Here are the finalists in the 2025 Startup Daily Best in Tech awards

Lenexa Medical, a Victorian startup helping prevent pressure injuries for healthcare patients, is one of 54 standout finalists in the 2025 Startup Daily Best in Tech awards.

A record 273 entries were submitted across 14 categories, with Lenexa singled out as a finalist for Best Sustainability Startup, Most Innovative Startup and AI Gamechanger, while cofounder and Will Yang chief scientific officer Will Yang is a finalist in Best Technical Leader.

The most popular categories this year were once again Startup of the Year (50 entries), Best New Idea (40) and Most Innovative (40). Reflecting the growing possibilities in artificial intelligence (AI), the second year of the AI Gamechanger category saw the number of entries double to 23.

Startup Daily editor and chief of judges Simon Thomsen said that 2025 reveals a new sophistication in the Australian and New Zealand startup ecosystem.

“The constant refrain from our judges – and I can’t thank them enough for their care, passion and dedication to assessing the nominations – is that this was the toughest in three years of the awards to assess,” he said.

“The thing that stands out for me in the process is the diversity of choices they made in finalist nominations in popular categories such as Best New Idea and Most Innovative Startup.

“I’m also pleased to see, amid a broader debate about women in tech, that women founders and others in the startup ecosystem feature prominently, once again, in the finalists.

“There’s a certain irony in the fact that Saara Jamieson, founder of Cool Beans Underwear, is one of our Best New Founder finalists when the problem she’s solving is blokes looking after their ‘low-hanging fruit’ to improve fertility for conception.”

The winners will be announced at a gala dinner at the ivy ballroom in Sydney on September 25. Tickets are now on sale here.

The Startup Daily Best in Tech Awards are supported by Major Partner: AWS Startups and Supporting Partner: Vanta.

Here are the finalists:

Startup of the year

• WeMoney 
• Relevance AI
• Apate
• ProcurePro

Scaleup of the year

• Buildkite
• Emesent
• Asseti
• Everlast Networks

Most innovative startup 

• Electric Power Conversions Australia  
• Apate
• Xefco
• Lenexa Medical 

Best regional startup 

• Rainstick
• Cauldron Ferm
• Mondus Capital 
• Laundry Lady

Industry champion 

• Paz Pisarki
• Preethi Mohan
• Mick Liubinskas
• Sam Garven

Best sustainability startup 

• Lenexa Medical
• Xefco 
• HydGene Renewables  
• Levur 

Best new idea

• Safe Call Up
• Hello Canopy
• Neoma
• Cellbauhuas

Best technical leader 

• Sumith Jitta, Lawpath
• Pallavi Nates, Pathfindr
• Daniel Engelke HowdyGo
• Will Yang, Lenexa Medical

Best new founder

• Trent McLaren, Vinyl
• Rebecca Keeley, Yarn Speech
• Parth Gulati, Gather
• Saara Jamieson, Cool Beans Underwear

The AI gamechanger

• Lima AI 
• Minikai
• Lenexa Medical 
• Relevance AI

Best startup event

• EvokeAG
• _SOUTHSTART 
• Cicada x Tech23
• Tropical Innovation Festival

Startup investor of the year

• Tidal Ventures
• Euphemia
• Giant Leap
• Scalare Partners

Future leader

• Shilpa Mohan
• Paz Pisarski 
• Poonam Advani 
• Gweneth Masonsong

The GSD award 

• MTPConnect
• Tech Ready Women
• Press Play Ventures
• Christie Jenkins/Techstars

More at 2025 Startup Daily Best in Tech Awards.

The 2025 Startup Daily Best in Tech Awards are proudly supported by: