with Davie and his partner Georgina about their $7,000 Eight Sleep bed, which rounded out a day that began with me interviewing the company’s US founders nicely. SC
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Simon Crerar is the managing director of Impact&ble, a sustainable impact advisory firm. He was editor-in-chief of SmartCo Media from 2022-24, and before that the founding editor and then GM of BuzzFeed Australia. Simon began his career on Fleet Street at The Times, and has also worked for the SMH and News Corp Australia. He champions businesses having a positive impact on LinkedIn.
Deputy editor
A multi-award-winning journalist, Tegan has been reporting on technology, telecommunications and gaming for the past 10 years. She regularly appears on mainstream media channels as an expert tech commentator. Her previous roles include editor of Gizmodo Australia and global reviews editor at Finder. She has also served as a reporter and editor across Business Insider, Lifehacker and Kotaku Australia. Tegan is also the co-host of one of the top technology podcasts in Australia, Weird Tech. You can find her on Twitter @Tegan_Writes.
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