SXSW Sydney Pitch winner NanoCube Health is transforming cancer diagnostics

Melbourne’s NanoCube Health has won SXSW Sydney’s inaugural Pitch event, giving the startup the chance to compete in Austin in 2024 and be a part of a long-time tradition of startups getting significant breaks at SXSW.

The Pitch competition has become an institution of SXSW

Co-hosts Jules Lund and Rae Johnson. Judge Steven Maarbani Image: VentureCrowd

SXSW Pitch, originally titled SXSW Accelerator, has been a part of the Austin festival for the past decade. It’s where startups pitch their idea to a panel of expert judges.

It’s a big deal, and not just for the winners. SXSW has long been a pitching event in and of itself, with hungry startups hoping to attract investors at the show.

According to Hugh Forrest, co-president and chief programming officer of SXSW, the official Pitch event is a natural extension of that. And it’s paid off, with US$14 billion in capital raises going towards Pitch entrants over the past ten years.

“So the event is always really celebrated that entrepreneurial spirit of creation, developing new markets and new ideas. The pitch has just formalises that a little more,” Forrest told SmartCompany back in June.

And that’s certainly happening in Sydney, too. Main Sequence, the VC arm of the CSIRO, has been at SXSW scouting for startups as well as co-sponsoring the ‘2050 Track’ with the CSIRO, which is all about what the world will look like in 2050, from the future of food to quantum tech.

“Our team are on the ground meeting with new founders and innovators, relishing the opportunity to connect and gain insights into the bigger issues facing entrepreneurs in the deep tech space,” Alezeia Brown, investment manager at Main Sequence, told SmarCompany.

“We’re looking for ideas that have the potential to address global challenges, and we’re searching for founders — individuals or teams — ready to make the leap into company building.

“The beauty of an event like SXSW is the serendipitous connections you make while waiting for sessions or walking through the expos. So far there have been many of these this week.”

SXSW Pitch comes to Sydney

Huge crowd at the final. Image: VentureCrowd

While investor conversations, and maybe even some deals, may have been occurring across this week’s event, SXSW Sydney formalised its showcase of Australian startups with its Pitch competition.

A short list of startups went head-to-head in their categories on Wednesday, each getting to pitch for three minutes:

• Sustainability, circular economy and urban innovation: Camille Goldstone-Henry, CEO and co-founder of Xylo Systems;
• Healthcare, biotech, future of medicine, augmenting humans: Dr Chris Bladen, CEO and Cofounder of Zymedyne Therapeutics;
• Generative AI and robotics: Lisa Milani, co-founder of NanoCube Health;
• Space habitation, travel and transport: Kiriti Rambhatla, CEO and founder of Metakosmos;
• Law and order in cyberspace, security and fintech: Sajid Bokhari, founder and CEO of Geniepay; and
• Game on let’s play: Nilu Kulasingham, founder and CEO of Stori.

The six finalists pitched again for the finals on Thursday to a panel of expert judges:

• Melanie Silva (Google ANZ)
• Samantha Wong (Blackbird)
• Cal Henderson (Slack)
• Jackie Vullinghs (AirTree)
• Steven Maarbani (VentureCrowd)

In the end it was NanoCube Health that took out the top spot. While there can be only one winner, it was truly incredible to see such a large group of Australian startups in one place showing what they have already achieved.

“I think one of the incredible things about Australia is that we are so good at solving problems and innovation but turning those innovations into viable commercial products and businesses is always the trickiest part,” Rae Johnston, award-winning STEM journalist, broadcaster and co-host of the Pitch finals, told SmartCompany.

“So it’s really inspiring to see people bridging that gap and I’m excited to see where their businesses go in the future.”

NanoCube health wants to transform cancer diagnostics

NanoCube Health is a spinoff of NanoCube, a R&D focused company that utilises nanotechnology, AI and materials science to create smart materials and products across multiple sectors.

NanoCube Health zeroes in on utilising nanorobots and advanced diagnostics to target cancer treatment technology.

“We are helping people achieve better health, and we’re doing it by transforming cancer diagnostics and treatment for earlier diagnosis and better treatment results,” NanoCube Health co-founder Lisa Milani told SmartCompany.

“Half of all people with pancreatic cancer die within three months of diagnosis. Only 90% of people survive five years. This is made worse by the asymptomatic nature of the disease and a lack of screening tools on the market to pick up on pancreatic cancer at an early stage. Treatment options are also not effective in treating these aggressive cancer types so innovation is desperately needed to help people with pancreatic cancer get better outcomes.”

Milani says she was in shock and disbelief when the judges announced that NanoCube Health had won, and she praised the other finalists.

“I was in awe listening to the other pitchers and the incredible work they’re doing on their respective industries,” she says. 

“I think what stood out for the judges was the potential for NanoCube Health to have impact on a humanity-wide level. The technology has future applications across medicine, including other solid cancer types, cardiovascular diseases, lung infections and brain disorders. Beyond that, it could also be used it other industries like defence and agriculture.”

NanoCube will be able to next tell that story in the US, when NanoCube Health will take the stage at SXSW Austin.

“I’m really excited to have the opportunity to pitch in Austin, Texas next year. It’s a great opportunity to pitch our work to a broader audience and connect with the US startup ecosystem.”

But until then, there is plenty to keep the startup busy here in Australia.

“We’re focussed on continuing to build our clinical evidence base alongside Deakin University and other partners. This will help demonstrate our technology works in laboratory studies.”

“We’re also looking for values aligning investors and partners to join us to transform cancer diagnostics and treatment for global impact.”

For any startups interested in attending pitch nights or competitions, Milani recommends having a good story and asking for help.

“Lead with a compelling story that helps the audience connect with your cause and the impact you want to have on the world,” Milani says.

“Get help from people who have experience in pitching [and] practice with anyone who will listen. I got my two- and five-year-olds to time me in the lead up to SXSW Sydney.

“Tough crowd though — they kept asking ‘what are you talking about?’ and thought the three-minute pitch was too long.”