At 19, this innovator and uni dropout caught the eye of venture capital
by Emma Rapaport · Australian Financial ReviewEmma RapaportTechnology reporter
Oct 29, 2026 – 4.50am
It’s difficult to keep Freesia Gaul on topic. The 20-year-old robotics founder with bubblegum pink hair and set of heavily stickered headphones permanently around her neck speaks rapidly and frequently goes off on tangents. My first question – “How did you fall in with Blackbird?” – leads to a story about a trade show in Canada where she’d napped under the table. Later she stops our conversation, at a cafe in Surry Hills in Sydney, to point out a myna bird in an abutilon tree and casually notes her desire to make robotic bird wings.
While the high-speed, zig-zagging conversation is disorienting, Gaul is clearly curious, ambitious and confident in her ability to figure things out. Perhaps this is what helped her raise $600,000 from Blackbird at age 19, the only person backed by the venture capital firm after she passed through its early-stage founder program, Protostars. From a small shoebox, she demonstrates the project she’s working on – a black glove with white electronics designed to translate hand movements into digital commands for virtual reality and robotics.
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Emma RapaportTechnology reporterEmma Rapaport covers technology for the Australian Financial Review, specialising in private companies and venture capital. Before that, she was a co-editor of the Street Talk column and a markets reporter. Connect with Emma on encrypted messaging platform Signal (rap_reports.97). Email Emma at emma.rapaport@afr.com
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