Adelaide University selects 14 start-ups for accelerator program

14 South Australian startups working across space, health, sustainability, cybersecurity, construction and the arts have been chosen for Adelaide University’s startup acceleration program.

Now in its 11th year, the Innovation & Collaboration Centre’s Venture Catalyst program supports early-stage founders to plan, build and grow sustainable, globally scalable and investment-ready businesses.

Companies selected for the program include Emify, which has developed an AI-driven teammate for sustainability reporting; SAM, a software tool for construction; Tweaklogic, a company building edge AI solutions for space; and OffDev, who are providing software tools for secure offline and air-gapped systems.

EOI Space was also selected for its platform merging space and ground data to inform decisions on land, water and climate risks, as was ALTDATA for its software turning space data into AI-powered simulations for faster research in microgravity and DIVELIO, a bolt-on AI layer for cybersecurity SIEMs designed to reduce alert noise.

The six-month program includes workshops, one-to-one mentoring, access to university resources, industry expertise and events designed to support business development.

Since its launch in 2015, Innovation & Collaboration Centre has supported over 150 startups and 239 founders. In 2026, those companies continued to employ at least 577 people with the vast majority being in South Australia, where these jobs equated to an added $39 million to the state’s economy.

The Venture Catalyst program has provided almost $1.2 million in funding to new startups with the startups going on to raise over $116 million in further funding from a variety of sources.
 
Although working across different industries, the startups will move through the program over the coming months as one cohort, sharing experiences as they build, test and refine their ideas.
 
Adelaide University associate director of business incubation, Craig Jones said the 2026 cohort reflects the strength and breadth of South Australia’s startup ecosystem.
 
“There’s a real diversity of ambition in this cohort, from founders rethinking how we manage water and climate data from space, to an art historian building tools that could help galleries reach new audiences,” Jones said.
 
“What they share is a genuine willingness to learn and adapt, and that’s ultimately what determines who succeeds.”
 
Of the startups selected, 26 per cent are current Adelaide University students, 32 per cent are alumni and eight per cent are current staff.