StartupsNov 9, 2026, 1:55 PM UTC·2 min read

ProcurePro Makes Startup World Cup Top 10 in San Francisco

Queensland construction tech startup ProcurePro, which uses AI to price building work and has passed US$10 million in ARR, reached the Startup World Cup top 10.

A founder pitching on stage in front of a large audience at a startup competition grand finale in San Francisco. — Image: Startup Daily

Queensland construction tech company ProcurePro has made the top 10 at the Startup World Cup in San Francisco, one of the world's largest pitch competitions. Cofounder and head of product Tim Rogers pitched at the Grand Finale on Friday night to about 3,000 investors, founders and operators.

ProcurePro uses AI to understand what construction costs. The company has passed US$10 million in annual recurring revenue and is backed by QIC Ventures and Airtree. It earned its place in San Francisco by winning the Queensland region final earlier this year.

An Australian delegation in the US

Rogers travelled as part of a Startup & Angels delegation of founders from Australia, France, Morocco and Pan-Africa. Six delegation members pitched across two days of semi-finals, including Tori Fox from Arelis and Shan-Shan Wang from Roam Technologies. Other Australian founders in the group were Judy Sahay of ID.Ai, Peter Kakris of ScreenCoach and Cassandra Cadorin of My Command Centre, alongside Axel Peyrière of Auto24.Africa.

Across the field, health startups made up about 24% of pitches, followed by AI software at 19% and climate at 15%. Experts at the event named agentic workflows and physical AI as the biggest market opportunities.

Why it matters

Vinisha Rathod, program lead for Australia at Startup & Angels, said this year's AI focus felt like the 1990s and the rise of the digital era. "The companies that laid the foundations then, such as Amazon, Google and PayPal, shaped the next 25 years," she said, adding that whoever builds AI infrastructure now builds the future.

The advice for Australians was blunt: one speaker told founders to "leave tall poppy syndrome in Australia" and back themselves globally. Australia's Consul-General, Christopher Ketter, also addressed the Startup & Angels Networking Night on Wednesday, highlighting Austrade's Landing Pads program, which helps Australian companies grow in the US.

Startup & Angels has spent 10 years helping companies expand across a network of 20 countries. In 2026 it ran seven Startup World Cup events across France, Belgium, Morocco and Australia.

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