Weekly Ecosystem Wrap | Friday 25 September 2026
Each week, we round up what's happening across Victoria's startup and innovation ecosystem, from events and opportunities to news from across the community.
Events
29 September: Open Competition Night!
This competition invites founders from all industries and stages to take the spotlight and showcase their groundbreaking ideas. Hosted by The Startup Network.
14 October: MedTech Actuator Accelerator Demo Day.
This event will showcase groundbreaking startups from across Australia, tackling challenges from asthma and cardiac monitoring to pancreatic cancer detection, seizure safety and preterm birth prevention. Hosted by MedTech Actuator.
23 October: Fashion Business Incubator: Build, Test and Grow.
Trying to build your fashion business? Take a trip to the Fashion Startup Clinic, where the tools to refine your business concept and prepare yourself for future growth are at your disposal. Hosted by RMIT University for Melbourne Fashion Week.
Opportunities
CommBank Business Innovation Awards
Awards
Small and medium businesses leveraging innovation to develop new or improved products, services and processes. Finalists will be invited to celebrate at a gala awards night on Thursday 19 November 2026. Applications close 30 September 2026.
Press Play Ventures
Pre-Accelerator
A 12-week AI Pre-Accelerator for women to turn your expertise into an AI-powered startup. Applications close 15 October 2026.
Velos Innovation Showcase 2026
Showcase
An annual event hosted by Monash Velos, bringing together the latest in healthcare innovation, medtech and digital health. Registrations open to pitch at the showcase on 19 November 2026. Applications close 16 October 2026.
Ecosystem News
Amber Electric
Raised $78.5 million in Series E funding, led by 1GT, Morgan Stanley’s climate tech fund, with participation from Innovation Victoria, ETF Partners - The Environmental Technologies Fund and E.ON.
ElectraLith
CEO Charlie McGill featured on Argus Media's podcast, discussing the feasibility of producing battery-grade lithium without using freshwater.
Conflux
Heading to San Jose next month for the OCP Global Summit 2026, centred on this year's theme, "Scaling Innovation for the AI Era".