CSIRO ON Demo Day Full Event

C SIRO ON Demo Day

 

[Music plays and a split circle appears and photos of different CSIRO activities flash through in either side of the circle, and then the circle morphs into the CSIRO logo]

 

Ian Brown:  Welcome everyone.

 

[Image changes to two people, one on each side of a stage. The person on the left stands behind a podium with the CSIRO logo on the front. There is a large screen between them, slightly behind them. The screen has ON in the middle of it.]

 

Welcome to ON Accelerate 8, Investor Demo Day.

 

[Image on large screen changes to CSIRO logo on the left and then ON Accelerate 8 Investor Demo Day 23 May 2024]

 

Along with my colleague Joanne Jacobs we're really excited to have you here today. We're about to introduce nine exceptional teams which we know you'll love. But just before I get into that, I'll just make sure you're aware if there's a fire or emergency in the building, there'll be a whoop whoop, a siren and you'll be directed to go back out the way you came in  - around the building to the road behind me, across the road, around the wall, up onto the park which is the muster point. So when you get there, say Ian told me to be here. Everything will be good.

 

Okay, so as two facilitators of ON, along with David Ireland and Andy Lam, Jo and I have had the privilege of being with these teams for more than 12 weeks, and we're really amazed at the work they're doing around, really groundbreaking work around some of the global challenges that we face today.

 

Joanne Jacobs:  And so thank you all for joining us here at this, what we regard as an incredibly important event. We are so proud of what the teams have done over the last few weeks, and we hope that the investors here are going to be absolutely wowed by their presentations today. Now, your presence here underscores what we know about the community, which is we need to have a lot of emphasis on the research talent in Australia and we need to turn that talent into real world impact. That's what you're going to see.

 

Now, I acknowledge that I'm standing here on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, and I pay my respects to their elders, past and present. But while I can acknowledge Country, it's so much better to be able to be welcomed to country. We are delighted that we have Uncle Michael West here to be able to provide that welcome today and I invite you to the stage. Uncle Michael, thank you so much.

 

[Joanne and Ian leave the stage as Uncle Michael West walks from the audience to the stage and stands behind the podium. Screen changes to text: Welcome to Country. Michael West, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council]

 

Michael West:  I'd like to say Bujari Gamaruwwa and G’day and welcome to Gadigal country. I actually was at this place and opened this place last year with Clover and others. You know what the lights up there are like… hat this building was before, gaslight company. I was thinking about etymology, which I like words, how they evolve over time. Gaslight has evolved over time, hasn't it? Yes. And there's a play currently in Sydney.

 

What I was going to say here where we are obviously is Gadigal country, across that beautiful coat hanger is Cammeraygal. If you're out on the harbour, you'd probably be in a traditional bark canoe, it’s called a nawi, a nawi and beautiful harbour, one of the most beautiful harbours in the world. If you were head west, you would be next to Wangal. That would be on the left after Gadigal. After Cammeraygal. The other side would be Wallumettagal, where Bennelong rest, Bennelong being partner of a strong Cammeraygal woman named Barangaroo, where there's a piece of land named after her. And obviously the Opera House, where it resides is Bennelong Point. If we keep going, we actually hit Burramattagal, where obviously the City of Parramatta is named after Barra, meaning eel. And there's a whole crazy story about Sydney Harbour being created by Giant Barra. And Barra is just resting off of East Balmain, a little island called Memel. Barani would be around here. Barani being whales, would come in with their calves and rest down at Darling Harbour, which is Gomera, and they would know they have safe stay here. They'd be looked after because they're part of totems, Gadigal totems. But also on the north side, over at Cammeraygal there's an engraving of a whale over at Ball's Point. Barra is obviously a totem that goes to the South Pacific for its journey. And also other other animals are part of our totems, like Dinawan which is emu in central New South Wales.

 

I'll get you guys to get your phones out because I just want to show you one thing I think is important and I'm judging your skills against kids and Google. So look at hunting bird manuscript, Vatican… hunting bird manuscript. Vatican. You'll find something very interesting. One can only imagine the Pope and the Cardinals sitting down and looking at this hunting bird manuscript. It's a very familiar face in there, one of our totems, too. And we need to respect our totems. They're very important to us. And it just shows that we we did do trade. We're the oldest scientists, the older astronomers, and we did do trade with the Makassar's and Indonesians up into China. We made that point.

 

So what's the with the Chinese Ambassador when they a guy named Gough re-established relationships within the countries? So what do you find there? Yes. Do you find the cockatoo there, everybody? Yes. It's 13th century, isn't it? 1241, so just shy of 800 years. That's another one of our totems. I think it's a good depiction of a cockatoo. Why do you think it's a good depiction of a cockatoo? Because it's got attitude. It’s got a “Don't mess with me” look on its face, doesn't it? Only last week I was down at Carriageworks and I saw this similar face, I was at Fashion Week. Yes, on the runway. Similar, similar look, they had. We all need a bit of a laugh in the times we're going through.

 

Look, I'm from a science background. I think listening to the facts and science and data is so important because it's been getting us through the pandemic and I think CSIRO just released a report about energy. We need to listen to the experts and the scientists. It's so important. It's important we just take a moments silence to pay respects to the ancestors, pay respects to Mother Earth. Everything we have in our society, our cities, everything comes from Mother Earth. But we really haven't been caring for her, have we? No, we’ve got to care for her. We need to remember those we've lost along way over the last couple of years, it’s been quite difficult through the pandemic, whole world was locked down at one stage. Also, you know, has been a bit difficult the last five to six weeks in Sydney with what happened at Bondi and we need to remember them and also that they have families and also the people and community stood up against mental health. And pay respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, elders and custodians of the past and present for looking after country, spirit of country and culture. Because as Australians you have a responsibility to look after our culture and sites it's your culture and sites, but you want you to remain strong in your own identity and your own culture. So if we just have a moment silence, a moment of paying respects and a moment of reflection.

 

We have three beautiful rivers which are the boundaries of the Eora nation. What are those rivers? You've probably heard them before. Hawkesbury, Nepean and Georges are the aquatic boundaries of our nation. On behalf of Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council members and elders, welcome everyone here. It's important we we do work together and work together for better outcomes.

 

As I was saying, our totems are very important to us. We lost a lot not too long ago, a few years ago, we had those fire storms. Totems to us are animals that we have a spiritual connection and they're family. So that's why the Barani could come in here, the whales, they would know they'd be protected and looked after them and their young. Another bird that I think needs to be that's being marginalised and we need to respect is a white bird with black tail feathers. It has long legs, long neck and a long beak. It's the ibis, yes. The ibis part of, also sacred to Egyptians too, when you think about it. It's part of their sacred birds. It's the sacred ibis I was going to say. Please don't call me bin chicken. I'm not a bin chicken. And I may look a little bit dirty and going through your bins, but it's not my fault. It's actually on human's fault, because we haven't cared for their country, we haven't cared for the wetlands, so they've come to live with us. So please respect them. I’m on a journey for people to respect the ibis being one of our beautiful graceful birds. You see them flying, they’re very, very graceful. And you see a cockatoo flying, it’s crazy, isn't it? Yes. And that cockatoo will come down and draw your whole garden. They'll strip the whole flowers off things. They just attack trees and throw the bark down. And then they also just take bites out of fruit and throw them in your backyard, which I experience all the time. So you have a safe stay. Enjoy your time here. Safe journey to your family and loved ones and community. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land never ceded. Let's all work and walk together for better outcomes. Thanks.

 

[Michael leaves the stage and Ian comes back on stage]

 

Ian Brown:  Thank you. Okay, now I'd like to invite Poppy Sykes, manager of the ON Innovation program, to the stage. Poppy is going to tell us a little bit about the ON program, but also our commitment to deep tech ecosystem. So please join me in welcoming Poppy to the stage.

 

[Ian leaves the stage on the right as Poppy joins the stage on the left as the podium is moved off stage. Music plays as the screen returns to navy blue with ON in pink letters in the middle]

 

Poppy Sykes:  Thank you, Ian, and thank you so much, Uncle Michael, if you're still here.

 

[Screen on stage changes to nine photos of teams spread over three rows with a heading: ON Accelerate 8 Teams]

 

What a great reminder of the remarkable history of the world's oldest living culture and their commitment to protecting our Mother Nature. They are the original scientists and storytellers. And it was really beautiful to start today hearing those stories.

 

Hi everyone. I'm Poppy and I recently joined CSIRO to lead the ON Innovation team. I've spent the last five or six years running my own business, mostly working with social enterprises and startups in the environmental impact space. But having recently had my, well, recently becoming a mother, I've never been more aware of the scale of the challenges that we face globally. And that's why I joined ON, and I imagine it's why a number of you are here today. We know that it is science, technology and visionary leadership that are going to change our future for the better.

 

Now something I've noticed or that struck me about the process of research translation is that it is not for the faint hearted. These teams are not just innovating business models, they're solving really technical challenges that have never been solved before. The hard work is worth it. Through the novel IP that these teams are creating, they are getting an enduring competitive advantage. ON exists to guide Australian researchers through the venture building journey. We support these brilliant minds with the resources, networks and coaching so that they can realise the full potential of their work and so that people like you and I and the rest of the nation can benefit from it. It's actually really exciting to see an increase in deep tech. Even just looking at the number of you here today, it's not always an easy sell to investment committees. These ventures require patient capital and long term strategy. And that means vision and courage, something I know that everyone in the room here has in spades.

 

Now our ON alumni to date have already raised over $700 million in capital and commercialisation grants, and many of their investors are here today. So I want to thank you for leading the charge. Something else I want to emphasise is how important diversity is to drive innovation. And I know that my team does so much to make sure that ON is a place where everyone feels like they belong but diversity is complex and we still have a long way to go. One thing I am really proud about is that five of the nine teams pitching today have female co-founders, and while you might not see them all on stage, their role is essential. My hope is that this community will continue to foster more diversity so that we can harness the power of Australia's brightest minds for global impact.

 

This year's cohort of researchers are tackling major issues head on. Teams like Dragonfly Thinking, who are creating clarity for decision makers in an increasingly complex world. Emu Systems manage heat stress for safe working environments, and Cytophenix are addressing antimicrobial resistance by helping doctors to deliver the right antibiotics at the right time.

 

Over the past three months, our experts and coaches and facilitators have worked really closely with these teams to get them ready to engage with you today, and they are ready. Some of you might have zoned out while I was speaking so this is the part you really need to listen to. This afternoon you'll hear some pitches but before each pitch you're going to see a short video. And then at the end of each pitch you're going to see a QR code. So make sure your phone is ready to scan that QR code and so that you can type in any questions that you might have. If you miss the QR code there are also QR codes around the room that you can scan later, so make sure you do that.

 

There will be four pitches. Then there's going to be a short panel and then the final five teams are going to pitch. And after that there will be drinks. And I hope that you guys will stick around and spend the time connecting with the teams and connecting with my team as well. I for one would love to hear how you find these pictures. But let's get on with it because I'm pretty excited. So to start off with, it's my great honour to introduce Dragonfly Thinking.

 

[Poppy leaves the stage and the screen changes]

 

[Image appears of an article from The Daily News, and then images move through to show two more news headlines each with an article and picture, and text appears: The Daily News, Geopolitical Uncertainty, Climate Crisis, Rise of AI]

 

Narrator: Geopolitical uncertainty, climate crisis, the sudden rise of AI.

 

[Camera pans out to include multiple articles with black connection lines over them and headings in boxes that connect various articles into a circle]

 

Current global challenges are escalating exponentially while becoming ever more interconnected.

 

[Camera pans up and in to show the top left corner of the articles, then moves to the right and then then to the bottom of screen to show more articles, and text appears: Complexity, Our cognitive ability to cope with that complexity goes down]

 

As the complexity of these interacting factors goes up, our cognitive ability to cope with that complexity goes down.

 

[Camera pans down to show articles that encircle text: Globalization or Deglobalization, Prosperity or Security, Health or Wealth, Economic or Environment]

 

We become more rigid and black and white in our thinking,

 

[Camera pans to the top right to show a profile of a male looking right with a blue and grey field of vision, and the camera zooms in and rotates anticlockwise to show a stopwatch, and text appears: Narrowing field of vision, Shortening time horizon]

 

narrowing our field of vision and shortening our time horizon.

 

[Image changes to show a dotted sphere with text on the right: Dragonfly Thinking]

 

That is, unless you adopt Dragonfly Thinking.

 

[Images move through to show a female’s face profile looking to the left with connection lines over the brain area, a bar graph, an AI symbol, and a coloured spirograph diagram, and text appears: System upgrade, A series of structured analytic technique, AI-Powered tools, Think through complex problems in more holistic ways, MLA Multi-Lens Analysis]

 

Dragonfly Thinking is an upgrade to our human operating system, a series of structured analytic techniques, and AI powered tools that help you to think through complex problems in more holistic ways, enabling you to see the world through multiple lenses,

 

[Images moves through to show three overlapping coloured circles within a grey circle, a close up of an eye, and a flow chart, and text appears: RRR Risk Reward and Resilience TM framework, Clear-sighted decisions, Foresight for the past, now and future]

 

integrate many perspectives into a coherent vision, make clear sighted decisions, and act with greater foresight.

 

[Images move through to show three speakers, and the camera zooms out to show the previous images and symbols already shown set inside the eyes of a dragonfly, and text appears: Policy makers, Business leaders]

 

From policymakers to business leaders, Dragonfly Thinking empowers decision makers to balance risks and rewards in order to build systemic resilience.

 

[Image changes to show a dotted sphere with text on the right: Dragonfly Thinking www.dragonflythinking.net]

 

Dragonfly Thinking. Clarity from complexity.

 

[Music plays. Video screen goes to black with logo for Australian National University appearing in the middle. Anthea Roberts stands to the right of the screen.]

 

Anthea Roberts:  Hi. I’m Anthea Roberts and I'm the founder of Dragonfly Thinking.

 

[Image on screen changes to logo for Dragonfly Thinking with a closeup of a dragonfly on the left of screen]

 

When the intelligence agencies in America wanted to work out who was best at understanding complex problems so that they could predict forward about what was going to happen they found a group of individuals who did this better than any others. What did this diverse group of individuals have in common? They saw the world through dragonfly eyes. Dragonfly eyes are very unusual because they have thousands of different lenses that they incorporate into a single. I'm going to have to lose this guy.

 

[Anthea changes her wireless headset/microphone for a handheld microphone]

 

Dragonfly eyes are extremely unusual because they have thousands of different lenses that they incorporate into a single, more holistic view of their environment, and they use that as the basis to project forward without being blindsided. Well, it turns out that for individuals, whether they're in business or in government, dragonfly thinking and seeing through dragonfly eyes is incredibly powerful but it's hard to do. And that's why at Dragonfly Thinking, we are pioneering AI tools to help decision makers navigate this complexity.

 

[Image on screen changes to a heading of Analytic Techniques. Underneath are two icons, one labelled Multi-Lens Analysis and the other as Risk, Reward and Resilience]

 

Our journey begins with two, I sorry, two analytical tools Multi-lens analysis and Risk,  Reward and Resilience. These are these are techniques that we have developed at the ANU.

 

[Image on screen changes to have the Multi-Lens Analysis icon move to the top left. Underneath it are the banners for Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Freaknomics and Fortune]

 

And the first one allows us to look at complex problems from many different lenses, just like dragonflies. This has been featured in a number of outlets, as you can see, but it also gave us the chance to go and see many different government departments to talk to them about their current problems. And what we discovered was that using this technique, they were better able to understand the problems that they were facing today. And yet they came to me with another problem, which is “now that I understand, what do I do next?” And that's what led us to our second technique, a Risk, Reward and Resilience framework that encourages decision makers to think in much more holistic ways about the pros and the cons, and how to bring about systemic resilience over time.

 

[Image on screen changes to have the Risk, Reward and Resilience icon move to the top right. Underneath it are the banners for Australian Government “Building secure and resilient global supply chains”, the New South Wales government AI Assurance Framework and the University of Oxford.]

 

As we have presented this technique to multiple government departments, it has been picked up by the Office of Supply Chain Resilience in AI Policy Making and by the new UK National Security Adviser. But again, we have seen from our customers a problem, which is that they need some help in applying these techniques and the number of requests that have come to us is too much for us to handle on an individual scale.

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: AI tools & SaaS Model. Below are the icons for Multi-Lens Analysis and Risk, Reward and Resilience.]

 

And that's why we actually spun out Dragonfly Thinking from the ANU for the express purpose of creating AI tools, in order that we could take these techniques and give them at speed and at scale using the new LLM technologies. And that's what we are doing now in our company.

 

We are already taking our first steps. Our first step is actually in an area that we know best, which is with the Commonwealth Government.

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: Government Pilots. Subheading is: APSREFORM. Below that are the logos for four government departments - Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Department of Industry, Science and Resources, The Treasury, Office of National Intelligence.]

 

We have had these four departments in the last budget put forward a bid about how to integrate AI into the Federal Government, and part of their bid was actually to pilot our AI tools. They are doing that again across very diverse areas of the Commonwealth Government, with our hope that we will then be able to scale it up and out from there. But we are also conscious that the tools that we are creating are not just suitable for government, they are also suitable into the private sector.

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: Next Steps. Below this are two subheadings: Consulting, Financial. Underneath Consulting are the logos for Digivate, Development Intelligence Lab and People Decisions. Underneath Financial are the logos for Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and Chief Investment Officers Forum 2024.]

 

And that's why we have been speaking both to consulting agents that could be channel partners for us, but also directly into the financial services where we have seen keen interest from both banks and Chief Investment Officers about the potential for our tools in their line of work. We are a company that is looking not just at government and business in Australia, but we also have the world in our eye and that is why we are starting to think ahead as to what we will do in terms of pitching this on the global scale.

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: US Workshops. Underneath and on the right is a picture of Anthea presenting with a Harvard University logo in the background. Other logs on the left are Blackstone, Citizens, ThermoFisher Scientific, AIG, eBay, Vanguard, BlackRock, Wayfair, Bridgewater, IAC and Maersk.]

 

In addition to my appointment in Australia, I am also a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and I have just got back from running executive training sessions with people from C-suites from these companies about how to do Dragonfly Thinking and how to use our tools. And we are going to be going back in September to reconvene this group to work out what are our next steps.

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: Our Core Team. Underneath are five headshots labelled from left to right as Prof Anthea Roberts, Prof Miranda Forsyth, Nick Lothian, Bernard Duggan, Aishwarya.]

 

In order to do all of this, we've had to put together a talented but also very diverse team. So in addition to the academic background we have on everything from geopolitics to economics, security, peace and violence, we also have a technical team that includes people with specialities in machine learning, in large language models and in software coding, as well as considerable start up experience within the team.

 

[Image on screen changes to Dragonfly Thinking logo]

 

Which brings us to here, to this room. And today we are not going to make a traditional ask for you in terms of investment funding at this point. We are very fortunate that we have sufficient funding to be able to take the next few steps of our journey by ourselves. But I am going to have two requests of you here today. The first request is that if you know any companies that you think might benefit from Dragonfly Thinking, please reach out to us because we would love to help. And the second is as we hopefully start to lift off and take flight, please follow with us on this journey because as we perfect our product market fit over the next six or so months, we think we will then be coming back and looking for investment in order to scale because we want businesses and governments everywhere to be able to use our tools to find clarity amid complexity.

 

[Image on screen remains as Dragonfly Thinking logo with the added text below: Clarity amid complexity.]

 

Thank you.

 

[Anthea exits the stage. Screen changes to a shot of the team from Dragonfly Thinking, a QR code and the Australian National University logo].

[Screen changes to a blue background and text appears: EMU systems]

 

[Image appears of a half circle moving up the screen to eventually show a full white circle, and text appears inside the circle: 2030]

 

Narrator: Climate change is here.

 

[Camera zooms out to show the circle above a city, and then the image changes to show melting footprints, and text appears inside the circle above the city: $2.3 trillion]

 

By 2030 extreme heat will cost the global economy more than $2.3 trillion dollars annually, all because people are overheating.

 

[Images move through to show a traffic cone, a person playing tennis, and a tennis racquet and ball on the tennis court]

 

Working outside or playing sport in hot weather causes body temperatures to rise which can lead to dehydration, heat stroke and death.

 

[Music plays, and the image changes to show a thermometer showing a red line gradually moving up to 45C and then the red line exploding out the top of the thermometer, and text appears: 45C]

 

Existing technology can tell us how hot it is but can’t help us mitigate problems before they happen, until now.

 

[Image changes to show the EMU Systems logo on a blue screen]

 

EMU Systems is a frontline defence in the fight against heat stress.

 

[Image changes to show the EMU Systems device showing various linked sensors and symbols, and text appear around the device: Wind, Humidity, Radiant Heat, Temperature, Pollution]

 

A patented plug and play device that uses high accuracy IoT sensors to measure critical environmental data in real time.

 

[Image shows the device moving down the screen, and text appears above: Measure, Integrate, Action]

 

The data is run through proprietary thermo-physiological models and machine learning algorithms,

 

[Image changes to show a desktop computer showing various diagrams provided by the device]

 

then presented in easy-to-use software that displaces specific heat stress risk score,

 

[Image changes to show a view looking down on a tennis player, and then the camera pans up and over looking down on the tennis court, and then showing a side view of the tennis court]

 

plus evidence-based strategies to keep everyone safe and performing at their best.

 

[Image changes to show cranes over a high-rise building, and then the image changes to show a half circle gradually sinking out of sight on the screen]

 

From major events to outdoor worksites, EMU Systems is making heat stress a problem of the past.

 

[Music plays, and the image changes to show the EMU systems logo, and text appears: EMU Systems, emu-systems.com.au]

 

[Image on screen is of a tennis player using a rolled towel to cool down. Over the image is text: EMU systems. Removing the stress from heat stress management. To the left of the screen is Grant Lynch.]

 

Grant Lynch:  One of us is going to die. These were the words of Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev during the US Open quarterfinals last year, with play continuing under stifling conditions. Now a major tennis tournament is a clear example of the impact that extreme heat can have on the human body. But more importantly, what can happen when organisations can't answer the question “How hot is too hot to act?”

 

Good afternoon everyone. My name is Grant Lynch. I'm here representing team Emu Systems, where we believe every heat related death is ultimately preventable, and are determined to make heat stress a problem of the past.

 

[Image on screen changes to an image of a worker in high-vis using a radio. Heading: Heat Stress. There are three icons with text below: 500,000 deaths each year, $2.4 trillion USD cost in lost productivity, 80 million full time jobs.]

 

Now this problem isn't just contained to sport. As we all know, our planet is getting hotter and it is having clear impacts on the way we live, the way we work and the way we play. If you open your news feed right now, you'll see heat waves sweeping across Southeast Asia that are shutting down schools and grinding construction sites to a halt. It is conditions like these that cost 500,000 lives every year and are projected to cost the global economy more than $2.4 trillion by the end of this decade, and all because people are overheating.

 

[Image on screen changes to a portable weather sensor with the heading: Environmental Monitoring. Parts on the sensor are labelled: Radiation, Wind Speed/Direction, Temperature/Humidity, Air Quality.]

 

Well, here at Emu Systems we have the solution to take the stress out of heat stress management. Our patented portable devices measure in real time the level of heat stress that people are exposed to.

 

[Image on screen changes with heading: Heat Stress Management Solution. Below are three sets of graphics labelled: Real Time Monitoring, Live Risk Tracking, Actions to Take.]

 

This information is then integrated into software that explains to organisers what the level of risk is, but most importantly, what they can do about it. This will ensure that these organisations stay safe and productive.

 

[Image on screen changes with heading: Market Traction. Below to the left are three notes: Signed agreements with four large Australian sporting organisations; Robust, patented hardware; Ongoing discussions with additional market segments. There is an orange circle with text: $590,700 total revenue. To the right is a graphic of a stadium and above it are the logos for Australian Open, NRL, Australian Olympic Committee, Cricket Australia.]

 

In fact, we have already demonstrated traction in one of the most demanding environments on the planet, elite sport. Our current customers that include Tennis Australia, the NRL, Cricket Australia and the Australian Olympic team all trust our technology and solution to help manage the safety and performance of their athletes. Now this success has led to initial conversations in manufacturing and education to help bring our solution to a wider market.

 

[Image on screen changes with heading: Founding Team. Below are four headshots labelled from left to right as Dr Grant Lynch, Mr John Eisenhuth, Professor Ollie Jay, Dr Federico Tartarini. At the bottom of screen is the logo for The University of Sydney and Emu Systems.]

 

And I'm here to tell you that our team is ready to take this technology forward. Collectively, we combine deep expertise in physiology, engineering, design, software development and business to offer complete peace of mind to our customers.

 

[Image on screen changes with heading: Business Model. Below the heading are three icons. In the middle is Emu Systems. To the left is Policy Development. To the right is Monitoring and Risk Tracking.]

 

Our team is spinning out from the University of Sydney and our focus will be to expand on our customer base in sport, both nationally and internationally, before validating our next vertical in a occupational segment. Right now we consult with our customers to help develop their policy. We are moving towards a scalable heat management as a service business model that bundles our hardware and software together in one subscription.

 

[Image on screen changes with heading: Investment Opportunity. Below this is a circle style pie chart with text in the middle: Funding sought AUD $1.5 million 24 month runway. On the outside the sections are labelled showing the breakdown for Founding Team, Advisors, Product Development, Facility Setup and Operating Expenses. Notes on the bottom left of screen: Key Milestones, Established supply chain, 25 Hardware units available for lease, 10+ contracted customers.]

 

We have a growing backlog of customers who need our solution right now. To deliver on this we are raising $1.5 million in pre-seed funding. We want partners who want to join with a team who are building solutions to help our planet adapt and thrive, not just survive in a warming world.

 

[Image on screen changes to a graphic of a tennis player on a court viewed from overhead with text: EMU systems. Dr Grant Lynch, Chief Executive Officer.]

 

Thank you very much.

 

[Image changes as Grant exits the stage on the left. Image on screen changes to a shot of the team from EMU systems with a QR code and logo for The University of Sydney]

 

[Image changes to a blue screen with text: Continuous 3D]

 

[Animation image appears of an aeroplane landing at an airport on a construction site]

 

Narrator: Today, industry and infrastructure is expanding further and faster than ever.

 

[Animation image appears of an exclamation mark symbol in a triangle above the construction site]

 

But when something breaks everything grinds to a halt and that’s a big problem.

 

[Camera zooms in on an animation of a worker working on a loader, and then the animation image changes to show dollar, downwards arrow, and bin symbols, within circles and text appears beneath: Costs, Productivity, Waste]

 

There’s just not enough skilled labour to do the repairs which causes costly delays, productivity decline and unnecessary waste.

 

[Animation image changes to show a question mark symbol inside a triangle]

 

So, what’s the solution?

 

[Animation image changes to show two robotic machines either side of text: Continuous 3D]

 

Robots, Continuous 3D automates the repair of metal components

 

[Animation image changes to show a robotic machine repairing a loader]

 

by enabling robots to perform a variety of complex 3D tasks.

 

[Animation image changes to show a robotic machine working on repairs]

 

The patented software allows robots to make sense of the environment around them and work autonomously based on the data they collect all without any user programming.

 

[Animation image changes to show a ticking clock]

 

Robots can be sent into the field within minutes to perform repairs.

 

[Animation image changes to show many robotic machines working on repairs, and then the camera zooms out and a symbol of a worker appears above linked by lines to the robotic machines]

 

Then eventually fleets of robots will work together on large projects, leaving humans to focus on planning, monitoring and supervision,

 

[Animation image changes to show symbols of a clock, a dollar symbol and a heart symbol, and text appears below: Time, Money, Lives]

 

saving time, money and lives.

 

[Animation image changes to show text: Continuous 3D, Find out more at research.csiro.au/metals/add-manufacturing/continuous3D]

 

Continuous 3D, building the future while keeping humans out of harm’s way.

 

[Image changes to wide shot that shows Peter King standing to the right of the stage, next to the screen]

 

Peter King:  Hello everybody. My name is Peter King and I'm here to represent Team Continuous 3D. We've just heard that maintenance of critical infrastructure is a really big problem. The cost of equipment wearing down is $68 billion. And that's just for Australia.

 

[Image on screen changes to a picture of a welder with text overtop: One in 250 construction workers die from a welding injury.]

 

The problem is that it's becoming increasingly difficult to find people who are able to do this sort of work. Take this welder, one in 250 construction workers will die from a welding related injury. Legislation is changing. Just this year, Safe Work Australia listed welding fumes in the same category of carcinogen as asbestos. So you might reasonably ask why is it that robots aren't doing this sort of work?

 

[Image on screen changes to an image of robots on an assembly line building cars]

 

The answer is that robots are great at doing this sort of stuff. Repeated tasks that they do over and over again in a highly controlled environment. Where they're not so good is one off work, bespoke tasks such as repair, where it can take weeks of programming time for each and every task.

 

[Image on screen changes to show a person in a high vis jumpsuit and welding helmet working on a large piece of machinery]

 

At Continuous 3D we're solving problems like this. This is a shredder machine. It breaks down concretes and it's used in the waste recycling industry. But right now you see a human in there. What are they doing? They have a weld torch and they're building back metal that has worn down during the day. With Continuous 3D, we enable robots to do precisely this sort of work keeping the human out of the machine. And robots can do the work twice as fast as humans and we can save a company like this $1 million in their annual maintenance bill.

 

[Image on screen changes to picture of a concrete shredder machine from above. There is a robot standing on one side. Images then show the robot scanning the machine piece by piece]

 

And this is what it looks like. So our software enables robots to scan the workpiece in front of it to identify the areas that need repair and to control the robot to perform that repair. And this is an actual screenshot from the software, the software that you're looking at right now, it's very easy to use. And best of all, it doesn't require any programming knowledge.

 

[Image on screen changes to a graphic with heading: The $285bn machine maintenance market. Subheading: Continuous3D. Below that are five icons with labels underneath from left to right, Repair bureaus, Hydro-electricity turbines, Aircraft components, Waste recycling, Worn excavator buckets.]

 

At Continuous 3D we're really excited about the different problems that our technology can solve, everything from corroded aircraft components to turbine blades used in hydroelectric plants. Overall, there's a $285 billion market up for grabs. For some of these problems we'll be working with system integrators who will take our software, put it together with certain hardware to solve an end use. The software will be charged with an upfront setup fee and an annual license for ongoing access to users.

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: Commercialisation plan. Below that are four boxes labelled from left to right: Pilot studies, Raise seed capital, Full solution at customer site, Scale up]

 

Right now we're working on pilot studies with industry to demonstrate the practical use of our product. We're working right now with a major aerospace company. We will soon be raising seed capital to spin the company out and to scale the technology up.

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: Why now? Below that is a blue line from the bottom left of screen to top right with an arrow at the uppermost part. The curve is labelled Expanding Robot Market. At the bottom of the curve is text: 2 Million Robots Worldwide in 2024. At the top of the curve is text: 7 Million Robots Worldwide in 2030]

 

So you might ask why now? The answer is that we're currently living through a boom in automation. By the year 2030 it's predicted there will be seven million robots worldwide and this is driven by a shortage in in critical labour and also rapid advances that are happening in the field of robotics. Digital literacy is on the rise. In the future, you won't see people crawling into machines and repairing stuff with their own hands. They will be comfortable controlling robots to do that sort of work.

 

[Image on screen changes with heading: Horizons. Subheading: Our Big Vision of the Future. Below this are three blue circles, increasing in size from left to right. Each circle has text inside. Circle one text: Horizon 1, in facility repair, controlled environment, industrial robot arms. Circle two text: Horizon 2, in field-repairs, mobile robotics, additive and subtractive operations. Circle three text: Horizon 3, fleets of robots, broad range of repair and monitoring operations, build envelope much larger than one robot]

 

How big can this get? Well, imagine instead of taking equipment offline and sending it all the way to repair facility, instead we send robots out into the field to the point of need. Imagine teams of robots working together to build new infrastructure, using techniques that we haven't even imagined yet. All of this is made possible by Continuous 3D, which gives the robots the brains to do all of this.

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: Meet our team. Below this are three headshots labelled from left to right with: Dr Peter King, Dr Alejandro Vargas, Hans Lohr]

 

And who better to pull it off than the team that built the software from the ground up. As we spin out, we'll be looking to hire programmers, engineers and industry domain experts to help us bring the technology to market.

 

[Image on screen changes with heading: Come Speak To Us. Below are two blue circles with a tick and next to these are text: Help us build our industry network. Join our journey in the upcoming seed round. At the bottom of screen is a graphic of equipment being worked on by robots]

 

So our ask today simply come to speak to us. We're interested in introductions to people who understand how maintenance is done in industries such as mining and waste recycling. We're interested in talking to investors who are as passionate as we are about deep automation tech.

 

[Image changes to photo of a robot in action. Over the photo is text: Continuous 3D. Enabling robots to build the infrastructure of tomorrow]

 

And help us enable robots to build and repair the infrastructure of tomorrow. Thank you.

 

[Image on screen changes to shot of the team from Continuous 3D, a QR code and the CSIRO logo. Peter King exits the stage on the right hand side]

 

[Image on screen changes. Background is teal. Text: FloCAST by Cytophenix]

 

[Images move through to show photos of various people’s photos appearing inside a circle and a pill appears either side of the circle, and text appears: 5 million+ people die every years from antibiotic resistant infections]

 

Narrator: More than 5 million people die every year from antibiotic resistant infections.

 

[Image changes to show a bar graph of deaths leading up to 2050, and then the image changes to show various symbols of death related illness appearing inside a circle, and text appears on the left: Studies show “Projected to kill over 200 million per annum]

 

By 2050 it will be the leading cause of death eclipsing all other causes combined.

 

[Image changes to show a blood test vial, and various diagrams appears around the vial, and text appears: Day 5]

 

Currently tests that tell doctors which antibiotics will work take two to five days to return results.

 

[Image changes to show a pill being split in half, and text appears: Without antibiotics patients can die within hours]

 

But waiting that long can have deadly consequences.

 

[Image changes to show a container of antibiotic pills]

 

So doctors start patients on a broad spectrum antibiotic in the meantime.

 

[Image changes to show a symbol of various outlined bacteria in amongst cells, and antibiotic pills appear bouncing off the bacteria]

 

The problem is continued use of these broad spectrum antibiotics causes bacteria to become resistant making them less effective and putting patients at risk of disability or death.

 

[Images move through to show a green screen with the FloCAST logo, drips moving through a beam of light on the left and bacteria on the right, and the bacteria being recognised by AI, and text appears: bacteria, AI]

 

FloCAST is a patented method that uses flow cytometry and AI to rapidly analyse bacteria with unprecedented precision

 

[Images move through to show a range of antibiotic tablets on the screen, a single antibiotic pill, and antibiotic pills either side of a crossed out bacteria]

 

enabling doctors to confidently prescribe the antibiotic in just two to three hours, making antibiotic resistant infections a thing of the past,

 

[Images move through to show various people’s photos flashing through one after the other, and then a hospital building]

 

saving millions of lives and billions in health care costs.

