Top 100 Sydney Startups to Watch in 2026
Sydney's startup scene is a mix of different industries, from enterprise software to deep tech. The city is home to both globally recognized companies and newer ventures.
Design platform Canva has raised $2.5B, showing the scale of success possible. Meanwhile, newer companies like quantum computing firm Diraq are also attracting significant investment.
Below is our list of 100 Sydney startups worth keeping an eye on.
Failory's Top 10 Picks
Canva has built an online design and visual communication platform aimed at making design accessible to everyone. Their suite of tools allows users to easily produce everything from social media posts and presentations to marketing materials without needing specialized software.
| Year Founded | 2013 |
| Founders | Cameron Adams, Cliff Obrecht, Melanie Perkins |
| Funding Amount | $2.5B |
| Startup Size | Enterprise Organization (5,001+) |
| Last Funding Status | Secondary Market |
| Top Investors | Franklin Templeton, 500 Global, General Catalyst, Bessemer Venture Partners, HSG |
Employment Hero provides a cloud-based platform that combines HR, payroll, and employee benefits into a single system. The software is designed to help businesses automate their people management and simplify complex administrative tasks.
| Year Founded | 2014 |
| Founders | Ben Thompson, Dave Tong |
| Funding Amount | $521.5M |
| Startup Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Secondary Market |
| Top Investors | Insight Partners, Salesforce Ventures, TCV, Airtree Ventures, Partners for Growth |
Immutable builds a blockchain-based platform that helps developers create and scale web3 games. Their technology is designed to simplify the complexities of blockchain, making it easier to introduce mainstream players to in-game asset ownership through NFTs.
| Year Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | Alex Connolly, James Ferguson, Robbie Ferguson |
| Funding Amount | $277.4M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Temasek Holdings, Coinbase Ventures, Airtree Ventures, Tencent, Declaration Partners |
BingX operates a crypto exchange that combines spot and derivatives trading with social features. The platform enables users to trade a wide range of digital assets and to copy the investment strategies of other traders.
| Year Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | Josh Lu |
| Funding Amount | None |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | — |
| Top Investors | — |
InDebted builds a digital platform to modernize the debt collection process for businesses. Their software uses machine learning to create a more customer-centric experience with flexible and personalized payment options.
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Founders | Josh Foreman |
| Funding Amount | $105.8M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Corporate Round |
| Top Investors | Airtree Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, OneVentures, Carthona Capital, Reinventure |
Deputy builds an all-in-one workforce management solution for businesses with hourly employees. The platform simplifies everything from scheduling and timesheets to team communication and task management.
| Year Founded | 2008 |
| Founders | Ashik Ahmed, Steve Shelley |
| Funding Amount | $159.5M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Corporate Round |
| Top Investors | IVP, EVP, Square Peg Capital, OpenView, Express Employment Professionals |
SafetyCulture builds a mobile-first operations platform that helps teams manage workplace safety and quality. Their software allows frontline workers to conduct digital inspections, report issues, and capture operational data in the field.
| Year Founded | 2004 |
| Founders | Luke Anear |
| Funding Amount | $355.1M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Secondary Market |
| Top Investors | Insight Partners, Index Ventures, Blackbird Ventures, Tiger Global Management, Airtree Ventures |
Secure Code Warrior has built a developer-centric platform that makes learning to write secure code an engaging experience. They provide hands-on training and challenges to help engineering teams build security skills directly into their workflow.
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Colin Wong, Fatemah Beydoun, Jaap Karan Singh, John Fitzgerald, Matias Madou, Nathan Desmet, Pieter Danhieux |
| Funding Amount | $101.5M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Forgepoint Capital, Goldman Sachs, Cisco Investments, Airtree Ventures, Tidal Ventures |
Automic Group delivers registry, company secretarial, and financial services to Australian businesses through its cloud-native platform. This allows companies of all sizes to streamline their corporate administration and investor management in one place.
| Year Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Ben Kay |
| Funding Amount | A$80M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Private Equity |
| Top Investors | Five V Capital |
Diraq develops quantum processors using silicon, a method designed to make quantum computing scalable and commercially practical. Their technology integrates with existing semiconductor manufacturing, a key step toward producing millions of qubits on a single chip.
| Year Founded | 2022 |
| Founders | Andrew Dzurak |
| Funding Amount | $62.9M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | University of New South Wales, Quantonation, Main Sequence Ventures, Uniseed, Taronga Ventures |
90 Additional Sydney Startups Worth Following
The top 10 are just a small slice of what’s happening across Sydney right now. Founders are building new things in busy fields like fintech and AI, and together have raised billions of dollars in funding. Below is a look at the other 90 startups shaping the city's future. Some are early in their journey while others are scaling fast, and each one is part of what makes the local scene so strong.
