Agritech startups in Melbourne

satellite/climate farm data - **venue:** Melbourne (RMIT-linked) - **la:** -37.8136 - **ln:** 144.9631 - **desc:** Melbourne agritech using satellite and climate data ("Agtuary Signal") to map, measure and monitor rural land, natural assets, climate risk, sustainability and emissions — used for carbon and property intelligence. Founding team includes a remote-sensing/aerospace scientist and former RMIT lecturer; positioned alongside carbon-farming peers Regrow, FarmLab and AgriProve. - **link:** https://www.agtuary.com/about - **vertical:** ["Agritech","Supply-chain"] - **stage:** Early / Seed ### 10 -

Melbourne agritech using satellite and climate data ("Agtuary Signal") to map, measure and monitor rural land, natural assets, climate risk, sustainability and emissions — used for carbon and property intell...

satellite/climate farm data

** Melbourne agritech using satellite and climate data ("Agtuary Signal") to map, measure and monitor rural land, natural assets, climate risk, sustainability and emissions — used for carbon and property int...

Phoebe Gardner & Alex Arnold - **venue:** Melbourne (north-west industrial) - **la:** -37.7500 - **ln:** 144.8500 - **desc:** Founded 2019, Bardee runs a 2,500 sqm vertical-farming facility in Melbourne's north-west that uses black soldier fly larvae to convert food waste into insect protein (animal/pet feed) and fertiliser. Raised a A$5M seed led by Blackbird Ventures (angels incl. Who Gives A Crap's Simon Griffiths and Culture Amp's Didier Elzinga). Went through liquidation in May 2024 but resumed operations later in 2024; a direct Melbourne competitor to Canberra's Goterra. - **link:** https://www.bardee.com/ - **vertical:** ["Foodtech","Agritech"] - **stage:** Seed ### 3 -

Founded 2019, Bardee runs a 2,500 sqm vertical-farming facility in Melbourne's north-west that uses black soldier fly larvae to convert food waste into insect protein (animal/pet feed) and fertiliser. Raised...

Phoebe Gardner & Alex Arnold

** Founded 2019, Bardee runs a 2,500 sqm vertical-farming facility in Melbourne's north-west that uses black soldier fly larvae to convert food waste into insect protein (animal/pet feed) and fertiliser. Rai...

state innovation fund - **venue:** Melbourne - **la:** -37.8136 - **ln:** 144.9631 - **desc:** A$2B Victorian Government patient-capital fund backing innovation across five priority sectors including **agri-food**. Runs the A$100M University Innovation Platform and, with La Trobe, the Eagle Fund (co-invested in YieldX/GAIA). A primary source of Melbourne agri-food venture capital. - **link:** https://breakthroughvictoria.com/ - **vertical:** ["Agritech","Foodtech"] - **stage:** Government VC / fund ### 16 — VC (HQ-flag) -

A$2B Victorian Government patient-capital fund backing innovation across five priority sectors including **agri-food**. Runs the A$100M University Innovation Platform and, with La Trobe, the Eagle Fund (co-i...

(Victorian Government)

Melbourne-based independent investment company (est. 2021) managing the A$2bn Breakthrough Victoria Fund. Has committed A$60m+ to clean-energy, emissions-reduction and circular-economy companies (cornerstone...

CSIRO-backed - **venue:** Melbourne - **la:** -37.8136 - **ln:** 144.9631 - **desc:** Founded 2017 in partnership with CSIRO; AI-powered "Rural Intelligence Platform" delivering rural, agri and climate-risk location intelligence and an automated valuation model for farmers, lenders, insurers and traders. Investors/partners include IAG, ANZ and Rabobank; named in ANZ Climate Tech Top 100. A core Melbourne agri-data play. - **link:** https://digitalagricultureservices.com/ - **vertical:** ["Agritech","Supply-chain"] - **stage:** Series A+ ### 7 -

Founded 2017 in partnership with CSIRO; AI-powered "Rural Intelligence Platform" delivering rural, agri and climate-risk location intelligence and an automated valuation model for farmers, lenders, insurers ...