 

[Image changes to show the FloCAST logo, and text appears: FloCAST by Cytophenix, www.cytophenix]

 

FloCAST by Cytophenix. The right treatment at the right time every time.

 

[Image on screen changes to an image of a medical light. Text on screen: FloCAST by Cytophenix. Dr Christine Carson BSc (Hons) PhD. Christine Carson stands on the stage to the left of the screen]

 

Christine Carson:  Hello, I'm Dr Christine Carson, founder and chief scientific officer at Cytophenix.

 

[Image on screen changes to a graphic stretching from the mid right of screen to the left and then curving underneath. Heading: The right treatment, at the right time. Every time. Graphic is displaying the time it takes from getting a sample from a patient to the results with the indicators showing the existing tests can take 1-3 days and the FloCAST tests can take 3-5 hours]

 

Life saving antibiotics are something we all take for granted. But have you ever wondered why your doctor prescribes different antibiotics at different times? Well, the answer is complicated, but if you have a serious, life threatening infection, both you and your doctor urgently need test results from the best diagnostic tests to get you the right antibiotic as soon as possible. These tests are called antimicrobial susceptibility tests or ASTs for short. Existing ASTs can take days to give results, but with FloCAST your doctor can get this critical information in just hours.

 

[Image on screen changes to show four icons underneath a heading: Early, optimised antibiotic treatment. Icons are labelled: Rapid, Accurate, Simple, Integrated. Text on right of screen: improves patient outcomes and saves lives, reduces time in hospital and intensive care, reduces associated healthcare costs, enables reduced and better use of antibiotics]

 

Antimicrobial susceptibility tests are already an existing part of core laboratory services, so new ASTs need to fit in with the lab and lab staff. Not only is FloCAST faster than anything else out there, but it is highly accurate, it is easy to use and it fits right in to existing workflows. And this gives doctors the information they need to get you on the right antibiotic sooner. And when patients get the right antibiotics sooner they get better more quickly, they go home to their families sooner, their health care costs are lower and the better and reduced use of antibiotics means that you're not contributing to the development of more antimicrobial resistance.

 

[Image on screen changes to three icons from left to right under the heading: Revenue Streams. Icons are labelled: Test kits, Analysis hardware, Automated results]

 

FloCAST is our patented method that consists of three basic components to sell. There are the test kits. These are low cost, low complexity test kits sold at high volume. There is an instrument platform that uses simple and robust technology that has been trusted in other parts of the pathology laboratory for decades. And there is our cloud hosted, proprietary AI driven analytical software that completely automates the analysis and the reporting for clients, and it builds stickiness in our business model.

 

[Image on screen changes to a graphic of multicoloured circles. Heading: Comparison to emerging and incumbent competition.]

 

Key points of differentiation for ASTs are the time to results, how fast the tests are; the applicability to a wide range of bugs and drugs and the sample throughput, how many tests you can do in a shift. FloCAST out competes all the others by not compromising on any of these factors. It's got the fastest time to result, the broadest range of bugs and drugs can be tested, and it has sample throughput that meets the clinical need.

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: Real world proof of concept. Under the heading are two columns, one labelled Time To Result and the other Diagnostic Performance.]

 

Now that's a bold claim, but it is supported by evidence from our real world proof of concept activity. In an independent real world trial FloCAST was 35 hours faster than the existing tests, and it performed at an accuracy of 96.6%. To put that in perspective, you only have to reach 89.9% accuracy to be FDA approved in the United States. So FloCAST delivers the speed that doctors and patients need without compromising accuracy.

 

[Image on screen changes to a circle divided into four parts. Heading: Meets market needs across multiple verticals. The four sections of the circle are labelled: Clinical Pathology, Defence, Veterinary Pathology, Industrial]

 

Our focus is on the clinical pathology market at the moment, but there are other opportunities for the FloCAST platform. Other scenarios where infection and contamination are a problem include veterinary pathology, industrial settings and defence.

 

[Image on screen changes. On the left third of the screen is a group photo. The middle and right two thirds of screen have headshots of the team and their names and roles under heading: The Cytophenix team]

We have a team who can do the medtech, understand the clinical microbiology and have experience building FDA cleared software as a medical device products. We'll expand in quality, regulatory, marketing and distribution when the time is right.

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: Award winning technology. Underneath that are two areas, one labelled Partners and Stakeholders, the other labelled Funders and Awards]

 

We have benefited from more than $9 million funding, non-dilutive funding to date and received numerous accolades for FloCAST.

 

[Image on screen changes to show three circles of increasing size stacked in front of each other with heading: The global market is large and growing. Text on right of screen reads: More than 30m million tests each year, focus on critical infections and then expand, established payment pathways]

 

The global market for ASTs was estimated at $6.6 billion in 2019 and forecast to be nine billion this year. And it's growing. Time critical, serious infections make up two thirds of the AST market at around just over 4 billion per year. This is the market we're targeting. Capturing a 20% share of that market would give us around $830 million a year in revenue. ASTs are a large established market. There are well established ways to pay for the tests and our market Intel shows that we can offer FloCAST at a price point that out competes other emerging platforms.

 

[Image on screen changes to four columns of text under the heading: we are seeking $3M investment to accelerate our pathway to market]

 

Cytophenix is focused on entering the US market first, and to do that, we're actively raising capital to accelerate the pathway to that market. We have a clear path forward, validated by subject matter experts and the large multinational players in the market, and we are looking for the right investors and partners to join us. With investment, we are looking to spend two years finalising product development and doing the commercial and market development to then allow us to sprint to our regulatory trials and market approval in the US.

 

[Image on screen changes to a picture of a playground on the left of screen and on the right of screen is text: FloCAST by Cytophenix. The right treatment, at the right time. Every time.]

 

FloCAST is the way forward. It gives the right treatment at the right time, every time. Thank you.

 

[Image on screen changes to a group photo, a QR code and a logo for The University of Western Australia.  Christine Carson exits the stage on the left]

 

[Image on screen changes to black background, the CSIRO logo and text: ON Accelerate 8. Investor Demo Day 23 May 2024. Joanne Jacobs enters the stage and stands to the left of the screen]

 

Joanne Jacobs: Well, everyone we are, well I was going to say we are actually at the halfway point, but then I realised who was in the audience.

 

[Two staff in black enter the stage from the right carrying a stack of chairs. They place the stack in the middle of the stage, in front of the screen and proceed to place all three chairs in a semi circle before exiting on stage right with one tripping slightly]

 

And so we're actually at the 44% point of the program. So just so you know, now given this, how good were those pitches so far?As you have heard, we have a slight interlude into the program now. We’ve got a lightning fast panel. I'm going to invite the panellists to come up to the stage

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: Insights, investing in deep tech. Subheading: Hugo Le Messurier (Angel Investor), Tracie Clark (VentureX HQ) and Prashanth Rajan (Brandon Capital). Facilitated by Joanne Jacobs]

 

whilst you stand as a group and stretch, turn to yourself, turn around, introduce yourself to the person beside you, shake their hand. Make sure that you're comfortable. Once you're comfortable, I will ask the people to the stage.

 

[Visible audience stands, stretches and turns. Three people walk to the front of the stage and step up to seat themselves]

 

All right. All good. Have a seat. God, give me a migraine.

 

All right. All feeling comfy? Right. I would like to introduce our wonderful panellists who are here today. At the far end we have Hugo Le Messurier, who is from Le Messurier Solutions. He's an ON coach from a long time, he’s a bit of a polymath. In the middle we have Tracie Clark from venture HQ. She has an organisation that invests strongly in diversity. So fabulous. Tracie is also a coach as part of the ON team here today. And finally Prashanth Rajan from Brandon Capital Partners. Brandon Capital invests in life sciences and biotech. So thank you all for joining me.

 

I'm going to start with Hugo as part of this process and say, look, you've been around for a very long time, Hugo. Frankly, you're almost as old as I am. So from an investment perspective, what would you say characterises a successful deep tech venture?

 

Hugo Le Messurier:  Good question. Jo. So for me it starts with a team and it ends with a team at some level. Teams make or break my investments so it has to be a really good team. They've got to be working together closely. They've got to have good deep technical skills. They've got to have desire to want to come out and actually take their technology to the real world. But that's not the only thing they sort of need for me. I need to see some good IP and some depth in the technology, something that has a really strong competitive advantage on a global scale. And I guess that's the third thing for me deep tech has opportunity to go global. So for me, investing in it means I have an opportunity to get a business that could be in the billions as opposed to something maybe in the hundreds of millions in Australia.

 

In addition to that, at the end of the day, I guess I like to see a return as well as an investor something between 10 to 20 times. But I'm a patient investor, I'm an angel investor, so I would like to work with the company as well. And often I'll work with them for five, seven and even sometimes ten years before I see the return. But that's the way that I like to work because I can help them, watch them grow. And I guess the last thing that I always come back to with the team is someone that's coachability. The team has to have a coachability aspect to them. They need to listen. They don't need to take everyone's advice, but they need to find their own way through. So I guess for me they're the sort of the key things.

 

Joanne Jacobs:  And do you think, from your perspective, Tracie, you've invested a lot, as I say, with diverse organisations. You know what what is it that makes such a deep tech investment stand out?

 

Tracie Clark:  Yeah. Look, I think well, again, it comes down to the team and as you know, we do have a particular focus on diverse teams. We invest in female led businesses and and, and I think from the diversity aspect startups are actually not very good at having, you know, diverse teams in the beginning. They tend to only 26%, in fact, think of diversity when they're putting their teams together and, you know, they're usually and that's fine because they're usually small teams and you tend to, you know, bring in people that are that are like you and it's human nature.

 

But when you have a look at the benefits you know, you've got, you know, 35% higher profit, you've got you know, more, better decision making, more creative ideas and thoughts and higher staff retention. So yeah, it's you know, when you look at those benefits, I think that it's good for founders to think about the next hire and what that might look like and also for investors to have that lens when they're looking at their next investment. And also generally when coaching and mentoring their teams to have that focus as well ,to bring that the benefits.

 

Joanne Jacobs:  Are you pleased to see the women that we've got on?

 

Tracie Clark:  Yeah, it's been fantastic. Yeah, it's really good. Very exciting.

 

Joanne Jacobs:  Prashanth, you're working in the biotech sector. That requires often clinical trials. Tell us what makes a biotech deep tech company investable?

 

Prashanth Rajan:  Actually, Hugo, you touched on a couple of points, which I think really translate well to the biotech sector, which is that, you know, health is a global problem. It doesn't really matter which part of the world you are in. If you've got cancer, well, you need the right treatments. And so there is an opportunity from an investment standpoint, you're looking at things that have to not only work, you know, within the context of Australia, it has to work globally.

 

And the way I guess we like to think about it is is almost at that fundamental level. What is a real clinical unmet need? And do you have a technology or a product or a, you know, diagnostic device therapeutic, whatever it is that actually addresses that specific problem. And ultimately it's that problem going to be, you know, is that solution going to be meaningful enough such that, you know, the health systems around the world are willing to pay for that? Patients are going to use it? Clinicians are going to prescribe it? And we really want to see all of those things along with the team that understands those aspects and is able to execute on that plan. So those are the kinds of things that I think ultimately make good biotech company investable.

 

Joanne Jacobs:  So Tracie, you've also invested in biotech. You know, what do you see as being the best process of getting any of these products into market?

 

Tracie Clark:  Yeah, it's an interesting one because that's where I see a lot of the difficulty for companies. You know, they they spend such a long time getting their product ready for market and then they think that that's the, you know, that's the job done. But in actual fact, it's actually getting it into market that's the hard bit. I know one case, a medical tech company, a medical device company that we've got currently rolling out across the US. It's it's having those surgical champions in each hospital. It's you know, putting the resources on the ground to get yeah, just to to get it into the hospitals. It's the distribution and and so when I'm looking at a you know, a company initially, you know, I’m, part of my due diligence is really looking at their go to market strategy. How are you going to, you know, get this into market and and it's and it's different for every company of course but they've got to have a really strong strategy around that.

