AI-powered telehealth startup Doccy wins 2026 Smart50 Rising Star award

Melbourne telehealth startup Doccy booked $2.43 million and facilitated some 200,000 consultations after launching in July 2025. The eight-person company, founded in 2025, won the 2026 Smart50 Rising Star award.

Doccy says almost a third of its patients return to the platform. Its users span two-thirds of Australian postcodes, covering every state and territory, giving the startup a national base before it adds specialist services.

The clinical problem

Dr Louis Sisk spent more than nine years working in surgical and emergency medicine before founding Doccy. He encountered a doctor shortage that left rural and regional patients waiting weeks for a GP appointment, while clinicians faced burnout worsened by paperwork.

Sisk was unsatisfied with existing technology platforms, so he practised coding between hospital shifts. He built Doccy with co-founders Archer Hume and Jordi Hermoso and serves as the company's CEO.

Sisk and his co-founders designed Doccy to bring patients and GPs closer together through a service built around emerging AI tools. The platform handles real-time consultations with accredited Australian doctors, covering medical certificates, prescription consultations and general virtual check-ups.

Doccy lists doccy.com.au as its website and operates in the technology sector. Its head office is in Melbourne.

AI stays behind the consultation

An AI-powered pre-consultation tool lets patients provide basic information before the appointment. Doccy says the workflow allows doctors to focus on providing the right care rather than spending more of the consultation on intake.

That distinction addresses the weakness Sisk saw in off-the-shelf chatbots. Doccy says such tools can lead patients astray with rogue recommendations and no link to actual medical professionals.

The startup instead focused on accuracy and security within its AI-powered consultation system. A real doctor remains in control of clinical decisions, even as AI handles more of the administrative work.

In Doccy's model, information collection stays separate from clinical judgment. Rather than treating a general-purpose chatbot as the consultation, the service uses software to prepare the doctor for an accredited practitioner.

What does Doccy's traction mean for patients?

For rural and regional patients, Doccy targets the wait Sisk encountered in his medical work by providing a route to an accredited doctor. The platform keeps the doctor in the process rather than treating software as the consultation itself.

Under Doccy's workflow, the pre-consultation tool moves basic information gathering upstream. The practical change is more appointment time for care, with AI taking over administrative work that Sisk said had been contributing to doctors' burnout.

Repeat use will determine whether that convenience becomes a durable business. Doccy says almost a third of patients return, while its footprint spans two-thirds of Australian postcodes across every state and territory.

With about 200,000 consultations and only eight employees, Doccy has handled a high volume with a small team. The next test is whether that volume broadens into repeat use and higher-value services rather than remaining concentrated in routine appointments.

The $18 million growth test

Doccy's founders project revenue could hit around $18 million in 2026-27. That target is more than seven times the $2.43 million the company has booked, making retention and service expansion central to the forecast.

The founders say growth will come from offering existing consultation services more broadly. Doccy also plans to explore specialist consultations, weight-loss appointments and blood testing services, broadening the company beyond general virtual care.

Sisk, Hume and Hermoso believe AI can absorb enough administrative work for Doccy to scale across Australia. They also see eventual global expansion, although the startup remains early in its development.

The 2026-27 target will hinge on whether Doccy converts national reach into repeat consultations. It will also need to show that specialist, weight-loss and blood testing services add revenue without weakening the doctor-led model that distinguishes it from standalone chatbots.