Last week, 17 deep tech companies stood on stage to mark the end of time in Cicada Stride.
The room was filled with investors, industry leaders, ecosystem partners, government representatives and fellow founders. It wasn’t a pitch night. It was a progress report.
What unfolded wasn’t theory. It was evidence.
You may have noticed that this year we rebadged Fast Start as Stride.
Fast Start suggested acceleration. What we witnessed was something more deliberate. Founders who had built serious technology were now demonstrating systems, traction and commercial maturity. They were not sprinting. They were moving with intent.
Over 6 intense months, Stride brings experienced coaches and Entrepreneurs in Residence alongside founders to strengthen leadership, sharpen positioning, embed scalable systems and translate technical milestones into commercial traction.
The graduation demonstrated what that looks like in practice.
What We Heard at Graduation
There were so many incredible milestones, lessons and unlocks revealed by the Striders here are a few that stood out.
Shane from CounterCurrent spoke about launching its first paid pilot on a 340-metre iron ore carrier. In one trial, the vessel saved 100 tonnes of fuel, worth approximately $45,000. The technology is now deployed on commercial ships, delivering daily savings.
Angelique of Parking Spotz reflected on entering the program pre-revenue with a working MVP and a small team. One year later, the company is generating revenue, has established their Sydney-based manufacturing facility, and built a $7M+ pipeline.
BlueDwarf addressed one of the least visible costs in the space sector: regulation, which can represent up to 30 percent of mission cost. During Stride, the team progressed its MVP, secured grant funding and reframed compliance as a strategic advantage rather than friction.
Mugathu shared progress on its Spinifex-derived hydrogel technology designed to help seeds emerge in challenging broadacre conditions - improving moisture retention around the seed with the potential to reduce reliance on fertilisers. The team has completed field trials and is preparing for canola trials in 2027.
Across the cohorts, the pattern repeated.
- First pilots secured.
- Manufacturing capability established.
- Grant funding unlocked.
- Commercial partnerships formalised.
- Leadership conversations shifting from product validation to global scale.
Several founders spoke candidly about what changed. It wasn’t just revenue. It was structure. It was discipline. It was confidence in how to approach customers, regulators and capital.
By the end of the event, it was clear: these companies are no longer asking whether the technology works. They are asking how to scale it responsibly.
That is a different category of conversation.
Backed by Partners Who Understand the Long Game
Cicada Stride was delivered in partnership with GRDC, Investment NSW through the National Space Industry Hub, and the NSW Office of the Chief Scientist & Engineer.
Their continued support reflects an understanding that deep tech commercialisation is long-cycle work. It requires capability building, not just capital injection.
We also acknowledge the coaches and Entrepreneurs in Residence who worked closely with each team, challenging assumptions and strengthening commercial discipline throughout the program.
GRDC Stride Cohort
121SEED is engineering high-yield, nutrient-dense crops to strengthen resilience and productivity across the grains sector.
Mugathu is developing a seed technology platform that improves the efficacy and delivery control of plant actives.
SynthiaBio is advancing precision microbial solutions to optimise soil health and crop performance.
ADAR Technologies is commercialising acoustic dehydration technology to improve industrial resource recovery.
National Space Industry Hub Stride Cohort
BlueDwarf is de-risking space missions by streamlining regulatory compliance and reducing costly delays.
Breaker Industries is developing robotic systems designed to operate with human-like adaptability in complex environments.
CounterCurrent is reducing maritime fuel consumption and emissions through intelligent ocean routing deployed on commercial vessels.
Delta-V Industries is building innovative aerospace technologies to improve affordability and access to space.
DeteQt is enabling GPS-free navigation through diamond-based quantum sensing technology.
Florestan Technology is developing cost-effective multi-fuel microturbine systems to support stable, lower-emission energy networks.
RapidBeam is enabling seamless communications between space and Earth.
Stratoship is advancing high-altitude platforms for persistent monitoring and connectivity.
VeloDx is transforming unmanned aerial operations through integrated rapid-launch and edge AI systems.
Deep Tech Stride Cohort
NanoVet is advancing nanoparticle design and manufacturing to improve animal and human health outcomes.
Parking Spotz is transforming parking management through a data-driven platform supporting smarter, more sustainable cities.
Project Midas is developing high-performance graphene oxide aerogel anodes to enhance lithium-ion battery power, safety and energy density.
Thermal Dawn is engineering next-generation thermal systems designed to reduce household energy costs and stabilise distributed energy networks.
Stride Proof Points
Across all Stride cohorts to date, the program has contributed to more than 100 jobs created, 200 jobs supported, over $35 million in capital and grants secured, and more than 200 customers and partners engaged.
But beyond the numbers, the graduation reinforced something more important. Australia has world-class science and engineering. What determines whether it shapes industries globally is what surrounds it: founders with the judgement to make hard commercial calls, teams strong enough to carry the weight of regulation, and the operational depth to move from lab to market deployment.
Cicada’s role is to convene, challenge and support the founders willing to take on that responsibility. Stride is one expression of that leadership, ensuring that technical teams do not stall at prototype, but move into markets, supply chains and global deployment.
If you are building deep tech and ready to take the next Stride, we would love to hear from you.
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