 

Joanne Jacobs:  And relationships are really important.

 

Tracie Clark:  Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

 

Joanne Jacobs:  Hugo we know you've you've been involved with a whole lot of other accelerator programs as well. Statistically, only one in 10 of any start up team in an accelerator programme is likely to be successful, and it's been the same since the 1990s. But the ON accelerate teams have something like a 67% success rate after three years, that’s sustainable companies. Why is ON accelerate so successful?

Hugo Le Messurier:  So I guess I can't answer the direct question because I probably don't have the numbers. But what I can say is I've been on the program for eight years. I've worked with a bunch of accelerators in the US, in New Zealand, in Australia probably four or 500 teams over that time. I've invested in three of the companies that have come out of the ON program. And I guess the thing that you see with with the accelerator program is that the teams have been in the program for eight months, nine months. They've done an awful lot of customer validation, and this is what a lot of startups fail to do, is to do early customer validation.

 

They often pivot and change on the way through. So it's very rare to see a company or a group of people thinking that their technology is going to be in this direction, actually finding that to be their first market, they often find themselves somewhere else and this program helps them to do that. It gives them a lot of support. At the same time, their institutions give them the time and the effort or the time to take out to actually focus on their businesses and their opportunities. So it's a bit rare like that.

 

There's also funding that comes through the system as well that helps them to get on with things that they wouldn't otherwise normally do. So really what it does is it creates a launchpad. And I think that's the reason why it's so successful. You know, you have the Prime program that sort of sorts them out and then you have this cohort that comes through and it's really intensive. And I know for all the guys here, it's a really intensive hard program. They put their heart into it. But really what it does do is it trains them for what life is like in a startup. And you know, it's hard, it's challenging, it's rewarding. So I think that's why.

 

Tracie Clark:  It really brings all those sort of stress points that, you know, a business goes through through the journey right up front, doesn't it? And gets you to really look at it. And I think it's yeah.

 

Joanne Jacobs:  Well I hope the, I hope the team members in the audience agree.

 

I'm gonna one, last question because I know we need to move on quickly. So, Prashanth, I'm giving you the last word. What do you think of as being the most important issues for both teams and investors to do to prepare for investment?

 

Prashanth Rajan:  I mean, the investment process really is a partnership, right? And like with any partnership, it's important to understand what perspective the investor is bringing and what perspective the founders are bringing or indeed the company, the teams. And then ultimately thinking about where is this the best partnership that you want to get into? Is this the ideal partnership for you? So important to consider that from a, from a founder perspective, but also from an investor perspective.

 

And again piece of advice I'd say for any founder is to really I can I can only speak for the biotech industry where often when you're working on on, let's say, a therapeutic program, companies are born grown and then sold to or partnered with pharmaceutical companies before a single dollar of real revenues is generated. Whereas in the medtech industry, as you touched on with the medical device company, it's often quite a different life cycle where it's often, you know, companies have to go on market, raise revenue or start generating revenue. And it's only then that they are able to get partnered.

 

And from an investment perspective, it's it's important to understand what that journey looks like for your company and then be able to communicate it to your potential investors because that'll make everybody's you know, life easier because it brings everybody on the same page.

 

And I think a word on the team, I'm just going to steal this because I saw this on Twitter or X as it seems to be called these days, which is, you know there are known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns. The first part you can address with a really great team. The second part can only be addressed with a really great culture but then that again comes from a team. So it is really worthwhile thinking about who you've got on your team and then how that really helps you achieve your goals.

 

Joanne Jacobs:  And how the relationship with the investor goes as well.

 

Prashanth Rajan:  Absolutely, absolutely. And it's a major part of anything that we do ultimately, you know, Hugo touched on this. We're looking at five, ten year time horizons in in deep tech. You know, you want to be working with people you like and enjoy working with. So yeah, it makes a big difference.

 

Joanne Jacobs:  We don't want to divorce. All right. Thank you very much to my my lovely panellists. Would you join me with me, ladies and gentlemen?

 

[Image changes as Hugo, Tracie and Prashanth stand and leave the stage from the front, carrying their chairs]

 

I have to ask I have to ask the panellists to take their own chairs out into the audience because we do need to have the stage clear for the next presenters. Right. We are very fortunate in this cohort of ON Accelerate to actually have two teams focused on antimicrobial resistance. Earlier you heard from Christine and the team at Cytophenix for the FloCAST tool, which was a diagnostic on antimicrobial resistance. Up next, we have a team that is focused on therapeutics around antimicrobial resistance. Would you welcome, please team Plasmid Therapy.

 

[Image changes as Joanne leaves the stage on the left. Screen goes black and text appears: Plasmid Therapy]

 

[Animation image appears of a purple screen covered in pills, and the pills gradually drop off the bottom of the screen and it is replaced by text: Antimicrobial Resistance, AMR]

 

Narrator: Eventually all antibiotics fail because repeated use of them causes antimicrobial resistance

 

[Animation image changes to show an antibiotic pill being covered with green antimicrobial resistance splotches, and then the animation image morphs into a tombstone]

 

and results in resistance spreading across the population which is deadly.

 

[Animation image changes to show tombstones in rows covering the screen above and below text: 5 Million]

 

In fact, antimicrobial resistant infections cause more than 5 million deaths a year.

 

[Animation images move through to show a bar graph of causes of deaths, and then a line graph of World Economy money spent with green antimicrobial resistance splotches bouncing down the line]

 

Within a generation they will kill more people than cancer or heart disease while delivering a $100 trillion hit to the global economy.

 

[Animation images move through to show text “Plasmid Therapy”, and then tadpoles swimming with green resistance splotches inside them swimming around in liquid showing green resistance splotches]

 

Plasmid Therapy is a simple, safe and affordable way to make AMR a thing of the past.

 

[Animation image shows the green antimicrobial resistance splotches being removed from the liquid and from within the tadpoles, and text appears in the bottom right, 1 day, 2 days, 3 days]

 

A solution is delivered to the gut via a pill or drink, where it removes resistance genes and prevents them from returning. The solution completely disappears within a few days, leaving infections responsive to ordinary antibiotics again.

 

[Animation image changes to show a person walking a dog past a hospital, and then the camera pans out to show ducks on a lake in the foreground and an ambulance driving to the hospital]

 

And because of how it works, it can be used safely on children and animals, or even entire ecosystems like hospitals or lakes.

 

[Animation image changes to show a varied purple background, and text appears: Plasmid Therapy www.criticalinfection.com]

 

Plasmid Therapy, a solution for AMR.

 

[Music plays. Image on screen is purple background with curves in white and black. Text: Plasmid Therapy. Subtext: Westmead Institute for Medical Research. Below this are logos for The Westmead Institute, NSW Government, University of Sydney. Standing to the right of the screen is Jon Iredell]

 

Jon Iredell:  Hi everybody. My name is Jon Iredell and thank you for the opportunity to speak to you all. You've just heard a second ago about the importance of antibiotic resistance, the threat that it poses and the importance of recognising that threat when it arrives.

 

[Image on screen changes to a graphic of people in hospital beds. Heading: Our Innovative Solutions. Subheadings: Then, No way to stop spread of mobile antibiotic resistance (AbR) AND Now, Remove and eradicate mobile AbR]

 

You may not know that more than half of the antibiotic resistance that is most likely to kill, and which the WHO recognises as our top tier threats, is actually spread between bacteria by the genes that they share and we have had no way to deal with this in the past. So that it spreads quietly, it pops up unrecognised and unexpectedly. But now we have a way to remove and eradicate these antibiotic resistance genes, and our preliminary data from our animal models is so strong that the Australian regulators have given us permission to move straight into human therapy.

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: Key Features. There are two columns of text. Column on left: Just like a serve of yoghurt, removes resistance genes, stops resistance genes coming in. Column on right: Does not induce new resistance, delivered in a trusted vehicle, preserves healthy gut bacteria]

 

And we've already treated a couple of humans now and we present it just like a simple drink, a serve of yoghurt. a very painless and simple therapy. It doesn't induce new antibiotic resistance because it doesn't try to kill the bacteria, it simply disarms them.

 

[Image on screen changes to two coloured patches and heading: Commercialisation. Patch on left has heading: Milestones achieved. Patch on right has heading: Next Milestone]

 

We have patents now moving into the national phase in multiple jurisdictions. We have a commitment from our institutions to license out this intellectual property. And we've just sent our second patient home. So we are looking now to move and to create an investable entity, a company for delivering Plasmid Therapy.

 

[Image on screen changes to dark background. Heading on screen: Immediate Priorities. Text on screen: FDA approval pathways, Early phase trials, GMP Manufacturing, Market entry]

 

We need to face up to the FDA approval pathways, which are right in front of us now. This involves early phase trials and GMP manufacturing, and this will enable us to take these early steps into market entry.

 

[Image on screen changes. Heading: Early Adopters. Below the heading are two boxes with icons of people, the top box has red dots, question marks and crosses over most of the icons. Other text on screen: Bone Marrow Transplantation. 22,827 BMTs in US (2021), 821,000 bed days]

 

Now I want to try and give you an example so that you can understand what this looks like. And I've chosen our early adopter market. These are the people who are currently screaming out for this. And in fact the early people that we've treated here in Australia. It’s important to point out that more than half of the people who get a bone marrow transplant ,and you use this to treat things like leukaemia, we'll get a bacterial infection spilling into their bloodstream. If that occurs and it's antibiotic resistant, you are the more than 40% likely to die in hospital as a result.

 

So this is a major threat in these institutions. A colleague from India told me only a few years ago that antibiotic resistant infection is a bigger killer in his leukaemia unit than the leukaemia itself. Around the world, even for just this small indication of bone marrow transplantation for leukaemia, there are nearly 100,000 being done every year, and that's rising by 10 to 20% per year. In the US, we're talking about 23,000 bone marrow transplants every year. And because you don't know when it's going to turn up or who it's going to turn up in, everyone needs protection from it.

 

[Image on screen changes with heading: Achievable savings. Subtext: 33.7m admission in 2022, -USD 1.36 trillion. 503,000 extra admissions, 26% mortality = 130,000 lives. 2283 extra admissions, 42% mortality = 1050 lives]

 

If you look at the avoidable mortality and the avoidable admissions to hospital that you would save if you prevented this kind of antimicrobial therapy, we're looking at three quarters of $1 billion saving. We're looking at a thousand lives saved every year just in the US, just in the bone marrow transplant community. If you looked at the other critical care sector, the classic critical care sector, which is intensive care units, we're talking about 130,000 lives at a much bigger a much bigger health saving. But of course, this is the sort of technology that benefits enormously from scale. The more people you treat, the more people benefit and the more collateral benefit you achieve. And so once this achieves the status of standard of clinical care, and that's where this is going, then you will really be looking to treat everyone in hospital. And that is a lot of people. In the United States that's nearly 34 million admissions a year, and that's a $1.36 trillion budget, of which nearly half a billion is just in the bed stays alone.

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: The Competition. Below this are two intersecting lines to form a cross. On the horizontal line the left is marked Low Cost, the right is marked High Cost. On the vertical line the bottom is marked Weak Performance/Efficacy, the top is marked Strong Performance/Efficacy. There are several options placed over this graph with Plasmid Therapy being placed on the top left corner]

 

The really important distinction I think I pointed out to you a minute ago, was that Plasmid Therapy does not provide an existential threat to the bacteria, so we don't have to just make a new drug and hope that this time the bacteria won't adapt. What we're doing is doing what they'd like, which is get rid of excess resistance genes that they don't need. This sets it apart. And because it is a therapy that is simply a bacterial production system, it is very cheap to do and it is highly scalable. And we currently deliver it in a really well proven technology that is free of regulatory constraints and is very well proven in terms of efficacy, safety and shelf life.

