Announcement
SXSW Sydney announced the 23 finalists for the 2025 Pitch competition across seven categories, and Defectech was selected among this cohort.
The finalists were chosen by an advisory panel of investors, founders, and industry experts after assessing hundreds of applications spanning categories from AI and enterprise to climate tech, medtech, entertainment, retail, and space.
What’s next
Finalists will pitch on Wednesday 15 October 2025 from 10:00am–5:00pm, with category winners advancing to the Grand Final on Thursday 16 October 2025.
Grand Final judges include leaders such as Bill Tai, Kim Jackson, Lars Rasmussen, and Lucy Guo, with the overall winner earning the opportunity to pitch at SXSW Austin or SXSW London in 2026, including flights.
Event details
The SXSW Sydney Pitch program is a cornerstone of the Tech & Innovation Festival, highlighting early-stage innovation and providing finalists with broad exposure to investors and partners.
For the full finalist lineup and official program updates, refer to the SXSW Sydney news announcement confirming the 2025 Pitch finalists.
Congratulations to all the finalists! We're so excited to be sharing the stage with such impactful and ground-breaking startups at SXSW Sydney this year. View the complete list using this link.
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