Robotics Australia Group is thrilled to share that one of our valued network members, Puralink, has been featured in Forbes Australia for their groundbreaking work in robotic pipe inspection and infrastructure monitoring. The recognition highlights the exceptional innovation, resilience, and ambition behind this emerging leader in Australia’s robotics ecosystem.
Puralink’s journey began in 2019, when UTS engineering student Harrison Crowe-Maxwell experienced firsthand the disruption caused by a burst pipe in his Sydney neighbourhood. The invasive and costly excavation sparked what would become a multi-year mission to develop a better way to handle underground pipe failures. That idea evolved into his capstone thesis — and ultimately into the foundation of Puralink.
Joined first by co-founder Shyeon Delnawaz in 2022, and later by Thien Long Tran in 2024, the trio spent years building and commercialising what is now known as the “ferret” — a compact, autonomous 40cm robot equipped with cameras and LIDAR, capable of crawling through underground pipes to detect leaks and map complex geometries previously unreachable by standard robotic crawlers.
While legacy pipe crawlers remain manual, expensive, and limited in capability, Puralink’s ferret represents a leap forward for the industry. Affordable, autonomous, and engineered for difficult pipe systems, it positions Puralink at the forefront of a $5.26 billion global opportunity.
Bootstrapped in its early years, the startup gained momentum in 2025 by securing angel investment, participating in Cicada Innovations’ Fast Start program, and completing the Startmate Accelerator. In September, Puralink closed an oversubscribed $2.3 million seed round, led by Peak XV (Sequoia’s APAC seed fund), with support from Startmate, Side Stage Ventures, NZ VC, and Wollemi Capital Group.
Investors cite Puralink’s technology as “world-class,” enabling safer, cheaper, and more accurate inspection of ageing and often inaccessible water and utility networks. And the Puralink team’s vision extends far beyond basic inspection: they plan to evolve the ferret into a modular, tetherless system capable of recharging inside pipes using the energy of the resource flowing past it — water, wastewater, or even oil and gas. Their long-term goal: autonomous robots living inside pipelines, preventing failures before they occur.
With tens of thousands of service teams worldwide representing potential customers, and with each co-founder holding dual citizenship in strategic global markets, Puralink is taking a global-from-day-one approach. As they put it, “There’s no shortage of pipes to fix and problems to solve.”
Robotics Australia Group congratulates Puralink on this significant recognition and celebrates their contribution to Australia’s growing robotics sector. Their work embodies the innovation, talent, and ambition that define our national robotics community — and we look forward to supporting their continued success.
