Visionary Machines has re‑upped with $3.5 m from its existing VC syndicate to fast‑track its Pandion Sentinel counter‑drone platform and hire more engineers, underscoring continued investor faith in sovereign deep‑tech defence startups.
Prompting is overtaking coding as the essential digital literacy. CQUniversity’s Prof. Ken Purnell explains why learning to frame precise, creative prompts will let Australians steer AI—and their careers—rather than be steered by it.
Aussie‑founded fintech Airwallex has joined forces with Arsenal in a multi‑year global partnership, becoming the club’s Official Finance Software Partner and Presenting Partner of its Asian pre‑season tour, as the $9.6 billion unicorn ramps up its sport‑marketing offensive.
Sydney’s Salesforce Tower is ground zero for a world‑first “true‑zero” power trial. Climate‑tech hub Greenhouse and retailer Flow Power say time‑matched renewables could slash emissions from Australia’s energy‑hungry office towers—no offsets required.
Fintech‑proptech Mondus has landed a $100 m wholesale facility, fresh equity and the Proptech Awards’ Startup of the Year prize to expand its AI‑driven 0 %‑deposit shared‑equity loans, aiming to put first‑home buyers in growth suburbs sooner.
Two leading Australian business publishers are joining forces to expand their coverage of startups and the SME sectors. Melbourne-based Private Media, publisher of SmartCompany, has acquired the assets of Sydney-based Pinstripe Media, which includes 4 media brands – Startup Daily, Business Builders, Flying Solo, and consumer finance focussed Your Money & Your Life – as… Read more »
Unicorn HR platform Employment Hero has gone to the Federal Court, accusing jobs‑board giant Seek of anti‑competitive behaviour after it revoked API access used by thousands of employers. The startup wants an injunction before the cutoff on 25 August, while Seek vows to fight the claims.
Queensland’s venture scene is back in growth mode. Cut Through Venture’s FY 2025 report shows $417 million across 109 deals—up 37 percent year‑on‑year—fuelled by enterprise software, climate and health tech. With bigger seed and Series A cheques and strong female‑founder uptake, investors say Brisbane is no longer a satellite market.
Ovum, a Melbourne‑based femtech start‑up, has begun six‑month clinical trials at Sydney’s Royal Hospital for Women and St George Hospital. Researchers will test whether the AI‑powered health journal can raise preventive‑care participation and give women more control over their health data. Early results are expected in 2026.
The future of the annual 3-day _SOUTHSTART gathering in Adelaide has been assured until 2028 with three more years of funding from the South Australian government. The new three-year $2 million commitment supporting the delivery of _SOUTHSTART, starting next year, will take the innovation festival to a decade under its current custodianship, with Craig Swann… Read more »
Unruly Partners has tapped newly honoured plant scientist Dame Alison Stewart DNZM as scientific partner. She’ll help the Kiwi investment firm spot and scale biological crop-protection breakthroughs, including work with portfolio company Cellora.
Oz2US Ventures has opened applications for a 24‑week program that starts in Melbourne and ends with a Silicon Valley landing pad, giving Australian founders deep prep, on‑the‑ground US support and access to 40+ heavyweight mentors.
Kish Modi had a rule with friends and family once he was out of intensive care and began his treatment for leukaemia: no crying when they came to visit. His mum , a 157cm (5′ 2″) powerhouse, laid down the law to everyone who came to visit Kish in hospital. “She’s like, no tears, zero… Read more »
Aubrey Blanche has been part of building culture at two great Australian tech companies, Atlassian and Culture Amp. The self-confessed “proudly woke” data nerd, who believes that bringing empathy to the numbers is vital, sat down with Startup 360 cohosts Simon Thomsen and Majella Campbell to talk about workplace inclusion, how business is dealing with… Read more »
Sydney biotech startup Smart MCs has secured $900,000 in funding through the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Linkage Program to scale its next-generation microcarrier technology for large-scale cell-based manufacturing. The project is a partnership between Smart MCs and the University of New South Wales, led by Associate Professor Christopher Marquis and Professor Kristopher Kilian, working alongside… Read more »
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