Puralink founders recognised in Forbes Australia’s 30 Under 30

The recognition comes less than a year after the three founders committed full-time to Puralink, following years of work on the technology and the business behind it. It’s a proud moment for the team and the wider community that has helped us get this far. Read Harrison’s announcement.

The story began with a burst pipe on Harrison’s street in 2019. Watching the disruption involved in locating and repairing the failure prompted a question that would eventually become Puralink: how could we understand what was happening inside pipe networks before problems became so costly?

That question developed into university research, early prototypes and, eventually, the Ferret. Harrison, Shyeon and Long brought together their engineering and commercial experience to build a company around it.

Forbes Australia’s feature follows that journey, from the early work to developing an autonomous robot for inspecting and mapping underground infrastructure. It also explores our longer-term ambition for robots that can remain within pipe networks and help detect problems earlier. Read the Forbes feature.

Behind the recognition is a much larger group of people. Our engineers have turned difficult ideas into working hardware and software. Our design partners have shared their sites, experience and honest feedback. Mentors, investors and the teams at Cicada Innovations and Startmate have helped us develop the company alongside the technology.

We’re grateful to everyone who has backed us, challenged us and helped us improve.

There is still a lot to build. Seeing the work recognised by Forbes is an opportunity to appreciate how far the team has come, then get back to making the next Ferret better.