Deep tech venture studio Sydney, Australia Est. 2026

Companies are built, not discovered.

Crucible is a Sydney venture studio for deep tech. We bring engineers and business builders together to test ideas, build working prototypes and find the first customers.

See what we're building Work with us

01Why we exist

Most deep tech ideas stall somewhere between the workbench and the first customer. So instead of writing a cheque and waiting, we put in people. Engineers to build it, and a team to test it with the customers who would pay for it.

02What we do

Three steps from idea to company.

Every venture moves through the same three stages. We join at whichever one you're stuck on.

01
Test the idea

We find out who has the problem, how often it happens and what it costs them. If there's no company worth building, we find that out early, while changing direction is still cheap.
- Customer interviews
- Market research
- Business model
- Technical feasibility
- Team formation
02
Build the prototype

Our engineers find the riskiest technical question and build to answer it first. Then the prototype leaves the workbench and goes into a real site, like a mine, a farm or a factory.
- Robotics and autonomy
- Electronics and embedded systems
- Mechanical design and CAD
- Software and AI
- Pilot testing
03
Find the first customers

We work out who buys, who signs off, and what it takes to turn a conversation into a paid pilot. Then we get the team ready to talk to investors.
- Pilot design
- Founder-led sales
- Pricing
- Partnerships
- Investor readiness
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Going further

For some ventures we join the founding team itself, and fill whichever gap is biggest: engineering, sales, hiring or operations.

03Partners

The teams we build with.

Crucible Ventures Portfolio

Portfolio companies, startups, incubator teams and hackathons we work with. Teams marked ↗ link to their own site.

04Projects

What we're building right now.

ForestryIn development

A levelling device for logging machinery

Keeps heavy machinery level on rugged terrain, for a logger in far north Queensland.
Mining and agricultureIn development

Drone mapping in low light

Drone technology for mining and agriculture, including mapping mines in low light.
In development

An exoskeleton

One that could be used as a prosthetic in the future.

Drawings are illustrations, not the actual designs.

All project details

The Crucible incubator cohort on a balcony — Incubator cohort · May 2026

Nandit presenting The Art of Pitching to a room of students — The Art of Pitching workshop · 2026

The team outside a restaurant after a founder dinner — Founder dinner · Sydney

A founder pitching to three members of the Crucible team — Pitch practice with the team

An incubator session in a seminar room — Incubator session · May 2026

05Community

Where the ideas come from.

We started by running three incubators. People had ideas but no idea where to start. Now we host weekly dinners with Sydney founders, teach pitching at uni hackathons, and keep working with the teams we meet.

3incubators run
Weeklyfounder dinners in Sydney
Judgesat Hack for Humanity 2026

Worked with UNSW Enactus · UNSW AI Society · UTS TechSoc · Hack for Humanity

06Who we work with

Find yourself on this list.

Early-stage startupsYou have an idea or a product, and need engineering, testing or commercial help to move it forward.
Technical foundersYou can build the technology. We bring the business side and the team around it.
Industry partnersRun a pilot, test new technology or sponsor a project. We're currently working in forestry and construction.
Universities and societiesBring us in for workshops, incubators, competitions and technical projects.
InvestorsMeet early teams with tested technology and real evidence from customers.

07Team

Engineers who'd rather build than pitch.

Nandit Shah

Founder & CEO

Mechatronics engineering and finance at UNSW. Started Crucible so technical builders could turn big ideas into real companies. Leads strategy, partnerships and commercialisation.
Vedant Tyagi

Co-founder & CTO

Aerospace engineering and computer science at UNSW. Runs Crucible's technical direction, from feasibility to prototypes, and leads the engineering teams.
Aaryan Parmar

Venture & Legal

Supports venture development, and the legal and commercial side of Crucible's projects and partnerships.
Smit Parikh

Outreach & Partnerships

Builds relationships with customers, partners and the wider Sydney startup community.