Nominations for Australia’s biggest celebration of startup innovation close on Friday June 19.
Now in its fourth year, there are 15 awards in the 2026 Best in Tech Awards including the always-popular Most Innovative Startup, and Startup of the Year.
Several awards, including the AI Gamechanger, Future Leader, Best Accelerator, Incubator or Startup Workspace, and the GSD Award – for someone who gets sh*t done – celebrate parts of the ecosystem that make it succeed and more fun to be a part of.
Startup Daily editor Simon Thomsen said that in just three years, the Best in Tech Awards have grown to become a highlight of the startup year.
“We launched the Best in Tech awards in 2023 to celebrate and honour the daily grind, determination and sheer bloody brilliance of people in the startup sector,” he said.
“Over the past three years we’ve had more than 750 entries, which says something about the size and enthusiasm of everyone in the ANZ startup sector, and recognised some incredible startups.
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“In our first year, the judges declared Wollongong green hydrogen startup Hysata Startup of The Year. Less than 12 months later they’d raised a record $172 million Series B.”
Over the past two years, women have featured strongly in the awards. You can read about all the 2025 winners here.
How to enter the 2026 Best in Tech awards
Nominations for 15 categories in the 2026 Best in Tech awards close at midnight on Friday, June 19.
Any attempt to submit late entries will require a large brown paper bag of small, unmarked notes, addressed to the editor.*
Nominate a person, company or event for the 2026 Best in Tech awards here.
The awards are open to Australian and New Zealand tech startups founded in either country as well as ANZ residents and citizens.
The judging panels will choose four finalists for each category, announced on Monday July 27.
The winners will be announced at a gala dinner at The Ivy Ballroom in Sydney on Thursday, September 10.
2026 Best in Tech categories
Here are the categories and criteria:
1. Startup of the year
This award recognises an outstanding early-stage startup that’s demonstrated strong growth, market leadership and innovation in creating new ways of doing business or defining new market categories.
Open to startups with fewer than 100 employees, it celebrates businesses combining ambitious vision with strong execution and commercial traction.
Judges will assess growth, customer adoption, product innovation and leadership within their sector. Nominations should demonstrate momentum, scalability and the potential to deliver lasting impact in their industry or beyond.
2. Scaleup of the year
This award recognises an outstanding unlisted scaleup that has demonstrated exceptional growth, market leadership and strong business performance.
Open to startups that have completed a Series B raise or beyond, this award celebrates success in scaling operations, customer base and commercial impact.
Judges will assess performance across key growth metrics including revenue, customer acquisition, team expansion and market traction. Nominations should demonstrate sustained momentum, operational excellence, strategic leadership and a clear pathway to continued growth and industry influence.
3. Most innovative startup
This award recognises a startup redefining what’s possible through bold ideas, breakthrough thinking and the innovative use of technology to solve meaningful problems. It celebrates startups creating new markets, challenging established models, or delivering transformative products and services with the potential for significant impact.
Judges will assess the originality of the innovation, the effectiveness of its execution, and its current and future impact. Nominations should demonstrate clear market relevance, scalability, and how the startup is driving positive change through innovation.
4. Best regional startup
This award specifically recognises an outstanding startup based outside Australia’s capital cities that is delivering strong growth, innovation and impact in its region.
Judges will look for evidence of business momentum, market traction, bold execution and leadership. Nominations should demonstrate a clear vision for growth, the startup’s broader regional impact, and how it is creating opportunities, jobs or innovation within its local community.
5. Industry champion
This award recognises an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to strengthening and advancing the Australian startup ecosystem.
Open to founders, investors and industry leaders, this award celebrates those whose impact extends beyond their own commercial interests to support the broader community.
Judges will look for evidence of leadership, advocacy, mentorship, ecosystem-building and a demonstrated commitment to helping others succeed. Nominations should highlight meaningful contributions that have improved opportunities, access or outcomes for startups, driven by generosity and a genuine commitment to the sector’s growth.
6. Best sustainability startup
This award recognises a startup using innovation and strong business fundamentals to create measurable environmental or sustainability impact. Open to businesses in any sector, it celebrates models addressing challenges such as climate, waste, energy, resources, or broader sustainability outcomes through long-term thinking and scalable solutions.