| Startup | Industry | Year Founded | Amount Raised | Last Funding Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Drift | Crypto | 2021 | $52.3M | Series B |
 AirTrunk | Cloud | 2014 | $3.4B | Debt Financing |
 New Forests | Fintech | 2005 | — | Series B |
 Dovetail | Analytics | 2017 | $69.4M | Series A |
 Eucalyptus | Healthcare | 2019 | A$148M | Series C |
 Block Earner | Crypto | 2021 | $9.7M | Series A |
 Hello Clever | Fintech | 2021 | $3.8M | Seed |
 Lombard | Infrastructure | 2024 | A$16M | Seed |
 Reejig | AI | 2019 | A$23.2M | Venture Round |
 Evie Networks | Mobility | 2017 | $55.3M | Debt Financing |
 Moneytech | Fintech | 2003 | $420M | Debt Financing |
 Enboarder | Enterprise | 2015 | $49.4M | Series B |
 NBN Co | Infrastructure | 2009 | $5.2B | Undisclosed |
 Kasada | Hardware | 2015 | $41.9M | Series C |
 Livewire | Marketing | 2021 | A$4.7M | Series A |
 Leonardo AI | AI | 2022 | $38.8M | Series A |
 Mys Tyler | Marketing | 2020 | A$2.5M | Pre-Seed |
 Soprano Design | Cloud | 1994 | A$66.3M | Secondary Market |
 Cloudstaff | Fintech | 2010 | $20.5M | Series B |
 Advanced Navigation | Hardware | 2010 | $92.7M | Grant |
 Samsara Eco | Analytics | 2021 | $107M | Series A |
 OSW | Energy | 2013 | A$8.5M | Venture Round |
 The Martec | Enterprise | 2015 | $8M | Venture Round |
 Build Club | AI | 2023 | A$1.8M | Pre-Seed |
 AdvanCell | Biotech | 2019 | $137.9M | Grant |
 Qloud Games | Gaming | 2022 | $5M | Seed |
 Optus | Media | 1981 | A$60M | Debt Financing |
 Constantinople | Enterprise | 2022 | A$82M | Series A |
 LawPath | Cloud | 2013 | $24.4M | Corporate Round |
 National Renewable Network | Environment | 2019 | A$78.2M | Debt Financing |
 WeMoney | Media | 2020 | $16M | Series A |
 Nevam | Enterprise | 2023 | $1.2M | Seed |
 upcover | InsurTech | 2019 | $23.8M | Series A |
 Fluent Commerce | Cloud | 2013 | $28.8M | Series B |
 genesiscare | Healthcare | 2009 | A$348M | Debt Financing |
 Weel | Fintech | 2017 | $22.9M | Series A |
 Zoomo | Logistics | 2017 | $135.6M | Venture Round |
 Instant | Retail | 2021 | $20.2M | Series A |
 Haemalogix | Biotech | 2014 | A$10M | Venture Round |
 Sonder | Healthcare | 2016 | $245.7M | Series C |
 Ofload | Enterprise | 2019 | $80.1M | Series B |
 Worley | Energy | 2001 | $362.1M | Debt Financing |
 MagicBrief | Media | 2022 | $2M | Pre-Seed |
 Open | Fintech | 2016 | A$58.9M | Series B |
 Thanks | Marketing | 2023 | $2.6M | Seed |
 Carma | Mobility | 2021 | A$103M | Series A |
 LinkBy | Marketing | 2020 | $21.2M | Series B |
 Omniscient Neurotechnology | AI | 2019 | A$60M | Series C |
 Lendi | Fintech | 2013 | $59.5M | Venture Round |
 Till Payments | Retail | 2012 | $141.8M | Series D |
 Abyss Solutions | AI | 2014 | $13.5M | Venture Round |
 Hapana | SaaS | 2012 | $17.3M | Series A |
 Mosh | Healthcare | 2015 | $31.4M | Venture Round |
 RISE Chain | Crypto | — | $7.2M | Seed |
 Plerion | Cloud | 2021 | $14.7M | Seed |
 Ortto | Analytics | 2012 | $33.9M | Venture Round |
 Excite Technology Services | Security | 2007 | $2.8M | — |
 Flagship | Retail | 2020 | $5.8M | Seed |
 Kinde | Security | 2021 | A$10.6M | Seed |
 Presentations.AI | AI | 2017 | $3M | Seed |
 Aquila | Energy | 2022 | $5.2M | Grant |
 Avocado Guild | Crypto | 2021 | $18M | Series A |
 Payble | Fintech | 2020 | $5.4M | Seed |
 CIMET | Energy | 2016 | $26.6M | Corporate Round |
 Upollo | SaaS | 2021 | A$4.2M | Seed |
 Bookipi | Media | 2016 | A$1.6M | Seed |
 Factory AI | SaaS | 2023 | A$225k | Pre-Seed |
 Silicon Quantum Computing | Hardware | 2017 | $133.4M | Series A |
 Fable Food | Food | 2019 | $14.9M | Series A |
 Strong Compute | AI | 2021 | $7.8M | Seed |
 Year13 | Media | 2011 | A$13M | Series A |
 Nexl | Infrastructure | 2018 | $8.4M | Series A |
 Visionary Machines | Media | 2019 | A$23.8M | Grant |
 updoc | Healthcare | 2020 | A$20M | Venture Round |
 QPay | Media | 2013 | A$2.1M | Venture Round |
 Spriggy | Media | 2015 | $62.1M | Series B |
 Carted | Other | 2021 | $10.9M | Seed |
 Stone & Chalk | Fintech | 2015 | $513.8k | Grant |
 Earlytrade | Fintech | 2016 | $14.9M | Series A |
 prePO | Crypto | 2021 | $3.2M | Seed |
 Heatseeker | Data | 2023 | $1.8M | Pre-Seed |
 EncompaaS | Cloud | 2013 | A$14M | Venture Round |
 Rezdy | Retail | 2011 | A$23.6M | Venture Round |
 mx51 | Fintech | 2020 | $57.5M | Series B |
 Pearler | Fintech | 2018 | $9.7M | Seed |
 Ignition Advice | Fintech | 2014 | A$50M | Series B |
 Data Republic | Analytics | 2014 | A$36M | Series B |
 Data Zoo | SaaS | 2011 | A$35M | Series A |
 Safewill | Enterprise | 2019 | A$25.5M | Series B |
 Eden Brew | Food | 2021 | A$35.3M | Series A |
