Australian startup takes on condom giants with $10m raise and global ambitions

An Australian startup is preparing to take on the world's biggest condom brands, armed with a new hydrogel alternative, fresh funding and a cheeky marketing campaign designed to make an international impression.

Sydney-based Eudaemon Technologies is gearing up to launch its next-generation condom in Australia and the US in 2028. The company has completed a $4.5 million seed round and is now seeking a further $10 million to support its commercial launch and international expansion.

Its point of difference is a latex-free hydrogel condom containing 50% water, designed to more closely replicate the feel of human tissue. Eudaemon has spent more than a decade developing the product, which is still progressing through clinical and regulatory requirements.

It's an ambitious move into a substantial consumer category. Market research firm Expert Market Research estimated Australia's condom market at approximately $246 million in 2025, with further growth forecast over the coming decade.

Australia also has some history in the business. Ansell was once a major player in the global condom market before selling its sexual wellness division, including LifeStyles and SKYN, in 2017. Now Eudaemon wants to put an Australian name back into the international conversation.

Working with creative studio and brand incubator ST Jules, Eudaemon has launched Operation International Relations, its first major consumer campaign, recruiting for "Team AUS" to take what it calls the condom of the future to America.

Under the banner It's business. It's pleasure. It's diplomacy, the campaign takes aim at the “greasy latex love sock that hasn’t changed in 100 years” and calls for Australians with the right credentials to represent the country overseas.

Its final requirement? “No f#ck boys.”

Matt Knapp from ST Jules said the product's unusual backstory provided plenty of creative inspiration.

“There aren’t many briefs where the product itself gives you this much to work with. It’s an Australian invention, the science is fascinating, and everyone understands the category,” Knapp said.

“There’s also something inherently funny about a group of scientists in Sydney spending years quietly trying to reinvent the condom.”

The campaign is the first step in building a consumer brand around Eudaemon's emerging proposition, Intimacy. Uninterrupted., with the condom positioned as “designed to be forgotten”.

Eudaemon executive chairman and co-founder Nick Northcott said the company wanted to establish an audience well before the product reached consumers.

“There’s no reason for us to wait until 2028 to start talking to consumers. People can follow the story now. They can see what we’re building, understand why we’re doing it and hopefully have some fun with us along the way,” Northcott said.

The startup has even set itself a distinctly Australian goal: becoming an official condom supplier to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.

For now, Eudaemon has two years to turn its technology into a commercially viable product and its unconventional marketing push into a recognisable consumer brand.