The themes contained within Cicada x Tech23 are a reflection of Australia’s deep tech pipeline, its trends and its outlook. Many Australian deep tech founders possess the ingenuity to disrupt traditional industries, thus diversifying the economy, improving quality of life and enhancing sovereign capability.
The Australian ventures developing breakthrough technologies making tomorrow’s industries possible take precedence today as we examine the theme of Engineering New Capability.
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Engineering New Capability
2026 marks 77 years since Trevor Pearcey and Maston Beard built CSIRAC – Australia’s first computer. Located at CSIRO's Radiophysics Lab in Sydney, the computer stored memory in mercury delay lines, with sound waves travelling down tubes of liquid metal. This was acoustic computing before it even had a name.
CSIRAC was built from wartime radar parts, and yet, it operated more than a thousand times faster than the mechanical calculators of its day. It underscored Australia's ability to do more with what was available, something that still rings true today.
That same instinct defines the ventures within Engineering New Capability today at Cicada x Tech23 2026. AI and quantum stand to rewrite the conventions of modern computing. These four ventures are engineering what’s possible, through sound, silicon and security.
Introducing a new computational element that brings ultra-low power processing to the edge, Cortisonic is eliminating dependence on centralised data centres. Its commercially scalable platform uses high-frequency sound waves in silicon to perform computational tasks, enabling powerful, real-time computing without relying on bulky external infrastructure.
Monadd-AI allows SMEs to skip the data centre, cutting infrastructure costs by 20 times with its cloud-scale AI that utilises standard desktop hardware but delivers the same capability and quality. It means SMEs can innovate freely, compete fairly and improve outcomes for their clients, all while maintaining the highest standards of data sovereignty.
The $10 trillion quantum hacking, harvesting, tapping and jamming threat is being tackled head on by Space CoLAB. Its world-first quantum native communications system – HaloCore. Making quantum-secure communications deployable anywhere security matters, HaloCore takes hacking and tapping off the table in one step using a first-allied, fully quantum communications system.
Sydekick Robotics provides an end-to-end Physical AI infrastructure that gives industrial robots human-like dexterity. Powered by proprietary Efficient Behaviour Models (EBMs), Sydekick’s tech provides robots with the dexterity and adaptability required to learn complex tasks in as little as one hour – enabling manufacturers to automate dangerous work, transition employees into safe supervisory roles, and overcome crippling labour shortages.
Cicada x Tech23 offers a glimpse into the future being created by Australian innovators.
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