Charlie Gearside, a co-founder of Sydney telehealth company Eucalyptus, has launched Build Australia, a movement arguing the country should make more of the things that matter, debuting it at Blackbird’s Sunrise festival in Sydney in 2026.
The launch follows one of the largest exits in Australian health tech. In February 2026, US telehealth group Hims & Hers agreed to acquire Eucalyptus for up to US$1.15 billion, about A$1.6 billion. Gearside is now using his profile from that company to push a broader argument about national ambition.
Eucalyptus
Gearside is one of the four co-founders of Eucalyptus, which runs telehealth brands including Pilot, Juniper, Kin and Software. The company built the business from a Sydney office in about seven years.
When the deal was announced, Hims & Hers said Eucalyptus operated in Australia, the UK and Germany, with newer operations in Japan and Canada, and had served more than 775,000 customers and facilitated nearly two million consultations. Gearside has said the company’s brands have saved Medicare around $40 million.
The deal included about US$240 million in cash at completion, with the rest in deferred payments over 18 months and earnouts tied to financial targets through early 2029, according to Hims & Hers. Under the deal, co-founder and CEO Tim Doyle would become senior vice president of international at Hims & Hers.
Build Australia
Gearside has since started a YouTube channel and launched Build Australia. Its pitch is that Australia has long been a country that digs things up, and should become one that makes things.
Build Australia made its debut at Sunrise at Carriageworks, where Gearside spoke alongside Co Ventures general partner Maxine Minter and podcaster Joe Walker, Capital Brief reported. Capital Brief described Build Australia as a “hearts and minds, vibes-based movement”, and covered the event under the headline “Patriotism isn’t a dirty word”.
Jack’s take
Gearside’s thesis is that Australia has a self-belief problem, and I think he is right. It is rare for a founder fresh off a big exit to spend his time and money on the national conversation rather than the next company. The country is better for it.