CSIRO-backed

** Founded 2017 in partnership with CSIRO; AI-powered "Rural Intelligence Platform" delivering rural, agri and climate-risk location intelligence and an automated valuation model for farmers, lenders, insure...

supply-chain monitoring

** Agri-supply-chain startup whose reusable "Blue Box" IoT trackers ("CCTV for food") capture real-time temperature, dwell-time and location data across cold chains for fresh produce, meat, seafood and dairy...

supply-chain monitoring - **venue:** Melbourne - **la:** -37.8136 - **ln:** 144.9631 - **desc:** Agri-supply-chain startup whose reusable "Blue Box" IoT trackers ("CCTV for food") capture real-time temperature, dwell-time and location data across cold chains for fresh produce, meat, seafood and dairy. Started in horticulture in 2019, added meat (2020) and seafood (2021); early customers include Costa mushrooms at Mernda near Melbourne. Reduces rejections, loss and safety-stock. - **link:** https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/escavox - **vertical:** ["Supply-chain","Agritech"] - **stage:** Early / Seed - **note:** HQ commonly listed as Melbourne; core operations Victoria-centred — verify registered address if precision needed. ### 8 -

Agri-supply-chain startup whose reusable "Blue Box" IoT trackers ("CCTV for food") capture real-time temperature, dwell-time and location data across cold chains for fresh produce, meat, seafood and dairy. S...

agrifood-tech accelerator

** National agrifood-tech innovation/acceleration program with a strong Victorian base; has supported 300+ startups/scaleups in under six years. In Sept 2024 launched a 12-week pre-accelerator and workshops ...

agrifood-tech accelerator - **venue:** Melbourne - **la:** -37.8136 - **ln:** 144.9631 - **desc:** National agrifood-tech innovation/acceleration program with a strong Victorian base; has supported 300+ startups/scaleups in under six years. In Sept 2024 launched a 12-week pre-accelerator and workshops backed by a A$500k LaunchVic + Agriculture Victoria grant; partners on the Hugh Victor McKay Fund. - **link:** https://www.farmers2founders.com/startups - **vertical:** ["Agritech","Foodtech"] - **stage:** Accelerator - **note:** National footprint; Victorian/Melbourne-anchored delivery. ### 15 — Government VC fund -

National agrifood-tech innovation/acceleration program with a strong Victorian base; has supported 300+ startups/scaleups in under six years. In Sept 2024 launched a 12-week pre-accelerator and workshops bac...

