Where would we be without knowledge? Everything from the building of spaceships to the development of new therapies has come about through the creation, sharing, and validation of knowledge. It is arguably our most valuable human commodity. From clay tablets to electronic tablets, technology has played an influential role in shaping human knowledge. Today we… Read more »
Concerned about privacy? Your Amazon Echo devices will get creepier next week, when all Alexa conversations will be sent to the cloud after a policy change seemingly intended to feed data to the company’s souped-up generative AI (genAI) revamp. The policy change – which was announced in a recent email to customers – will see… Read more »
This year marks 20 years since Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, having kicked it off as The Facebook in 2004. He was already notorious for Facemash, the “hot or not” site that ranked Harvard students by their attractiveness, which he created in late 2003. Zuckerberg hacked into house face book websites at the university to get… Read more »
Is the title “founder” this decade’s version of wanting to be a Masterchef or influencer? Startup 360 cohost Kayla Medica has a theory. “So many people now have glamourised being a founder, being an entrepreneur, that there’s a whole host of people who just start businesses with that in mind, and they’re not actually starting… Read more »
UNSW chancellor David Gonski and Simon Sheikh’s impact investment fintech Future Super are among the investors in a new US$100 million fund to back artificial intelligence (AI) startups. King River Capital said it’s nearing the final close of its latest A$157 million fund, which continues its ongoing strategic focus on AI-driven software startups both here… Read more »
Lee Hickin, Microsoft’s artificial intelligence policy lead for Asia, has departed the tech giant after more than six years to become the new director of the National AI Centre (NAIC). The NAIC was established in 2021 to support and accelerate Australia’s AI industry. Its inaugural director, Stela Solar, herself a former Microsoft executive, stepped down… Read more »
An 18-month-old robotics startup that emerged out of the UNSW Founders Defence 10X program in 2023, has raised $2 million in a pre-Seed round led by CSIRO-backed deep tech fund Main Sequence. The raise for Breaker will be used to triple its team over the next six months and further expand its presence in the… Read more »
US Shark Tank investor and cybersecurity startup founder Robert Herjavec is joining Melbourne scaleup Zetaris as executive director of global strategy. He was so impressed, he’s also invested in the company, although that figure was not disclosed. Herjavec believes Zetaris has unicorn (worth more than $1bn) potential. Zetaris was founded in 2013 by Vinay Samuel and… Read more »
An Australian-American cybersecurity startup has raised US$3 million (A$4.75m) in Seed funding to develop its artificial intelligence-driven defensive systems. The round for Harmony Intelligence was led by Airtree Ventures, alongside 30 strategic investors, including First Row Partners, Maxwell Capital, and execs from Canva, Adept AI, and Plaid as well as The Lean Startup author Eric… Read more »
After a year of shoehorning generative AI into its flagship products, Microsoft is trying to recoup the costs by raising prices, putting ads in products, and cancelling data centre leases. Google is making similar moves, adding unavoidable AI features to its Workspace service while increasing prices. Is the tide finally turning on investments into generative… Read more »
AI-based doctor clinical notes taker Heidi Health has raised a further $26.8 million (US$16.6m) to top up its 18-month-old Series A. The follow-on investment was led by US VC Headline (formerly e.ventures and BV Capital), which sees Heidi as Australia’s next Canva or Atlassian supported by Local Globe, Anthology (Menlo Ventures and Anthropic) . Existing… Read more »
Entries for a pitch competition offering a prize package worth more than $200,000, as well as $20,000 in perks for every artificial intelligence (AI) startup that enters close this week. Pitchapalooza, by the team behind Cut Through Venture and One Pitch, is searching for Australia’s best AI pitch. Entries close on Friday, February 28. The… Read more »
Thirty-four artworks created with artificial intelligence (AI) have gone up for sale at Christie’s in New York, in the famed auction house’s first collection dedicated to AI art. Christie’s says the collection aims to explore “human agency in the age of AI within fine art”, prompting viewers to question the evolving role of the artist… Read more »
Twine, an AI startup offering conversation insights for business, has raised $2.3 million (US$1.5m). The round was led by Sydney VC Airtree, with support from angel investors Gill Findlay from Immutable, Sam Nickless, CEO of legal heavyweight Gilbert + Tobin, and Hemal Shah, Atlassian’s product VP. The funding will be used to accelerate product development and… Read more »
Last week, Google quietly abandoned a long-standing commitment to not use artificial intelligence (AI) technology in weapons or surveillance. In an update to its AI principles, which were first published in 2018, the tech giant removed statements promising not to pursue: technologies that cause or are likely to cause overall harm weapons or other technologies… Read more »
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