Australian-founded fintech Airwallex is putting fresh capital behind the next generation of AI companies.
The company has selected 10 startups for the first cohort of its Latitude 37 program, providing each with A$100,000 in equity-free funding. The initiative is designed to support early-stage Australian AI founders while giving them access to Airwallex’s global network, international exposure and infrastructure.
A Different Kind of Startup Program
Latitude 37 was announced earlier this year by Airwallex co-founder and CEO Jack Zhang as an annual initiative focused on young Australian AI founders.
The name references Melbourne, where Airwallex was founded. Hundreds of startups applied for the first cohort before a panel of venture investors and company executives selected the final 10.
Unlike a traditional accelerator investment, the funding is equity-free. That means the selected founders receive capital without giving up ownership in their companies at an early stage.
Alongside the funding, participants will gain access to Airwallex’s network across more than 100 countries, an immersion tour in San Francisco and Singapore, and exposure to the fintech company’s AI-native infrastructure.
From Robotics to Fintech Infrastructure
The first Latitude 37 cohort spans a wide range of AI applications.
AXIOMS, founded by Manu Masson and Lochlan Hill, is developing networks of AI agents designed to work together as a larger intelligent system.
Blank Robotics, founded by Jed Hoo and Anirudhh “Arnie” Ramesh, is building modular general-purpose robots for grocery retail, while Dreamscale Labs is developing cloud-based systems designed to provide intelligence for robots.
The cohort also includes Forward, which uses AI and automation to turn complex borrower information into structured private-credit deals, and SyncPay, which is focused on improving the way transaction information moves alongside payments.
Other selected companies include Geospan, Kronus, Polarbear AI, SeatFinder and Superstat, covering areas such as autonomous vehicle safety, aerospace software, education, travel and sports analytics.
Airwallex Expands Its Role in Australia’s Startup Ecosystem
The program gives Airwallex a broader role beyond payments and financial infrastructure.
The company itself started in Melbourne before expanding globally, and Zhang has positioned Latitude 37 as a way to help Australian founders build international companies earlier in their journey.
That global perspective is particularly relevant for AI startups, where customers, capital and technical talent can be distributed across multiple markets from the beginning.
Latitude 37 is funded through Airwallex Impact, the company’s global Pledge 1% initiative. The program is intended to run annually, giving new groups of Australian founders access to capital and mentorship each year.
Why This Cohort Matters
What stands out about the first Latitude 37 group is the range of industries represented.
These companies are not all building another chatbot or general-purpose AI assistant. Their products touch physical robotics, lending, payments, transport, aerospace, education and sports.
That reflects a broader shift in the AI market as startups increasingly apply AI to specific operational problems rather than focusing only on general-purpose models.
For Airwallex, backing these companies also creates a connection to founders who could eventually become customers, partners or part of the wider technology ecosystem surrounding its financial platform.
The first Latitude 37 cohort therefore represents more than a A$1 million funding commitment. It gives Airwallex a direct role in supporting a new group of Australian AI companies at a stage when capital, networks and access to international markets can have an outsized impact.