On Thursday 24 July, LX Health marked a major milestone – five years of accelerating HealthTech innovation in Australia. This year’s Demo Night sold out yet again, drawing over 300 investors, founders, clinicians, and ecosystem players from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Held at Miami Marketta, the evening marked the official pitch night for the 2025 LuminaX HealthTech Accelerator cohort. With 8 startups taking the stage after an intensive 14-week journey, the night was a true celebration of startup grit, bold ideas, and big visions for the future of healthcare. Massive congratulations to gutgutgoose, SAL-Check, Celium Technologies, Heali, Zendu, Ascenda, GenAqua and BioProSep who made it through the program and finished with a bang.
About The 2025 LX Startups:
gutgutgoose: Fully personalised, custom probiotic that is 2-3x more effective than generic probiotics made possible through their scalable modeling platform.
SAL-Check: A non-invasive, saliva-based diagnostic test for the early detection and monitoring of liver fibrosis.
Celium Technologies: Optimising bed availability in hospitals, reducing patient waiting, discharge times and ambulance ramping.
Heali: A transforming clinician-to-patient communication system that turns clinical notes into guided, patient friendly interactive plans using AI.
Zendu: Clinician-quality physical rehabilitation utilising AI technology.
Ascenda: Improving access and outcomes in mental healthcare through AI-powered Co-Pilots that guide users along personalised pathways to professional support.
GenAqua: A new generation of water technology designed to prevent hospital acquired infections by disinfecting water at the point of use.
BioProSep: Revolutionising how biotherapeutics are purified.
The BIGGEST night in HealthTech:
The program has grown immensely since launching in 2021. To date, 52 startups have completed LuminaX, raising over $33 million in funding, supported by more than 1600 hours of mentorship, 60 workshops, 50+ mentors, and 15+ venture capital firms engaged across the life of the program.
The night opened with a special guest and an inspiring keynote from Andrew Barnes, Co-founder of the unicorn Go1, who is also a mentor and investor in the LX portfolio. In his presentation he took the audience on a journey from the dawn of medicine to the next frontiers of HealthTech, publicly revealing for the first time what he’s building – the “Stripe for Health”. His talk set the tone for a powerful night of storytelling, innovation, and ambition.
Throughout the program, each startup was paired with a dedicated coach and tapped into an all-star lineup of mentors to accelerate growth, validate their ideas and gain traction. From customer discovery to capital raising, the teams showed massive progression and focus throughout the 14 weeks. As Program Manager Georgia Wyllie put it:
“I wish everyone could see how much the teams have progressed since week 1 of the program.”
“From the highs, the lows, the regular company updates and the mentor whiplash, they all did incredibly well maneuvering the founder journey.”
Director, Dren Xerxa expressed his gratitude:
“Every year, we see startups join LuminaX with bold visions, and within 14 weeks, those visions are sharper, smarter and closer to reality. This year was extra special. Celebrating five years of backing ambitious HealthTech founders and seeing just how far the ecosystem has come. The momentum is real, and we’re only just getting started.”
Congratulations to 3 startups on the night:
🏆 LX Startup of the Year went to Scott Goulter from GenAqua. This award is given to the most dedicated and high-growth startup of the 14-week program and making the most of LX’s support and resources.
🎤 People’s Choice Award was won by Chamindie Punyadeera from Sal-Check. Voted by the people, this prize went to the startup that truly won hearts.
🚀 The Parny Prize was awarded to Jack Rankin from Celium Technologies. Presented by long-time mentor Dr Alan Parnham, this award recognises a standout startup that showed grit, growth and great potential throughout the program.
The program is supported by Major Partners: Economic Development Queensland, Invest Gold Coast, and QIC, alongside Industry Partners: Griffith University, Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, and the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct.
As the accelerator wraps up another successful year, all eyes now look ahead to 2026. If you’re building something in HealthTech and looking for funding, support and a killer network – express your interest for the 2026 LuminaX HealthTech Accelerator here.
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