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: Our Founders. Below are headshots labelled Prof. Jon Iredell and Dr. Muhammad Kamruzzaman. To the right of screen is a QR code]

 

Our team is well and truly across the medicine and across the science, and we've been working together on this for more than a decade but we recognise, and we are actively seeking, a commercial partner to bring that extra expertise that we need to take this out into the real world and to meet the commercial and market partners that will help, help deliver this promise.

 

[Image on screen changes to large photo of antibiotic capsules with text below: Restore the power of trusted antibiotics. The QR code remains on screen and there is an animated image of a person walking a dog]

 

Our mission is to restore effectively the power of the trusted antibiotics that we now so fear losing, and to protect the investment of the antibody, into the antibiotics that are currently being developed and that investment is increasingly difficult to recoup. Ultimately, we expect to eradicate the risk from antimicrobial resistance or antibiotic resistance, it’s the same thing. That's our mission. And if you'd like to hear more about our mission or you would like to help us with it or advise on it, please come and see us or have a look at our website and thank you so much for your attention.

 

[Image on screen changes to photo of the Plasmid Therapy team and the QR code as well as the logo for The University of Sydney. Jon leaves the stage on the right hand side of screen]

 

[Image on screen changes. Background is now orange and there is a logo and text: ErythroSight, Innovation is in our blood]

 

[Image shows a white screen, and text appears: Age-related Macular Degeneration, AMD]

 

Narrator: Age related Macular Degeneration is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world.

 

[Image changes to show seven eyes on the screen and then one of the eyes becomes highlighted in red]

 

It affects one in every seven people over 50.

 

[Image changes to show a world map, and then the image changes to show five white dots in the bottom left of a screen, and then the rest of the screen gradually becomes covered with red dots]

 

Currently that’s 288 million people around the world at an annual cost to Australia of $5 billion and $350 billion globally.

 

[Image changes to show the ErythroSight logo, and then the image changes to show a drop moving down the screen and eventually into a test tube, and text appears: Safe, Effective, Accessible]

 

At ErythroSight we are developing a groundbreaking new way to treat AMD, a novel therapeutic treatment that uses the patient’s own blood.

 

[Image changes to show a various dots and splotches in the blood, and then the image changes to show a close view of an eye]

 

First, we collect blood from the patient then we harness a protective component using our incubating strategy. It would then be administered by a clinician or in the future, by the patient themselves.

 

[Image changes to show three circles showing symbols inside of a clock, a dollar symbol, and a cell]

 

It’s fast, cost effective and because it uses the patient's own blood, it’s biocompatible.

 

[Image changes to show a person surrounded by text circles, and then the image changes to show a diverse group of patients, and text appears in the text circles: Retinal Detachment, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Uveitis]

 

Plus, the technology can also be adapted to treat other retinol and neuro degenerative diseases, improving the quality of life, not just for patients but those around them as well.

 

[Image changes to show the ErythroSight logo, and text appears: ErythroSight, Innovation Is In Our Blood]

 

ErythroSight, innovation is in our blood.

 

[Image on the screen changes to show the logo for Australian National University. Adrain Cioanca stands to the left of the screen]

 

Adrian Cioanca:  Hello everyone. I'm Adrian, co-founder of ErythroSight.

 

[Image on screen changes to photo of a small baby being held by grandparents]

 

Imagine what it's like to hold your grandkids in your arms or to welcome a new member into your family. I bet many of you in fact, I imagine a happy scene, a scene like this. But the reality is for one in seven people over the age of 50, this very same scene may actually look like this.

 

[Image on screen changes so that the baby’s face is now a black spot and the grandparents are very fuzzy]

 

This is age related macular degeneration or, for short, AMD. AMD is the number one cause of blindness in the Western world. So what happens in AMD? In AMD your central vision is lost and so is your ability to read, your ability to drive, your ability to watch movies and, most importantly, your ability to see the faces of your loved ones. In fact, AMD not only diminishes an individual's independence, but it actually places significant care responsibilities on their family.

 

[Image on screen changes to text: 288 million people by 2040.]

 

Now AMD is a big problem. In fact, it is a growing problem. It is projected that by 2040, 288 million people are going to suffer from AMD. And we know that this disease will cost the economy $350 billion each and every year. So can we treat AMD?

 

[Image on screen changes to orange background, stylised picture of an eye on the right and text on the left: Current treatments don’t save vision.]

 

Well, treatments for AMD were only approved by the FDA last year, and so far they have not yet been shown to actually save a patient's vision. And also, we now know that these treatments actually have many, many side effects.

 

[Image on screen shows a series of dots connected by lines with text: AMD is complex]

 

AMD is a complex disease. AMD is a hard problem, and the reason why many treatments do not work is because they target a single late stage pathway that causes AMD. And despite the fact that current treatments have not yet been shown to save vision, they generate hundreds of millions of dollars in sales revenue each and every year for the companies that actually have these drugs in their portfolios. So AMD is definitely a lucrative market.

 

[Image on screen changes to a tear drop shape with text inside: Imagine being able to treat yourself]

 

Now imagine being able to treat yourself. What we do at ErythroSight we are developing a novel way to treat AMD. What we do is actually very simple. We develop, we are developing a treatment for AMD using a patient's own blood, and we have shown in animal models that our treatment saves vision. And remember what I said before. Current treatments that are on the market now have not yet been shown to save a person's vision.

 

[Image on screen changes to a tear drop shape surrounded by small circles. In the tear drop is text: Compared to our competitors. In the small circles are the words: Effective, Cheap, Fast, Safe, Scalable]

 

In addition to that, our product is safe, it is personalised and it is scalable. In fact, we know that within 24 hours we can produce multiple doses of this treatment from a single blood donation for that patient. And we only need minimum infrastructure to actually produce this treatment.

 

[Image changes to multiple icons from left to right on a timeline under the heading: $5m Raise. The three icons on the left have ticks above them. The middle three have a timeline underneath labelled 2-3 years. There are two more icons on the right]

 

ErythroSight is on a clear path to market. So far we have invested over $2 million into this venture to show in many animal models that our treatment saves vision. We have developed a patent position for our technology and we have developed a clear regulatory plan. We are here today to involve you in this journey, and we are looking to raise $5 million to develop a clinical and corporate team, to manufacture a clinical grade product and to initiate phase one clinical trials. We believe that we can complete these activities in the next 2 to 3 years.

 

[Image changes to show a graph with a steady projection. The heading is Market Valuation and there is a pin and tear drop icon in the first quarter of the graph labelled $30M with Phase 1 written at the base]

 

Now similar companies that are on the market after the completion of phase one clinical trials are valued at approximately $30-40 million.

 

[Image on screen changes to add another pin and tear drop icon labelled $400 million with Phase 2 written at the base]

 

At the completion of phase two similar companies have valuations at approximately $400 million, but the major value inflection point comes at the completion of phase three trials.

 

[Image on screen changes to add another pin and tear drop icon labelled $4B with Phase 3 written at the base]

 

We know from robust market data that ophthalmic drug companies that are selling treatments for AMD after the completion of phase three trials, they are valued at approximately $4 billion.

 

[Image on screen changes to animation outline of a head and torso under the heading: Future Applications. There are three circles attached to points of the body with labels: Other eye diseases, Neuro-degeneration, Systemic Delivery]

 

Now at ErythroSight our mission is to treat AMD. But we know that our therapeutic could actually be applied as a novel treatment for other neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. And here's one more thing current treatments for eye diseases require an injection into the eye. But what we are developing at ErythroSight has the potential to be delivered systemically. What do I mean by that? It can actually be given to the patient, much like a vaccine with a simple injection into the arm. This will make such a therapeutic much more accessible to the patient.

 

[Image changes to heading: Our Team. Below are headshots labelled from left to right: Assoc. Prof. Riccardo Natoli, Dr. Yvette Wooff, Rakshanya Sekar, Dr. Adrian Cioanca, Dr. Riya Palchaudhuri]

 

Now our team brings together over 40 years of experience in AMD research. In fact, some of our preclinical technologies have already been integrated by leading pharmaceutical companies and are right now shaping the way they are developing their drug, the drug development.

 

[Image on screen changes to photo of a small baby being held by grandparents. There is a QR code on the right of the screen]

 

At ErythroSight our mission is to save your vision.

 

[Image on screen changes to a group photo, a QR code and the logo for Australian National University. Adrian exits the stage on the left]

 

[Music plays and an image appears to show the eyes of an elderly person, and text appears: What is care?]

 

Narrator: What is care?

[Image changes to show an elderly man holding a mug and smiling and laughing, and then the image changes to younger hands moving to hold the older hand]

Care is someone to talk to, a hand to hold.

[Image changes to show an elderly patient looking at photos of family, and then the image changes to show a young woman hugging an older woman]

Care is feeling seen and supported.

[Image changes to show an older man playing chess with a young woman]

Care is human connection.

[Images move through to show carers taking blood pressure and helping with arm exercises, a tired female carer, hands typing, patient charts and forms being checked, and staff shortage news articles]

Unfortunately, most aged care workers aren't able to provide the care they want to give because they're spending up to an hour of every eight hour shift on forms and data entry, causing up to 25% of frontline aged care workers to quit each year,

[Images move through to show a sad male sitting on his bed in a darkened room, a patient in a wheelchair wheeling to the window, and a side profile of an older person] 

and preventing our elderly from receiving the essential care they need and deserve.

[Images changes to show a pink background with the Jessie Technology logo, and then text moves through: Hands-free technology that automates the data entry process, Compliant, Streamlined]

So say hello to Jessie, a hands free technology that automates the data entry process, creating a compliant and streamlined solution

[Images moves to the left to show a carer drinking and talking with older lady on the right, and then the image changes a clock with moving hands on the right, and text appears: Infers, Validates Populates, All in near real time]

that effortlessly follows a conversation to infer meaning and populate data in near real time.

[Images move through to show a carer pushing an older lady in a wheelchair and talking, a carer and older male smiling and talking, and various close ups of carers smiling at the camera]

Creating detailed data records with ease while boosting care worker morale and retention.

[Images move through to show a carer talking to a patient, and then a carer talking with a lady in a wheelchair in the garden]

But most importantly, creating more space for care workers to do what they do best.

[Music plays and the image changes to show a medium view of an older male with a young female carer smiling at the camera]

[Image change to show a pink background with the Jessie Technology logo, and text appears: www.acu.edu.au/industry]

Jessie Technology. Less time collecting. More time connecting.

[Music plays as image changes to white with Jessie Technology and the Australian Catholic University logo appear on screen. Andrew Condon is on stage, standing to the right of the screen]

Andrew Condon:  Hi everyone. I'm Andrew from Jessie Technology.

 

[Image changes to a close up of an elderly woman’s eyes with text on top: The number of Australians over 85 will triple in the next 40 years]

 

Did you know that the number of Australians over 85 is going to triple in the next 40 years? That's an additional 1 million frail Australians. Our friends, our family, our loved ones, us. All needing aged care that connects.

 

[Image changes to a montage of newspaper headlines: Staff shortfall compromising choice, Aged-care staff crisis, Time to care]

 

But you've all seen the news. We have a $36 billion aged care sector with a workforce crisis. And it gets worse.

 

[Image on screen changes to text: Growing problems for supporting an ageing population. 65K]

 

Industry reports are telling us that 65,000 aged care workers will leave their jobs each year, citing burnout and frustration with documentation and data entry. That is a massive problem for our customers, Australia's aged care providers, who employ nurses and care workers. And I know, I have chaired one of Australia's largest aged care companies for four years during Royal Commissions and COVID and was then appointed to the National Aged Care Advisory Council, advising the Minister and the Department. What's more, the aged care sector is highly regulated and the average cost to replace a worker is $10,000. So that's a whopping $650 million cost per year to providers.

