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With $24 million worth of funding secured for its alumni to date and 90 per cent of supported startups achieving at least 3x growth post-program, the Gold Coast-based LuminaX HealthTech Accelerator is back with its fifth cohort.
Organisers note that among the 42 startups accelerated over the past four years there has traditionally been a skew towards Software as a Service (SaaS), but the 2025 line-up brings a more diverse mix including AI as a Service, medical devices, and groundbreaking biotech solutions.
Three of the 11 startups announced for the 14-week accelerator come from Griffith University research ventures, which according to LuminaX highlights the power of translating academic discoveries into commercial solutions for addressing real-world problems.
"We’ve hit five years, five cohorts, and a whole bunch of incredible Aussie healthtech startups along the way. Every year, we see founders pushing the limits, solving real healthcare problems, and scaling their businesses," says LX Health program director Dren Xerxa.
"Each year, the number and quality of applications in LX continues to rise, but what excites me most about this cohort is the diversity.
"While SaaS health startups have traditionally led the way, this year we’ve seen a remarkable surge in devices and biotech innovations, along with AI-powered solutions designed to scale."
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The accelerator has delivered more than 50 workshops since inception with 50 mentors from around Australia including Medibank, NIB, Rampersand and Giant Leap, among others.
"With medtech, biotech, and wellness-tech really taking off, we’ve got some amazing mentors this year," says Xerxa.
"Dr Vu Tran, founder of unicorn Go1, has been with us from the start, sharing his journey of scaling a business.
"And Silvia Pfeiffer, our coach-in-residence, scaled her own healthtech business to the US, so she knows what it takes to go global. They’re here to guide the next wave of innovation in healthcare."
The pattern of funding from venture capital partners, angel investors, and syndicates is also set for a boost following the Queensland Investment Corporation's (QIC) selection of LuminaX as one of five accelerators it is backing through the Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (QVCDF).
"With backing from the Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (VCDF) through QIC, this year’s cohort has an awesome chance to connect with some of the biggest VC funds and investors in Australia. We’re all about opening doors and helping these founders turn their ideas into something huge," Xerxa adds.
2025 LuminaX participants Rhett Simons and Carmen Minikus, co-founders of digital treatment plan platform Heali, are excited for the journey ahead through the program.
"Joining the LuminaX Accelerator feels like the perfect next step for us at Heali," says Simons.
"We’re especially looking forward to learning from world-class mentors and connecting with others tackling big problems in healthcare."
Their sentiment is echoed by another participant Jeremy Fernando, founder of digital physiotherapy startup Zendu.
"The team here at Zendu are excited to be accepted into the LuminaX accelerator," says Fernando.
"LuminaX’s grounding in healthtech startups and wide range of expert mentors will be invaluable in guiding Zendu’s strategy, developing research relationships, and navigating the regulatory landscape as we work towards bringing cheaper and more accessible healthcare to all Australians by combining advances in AI with clinical expertise."
Ciaran Mcginniss, co-founder of LiveQ, a wearable device-underpinned telehealth service for cardiac rehabilitation, looks forward to refining the company's clinical approach through the accelerator, as well as "better
understanding the health system landscape, and shaping a solution that truly fits into the future of cardiac and remote care".
Meet the 2025 LuminaX Healthtech Accelerator cohort
Ascenda - Scaling mental health care through AI digital twins.
BioProSep - Develops and manufactures bioseparation materials that enable the efficient recovery of biologics during industrial manufacture.
Celium Technologies - Optimising hospital bed waiting times & reducing ambulance ramping for hospitals.
GenAqua - Manufactures devices reducing Hospital Acquired Infections in health facilities occurring from potable water.
Heali - A digital treatment plan platform lets clinicians create, share, and track care plans, using reusable templates, and real-time monitoring to improve adherence and simplify patient care.
LiveQ - a telehealth platform that combines clinically approved wearable devices with real-time monitoring and secure communication to enable rehabilitation providers to deliver remote cardiac rehabilitation services.
GutGutGoose! - Patient customised probiotics at scale.
SAL-Check - A non-invasive, saliva-based diagnostic test for early detection and monitoring of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, offering accessible and patient-friendly screening.
SpeakClear - An offline AI-powered real-time captioning device that breaks communication barriers by instantly converting speech into text, making conversations accessible to everyone, anywhere, anytime.
Tablx - Makes robotic tablet dispensers for meds.
Zendu - Provides purely digital, clinician-quality physiotherapy at a fraction of the current cost, anywhere, and without requiring referrals nor clinician availability.
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