Australian AI Festival 2025 unveils full awards list

The Australian AI Festival 2025 has named winners across startup, enterprise, influencer and creative categories, with joint honours in its top startup award.

The awards covered commercially focused AI and creative work, including music, animation and short film. Organisers said the mix reflected the festival programme and the range of submissions received from Australia and overseas.

Australian AI Festival Director Matt Kirby linked the awards to participation across the wider event. "The depth of knowledge being shared during the festival flowed into the awards. Before we even announced the Festival & Awards officially, we were floored by the number of emails and DMs from people offering to help. Once submissions were open the sheer number that landed from day one was mind-blowing", said Matt Kirby, Festival Director, Australian AI Festival.

Startup winners

The AI Startup of the Year category produced joint winners: Apate and Lenexa Medical.

Apate won for an approach that uses AI in scam prevention, disruption and intelligence. The entry described the use of conversational AI bots deployed at scale. The company is led by Founder and CEO Professor Dali Kaafar.

Lenexa Medical shared the award for work on LenexaCARE, an artificial intelligence platform used in healthcare settings. The platform provides personalised and targeted information for healthcare staff on pressure injury care. Lenexa Medical is led by Managing Director Ajit Ravindran.

Enterprise tool

The Best Enterprise AI Tool award went to Luis Rico for Rostrum: The Platform for Leadership Intelligence.

The festival listed Rostrum under enterprise solutions as part of the awards line-up that also included individual and creative categories. The awards did not disclose judging criteria or scoring.

Influencer category

Emma Barbato received Best AI Influencer for "Bruce Ryder", described by the festival as an Australian AI influencer and celebrity. The organisers said the entry generated strong real-world engagement and placed ahead of international AI influencers.

The influencer category sat alongside technical and creative sections. It formed part of a broader set of awards aimed at reflecting how AI reaches audiences through social platforms and digital characters.

Creative winners

In AI music, the award went to Push It, directed, written, and produced by Bump Nasties.

In AI animation, the award went to Void Burn, directed by Frank Houbre.

In AI short film, the award went to Grain & Grit, directed by Matt Valente.

The Rising Star award went to Mind It, directed by Shafayet Mansoor. The festival positioned the award as recognition for emerging creative talent working with AI-driven formats.

The highest creative AI award, Best in Australia, went to Pyrrhic Victory, directed by Brendan Young and produced by Catherine McQuade.

Festival scope

The festival said it combined commercially oriented AI and creative AI, and it placed both on stage through speakers and awards categories. It said submissions were strong across categories and described judging as close in several sections, including the startup award.

The winners list also highlighted a mix of individuals and organisations. The enterprise tool award named an individual creator, while the startup award recognised two companies and their leaders.

The organisers positioned the festival as a forum that spans innovation, collaboration and responsible advancement in AI across industries and creative disciplines.

"Congratulations to all the winners and finalists! We will see you all again in 2026!", said Kirby.