Cicada x Tech23 in Melbourne 2025: Meet Australia's Deep Tech Leaders

Cicada x Tech23: Is Coming to Jumar & Melbourne to Celebrate Deep Tech Leadership & Innovation

Cicada x Tech23 has always been about championing bold ideas and the brilliant minds behind them—and in 2025, we’re taking that spirit on tour.

In the lead-up to Cicada x Tech23 in September, we’re bringing together deep tech innovators, industry trailblazers, and emerging leaders across Australia—to celebrate the people shaping the future. Because innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens when we dare to push boundaries, challenge conventions, and forge new frontiers together.

At Cicada Innovations, we believe in the power of deep tech to change the world—but change is driven by leaders willing to take risks, visionaries willing to experiment, and communities willing to back them.

We've partnered with Jumar Bioincubator, Australia's first biotech incubator for our Melbourne event to connect, learn, and spark the collaborations that will shape the next wave of Australian deep tech breakthroughs.

Hosted by Sally-Ann Williams, will feature candid conversations with exceptional founders who have navigated the highs and lows of building deep tech ventures—sharing insights on leadership, resilience, and what it takes to drive real impact.

Meet the Panel

• Anushi Rajapaksa, Founder and CEO of Misti, who is developing a first-in-class advanced medication delivery platform to end respiratory discomfort.
  
• Tina Funder, Founder of Alt. Leather, who is is creating a 100% biobased leather alternative using plant-based biopolymers.
  
• Tom Hussey, CEO of Xefco, is on a mission to reduce textile emissions and create a greener supply chain for the fashion industry.

Tech23 isn’t just an event. It’s a movement. A movement of relentless curiosity, audacious ambition, and unwavering belief in what’s possible. This is your chance to be part of it.

Why Attend

• Meet the minds redefining industries
• Celebrate the leadership within the Tech23 alumni
• Connect with Australia’s deep tech community shaping the future

Join us on the Road to Tech23. Be inspired. Be part of something bigger.

About the radical innovations

Anushi Rajapaksa, Misti
Misti, a Victorian MedTech startup, is developing a solution: a first-in-class advanced medication delivery platform. Their innovative technology can control particle size, significantly improving the efficiency of delivering therapeutic biomolecules, including advanced drugs like mRNA, deep into the lungs. Misti's platform has the potential to revolutionise vaccine and therapy delivery, promising a positive impact on vulnerable populations worldwide.

Dr. Anushi Rajapaksa founded Misti, a female-founded and culturally diverse venture. She also founded the charity, Think Project, addressing national shortages of medicines and medical equipment. Her accolades include the Young Biomedical Engineer of the Year (2010), Lisa Ring Fellowship (2023), AusMumpreneur Multicultural Business Excellence Award (2023), and the NHMRC Early Career Fellowship (2017‐2020). 

Tina Funder, Alt. Leather
Alt. Leather is disrupting the $500 billion leather industry with a 100% biobased leather alternative, transforming agricultural biomass, natural fibres, and regenerative plant-based ingredients into a premium material for fashion, footwear, furniture, and automotive interiors. By using plant-based biopolymers, they produce a material that mimics the look, feel, and performance of leather without the harmful emissions from livestock or petrochemical processing. Alt. Leather aims to reduce reliance on traditional animal leather and eliminate millions of tons of petrochemical plastic.

Tina Funder is the Founder of Alt. Leather. Previously, Tina spent over 16 years in advertising as an award-winning creative director, developing strategic, multi-national campaigns for some of the world’s largest corporations across Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

Tom Hussey, Xefco
Xefco’s Ausora technology can deliver significant environmental outcomes more efficiently than traditional methods. The unique capabilities of Ausora’s plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) coating technology significantly reduces the complexity of the chemistry involved and opens up avenues for the use of biobased and sustainably sourced chemicals. Since the technology doesn’t require any water, it enables the dyeing and finishing process to be located closer to production, and at a major cost benefit to the dyeing mill and garment manufacturer because of the lower inputs required. It also requires 86% less energy compared to traditional fabric dyeing and finishing methods, potentially reducing global carbon emissions.

Tom Hussey, co-founded Xefco and leads the company as Chief Executive Officer through the development and commercialisation of multiple innovative textile technologies. Tom is the former Head of Research and Development at Zhik Pty Ltd, where he was responsible for driving the company’s strategic innovation agenda. He is highly skilled in the development of technical textiles and manufacturing processes and has extensive experience coordinating cross disciplinary research, production and commercial teams.

About Cicada x Tech23

Cicada x Tech23 is Australia's biggest deep tech festival, showcasing 23 of the nation's most promising ventures, and connects visionary founders to a network of investors, leaders and big thinkers.

+ Register your interest in the main event here 

+ Explore more about the festival on our website 

About Jumar BioIncubator

Jumar BioIncubator is Australia’s first and only biotech incubator. Jumar serves as a ‘first home’ for young biotech ventures, providing them with affordable lab and office space and the practical support to unlock the potential of their early scientific discoveries. Companies in residence become part of a vibrant community, with access to world-class facilities, a dedicated team to lean on, as well as curated entrepreneurial training and events. This purposely designed environment will leave biotech ventures better equipped to progress their discoveries towards real-world outcomes. 

Jumar's mission is to create a world-class hub for innovation translation, research commercialisation and talent development in biotechnology, with a critical mass of management-skilled scientists who have the knowledge and confidence to run successful biomed and biotech companies.

Jumar Bioincubator was established by three of Victoria’s most distinguished entities spanning industry, research and academia – CSL, WEHI and the University of Melbourne. Together, with backing from innovation investor Breakthrough Victoria and operator Cicada Innovations.

Thank you to our sponsors