Held at the breathtaking Burswood on Swan on the 9th of September, AgriStart delivered its 8th HARVEST Agtech Innovation Showcase & Pitch Night, with more than 100 industry leaders to celebrate the future of farming.
From driverless tractors to sustainability platforms, the HARVEST Accelerator cohort unveiled scalable, investor-ready solutions designed to supercharge agricultural efficiency.
Startups and SMEs pitched bold ideas, connected with investors, and showcased technologies built to solve real-world challenges on the land. Our legendary MC, Matthew Macfarlane also shared insights from his investment journey and the Agworld startup success.
Congratulations to the visionary cohort: Arca Sustain, Cadmech Design Group, Coolyena Group, Health and Spice, Hexifeed, Ornata Technologies, R-Flow Exchange, RPTec SnailCam, and UXMachines.
Read about the 2025 HARVEST cohort businesses below.
Some speaker points made:
Rain Plaado – RPTEC PTY LTD: Farmers need precise risk maps to target interventions and baiting. The solution is proven and ready to scale.
Artur Lugmayr – UXMachines Pty Ltd: Partnerships are needed to understand problems and co-develop solutions.
Isidora Bianchi – ARCA Sustainability: Seeking pilot connections; climate resilience is the best insurance for businesses.
Johann Fritz – Cadmech Design Group: Automation should integrate with existing systems, not replace them.
Neetha Lakshman – Health and Spice Pty Ltd: This is her life’s work; leaving engineering was hard, but pursuing her purpose is more important.
Michael Webb – Ornata Technologies Pty Ltd: No learning curve for farmers; one operator can manage up to ten machines. Automation can deliver benefits immediately.
In a “where are they now” moment, we also had the privilege of hearing from one of the original HARVEST alumni from 2018, with Rob Kelly showing how they are transforming the livestock supply chain. Agora Livestock is also the first capital raise on a new agtech syndicate platform being launched later this month, which attendees got a sneak preview of last night. Visit www.agrispace.com.au to sign up when this launches.
A huge thank you to our program sponsors for helping WA’s Agtech sector thrive: Grains Research and Development Corporation, Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development, Wheatbelt Development Commission, Wrays | Intellectual Property and Radium Capital.
