Victoria's cultivating a startup culture to turn agrifood innovation into impact

When it comes to innovation and investment in startups, the state of Victoria punches well above its weight. 

So, it’s no surprise that Asia Pacific’s premier agrifood innovation and technology event, AgriFutures evokeAG. is returning to where it all began, Melbourne, in 2026. 

RELATED ARTICLE: Victoria is no longer a secret as Melbourne named host city for evoke^AG. 2026!

In the spirit of the evokeAG. theme of ‘Invest. Innovate. Impact.’ let’s take a closer look at Victoria’s agritech and startup ecosystems. 

Invest: Victoria’s startup ecosystem is one of the fastest growing in the world

You only have to look at the growth of Victoria’s startup ecosystem in the past decade to see that it’s fertile ground for investment. 

A new report shows Victoria’s ecosystem of more than 3,500 startups, scaleups and unicorns are worth a combined $132 billion, up from $5B in 2016.  What’s more, it’s grown twice as fast as global hubs like Berlin, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam and Stockholm. 

The report, by government agency LaunchVic, and global intelligence platform, Dealroom.co, states venture capital (VC) investment is outpacing peer ecosystems, with almost $842 million raised by Victorian startups in 2024.  That’s 7.5x higher than VC investment a decade ago and compares to 3.3x growth for global VC over the same period. 

Angel investment in Victoria is also on the rise with more than 100 investments worth a combined $30M since 2020. 

The report says Victoria can also boast founding 19 unicorns (privately held companies valued at over $1B) since 1990, accounting for almost half the Australian tally. 

With evokeAG. set to bring founders and funders together in Melbourne in 2026, who knows which home-grown startup might become the next unicorn. 

Innovate: Thriving startup ecosystem builds on long tradition

Victoria has a long history of innovation – think the electric drill, vegemite, black box flight recorder and bionic ear. 

Turning that innovation into commercial outcomes was highlighted in the Victorian Government’s 2021 Innovation Statement and has been backed by support programs to drive growth. 

LaunchVic builds founders’ capacity and connects entrepreneurs with investors, mentors, and global networks. 

Its 15 accelerator programs have supported more than 600 startups, helping them secure more than $328M in capital. Education programs have involved 200 investors unlocking $84M in startup investment. 

Building on this success, the Government announced $5M in March for LaunchVic to support up to 165 early-stage startups, with mentoring and resources. 

On top of that, there’s grants and funds including Breakthrough Victoria which has a $2B fund for investment in pre-seed through to Series B. Among its focus areas are agrifood, the clean economy and digital technology 

Breakthrough Victoria supports several agrifood techs including:  

• Viridian Renewable Technology which is addressing food wastage with sustainable insect protein. 

• Number 8 Bio which is working to reduce livestock methane emissions. 

• Jupiter Ionics which has developed electrolytic cell technology to produce green ammonia. 

evokeAG. also has a track record of nurturing innovation through signature programs like Startup Alley and Scaleup Station. Watch out for the new crop of innovators at Melbourne 2026. 

Impact: Applying technology to tackle agrifood’s big challenges

Agrifood’s an important industry in Victoria and as a hub for innovation, food systems and agribusiness Melbourne is the perfect place for evokeAG. to connect tech developers with end-users. 

Victorian agricultural production was worth more than $20B in 2021-2022, up by 15 per cent on the previous year. The state is Australia’s largest producer of grapes, milk, sheep meat, fruit and nuts, and vegetables and contributes to a quarter of our national food and fibre exports. 

Digital technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics and automation are being harnessed to give the sector a competitive edge, while challenges such as climate change and food security are also prompting innovation. 

One example is Gaia Project Australia (GPA), a Melbourne-based agtech spinout that’s focused on improving yields and minimising resource use in controlled environment agriculture. 

Young plants grown in a hydroponic system require far less space than mature ones, but traditional channels using fixed plant spacings can result in wasted space. 

GPA’s groundbreaking Omni-System uses real-time dynamic plant spacing and has been shown to help leafy green vegetable growers increase yields by up to 40 per cent. 

The tech was developed in partnership with researchers at LaTrobe University and was a finalist in NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge. It’s recently raised $1.7 million in seed funding. 

The commercialisation of university innovation is gaining pace in Victoria, the LaunchVic report shows the spinout sector is valued at $2.9B in 2024, so expect to hear more about research in science and technology being put into action. 

Be part of the future of agrifood innovation at evoke^AG. 2026 in Melbourne

Since the first evokeAG. in Melbourne in 2019, the event has doubled in size bringing together the global agrifood tech community to unlock investment, fast-track innovation and deliver tangible impact. 

Subsequent events have been held in Melbourne (2020), Adelaide (2023) and Perth (2024) and Brisbane (2025). 

This year there were: 

• 1957 attendees across two days  

• 201 international delegates 

• 347 primary producers  

• 69 investors 

• 134 speakers across 19 plenary and 22 breakout sessions 

evokeAG. will be held on 17 and 18 February 2026 at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. 

Keen to partner with us?  Contact evokeAG Partnerships Manager, Siobhan Hillam [email protected]

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