Australian innovation is at an inflection point. The next generation of founders and companies are coming through, and they’re bringing our economy and Australia’s future along with them.
The Australian, alongside a world-class panel of experts, has named its top 100 innovators today and among the list are two Greek Australians.
Here’s a rundown of who they are and what they’re being recognised for:
Daniel Danilatos:
Ex-Google software engineer, Daniel Danilatos, has been named in The Australian‘s list in the ‘Building and Infrastructure’ category for his business Neara.
Neara is a utilities infrastructure startup founded in 2016 (then called Power Lines Pro). It has found a way to create a 3D twin of infrastructure networks that is so accurate it can be used for engineering-grade analysis, as well as aid in real-time decision-making and maintenance of services during natural disasters such as storms, bushfires and floods.
Following $7.25 million in Series A funding earlier this year – which includes investment from Square Peg Capital, Scott Farquhar and Kim Jackson’s Skip Capital, and Mike Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures – and with most of Australia’s electricity distributors and transmitters already signed up, this little-known Aussie startup is looking to become a leader in the utility space.
George Peppou:
George Peppou and Tim Noakesmith have made an impact in the ‘Food’ category for their business, Vow.
A real contender in the animal-free food space, Vow, a Blackbird-backed startup that creates real meat from cells, is turning a lot of what we think we knew about meat on its head.
The startup has attracted multiple investments since 2019 (after being awarded a $25,000 grant from the NSW government for creating the first ever cell-cultured kangaroo meat grown from stem cells), including $7.7 million in seed funding from Blackbird, Grok Ventures and Tenacious Ventures.
Vow has also grown its meat cell library to 11 animals, with one of Australia’s best known chefs, Neil Perry, trying out six of them in 2020. While a commercial product is still some time away (no labgrown meat has made its way to a table as regulations are still being developed) judging by Perry’s enthusiasm it sounds like it could taste as good as the real thing.
Source: The Australian.
