Sydney’s Top 11 are set. The question is who’s watching.
One week out from the Sydney regional final, the world’s largest startup pitch competition is about to prove the Melbourne final wasn’t a fluke.
When the Melbourne regional final of the Startup World Cup wrapped in May, the judges spent nearly 30 minutes deliberating – triple the usual time. Over 100 people filled BlueRock’s Collins Street space for what felt, by most accounts, less like a pitch night and more like a glimpse of what Australian innovation actually looks like when the process is transparent.
The Startup Olympics, Australian chapter
Startup and Angels is hosting Startup World Cup Australia 2026. Vinisha Rathod, Program Lead, calls it the Startup Olympics and the comparison holds. The competition is run globally by Silicon Valley VC firm Pegasus Tech Ventures (a $2B fund) spanning 100+ regional events across 19+ countries, with the Grand Finale at the Hilton Union Square, San Francisco, on 6 November.
In its third year, The Australian chapter is led by Startup and Angels, powered by global recruitment company Australiance, who are also running Startup World Cups in Morocco and France.
Australia has been on that stage before. In 2025, Adiona Tech, Deeligence and Gravity Fit represented the country. Next Wednesday, one more Sydney founder follows them.
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The prize: a US$1 million investment.
Meet Sydney’s Top 11
From hundreds of applications, these founders earned their place at the Sydney event:
- OncoRevive — Mohammad Tavakkoli
- Roam Technologies (Juno) — Shan-Shan Wang
- Totex Energy — Berlin Raj
- Balo — Michael Joo
- Square by Square — Emely Junker
- SupplyScope — Raman Singh
- Crest Robotics — Clyde Webster
- VueMotion — Amit Gupta
- Parachute — Ryan Zahrai
- Nexobot — Dominic Lindsay
- What’s On! — Rushi Vyas
Why this competition is different
Every applicant, not only the Top 11, receives written feedback from investors led by David Kenney, angel investor and Black Nova VC VP. The Top 11 receive dedicated pitch training before they step on stage. And for whoever earns that ticket to San Francisco, the support continues with deeper work across positioning, financial modelling, enterprise sales and team leadership to make sure Australia shows up ready.
“We don’t have a pipeline issue in this country,” Vinisha said after the Melbourne regional final. “We have a bias one. And for the world’s largest pitch competition, we have a responsibility to send the best.”
“The talent in Australia is here, we have some genuine contenders. Getting them ready to sell, raise and win globally is hugely rewarding,” David adds.
The five-stage process – application, discovery call, written feedback, Top 11 notification, live event – is designed to give founders something useful regardless of outcome.
The founders have done the hard yards. Now they need a room.
They’ve been assessed, coached and selected from hundreds of applicants. All they need now is a room that shows up for them.
Come for the pitches. Stay for the People’s Choice vote. Leave with a room full of people who are building something worth backing.
Wednesday 17 June 2026 | Doors open 4:45 PM till 8:30 PM Tank Stream Labs, Level 5, 24 Campbell Street, Haymarket NSW 2000
Tickets are now on sale: Humanitix | Eventbrite
Queensland follows on 9 July. startupandangels.com/startup-world-cup-australia
