| muru-D | |
| Industry: | startup accelerator |
| Key People: | Julie Trell (Head) |
| Foundation: | 2013 |
| Hq Location City: | Sydney |
| Hq Location Country: | Australia |
| Num Locations: | 3 |
| Num Locations Year: | 2017 |
| Parent: | Telstra |
muru-D is an Australian startup accelerator founded in 2013. It is backed by the Australian telecommunications company Telstra. To date, over 44 startups have been through the program, with 42 still in operation.[1]
muru-D, stylised with a lowercase 'm', is derived from the Sydney Aboriginal Eora word ‘Muru’, meaning ‘path’, and 'D' standing for digital: ‘path to digital.'[2]
muru-D is currently based in 3 locations (Sydney, Singapore and Melbourne), with partner programs in Perth at Spacecubed and Brisbane at River City Labs.[3] They also have space in Telstra's San Francisco office, providing alumni with US customer and investor connections.[4]
muru-D was founded by Annie Parker and Mick Liubinkas in October 2013 after Telstra recognised that it needed to be more involved in the tech startup scene.[5] It was officially opened by former Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull.
In 2015, muru-D expanded operations to Singapore due to its "fast-developing start-up ecosystem, pro-business policies and access to local capital."[6]
At the end of 2016, Annie Parker left muru-D and was replaced by ex-Salesforce executive, Julie Trell.[7] [8]
In 2017, muru-D altered its funding model to be more founder friendly and attract later-stage startups.[9] It also launched its new IoT themed space in Melbourne, based at Telstra's Gurrowa Labs.[10]