Cicada x Tech23

26th July 2023 | Sydney

Showcasing 23 of Australia’s most promising early-stage ventures, Cicada x Tech23 is an annual festival celebrating radical innovation and brave ideas from the world of deep tech.

The event connects founders with an audience of problem solvers, investors and big thinkers – inviting the ecosystem to support gamechanging people and ideas that can revolutionise our world.

Applications have now closed for Tech23. If you have any questions or want to get in touch with the team, contact us.

Glimpse the future

We’ll be asking questions that urge us all to dream big, imagine new holistic approaches and think in systems, not silos.

Across five areas, from the built environment to human health, we’ll be envisaging decades ahead, imagining alternative futures and unveiling the technologies and entrepreneurs that can get us there.

We’re searching the nation for 23 of the most promising emerging deep tech ventures – giving them a national platform to share their vision with a handpicked audience of industry leaders, investors, inventors and researchers who can support them at a crucial stage in their journey.

Supporting breakthrough innovation

The next generation of deep tech successes represents a multi-billion dollar opportunity, but these ventures need a huge amount support, connections and finance to overcome seemingly impossible challenges.

Be a partner of this unique event

We're looking for partners who want to support entrepreneurs pursuing audacious goals and rally behind pioneering technology that can benefit all of Australia.

Learn more about sponsorship

Get in touch

Creating impactful connections

Whether you’re there for rich discussions about the future, finding your next investment or serendipitous encounters, CxT23 is a place to connect with the deep tech community from across Australia.

Save the date

On the 26th July, we’ll be gathering 250 bright minds and big thinkers at our Sydney HQ where guests will hear from the 23 ventures and our guest speakers.

Keep me updated

Fuelling your optimism for the future

We want you to get inspired by audacious ideas and have your optimism fuelled by unconventional founders building some of the world’s most groundbreaking ventures.

One stage.
Big questions.
A day of extraordinary ideas.

Event themes

The rebuilt environment

How can we create sustainable, smart, biodiverse cities that prioritise health, community and the environment?

Co-designing with nature

How can we design systems guided and powered by nature to revolutionise food production, medicines, materials and energy?

Shifting the mindset in medicine

How can we shift the medical model from cure to prevention – from treating disease to preemptive, holistic health for everyone?

Putting an end to waste

How can we deploy innovations like genetic engineering, nanotechnology and AI to end waste and create truly circular economies?

Reimagining time

How can advances in manufacturing, infrastructure and quantum computing change how we use and experience time?

23 emerging ventures.
Impossible challenges.
Extraordinary ideas.

Cicada x Tech23 is proudly supported by

Destination Sponsor

The NSW Government is committed to driving economic transformation to deliver future benefits for the people of NSW. As part of this transformation, Investment NSW and the Greater Cities Commission are working hard to boost our R&D capabilities, grow priority sectors and precincts, and foster startups and innovation. This work will help make NSW a sustainable, inclusive and thriving global hub for business, innovation, talent, visitors and residents.