 

[Image on screen changes to an elderly gentleman playing chess with a younger woman]

 

Thus, the problem we are solving is to remove the burden of documentation and data entry and provide frontline workers more time to care, to raise their morale and job satisfaction, and with more accurate data capture at point of care, increase the quality of care that connects.

 

[Image on screen changes to the Jessie Technology banner at the top and text below: = More time to care]

 

So at Jessie Technology we've been working with Microsoft and we've developed a hands free technology solution that automates data entry and documentation. With some seed funding we have developed, sorry, with some seed funding we've been able to begin negotiating with foundation customers for a funded pilot trial of a Jessie prototype on the basis of pre-sold licenses.

 

[Image on screen changes to text: Aged Care]

 

We believe we can move quickly to market here in Australia, given the strong interest from customers and their enthusiasm for pilot trials.

 

[Image on screen changes to add text to previous image: International aged care]

 

Then we intend to target international markets, working with some of our partners here in Australia who already have operations in European and North American markets.

 

[Image on screen changes to add further text: Childcare, acute care, emergency care, International Healthcare, International Schools, Aviation, Defence Maintenance]

 

But there is a growing list of other sectors, such as teaching, who also have frontline workers who are dealing with challenges of burnout and retention. Despite emergence of AI assisted documentation our greatest competitor is going to be the status quo, given the regulatory barriers to innovation and new market entrants. Oops. Can I go back one, please?

 

[Image skips forward two slides and then back one to a slide labelled Why Us?]

 

So, at Jessie Technology. We have great access to customer sectors. ACU not only graduates the most nurses in the country, and similar for teachers, but already has an aged care workforce alliance with a large number of Australia's aged care providers. But what is really key is we already have market traction. As part of the CSIRO ON program, we conducted 100 plus customer interviews. We have begun showcasing our proof of concept demonstrator to a whole range of stakeholders who have been really excited at what we have developed. And on a site visit to a nursing home, we had a care worker tell us this will change my life.

 

[Image on screen changes to five headshots of the Jessie Technology team]

 

We have a great team who bring a diversity of skills to get this job done - sector knowledge and networks, engineering and technical knowhow, innovation, marketing and operations. But we're going to need to grow our team as we scale, so we'll be seeking support from investors to help us grow.

 

[Image on screen changes to a timeline labelled: Why are we unstoppable?]

 

We're now on a roll. We've secured some seed funding. We built a proof of concept demonstrator and we're negotiating with foundation customers.

 

[Image on screen changes to icons under the heading: What Jessie needs?]

 

Thus we now want to reach out to investors who want to partner with us to solve this problem for frontline aged care workers to have more time to care. We want to grow our team as we scale. We want to expand our network of partners and advisers, and we are seeking support from investors to help us get to our next milestone. So please reach out to us.

 

[Image on screen changes to the Jessie Technology banner and a QR code with the ACU logo]

 

And remember, Jessie Technology. Less time collecting, more time connecting. Thank you.

 

[Image on screen changes to a photo of the team, a QR code and the ACU logo. Andrew exits the stage on the right]

 

[Image appears of a drawing of a beer mug and liquid appears filling the mug, and text appears below: This is beer]

 

Narrator: This is beer.

 

[Image changes to show a drawing of a green yeast squiggles with hair eyes and legs jumping into view replacing the drawn mug, and text appears: Made with yeast]

 

Beer is made with yeast.

 

[Image changes to show a drawing of an open mouth with purple lips and a long purple and green dotted tongue wriggling off to the left side, and text appears: Gives beer those wonderful flavours aromas textures and mouthfeel]

 

Yeast is what gives beer those wonderful, flavours, aromas, textures and mouthfeel.

 

[Image changes to a drawing of balance scales with coloured yeast squiggles on top of each other on one side and a bottle, mugs and jug on the other side, and text appears: So the more types of yeast the more types of delicious beers]

 

So, the more types of yeast the more types of delicious beers.

 

[Image changes to show a drawing of leaves and plants with a pink yeast squiggle with legs peeking out from behind a leaf, and text appears: Yeast is alive and you can find it everywhere in the wild]

 

Yeast is alive and you can find it everywhere in the wild.

 

[Image changes to show a tiger tail lashing across the page and then the image changes to show a drawn picture of a zoo, and the camera pans in, and text appears: Like most wild animals it’s a lot easier to study them in a zoo.]

 

Like most wild animals it’s a lot easier to study them in a zoo.

 

[Image changes to Wild Yeast Zoo logo with coloured yeast squiggles that have eyes and legs, around the logo, and text appears: That’s what we do.]

 

That’s what we do.

 

[Image changes to show a drawing of pink yeast squiggle beside mushrooms and leaves being picked by a green gloved hand, and text appears: Yeast hunters or wyzards as we call them forage different strains from amongst Australia’s flora and fauna.]

 

Yeast hunters, or wyzards as we call them, forage different strains from amongst Australia’s flora and fauna.

 

[Image changes to a drawing of a cardboard box with a test tube of yeast being placed inside, and text appears: Then they send them to us]

 

Then they send them to us.

 

[Image changes to a drawing of a pink yeast squiggle with hair eyes and legs being graded with ticked boxes and levels, and text appears: We assess them and then add to our zoo”

 

We assess them and then add to our zoo.

 

[Image changes to a drawing of the world globe with beer mugs, jug, bottles and coloured yeast squiggles appearing around the globe, and text appears: So craft brewers from all over the globe can easily discover new and rare yeasts to use in their beers]

 

So, craft brewers from all over the globe can easily discover new and rare yeasts to use in their beers.

 

[Image changes to show a drawing of beer in a jumping glass, and text appears: But beer is just the beginning]

 

But beer is just the beginning.

 

[image changes to show drawings inside a nine box grid of a beer glass, burning lamp, croissant, medicine, vegetables, needle, wheat heads, sheep and bread, and text appears: Yeast is also used in many other food and biotech applications]

 

Yeast is also used in many other food and biotech applications.

 

[Image changes to show a drawing of the world globe encircled with each coloured yeast squiggle holding various yeast uses, and text appears: Making our yeasty little friends a key ingredient of a more sustainable future]

 

Making our yeasty little friends a key ingredient of a more sustainable future.

 

[Image changes to a drawing of the Wild Yeast Zoo logo surrounded by coloured yeast squiggles holding various uses for yeast, and texts appears: The Wild Yeast Zoo it’s the yeast we can do]

 

The Wild Yeast Zoo, it’s the yeast we can do.

 

[Image changes to show text on a white screen: www.wildyeastzoo.com]

 

[Image on screen changes to black with The University of Newcastle, Australia logo and text. Evan Gibbs enters the stage on the left and stands next to the screen]

 

[Image on screen changes to three headshots under the heading: The WYZards Conclave. Headshots are labeled left to right: Evan, Claudia, Ben]

 

Evan Gibbs:  Hi, I'm Evan and I'm a wyzard from the Wild Yeast zoo. I'm in charge of ideation and just generally being a bit of a firecracker. There's also Claudia. She's our chief yeast wrangler. And then Ben, our comms conjurer. We're building a library or, as we call it, a zoo of microbes able to solve problems that we need for specialised products moving towards a greener future.

 

[Image changes to animation of yeast with the text: Our yeasty friends can magic up much, much more than beer…]

 

As our video showed, yeast are an amazing resource. They can make beer and bread, but I bet you didn't know that 40% of your diet is already fermented. Yeast are the great degraders and through this process they can make precursors to tastes, cosmetics, medicines, fuels, industrial chemicals and the list goes on.

 

Each little yeast is like a separate chemical factory. These factories make the smells and flavours that we encounter in our everyday lives. And there are many millions of varieties.

 

[Image on screen changes to animated image of the world surrounded by breads, a microscope and other icons. Heading: Transforming Industries with Yeast Magic]

 

Currently, the market only uses a handful of microbes to produce many of the chemicals that we need. These yeasts were originally used to make beer. But you wouldn't expect an ice cream factory to make iPhones. So why do you think a beer yeast should be producing vaccines?

 

[Image on screen changes with a heading: Beating the Status Quo. On the left are logos for various companies, on the right is a three by three grid with various yeasts, the grid is labelled: Zoo]

 

Our zoo will be used in advanced manufacturing, where our yeasts are engineered to produce everything from fuels for cars to insulin and even flavours for ice creams. This method is not only sustainable but also scalable, offering an edge over the traditional extraction methods. We will take organisms straight from our zoo, evolved to make these specialised chemicals in nature and then introduce them to industry. Not only that, our wyzards have conjured up methods to enhance the yields of these products.

 

[Image on screen changes with heading: Different Yeast. Same Technology. Same Business Model. Underneath this is text in a circle: $2 Trillion. Global Total Addressable Market. To the right are three columns labelled Fermented Beverages, Biofuels, Flavour Houses]

 

The first market we're targeting is flavour houses. Looking at that unique Australian character from our unique Australian yeasts. Our medium term plan is to focus on biofuels and bio based chemicals, all the while still engaging with that fermented food and beverage industry. We are using different yeasts with bespoke solutions, but it's the same technology and the same business model across all of these segments. This represents a total addressable market of over $2 trillion.

 

[Image on screen changes to a graphic of intersecting circles. Heading: Who’s Who in The Zoo. Wild Yeast Zoo is in the middle of the circles, the outside circles have various company names in them]

 

Who's who in the zoo. This is going to be our competitors. But you know what? Each of these guys are using, once again, those same microbes. So what we're going to do is introduce our competitors to our yeast and turn them from competitors into customers.

 

[Image on screen changes to heading: Cultivate & Create Business Model. On the left of screen is text: Off the Shelf Organisms, Custom Solutions, Big Challenges & Big Problems. To the right is a box with text inside: Real Example]

 

So we're focusing on existing market players, to help improve their products and develop new ones both sustainably and economically. The wyzards are currently brewing new flavours for a kombucha company, a new detergent for use in hand soaps and oil producing yeast for those greasy needs. And we plan on doing that three ways. First, there's some off the shelf trademarked organisms that we can just give out to those customers, like flavour houses and fermented beverages. We've already got a customer for that. Second, there's tailored solutions with custom organisms for specific products. And thirdly, we're engaging in big problems in consortiums that that have large companies and governments looking for solutions like biofuels. We're also engaging in one of those right now.

 

[Image on screen changes to a timeline from 2022 to 2024 with heading: The WYZards Adventure]

 

We've started building our zoo with just over 500 yeasts and we've recently incorporated, right now the wyzards are working with companies with three products in the market.

 

[Image on screen changes to a timeline for 2025 with heading: The WYZard venture]

 

But the wyzard adventure continues. To this we need some funding to help drive the expansion of our zoo into the tens of thousands, and we want to further strengthen our IP policy, and we need to start regulatory compliance for our initial products.

 

[Image on screen changes to animations of yeasts, the Wild Yeast Zoo logo and text: Come meet the WYZards… it’s the yeast you can do! wyzards@wildyeastzoo.com]

 

So come and meet the wyzards from the Wild Yeast Zoo. It's the yeast you can do.

 

[Image on screen changes to a picture of the Wild Yeast Zoo team, a QR code and the logo for The University of Newcastle. Evan exits the stage on the left]

 

[Image appears of a leaf close up, and then images move through to show the turning world globe and a foggy morning landscape, and text appears: The best things, on the planet, are created by nature]

 

Narrator: The best things on the planet are created by nature.

[Images move though to show a cut centre of an orange, a peach-coloured dahlia, a spider spinning its web, and the back of a lizard, and text appears: The tastiest, the most beautiful, the most efficient, the most wonderful]

The tastiest, the most beautiful, the most efficient, the most wonderful.

[Image changes to show some mangoes being picked, and then the image changes to show very dry cracked ground, and text appears: But the more we take from nature, the less it can give]

But the more we take from nature, the less it can give.

[Images move through to show a blurred populated street, paper grocery bags in a car boot, and a cotton boll being plucked, and text appears: As our population grows, our consumption is becoming increasingly, unsustainable]

As our population grows, our consumption is becoming increasingly unsustainable.

