From AI-driven skin cancer detection to securing water for drought-stricken communities, the latest cohort has been selected for CSIRO's ON Accelerate program.
All the ventures have the potential for big impact on the world stage and were competitively selected for the program, run by Australia's national science agency, CSIRO.
Research-driven solutions for real-world problems
CSIRO's ON Accelerate supports entrepreneurial researchers in tackling complex, national challenges - turning groundbreaking science into solutions with real social and commercial impact.
From unlocking faster, more accessible cancer diagnoses and personalised chemotherapy treatments to ensuring water supply even during droughts, each venture has the potential to deliver meaningful benefits for Australians.
Tennille Eyre, ON Innovation Program Director, said addressing Australia's innovation gap and creating positive change is at the heart of the program.
"There is a gap that persists for Australian innovators," said Tennille.
"Whether it's commercialisation knowledge, entrepreneurial skills, a network of investors or even self-confidence, ON Accelerate is designed to close the gap and help them take the next step."
"These teams are tackling challenges that matter right now. We help accelerate the path from lab to market."
Together, ON alumni have secured over $800 million in funding, spanning $371+ million in commercialisation grants and $433+ million raised by new ventures.
AI transforming healthcare
The DermAI team at the University of Melbourne has introduced an AI-driven platform designed to make skin cancer detection faster, more accessible and more affordable.
Dr Noor Karishma Shaik, founder of DeepDerm, explained how their solution can save lives.
"DermAI, our handheld AI tool can be used by doctors at the point of care through a simple, non-invasive imaging procedure, enabling early detection without needing to see a specialist," said Dr Shaik.
"We bring equity to cancer diagnosis, supporting diverse skin tones and improving access to rural and underserved communities."
"By age 70, 2 in 3 Australians are affected by skin cancer. It's a silent pandemic. It also accounts for 80% of newly diagnosed cancers annually."
PredicTx Health, also from University of Melbourne, uses AI to fight cancer from a different angle.
Co-founder and CEO, Abhijeet Waykar, explained how their solution improves quality of life for chemotherapy patients.
"Cancer treatment still relies largely on generalised dosing based on height and weight," said Abhijeet.
"At PredicTx Health, we use routine imaging data, genomics and clinical data to personalise chemotherapy dosing for each patient, improving safety, reducing toxicity and moving precision oncology into everyday clinical practice."
Community at the heart of innovation
Hydro Harvester, from the University of Newcastle, is ensuring that there can be water supply in regional Australia even during a drought.
Turning air into water, Hydro Harvester's engineering solution is efficient, affordable and scalable.
The group's team leader, Dr Priscilla Tremain, reflected on their community focus.
"Australia is a vast country, and many remote and Indigenous communities do not have the infrastructure needed for reliable supply of even something as essential aswater," said Dr Tremain.
"By providing reliable access to water, our technology can support the continued viability of these communities and empower local cultural governance, Indigenous knowledge systems, environmental restoration and economic independence."
Besides addressing critical drinking water shortages, this solution also has enormous potential for agriculture and industry, supplying water for livestock and crops, renewable fuels processes and helping make data centres more sustainable.
Hugo LeMessurier, ON Accelerate coach, commented on the importance of community dialogue.
"In order to solve real-world issues, innovators need to listen to the people affected, their solution needs to be relevant," said Hugo.
"Listening, iterating and then executing, only then can research be translated from the lab into meaningful outcomes."
The selected teams will pitch their ventures to investors, government stakeholders and industry supporters on stage at ON Translate 2026, CSIRO's flagship innovation event, to be held 11 June in Melbourne.
Secure your spot to hear the teams pitch their ventures live on stage.
Full ON Accelerate 10 cohort
ON Accelerate supports Australian research teams across deep tech, with the full cohort of teams this year including :
- Air2Energy (University of Technology Sydney): A retrofit system converting marine vessel emissions into power, cutting fuel costs and carbon output while helping the industry meet urgent decarbonisation mandates profitably and at scale.
- Axcelda (University of Melbourne): A cartilage repair system helping prevent osteoarthritis progression, able to restore joint function in a single 60-minute procedure.
- CareWindow (Flinders University and ARIIA (Aged Care Research & Industry Innovation Australia) spinout): A zero-touch digital care platform that enables family connection and wellbeing monitoring without fine motor skills or digital literacy, increasing accessibility of healthcare.
- Chromos Laboratories (University of Melbourne): Providing a scalable alternative to animal models for neurological drug discovery through an innovative imaging platform capturing electrical activity in the human brain.
- DermAI (University of Melbourne): An AI-powered handheld imaging platform that detects skin cancer at the point of care, giving clinicians instant risk assessments and improving access for rural and underserved communities.
- ENERGY DIVERSIONS (University of Newcastle): Turning costly mine rehabilitation into revenue generating infrastructure through repurposing mine voids into long-duration energy storage.
- Geney Bio (University of New South Wales): A platform focused on reducing cost, complexity and variability in cell and gene therapies for clinicians through cutting-edge, scalable manufacturing solutions.
- Hydro Harvester (University of Newcastle): Providing affordable, clean water in remote and low-infrastructure regions by extracting water from the air, ensuring reliable supply without relying on existing liquid sources.
- PredicTxHealth (University of Melbourne): Personalising chemotherapy dosing throughAI-driven precision technology that replaces outdated one-size-fits-all methods and improves safety, efficacy and quality of life.
- Verdant-ion (CSIRO): Supporting the global energy transition by transforming seed oils into synthetic graphic at a lower cost.
