AI/Machine Learning

SXSW Sydney ends with AI optimism – from the company selling remedies to the pain they’re causing

- October 20, 2025 3 MIN READ

I’m personally pro-tech and use AI every day. I’m genuinely excited by progressive tools that expand what creators and businesses can do. But the pace of what’s happening — and how it’s being rolled out — has been eye-jarring: creators sidelined, copyright murky at best, implementation racing ahead of consent. Right now it feels like a land-grab: who can… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Australia’s large language model, Matilda, joins the global AI race, as Maincode’s Dave Lemphers outlines his national ambitions

- October 16, 2025 3 MIN READ

By the time I slipped into the packed SXSW Sydney expo theatre, the crowd was already deep in discussion. On stage, Dave Lemphers, cofounder and CEO of Maincode, sat alongside Dr Catherine Ball, steering one of the most grounded, technical and groundbreaking conversations of the festival: the debut of Matilda, Australia’s national large language model.… Read more »

Daniel Vassilev, Daniel Palmer and Jacky Koh
Opinion

There are a few important details missing from LinkedIn’s list of Australia’s top startups

- October 15, 2025 2 MIN READ

LinkedIn’s Top Australian Startups list for 2025 just dropped and it’s a brilliant showcase of Australian innovation. 20 companies scaling fast, hiring smart and solving complex problems. The founders deserve their flowers… building anything in this economy is hard enough, let alone something that grows. But when you hold up the mirror, the story behind… Read more »

Climate Tech

Always the sun: This crazy US startup wants to shine light on the Earth at night for solar power

- October 13, 2025 4 MIN READ

A proposed constellation of satellites has astronomers very worried. Unlike satellites that reflect sunlight and Reflect Orbital would produce light pollution by design. The company promises to produce “sunlight on demand” with mirrors that beam sunlight down to Earth so solar farms can operate after sunset. It plans to start with an 18-metre test satellite… Read more »

Global tech

Why it takes a village to have an impact on our brain health

- October 8, 2025 3 MIN READ

Improving our brain health takes a village. It’s a community of researchers, clinicians, leaders, founders, and funders working together to turn possibility into impact. Some of Australia’s braintech has already made global waves – think Saluda and Synchron – both born from collaboration. It makes sense that some of the most ambitious innovators inevitably have to look overseas for… Read more »

Business

Why the multiples matter in business

- October 7, 2025 2 MIN READ

Hilton Misso’s new book, How to Manifest Success, provides 50 proven lessons for turning ambition into achievement. In this exclusive extract below, he looks at why the multiples matter in business. People often ask how and why we were able to sell Trilby Misso Lawyers for such a high price. There were many reasons, but… Read more »

Mark Zuckerberg
Opinion

Analysis of Facebook data reveals the damage caused by the spread of misinformation on Meta’s social media

- September 25, 2025 3 MIN READ

Twenty-one years after Facebook’s launch, Australia’s top 25 news outlets now have a combined 27.6 million followers on the platform. They rely on Facebook’s reach more than ever, posting far more stories there than in the past. With access to Meta’s Content Library (Meta is the owner of Facebook), our big data study analysed more… Read more »

Business

‘Profitiness’: Why Canva’s ‘profitable’ right up until it has to file accounts with the government

- September 24, 2025 5 MIN READ

It’s just shy of 20 years since US political satirist Stephen Colbert coined the term ‘truthiness’. He described it as “something that seems like truth – the truth we want to exist”. In corporate circles, there’s a fiscal truthiness where everyone’s wealthy and successful right up until the moment they lodge tax filings with the… Read more »

Leadership

‘Thoughts and prayers’ won’t get us there if tech wants more women in the mix

- September 19, 2025 2 MIN READ

Another week, another report highlighting the stark reality of women in technology. The Tech Council of Australia’s new “Women in Highly Technical Occupations” report tells a story we’ve heard many times before: Australia is facing a critical tech worker shortage, yet the pipeline for women is leaking at every joint. The report rightly points out… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

The confidence gap: why AI’s next frontier is trust

- September 18, 2025 3 MIN READ

In 2023, the phrase ‘System of Action’ entered the tech lexicon, popularized by David Yuan as the next evolution beyond Geoffrey Moore’s ‘Systems of Engagement’ and the earlier ‘Systems of Record’ that defined the SaaS era. Systems of Action don’t just record or inform decisions — they execute them. Real-time. Dynamic. Embedded. But beneath every… Read more »

Business strategy

Venture capital is not the answer for women founders – they need funding that fits

- September 17, 2025 4 MIN READ

For too long venture capital has dominated the conversation around women and funding. Every headline, every pitch competition, every “success story” seems to point to VC as the only path to scale. And yet, VC is not only a poor fit for most women-owned businesses, it has warped the collective understanding of what finance should… Read more »

Mike Cannon-Brookes
Business strategy

Atlassian’s $1 billion browser bet is crazy, but it’s exactly the cray cray Australia needs

- September 15, 2025 2 MIN READ

When Atlassian announced it was buying a browser company for $1 billion, most people shook their heads. A software company famous for Jira and Confluence, suddenly deciding it needs to own the browser? It sounds insane. But here’s the thing: this is exactly the kind of craziness Australia’s tech sector needs. Why buying a browser… Read more »