Cicada Innovations

Cicada Innovations is Australia’s leading deep tech incubator, supporting startups and scaleups solving the world’s biggest problems. Over the past 20 years, we have helped 300+ companies to raise $450+ million, file 500+ patents and trademarks, launch 700+ deep tech innovations globally, all the while building local manufacturing capability and creating hundreds of jobs. We were named ‘Top Incubator in the World’ twice by the International Business Incubator Association – peak global industry body for accelerators, incubators and entrepreneur programs.

Australia needs to build and fortify deep technology solutions, especially in essential industries like food and agriculture, but commercialisation is not a straightforward process and is often hampered by a lack of funding, talent and supportive business infrastructure. Backed by four of Australia’s leading universities — ANU, UTS, UNSW, and USYD — we bridge that gap by providing businesses with the essential infrastructure and long-term support needed to bring deep tech solutions to market. Based at the National Innovation Centre in Sydney, but now operating virtually too, our incubatees are surrounded with everything they need to accelerate their growth — from mentorship and specialist lab and prototyping infrastructure to access to our community of industry experts, investors, and entrepreneurs.

Through our agrifood tech program, Cicada GrowLab, we collaborate with partners to run programs that empower founders building high-growth agrifood tech businesses. It’s our mission to make the agrifood industry higher performing, more efficient and sustainable by bringing cutting edge technology to market. And Cicada GrowLab is the platform founders need to test, challenge and set their business up for success both in Australia and globally.