Judges will look for clear evidence of impact, innovation and commercial viability. Nominations should demonstrate measurable improvements, a sustainable growth strategy, and how the startup is contributing to a healthier planet and more sustainable future.
7. Best new idea
This award recognises an early-stage startup, less than two years old, with a bold vision and strong potential to make a meaningful impact in its sector. Open to businesses at any stage, including pre-revenue or pre-funding, this award celebrates innovation, originality and clear problem-solving.
Judges will look for a compelling idea, market opportunity, and the strength of the founders’ vision and execution. Nominations should demonstrate how the startup could create positive change and the progress already made towards that goal.
8. Best technical leader
This award recognises an outstanding CTO or technology leader whose vision, expertise and execution have been critical to a startup’s success.
Judges will look for evidence of technical excellence, strategic leadership, product or platform innovation, and measurable impact on growth, performance or customer outcomes. Nominations should demonstrate innovation with the potential to shape industries or improve the way people live and work.
9. Best new founder
This award recognises an outstanding first-time founder demonstrating early promise and meaningful impact. It celebrates an entrepreneur who’s identified a clear market opportunity and is building innovative solutions with ambition, resilience and strong execution.
Judges will look for evidence of bold thinking, customer traction, product development, and the ability to turn ideas into action. Nominations should demonstrate the founder’s vision, leadership and commitment to solving important problems, alongside the growth potential and the likelihood of creating lasting positive change.
10. The AI gamechanger
This award recognises a startup or scaleup using artificial intelligence to deliver meaningful transformation across workflows, business operations, data analysis, customer experience, or the way people interact with technology.
This award celebrates practical and impactful AI applications that solve real-world problems, improve efficiency, unlock new capabilities, or create entirely new ways of working. Judges will look for clear evidence of innovation, measurable outcomes, and broad potential impact across industries or communities. Nominations should demonstrate how AI is delivering tangible benefits, driving growth, or reshaping markets.
11. Best startup marketing
This award is for the scrappy marketing teams who’ve delivered genuine impact with a startup-sized budget and a dream, whether that’s a campaign, social account, email nurture flow, or other marketing initiative.
Entries should detail before and afters with clear deliverables, which could include conversion rates, pipeline, MQLs, press coverage or other tangible marketing metrics.
12. Startup employee of the year
This award celebrates the often-unsung people whose work helps startups scale and succeed. The winner will demonstrate individual achievement, as well as embodying values such as adaptability, collaboration, ambition, and a willingness to go beyond the scope of their role to help the company thrive.
It’s open to employees at any level (excluding founders and co-founders) who’ve demonstrated exceptional performance, leadership, innovation, or impact in their role to deliver growth, resilience, or competitive advantage.
13. Best accelerator, incubator or startup workspace
This award recognises the programs, organisations and coworking communities that play a critical role in helping startups launch, grow and succeed. It’s open to accelerators, incubators, startup hubs and coworking spaces in Australia and New Zealand.
Nominations should demonstrate how the organisation has created an environment where startups can develop faster, connect more effectively, and improve their chances of long-term success.
Entries will be assessed on the quality, innovation and impact of programs, services and founder support, including the strength of mentoring networks, educational programming, investor access, community engagement, and any unique or innovative approaches to supporting founders, such as tailored programs, new delivery models, industry partnerships, or specialised resources.
14. Future leader
This award recognises an emerging leader in the ANZ ecosystem showing exceptional potential to become an influential voice, advocate and changemaker. It’s open to founders, operators and ecosystem contributors early in their startup careers.
Judges will look for evidence of impact beyond their immediate role, including mentoring, community-building, thought leadership, advocacy, or ecosystem engagement. Nominations should demonstrate vision, influence, and a clear commitment to helping shape the future of the sector.
15. The GSD award
Get Shit Done is an industry impact award for an organisation and/or individual honouring their contribution to the overall success of the tech ecosystem and track record in transforming things for the benefit of many.
It may be an industry or group, an accelerator, a startup or founder/s, investor/s or others who has assisted in making the sector thrive in any number of ways, from lobbying to policy setting, support, investment, philanthropy, culture setting and most importantly, just getting shit done (GSD).
For this particular award, the judges will be able to nominate people and/or organisations they believe are worthy of recognition.
Enter award nominations here.
* That is a joke, thank you for reading that far.
