Callease AI Named National Finalist at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield x Stripe 2026
Brisbane-based Callease AI was selected as one of eight Australian finalists from more than 500 applications and pitched live at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield x Stripe in Sydney.
Sydney, 19 August 2026. Brisbane-based Callease AI has been named one of eight national finalists at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield x Stripe, selected from more than 500 applications from startups across Australia.
The company pitched live on the Startup Battlefield stage at Stripe Tour Sydney, held at ICC Sydney, presenting its conversational AI platform for private security control rooms to a panel of judges, investors, founders and technology media.
TechCrunch Startup Battlefield comes to Australia
TechCrunch partnered with Stripe to bring Startup Battlefield to Australia in 2026, giving early-stage Australian startups a direct pathway to the global stage. Startup Battlefield has launched more than 1,700 companies worldwide, including Dropbox, Cloudflare and Discord.
Each of the eight finalists delivered a four-minute pitch followed by four minutes of live questions from the judges. The grand prize included Stripe fee credits and automatic entry into the Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco, held 13 to 15 October.
Read the TechCrunch feature → Meet the eight startups pitching at Startup Battlefield Australia
AI built for private security control rooms
Callease is building the operator layer for private security control rooms, starting with conversational AI. The platform pairs natural conversation with a deterministic policy engine, giving security providers predictable decisions and a complete, tamper-evident record of every interaction.
Its selection as a national finalist places Callease among the most promising early-stage technology companies in Australia, and highlights growing demand for purpose-built AI in the private security industry.
Founder statement
“Being selected from more than 500 applications confirms that private security operations are ready for purpose-built AI. Control rooms carry real risk, and the systems supporting them need to be deterministic, auditable and accountable.”
Keiwal Kotak, Founder and CEO, Callease AI
Congratulations to Apate
Callease congratulates Apate on winning TechCrunch Startup Battlefield x Stripe Sydney, and thanks TechCrunch and Stripe for bringing Startup Battlefield to Australia.
About Callease AI
Callease AI is an Australian conversational AI company headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, building the operating system for private security control rooms. Callease works with enterprise security providers across Australia and is expanding into New Zealand, Singapore and India.
Learn more about Callease | Contact the team
Event photography: Grapher Media.