Tropic Tech & Innovation Network

03/11/2026

Reminder: Dev Meetup is on this Thursday 5 November, 5-7pm at Tropic Tech.

Alex Ferguson is coming to show us RequestRocket. He’s the founder and CTO. RequestRocket sits between your code or AI agents and the third-party APIs they hit. It takes care of the credentials, the access rules and the audit trail, so you don’t have to. He’ll run it live, and tell the story of the auth headaches that pushed him to build it.

Dev Meetup is our monthly catch-up for developers, engineers and anyone who likes building things, whether you do it for work or you’re just getting started. It’s relaxed. We talk tech, hear from the odd guest presenter and share what we’re working on. Apps, games, robotics, half-finished side projects, all welcome.

It’s free, with drinks and snacks on us. Please register so we know how many to cater for:

https://www.tropictech.com.au/event-details/tropic-tech-dev-meetup-2026-11-05-17-00

We’re downstairs at 254 Mulgrave Road, Cairns. Look for the GBR Event Space sign next to the florist. See you there.

A monthly meetup for developers, programmers, engineers and other techy folk to network and learn from visiting speakers.

02/11/2026

That was Deep Dive into AI.

A full room spent Friday at Tropic Tech, many of them in costume, with the people building AI in Cairns.

Thank you to Elle Russell, Dr Kelvin Ross, Tristan Cartledge, Nicky Jurd, Cheryl Mack, Alex Khor, Donna Patane, Albert Jindra and Jamie Baker for sharing what they've learned. To Paul Furse and both teams for Frankenstein's Great Debate. To Tara Diversi for keeping it all moving. And to Shane, Steve, Wally, Amiee and Jamie for standing up and pitching.

A big thank you to NightCafe and Speakeasy for making the day possible.

Want to hear about the next one? Follow the page.

Presented by Launch Y(E)P, supported by NightCafe, Speakeasy, Tropic Tech and the Queensland Government.

29/10/2026

Meet the pitchers.

At the Halloween Pitch Party, five Cairns startups get two minutes each to make their case:

1. GilliesAI, Shane Gilbert
2. BrandScore, Steve Gard
3. FastPM, Wally Cloud
4. WelfareCheckr, Holly Gilbert and Amiee Costello
5. Friendly News, Jamie Baker

Come and back them. Pitches from 6pm, drinks and pizza from 4:30pm. Costumes encouraged.

Tropic Tech, 254 Mulgrave Rd, Cairns. Tickets $19: https://deepdive.launchyep.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=deepdive26&utm_content=pitchers

Presented by Launch Y(E)P, supported by NightCafe, Speakeasy, Tropic Tech and the Queensland Government.

28/10/2026

Tomorrow. Deep Dive into AI.

One day with the people building AI in Cairns, from a beginner workshop at 9am to the Halloween Pitch Party at 4:30pm. Costumes encouraged.

Before you come:
- Doors open at 8:30. The beginner workshop starts at 9am sharp.
- Bring a laptop if you're in the workshop.
- Street parking is limited. Best bet is to park at DFO and walk over, if you are able. (350m)
- Tickets for the party are still available but be quick.

Last tickets: https://deepdive.launchyep.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=deepdive26

28/10/2026

Friday night, Cairns: the Halloween Pitch Party.

Local startups pitch from 6pm, two minutes each. Then drinks, pizza and a room full of people building things in Cairns.

Costumes encouraged.

Friday 30 October, from 4:30pm, Tropic Tech, 254 Mulgrave Rd, Cairns.

Tickets $19: https://deepdive.launchyep.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=deepdive26&utm_content=party

Presented by Launch Y(E)P, supported by NightCafe, Speakeasy, Tropic Tech and the Queensland Government.

28/10/2026

Thank you to Speakeasy for supporting Deep Dive into AI.

Speakeasy builds the tools companies like Vercel and Mistral AI use to connect their APIs to AI agents, and to keep those agents in check. Founding engineer Tristan Cartledge is a familiar face at Tropic Tech's dev meetups, and on Friday he's talking about putting AI agents to work without losing control.

See you Friday.

Deep Dive into AI. Friday 30 October, doors 8:30am, Tropic Tech, 254 Mulgrave Rd, Cairns.

Tickets from $19: https://deepdive.launchyep.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=deepdive26&utm_content=speakeasy

Presented by Launch Y(E)P, supported by NightCafe, Speakeasy, Tropic Tech and the Queensland Government.

27/10/2026

The program is out.

Deep Dive into AI is this Friday. It's going to be a big day: with a hands-on beginner workshop, Elle Russell on building NightCafe from Cairns, Dr Kelvin Ross on keeping AI-written code safe, Frankenstein's Great Debate, investors on where AI money is going, and so much more!

Day tickets are almost gone. Halloween Pitch Party tickets are $19.

Deep Dive into AI. Friday 30 October, doors 8:30am, Tropic Tech, 254 Mulgrave Rd, Cairns.

Tickets: https://deepdive.launchyep.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=deepdive26&utm_content=program

Presented by Launch Y(E)P, supported by NightCafe, Speakeasy, Tropic Tech and the Queensland Government.

26/10/2026

Thank you to NightCafe for supporting Deep Dive into AI.

NightCafe is the Cairns-built AI art platform where 30 million people have created over a billion images. It's proof you can build something the world uses without leaving the tropics, and we're proud to have them on board.

https://nightcafe.studio

See you at the Halloween Pitch Party on Friday.

Deep Dive into AI. Friday 30 October, 9am to 7pm, Tropic Tech, 254 Mulgrave Rd, Westcourt.

Tickets are going fast, from $19: https://deepdive.launchyep.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=deepdive26

Presented by Launch Y(E)P, supported by NightCafe, Speakeasy, Tropic Tech and the Queensland Government.

26/10/2026

Meet our MC: Tara Diversi, Launch Y(E)P

Tara Diversi has been building and backing innovative ventures since 2008, with successful exits and early-stage investments along the way. She assesses research commercialisation grants, facilitates national investment advisory panels, and advises government on digital health. A Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and board chair, Tara is Director of Launch Y(E)P and has been part of the Cairns business community since 2002.

Tara hosts the day, guiding you from the first keynote through to the last startup pitch.

Four days to go. AI is rewriting the future. Spend Friday 30 October at Tropic Tech with the people building it.

Deep Dive into AI. Friday 30 October, 9am to 7pm, Tropic Tech, 254 Mulgrave Rd, Westcourt.

Tickets are going fast, from $19: https://deepdive.launchyep.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=deepdive26

Presented by Launch Y(E)P, supported by NightCafe, Speakeasy, Tropic Tech and the Queensland Government.

22/10/2026

Meet the speakers: Jamie Baker, Sophus

Jamie Baker is a veteran software engineer and co-founder of Sophus, a health technology consultancy that helps healthcare organisations deliver their services through mobile health, AI and SaaS. His latest project, Friendly News, uses AI to cut through the noise of the modern news cycle.

Jamie will look at how AI can help us find what matters in a flood of content, instead of adding to the pile.

AI is rewriting the future. Spend Friday 30 October at Tropic Tech with the people building it, from a beginner workshop through to a Halloween Pitch Party.

Deep Dive into AI. Friday 30 October, 9am to 7pm, Tropic Tech, 254 Mulgrave Rd, Westcourt.

Tickets are going fast, from $19: https://deepdive.launchyep.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=deepdive26

Presented by Launch Y(E)P, supported by NightCafe, Tropic Tech and the Queensland Government.