[Image moves through to show text on various coloured backgrounds: So we have a choice, we can either, use less, or create, more]

So we have a choice, we can either use less or create more.

[Image changes to show cells under a microscope, and text appears: Nature made humans]

Nature made humans.

[Image changes to show three scientists working in a lab, and text appears: Now humans can make nature]

Now humans can make nature.

[Image changes to show the Infinite Bioworks logo on an orange textured background, and then the image changes to show petri dishes being placed on a lab shelf, and text appears: We’re building with biology]

At Infinite Bioworks we’re building with biology.

[Image changes to show cells dividing, and text appears: The world’s most advanced manufacturing technology,]

The world's most advanced manufacturing technology.

[Images move through to show multiple cells forming, a sleepy alligator, a zip being undone, two handbags, mascara on an opening eye, and a fish on rice dish, and text appears: We isolate and grow cells, from real animals, and partner with luxury producers, to make leather products, cosmetics, and seafood]

We isolate and grow cells from real animals. And partner with luxury producers to make leather products, cosmetics and seafood.

[Images move through to show a close view of alligator skin, and a male eating sushi, and text appears: Real texture, Real taste, The real thing]

Real texture. Real taste. The real thing.

[Images move through to show dry ground with dry grass, and two smoking chimneys, and text appears: All without, the environmental impact, of traditional processes]

All without the environmental impact of traditional processes.

[Images move through to show food being plated, a perfume bottle being held, cream fabric, and a test tube being held, and text appears: And it doesn’t stop there, from food to fragrances, materials, therapeutics.]

And it doesn’t stop there. From food to fragrances, materials to therapeutics.

[Images move through to show a blurry collection of cells, an orange object being dropped into a tube with bubbles, and a starry night sky, and text appears: When we build with biology, the possibilities are endless, and our resources infinite]

When we build with biology, the possibilities are endless and our resources infinite.

[Image changes to a blue background with Infinite Bioworks logo, and text appears: Luxury reimagined, infinitebioworks.com]

Infinite Bioworks. Luxury reimagined.

[Image on screen changes to text: Infinite Bioworks. The future is finite. Lionel Hebbard is on stage to the right of the screen]

Lionel Hebbard:  So I'm the last one. So I'm standing before you and the products of the yeast, namely the food and the booze. So, so I'm going to have to keep this exciting for you. And also we're from North Queensland and I have a great yarn for you. So my name is Lionel and I'm the CEO and co-founder of Infinite Bioworks. For most of my career, I've been working as a cell biologist using cells to solve problems with regards to health care, using these cells. But I've also come to the strong conviction that we can use these cells to solve some of the world's most intractable problems.

 

[Image on screen changes to photo of dry soil with scrub in the background. Over the photo is text: Our consumption is becoming increasingly unsustainable.]

 

And one of these that I feel very passionate about is the fact that you and I, everyone here in the audience, use uses animals to make food and consumer products. And to be blunt, this is simply not sustainable.

 

[Image on screen changes to photo with text over top: 60% of all human consumption could be made with biology.]

 

So there really, there has to be a better way. And did you know that actually now with the tech that my company develops, we can now produce near 60% of everything that we consume by using cells and microbes. This is the world's newest technology, and I'm here today to convince you to be part of this great opportunity.

 

[Image on screen changes to photo cells with text over top: The building blocks of future industries]

 

What we do at infinite Bioworks is we make starter cells which are the products of the future. My company is leading this shift to use these things like these cells to unlock the value in these new industries that will develop.

 

[Image on screen changes to a semi circle divided into three with pictures of seafood, an eye and handbags. Heading: Making Luxury sustainable by building with biology]

 

And what we are doing is we are targeting our technology at the point where biology meets luxury in terms of seafood, cosmetics and leather.

 

[Image on screen changes to a banner, two circles and logos. Heading: Customer Discovery Journey. Text in first circle: From cultivated seafood. Text in second circle: To high value luxury markets.]

 

In our journey. It's been a long one. We began with seafood and we've actually made the first infinite food sea cell line, and we received multiple letters of intent and interest from customers in South East Asia and the US. However, additionally and excitingly, we've identified that with our technology we could generate high value products and make a better return. To do this, we will use Australian species and make clean green marine collagen and also we will make luxury leather.

 

[Image on screen changes to four boxes. Heading: Infinite Collagen. Text in first box: Pure. 100% real marine collagen. 10x purity. No harmful chemicals. Text in second box: Sustainable. 100% Vegan. No fish parts used. No endangered species loss. Text in third box: Cost effective. 80% cheaper than current. Fourth box is an image of collagen in a bottle and tub]

 

The advantage of this is that these products have high margins. Infinite collagen will be ten times more pure, and it won't use any dead animals to make the collagen and it will be cheaper than what is currently produced.

 

[Image on screen changes to four boxes. Heading: Infinite Exotic Leather. First box is an image of a handbag. Text in second box: Cruelty-free. Zero farming, zero welfare issues, zero animal deaths. Text in third box: Sustainable. 99% less water. 66% less energy. Far less harmful chemicals. Text in fourth box: Cost effective. 83% cheaper than current]

 

Infinite exotic leather will be developed for the luxury goods market. It will be cruelty free. It will be sustainable. It will use less water and less chemicals and again will be cost competitive.

 

[Image on screen changes to three circles. Heading: Luxury Goods Market Size. The circles are labelled left to right as Infinite Seafood, Infinite Cosmetics, Infinite Leather]

 

The great thing or can I go back one slide please? Okay. I lost my place.

 

[Image on screen changes to four boxes. Heading: Infinite Exotic Leather. First box is an image of a handbag. Text in second box: Cruelty-free. Zero farming, zero welfare issues, zero animal deaths. Text in third box: Sustainable. 99% less water. 66% less energy. Far less harmful chemicals. Text in fourth box: Cost effective. 83% cheaper than current]

 

[Image on screen changes to three circles. Heading: Luxury Goods Market Size. The circles are labelled left to right as Infinite Seafood, Infinite Cosmetics, Infinite Leather]

 

The great thing is that these markets are international and with our technology, we have found novel solutions for these three high end luxury sectors. And importantly, they are significant and growing.

 

[Image on screen changes to three circles that contain photos of seafood, an eye and collagen. Heading: How we make money. Subheadings: B2B Royalty on Net Sales, B2B Ingredients and Material Sales]

 

To make money for the seafood, we will collect a royalty for collagen and leather. We will generate novel biomaterials and create value through partnerships with luxury fashion houses.

 

[Image on screen changes to a table with ticks and crosses. Heading: Competitive Landscape]

 

We are different from the other players in the field, in that we are cell line specialists and with our fantastic technology we are great at generating high margin products from different aquatic species.

 

[Image on screen changes to three headshots under heading: The Team. Headshots are labelled left to right: Craig McFarlane, Lionel Hebbard, Luke Deacon]

 

To do this we have a fantastic team with a really bold vision. Between Craig and I we have near 50 years of cell biology experience in the research base, and this is complemented by Luke's panache in startup and commercialisation expertise. And as a team also we have extensive international experience across the US, Europe and South East Asia.

 

[Image changes to timeline with heading: Progress to Date. Subheadings: $155k commercialisation funding raised, Increased customer product demand, New sector demand]

 

To date we've had some good fortune. We've generated $155,000 in commercialisation funding, established our new company, developed international partnerships and have also identified opportunities in other high value sectors.

 

[Image on screen changes to three categories which are: Infinite Seafood, Infinite Cosmetics, Infinite Leather. Heading: Path to Market]

 

We will deliver our first cell line product with our customer in Singapore at the end of this year, and they will trial our product in scale up technologies. For our Infinite cosmetics and leather we will bring out the first MVP in 2025.

 

[Image on screen changes to a picture of cells on the left with text on top: Ask $1.1M, 24 Month Runway. On the right is text: Use of funds, 2 x Full Time Founder, w x Technical Staff, Consumables, Marketing & Business Development, Operations, Patents. Valuation uplift from Tested MVP Collagen Product, MVP Leather Swatch, Scale-up of 1st seafood product in Singapore]

 

So today what we are looking for are for introductions to like minded people who want to come on this journey with us, and also to develop connections with those in the cosmetic and luxury sectors.

 

[Image on screen changes to a blue background with a QR code and text: Infinite Bioworks. Join us and be part of the bio-revolution.]

 

So today please come and join us and be part of the bio-revolution with infinite Bioworks. The future is cellular. The future is luxury. Thank you very much.

 

[Image on screen changes to photo of the Infinite Bioworks team, a QR code and a logo for James Cook University. Lionel exits the stage to the right.]

 

[Image on screen changes to a black background, CSIRO logo and text: ON Accelerate 8. Investor Demo Day 23 May 2024. Poppy Sykes enters the stage to the left of the screen]

 

Poppy Sykes:  Wow. Can we have another massive round of applause for the teams in the room here?

Congratulations to every single one of the teams. And seriously, thank you because I'm going home a lot more hopeful tonight. I have a few other thank you's to say so please bear with me. I know you're all probably desperate for a drink and to chat to the teams, of course.

 

[Image on screen changes to a picture on the bottom half of a lot of people standing outside for a photo. Above that is text: ON Accelerate 8 Showcase, Wednesday 5 June, Melbourne, The Sofitel, 3-7pm. On the right is a QR code]

 

So we, just a quick reminder. We have our showcase coming up in a couple of weeks, so it's going to be a really busy week, a few weeks for the team. If you think that there's someone from your team or your network who should be at that showcase and to hear the final pitches please do scan the QR code or let our team know and we'll make sure an invite is sent their way.

 

[Image on screen changes to a photo of four people. Heading: ON Accelerate 8: Facilitators. Text below photo: Ian Brown, Jo Jacobs, Andy Lamb, David Ireland]

 

Thank you to our amazing facilitators. Ian, Jo, Andy, David, we actually, we just couldn't do this without you and all of your passion is just, it just shines through. And I know from speaking to all of the teams how much you do for them. So thank you, thank you so much.

 

[Image on screen changes to headshots surrounding text: ON Accelerate 8, Coaches and Experts]

 

Our amazing network of coaches and experts. Your generosity of spending time sharing best practice, sharing advice, you go above and beyond and it's what makes this community really special. So thank you.

 

[Image on screen changes to partner institution logos surrounding text: ON Innovation Program, Partner Institutions]

 

And to our amazing partner institutions. We absolutely love working with you. We're always interested in how we can do more together, so I'd love to chat to you if not today, then at some point soon. And we look forward to doing more with you over the coming years.

 

[Image on screen changes to headshots under the heading: ON Innovation Program Team]

 

And my amazing team. I feel so lucky to have such an incredibly passionate group of people who are so committed to creating incredible experiences and really seeing these teams through. It's not an easy journey and you put so much energy into that, into this program and I think it really shows. So congratulations to you guys as well.

 

And unfortunately, Josh isn't here tonight. But Selena is right there at the back in the beautiful dress. So please make sure you introduce yourself to her if you haven't already. She'll probably find you anyway and hunt you down.

 

[Image on screen changes to a black background, CSIRO logo and text: ON Accelerate 8. Investor Demo Day 23 May 2024.]

 

That's it. But before we break, there is no such thing as a free drink. And you are here because we really do hope that you have some interest in these teams. And if not specifically for investment, I have no doubt that you will be able to introduce them to a potential customer or someone who might be able to advise them in some way and really accelerate them out to market. Together we can really make a difference with these technologies, and I really hope that you want to be part of that. So thank you all for being here and enjoy the drinks and hopefully I'll meet some of you over there. Thank you.

 

[Image on screen changes to the letters O and N coming in repetitively from each side. Poppy exits the stage to the left as the audience stand]

 

[Music plays as image turns to a white background with CSIRO logo and text: Australia’s National Science Agency]