agrifood-tech VC - **venue:** Melbourne office (HQ Toowoomba, QLD) - **la:** -37.8136 - **ln:** 144.9631 - **desc:** "Farm-to-fork" agrifood-tech VC (seed–Series A); Mandalay Fund I reached final close June 2024 (~A$26–27M committed). Active in Melbourne deals (co-invested in YieldX/GAIA); LaunchVic contributed A$2.4M toward its Victorian office. - **link:** https://www.mandalay.vc/ - **vertical:** ["Agritech","Foodtech"] - **stage:** VC fund - **note:** HQ-flag — primarily Queensland-based; included for its funded Melbourne office and Victorian agrifoodtech activity, not a Melbourne-HQ firm. --- ## HQ flags / excluded (NOT Greater Melbourne) Verified out-of-scope but relevant to the domain — listed so the page doesn't mistakenly claim them: - **v2food** — Australia's #1 plant-based meat co. **HQ Sydney** (171 Clarence St), site team Brisbane. No Melbourne HQ. (Prompt-flagged; confirmed Sydney.) *Excluded.* - **AgriWebb** — livestock management software. **HQ Sydney** (Surry Hills). (Prompt-flagged Sydney; confirmed.) *Excluded.* - **Fable Food** — mushroom-based meat. **HQ Sunshine Coast, QLD** (Hunchy) with a Melbourne development kitchen only. *Excluded.* - **Cauldron** — precision-fermentation network; A$10.5M seed. **HQ Orange, NSW** (regional). *Excluded.* - **Grounded Foods** (Veronica Fil & Shaun Quade) — Melbourne-founded vegan cheese but **relocated HQ to Los Angeles** in 2019. *Excluded (relocated).* - **Change Foods** (David Bucca) — precision-fermentation dairy; **US–Australian, base of operations skewed US (Bay Area)**. *Excluded / ambiguous.* - **ProForm Foods** (MEET brand) — **HQ Mount Kuring-Gai, Sydney**; entered voluntary administration/wound up. *Excluded.* - **Harvest B** — plant-protein ingredient facility in **Penrith, Western Sydney**. *Excluded.* - **Stacked Farm** — vertical farming; **HQ Gold Coast, QLD** (building a Melbourne facility). *Excluded (QLD HQ).* - **Nourish Ingredients** — precision-fermented fats. **HQ Canberra.** (Prompt-flagged; not verified further.) *Excluded.* - **Vow** — cultivated meat. **HQ Sydney.** (Prompt-flagged; not verified further.) *Excluded.* - **All G** — precision-fermentation dairy. **HQ Sydney.** (Prompt-flagged; not verified further.) *Excluded.* - **Provectus Algae** — algae precision-culturing. **HQ Sunshine Coast, QLD.** (Prompt-flagged; not verified further.) *Excluded.* - **Goterra** — insect/food-waste (Bardee competitor). **HQ Canberra.** *Excluded (context).* --- ## Notes for page authors - Merge caution: **YieldX = GAIA Project Australia** (same company, renamed) — one record only. - Melbourne's genuine strength is **CEA/vertical farming (YieldX), insect protein (Bardee), agri-data/climate-risk (DAS, Agtuary, Escavox), and the alt-protein ecosystem/advocacy layer (CAA)** plus a deep accelerator/fund stack (SproutX, Rocket Seeder, Farmers2Founders, Breakthrough Victoria). - Melbourne is **thin on scaled cultivated-meat and precision-fermentation companies** vs. Sydney (Vow, All G) and Canberra (Nourish Ingredients) — Magic Valley and Eighth Day are the main local plays and both are early-stage/pre-scale.

Farm-to-fork" agrifood-tech VC (seed–Series A); Mandalay Fund I reached final close June 2024 (~A$26–27M committed). Active in Melbourne deals (co-invested in YieldX/GAIA); LaunchVic contributed A$2.4M towar...

agrifood-tech VC

** "Farm-to-fork" agrifood-tech VC (seed–Series A); Mandalay Fund I reached final close June 2024 (~A$26–27M committed). Active in Melbourne deals (co-invested in YieldX/GAIA); LaunchVic contributed A$2.4M t...

Jock Lawrence & Jack Hurley

** Founded 2018; cloud livestock farm-management software (grazing, compliance, team comms) used by thousands of farmers across Australia and NZ. LaunchVic-profiled Victorian agtech. Integrates with Agworld ...

Jock Lawrence & Jack Hurley - **venue:** Melbourne / Avenel, VIC - **la:** -37.8136 - **ln:** 144.9631 - **desc:** Founded 2018; cloud livestock farm-management software (grazing, compliance, team comms) used by thousands of farmers across Australia and NZ. LaunchVic-profiled Victorian agtech. Integrates with Agworld for mixed livestock/crop managers. - **link:** https://www.mobble.io/ - **vertical:** ["Agritech"] - **stage:** Early / Seed - **note:** HQ-flag — founder's family farm (idea origin) is Avenel, regional Victoria (~130km N of Melbourne). Operates as a Victorian/Melbourne-ecosystem company (LaunchVic); confirm registered office is Greater Melbourne vs. regional VIC before final placement. ### 11 — Ecosystem body -

Founded 2018; cloud livestock farm-management software (grazing, compliance, team comms) used by thousands of farmers across Australia and NZ. LaunchVic-profiled Victorian agtech. Integrates with Agworld for...

