10 Rising Australian Startups to Watch in 2026, From Heidi's AI Medical Scribe to Firmus' Billion-Dollar Bet

SYDNEY — Australia's startup sector is having one of its strongest years on record, as investors pour money into artificial intelligence, health technology and deep-tech companies.

Australian startups raised about $5.58 billion across 162 equity funding rounds through October 2026, according to data firm Tracxn. That is up nearly 172% from the roughly $2.05 billion raised in the same period last year.

Artificial intelligence has overtaken fintech as the country's most-funded sector, according to Tech Insider. Venture firms have also built up fresh capital, with Blackbird Ventures closing its sixth fund at 1.05 billion Australian dollars in August.

The funding is concentrated, however. Excluding one giant AI infrastructure deal, Australian startups raised $3.1 billion across 164 companies, with the top five deals accounting for 68% of the total, according to the Overnight Success newsletter.

Here are 10 Australian startups that have gained momentum in 2026, based on funding, rankings and industry attention.

1. Heidi (Melbourne, health tech)

Heidi topped LinkedIn's 2026 Top Startups list for Australia, released in October, rising from second place last year.

The company makes AI medical scribe software that automates clinical documentation and is developing an AI agent to handle administrative tasks for clinicians. It raised $475 million in September, giving it a valuation of $1.26 billion, according to IT Brief.

Heidi is led by Chief Executive Dr. Thomas Kelly, a former vascular surgical resident, who co-founded it with Waleed Mussa and Yu Liu.

2. Everlab (Melbourne, preventive health)

Everlab ranked second on LinkedIn's list. The company offers personalized health assessments, diagnostics and AI-driven care plans through a membership model.

It raised $65 million in June at a valuation of $500 million, less than a year after its seed round.

Chief Executive Marc Hermann previously co-founded Foodspring, which was acquired by Mars in 2019. Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins is among Everlab's backers.

3. Andromeda (robotics, aged care)

Andromeda, which ranked third on LinkedIn's list, makes Abi, a humanoid companion robot designed for residents of aged care facilities.

The company, founded and led by Chief Executive Grace Brown, reflects growing interest in technology to address Australia's aging population and staffing shortages in aged care.

4. Lyrebird Health (health tech)

Lyrebird Health climbed to fourth on LinkedIn's list from seventh last year. Its AI tools turn patient consultations into structured clinical notes.

Co-founder and Chief Executive Kai Van Lieshout started the company while still at university.

Health tech companies took five of the top eight places on LinkedIn's list, which the company said points to technology aimed at practical health care problems.

5. Firmus Technologies (AI infrastructure)

Firmus has been the biggest story in Australian startup funding this year. The AI data center infrastructure company raised an additional $2 billion, or about A$2.85 billion, valuing it at about A$15 billion, according to SmartCompany.

The money is going toward the national rollout of Project Southgate, a planned A$73 billion AI infrastructure network. The company has signaled ambitions to list on the Australian Securities Exchange.

6. Lorikeet (Sydney, AI customer service)

Lorikeet builds AI "customer concierges" designed to handle complicated, high-stakes customer support interactions rather than scripted chatbot responses.

The Sydney company raised a $35 million Series A led by QED Investors. It became the first company since design giant Canva to attract early backing from all three of Australia's top venture firms: Blackbird, Square Peg and Airtree, according to Tech Insider.

7. Metal (Melbourne, fintech)

Metal, a stablecoin and tokenization infrastructure startup, raised almost A$50 million in seed funding in October, one of the largest seed rounds in Australian history.

The round was co-led by payments company Airwallex and its venture arm, Capital 49. Airwallex also joined Metal as a design partner.

The company was co-founded by Melbourne entrepreneur Loong Wang and former Meta executive Catherine Porter, and is building payment rails for banks and AI agents.

8. Coherence Neuro (medical technology)

Australian-founded Coherence Neuro is developing SOMA, a brain-computer interface implant designed to help manage cancer.

The company raised A$64 million, or $45 million, in a Series A co-led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and the OpenAI Startup Fund, according to the Overnight Success newsletter, a rare vote of confidence from top Silicon Valley investors.

9. MP Space (Sydney, space tech)

MP Space raised A$23 million in seed funding in late October to manufacture spacecraft power systems in Australia.

The round was led by Blackbird, with support from Systemiq Capital, Speedinvest and MFV Partners. London venture firm Seraphim Space made its first Australian investment in the deal, according to Startup Daily.

The company is part of a growing push to build a domestic space industry.

10. Metacognition (Adelaide, AI robotics)

Adelaide-based Metacognition, an AI robotics startup, received a A$5 million investment from Airtree in late October, just a month after raising A$10 million in pre-seed funding, bringing the round to A$15 million.

The company was founded this year by professors Anton van den Hengel and Stephen Gould, along with Dr. Paul Dalby.

Airtree co-founder Craig Blair warned that Australia risks losing the economic benefits of AI if it simply hosts technology developed overseas, according to Startup Daily.

Deep tech gains attention

Beyond these 10, investors are paying closer attention to hardware and deep-tech companies. LinkedIn's list included Diraq, which is developing quantum computing processors based on modified silicon transistors, and Syenta, a semiconductor packaging company that came out of the Australian National University.

Other notable 2026 deals include Cuttable, which raised a A$20 million Series A for AI-powered advertising at a valuation of more than A$142 million.

Challenges remain

Despite the funding boom, founders face challenges, including competition for talent, the high cost of building hardware and the need to expand overseas to reach larger markets.

The concentration of funding in a few large deals also means many early-stage startups still struggle to raise money.

What's next

With record funding, new venture funds and growing global interest, Australia's startup sector enters 2027 with strong momentum.

Investors will be watching whether this year's rising stars can turn funding into lasting revenue growth, and whether more Australian companies join Canva as global technology leaders.