January has already been piping hot for startup funding, and this week is no different. Four ANZ startups raised more than $307 million across rockets, AI and engineering platforms. Here’s who: Gilmour Space: $217 million Gilmour Space Technologies has landed $217 million in a Series E funding round that lifts the Queensland-founded rocket maker’s valuation… Read more »
We may only be a couple of weeks into January, but the Australian startup funding tap is already starting to trickle. This week saw $39.8 million raised across startups in deceased estate management and fitness spaces, as well as neuroscience. EstateXchange: $12.5 million EstateXchange co-founders Marielle Yeoh and Sarah Poole. Source: Supplied. A startup addressing… Read more »
SXSW Sydney will not return in 2026, bringing an end to the Australian edition of the global South by Southwest festival after a three-year run. In a statement released on Wednesday, organisers said the decision reflected a “changing global environment” impacting major events and cultural programs worldwide. SXSW Sydney said it worked closely with the… Read more »
Western Sydney could be an AI talent engine, but career literacy, transport and access still hold students back. And that’s bad for SMEs. Australia’s AI workforce ambitions are running into a familiar structural problem: access. As Amazon hosted its annual Girls’ Tech Day in Camden this week, Western Sydney University (WSU) and local government leaders… Read more »
Australia’s business pages in 2025 were on the spicier side, as controversies across retail, tech, consulting and policy certainly brought out the trust issues in the sector. Across the year, there were major data breaches, court actions over wage underpayments, startup failures, consumer safety interventions and the closure of long-running business support programs. Here’s a… Read more »
Despite the continued strained economic climate, we’ve seen some big chunks of change thrown around in 2025. While early-stage funding stayed constrained for much of the year, large cheques concentrated around a smaller group of companies certainly prevailed. In some cases, twice. These were some of the largest Australian startup raises of 2025, and the… Read more »
Australia will not proceed with a permanent AI advisory board, after the federal government confirmed it has abandoned the plan despite growing pressure for stronger oversight of the technology. As reported by InnovationAus, recent answers to Senate estimates questions on notice show the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) will not establish the AI advisory… Read more »
OpenAI insists it is not running ads inside ChatGPT. However, after multiple paying users reported seeing what looked like promotions for Target and Peloton, the company has been forced to clarify what, exactly, is happening. Over the weekend, senior executives from OpenAI responded to screenshots posted on X by ChatGPT subscribers claiming they had seen… Read more »
The Albanese government has unveiled Australia’s first National AI Plan, opting for voluntary transparency measures rather than mandatory rules on how businesses disclose their use of artificial intelligence. The 37-page plan sets out a broad roadmap for building what the government calls “an AI-enabled economy” while maintaining a “careful balance between innovation and protection from… Read more »
Four months after entering the UK market, controversial short-term subletting startup Kiki is following a familiar pattern as it finds its footing in London. Manual processes powered by Instagram, limited revenue, parties, and growing costs (including visa sponsorship for newly hired staff) are already defining Kiki’s local operations. Meanwhile, the startup is publicly projecting confidence… Read more »
Currents, the Gold Coast startup community-building group backed by Torus Ventures, has acquired Michael Batko’s Startup Striders. The purchase price was undisclosed, and the deal was completed entirely in cash. Startup Striders began in 2023 as a Saturday morning run and coffee meetup in Sydney. Since then it has become a large community with more than… Read more »
Over the last couple of years, Canva has pushed hard into generative AI. It has become one of Australia’s best startup success stories. Yet, it’s another younger local AI player that is getting more spend from customers globally in the space.< Last week, Andreessen Horowitz’s new ‘AI Apps 50: Where Startups Spend on AI‘ list… Read more »
AWS has announced the 40 global startups chosen for its 2025 Generative AI Accelerator. The eight-week program, now in its third year, is designed to help early-stage startups scale foundational generative AI technologies.’ Participants will receive up to US$1 million in AWS credits, mentorship, and access to AWS’s full AI technology stack. “The pace of… Read more »
Queensland agtech startup SwarmFarm Robotics has secured $30 million in Series B funding to ramp up production of its autonomous SwarmBots and expand into North America. The round was led by European agtech investor Edaphon, with participation from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), QIC and Artesian Capital. The CEFC contributed $7 million through its… Read more »
Australia has launched the Australasian Space Innovation Institute to cut foreign reliance and speed up space commercialisation. A new not-for-profit space organisation has launched at the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney. The Australasian Space Innovation Institute (ASII) aims to speed up the use of industry research, strengthen Australia’s own space capability, and deliver tangible benefits… Read more »
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