agrifood accelerator - **venue:** Carlton, Melbourne - **la:** -37.8001 - **ln:** 144.9674 - **desc:** Founded 2017 in Carlton; free 3–6 month accelerator for early-stage food & agriculture startups, deliberately using "agrifood tech" (farm-to-consumer) rather than narrow "agtech." Has supported 70+ founders across 7+ cohorts spanning plant-based protein, insect protein, eggs, organics, liquid yeast and digital farming. - **link:** https://www.rocketseeder.com/ - **vertical:** ["Foodtech","Agritech"] - **stage:** Accelerator ### 13 — Accelerator -

Founded 2017 in Carlton; free 3–6 month accelerator for early-stage food & agriculture startups, deliberately using "agrifood tech" (farm-to-consumer) rather than narrow "agtech." Has supported 70+ founders ...

agrifood accelerator

** Founded 2017 in Carlton; free 3–6 month accelerator for early-stage food & agriculture startups, deliberately using "agrifood tech" (farm-to-consumer) rather than narrow "agtech." Has supported 70+ founde...

Daniel Pelliccia

** Melbourne agritech pairing a handheld optical sensor with machine-learning analytics to non-destructively measure fruit maturity/ripeness (the crop's "molecular fingerprint") before and after harvest. Use...

Daniel Pelliccia - **venue:** Melbourne - **la:** -37.8136 - **ln:** 144.9631 - **desc:** Melbourne agritech pairing a handheld optical sensor with machine-learning analytics to non-destructively measure fruit maturity/ripeness (the crop's "molecular fingerprint") before and after harvest. Used across avocado, stone fruit, mango and apple supply chains to cut food waste and optimise picking/storage; piloting across Australia and South-East Asia. - **link:** https://www.growag.com/organisation/rubens-technologies - **vertical:** ["Agritech","Supply-chain"] - **stage:** Early / Seed ### 5 -

Melbourne agritech pairing a handheld optical sensor with machine-learning analytics to non-destructively measure fruit maturity/ripeness (the crop's "molecular fingerprint") before and after harvest. Used a...

agrifood accelerator - **venue:** Melbourne - **la:** -37.8136 - **ln:** 144.9631 - **desc:** Melbourne-based agrifood accelerator/community connecting Australian founders with investors, industry mentors, agribusiness, academia and government across the agrifood supply chain. One of the anchor programs of Victoria's agtech ecosystem. - **link:** https://www.sproutx.com.au/ - **vertical:** ["Agritech","Foodtech"] - **stage:** Accelerator ### 14 — Accelerator -

Melbourne-based agrifood accelerator/community connecting Australian founders with investors, industry mentors, agribusiness, academia and government across the agrifood supply chain. One of the anchor progr...

agrifood accelerator

** Melbourne-based agrifood accelerator/community connecting Australian founders with investors, industry mentors, agribusiness, academia and government across the agrifood supply chain. One of the anchor pr...

Nadun Hennayaka - **venue:** Melbourne (La Trobe University precinct, Bundoora) - **la:** -37.7050 - **ln:** 145.0500 - **desc:** Founded 2020 as a La Trobe University spin-out, YieldX builds a high-density "Omni-System" for controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) that lifts leafy-green yields up to 40% without expanding greenhouse footprint. Originally engineered for NASA's Deep Space Food Challenge (a La Trobe/GAIA team finalist). Raised a A$1.7M seed in 2024 led by the Eagle Fund (Breakthrough Victoria + La Trobe), with Mandalay Venture Partners and LaunchVic's Hugh Victor McKay Fund; in Nov–Dec 2025 commissioned a commercial pilot at Butler Market Gardens (Lyndhurst, VIC) and signed a multi-year deployment with Hyperpure by Zomato in India. - **link:** https://launchvic.org/case-studies/this-melbourne-agtech-could-change-the-galaxys-approach-to-growing/ - **vertical:** ["Agritech"] - **stage:** Seed ### 2 -

Founded 2020 as a La Trobe University spin-out, YieldX builds a high-density "Omni-System" for controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) that lifts leafy-green yields up to 40% without expanding greenhouse fo...

Nadun Hennayaka

** Founded 2020 as a La Trobe University spin-out, YieldX builds a high-density "Omni-System" for controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) that lifts leafy-green yields up to 40% without expanding greenhouse...