One Kidney lands A$50K WA grant to advance artificial kidney work
What's the deal? One KidneyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has received a A$50,000 (≈$35,275) grant from the Government of Western AustraliaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to study blood flow and biocompatibility for its artificial kidney project. The award came through the eighth round of the state's Innovation Booster Grant.
The bigger picture: The WA Government awarded A$1,274,686 to 26 startups and small businesses in this round, offering up to A$50,000 per application. It announced the funding on 10 August 2026.
Why now? The grant programme targets companies at the early stages of developing and testing new products, services and technologies. Hundreds of applications were submitted and assessed by an independent panel of industry leaders.
Where the money went: Funded projects span health, energy, agriculture, space, tourism and mining. They range from One Kidney's artificial kidney to a mobile ultrasound machine for breastfeeding pain, low-carbon concrete and a digital system for understanding Indigenous languages.
Open Ocean Exchange also received A$50,000, matching One Kidney's award, to build digital infrastructure supporting agricultural trade with Asian markets.
Who benefited: Of the 26 recipients, 10 are founded by women, six by First Nations founders and five are regional Western Australian businesses. Some qualify in more than one category, so 18 of the 26 fall into at least one.
The signal: One Kidney's A$50,000 sits at the smaller end of the funding spectrum, in the 38th percentile by amount. That reflects the nature of the Innovation Booster Grant, part of Western Australia's New Industries and Innovation Fund, which backs early-stage ideas rather than growth-stage scaleups.
Read more: Inspirepreneur Magazine
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
