Happy Monday all. Let’s kick off the week 1. Zoom goes security shopping Video communication site du jour, Zoom, is working on beefing up its security, with CEO Eric Yuan implementing a 90-day plan focusing on privacy and security, after a string of incidents with strangers – hello Hamish Blake – dropping uninvited… Read more »
It’s Mother’s Day on Sunday, so we asked leading Australian startup founders and executives for the lessons their mums taught them and helped shape their way they take on the world. We promise to try and do better on the other 364 days of the year too. Here’s what they said. Have a wonderful… Read more »
Judo Bank’s existing backers have stumped up $230 million in a third round capital raise that raises the neobank’s post-money valuation to more than AU$1 billion. The challenger bank targets lending to small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and has now raised more than $770 million in capital since its launch in March 2018, including a… Read more »
Morning and happy Thursday. There’s plenty of big news from the tech world, so let’s go. 1. Ousted WeWork founder sues investor WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann is suing the company biggest backer, SoftBank, for failing to buy US$3 billion worth of WeWork stock from the former CEO and other shareholders, claiming the Japanese investor… Read more »
As hundreds of thousands of Australians grapple with entering unemployment, many are turning to their accountants and financial advisors to figure out how to stay afloat, understand what benefits they can access, and how they can protect their assets. With record household debt, reduced incomes from wages and investments and the ability to access… Read more »
KPMG Australia and Innovation Bay are seeking startup founders and investors to take part in Startup Navigate, a research initiative aimed at identifying and tracking the issues Australia’s startup ecosystem through the coronavirus era. The two organisations plan to conduct fortnightly surveys with startup founders and VCs from May to July 2020. To join the… Read more »
Welcome to Tuesday. Here’s what we’ve spotted 1. Amazon VP resigns over company’s treatment of workers As exit interviews go, engineer Tim Bray’s observations on company culture and he resigned from Amazon last week are a doozy. The Canadian vice-president of Amazon Web Services and respected engineer resigned his US$1m+ job after five years and… Read more »
Shares in fintech Afterpay skyrocketed on Monday on news that Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings, the company behind WeChat, had spent $300 million for a 5% stake in the buy now, pay later venture. In early trade following the announcement, Afterpay (ASX: APT) soared 35% to a near record high of $39.59 before finishing the… Read more »
Queensland is building an artificial intelligence (AI) hub in Brisbane and one of its first tasks will be looking at how AI can help tackle coronavirus. The AI Hub is based at Queensland government’s innovation and investment hub, The Precinct in Fortitude Valley, as part of a multi-million dollar expansion of the site in the TC Beirne… Read more »
Happy Monday! Here’s what’s happening in tech. 1. Branson’s glide hustle Just a few weeks after finding the time to send a nice note to everyone at Virgin Australia as the business slid into administration owing creditors Au$7 billion-plus, the show has gone on for Richard Branson, with NSYE-listed Virgin Galactic Holdings announcing its… Read more »
Recruitment tech venture Weploy is the latest startup to step into the breach to help people who’ve lost their jobs find work during covid-19, launching a new platform called WeployConnect to help companies place laid-off workers in new roles and match workers with new employers. Vietnamese street food chain Roll’d joined WeployConnect as a launch… Read more »
Hello! How did it get to Friday already? If you’re in NSW, enjoy being able to visit the important people in your life, but still take care, ok? Here’s a few interesting things happening in the tech world. 1. Go Teams Microsoft Teams has nearly doubled the number of daily users in the past… Read more »
Adelaide-based tech startup Clevertar has built a virtual agent called Zoe for South Australia Health in just day to answer commonly asked covid-19 questions. Clevertar CEO Tanya Newhouse said demand for health related information had increased exponentially and help South Australians follow official health guidelines. “We are proud to be assisting SA Health to… Read more »
Australians startups executives are among the country’s best paid workers, earning more than $200,000 a year, but that money is mostly going to blokes, a new report into startup pay has found. The Australian Startup Salary Guide 2019/2020, produced by startup talent and growth firm Think & Grow, and Amazon Web Services (AWS), looked at… Read more »
Microlearning platform EdApp is collaborating with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in a bid to upskill workers for free as part of a push towards sustainable development. The adult education startup, based on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, was chosen by UNITAR to help deliver a global learning initiative “Educate All” as part… Read more »
Daily startup news and insights, delivered to your inbox.
