Facial recognition
Data

Bunnings is among Australian retailers using facial recognition tech to identify who’s shopping in their stores

- June 15, 2022 3 MIN READ

Well-known Australian retailers are using facial recognition technology to identify customers who enter selected stores, an investigation by consumer advocacy group CHOICE has found.  Hardware giant Bunnings, Kmart and The Good Guys are capturing facial recognition data. CHOICE asked 25 Australian retailers whether they use facial recognition technology, and analysed their privacy policies. Those three… Read more »

Tesla, autopilot, car, self driving
Other tech

Now that Australia’s had a serious accident involving a self-driving car, it’s time to open AI’s black box and decide who’s responsible

- May 25, 2022 4 MIN READ

  The first serious accident involving a self-driving car in Australia occurred in March this year. A pedestrian suffered life-threatening injuries when hit by a Tesla Model 3 in “autopilot” mode. In the US, the highway safety regulator is investigating a series of accidents where Teslas on autopilot crashed into first-responder vehicles with flashing lights… Read more »

Funding

AI voice bot startup raises $7 million pre-Series A

- May 16, 2022 2 MIN READ

Sydney-based voice communication platform, Curious Thing has raised $7 million in pre-series A funding. The round led by private investment firm Hawkstone, supported by Blacksheep Capital and January Capital, with existing investors, Westpac’s VC fund Reinventure, and Qualgro, returning after backing a $1.5 million round in 2019. The cash injection will be used to help the… Read more »

Other tech

Medtech Eyes of AI is using artificial intelligence to solve a major pain point for dentists

- March 23, 2022 2 MIN READ

Sydney medtech Eyes of AI launches its rapid x-ray analysis this month after three years of development. Artificial intelligence-driven dental software platform has been trained using more than 1 million x-ray images since 2019, alongside has input from leading dental clinicians and research centres globally. Sydney-based founders Dr Sen Le and Khoa Le built the… Read more »

Funding

PredictiveHire, which can tell if you’re the right person for a job in 5 text messages, raises $7 million in pre-Series A

- March 7, 2022 2 MIN READ

Recruitment automation startup PredictiveHire, which uses an AI bot to tell immediately if a candidate is right for a job using just five questions answered via phone text, has raised $7 million in a pre-Series A round. Sydney talent recruiting firm Hudson is one of the startup’s key backers, along with several individuals including Yarra Capital… Read more »

Chatbot assistant conversation, Ai Artificial Intelligence technology
Data

COMPUTER SAYS NO: The trouble with chatbots and how to use them better

- January 10, 2022 4 MIN READ

Hands up if you’ve ever cursed, mocked or yelled at a chatbot. No surprise if you have. Those automated “helpers” – supposedly designed to make customer service smarter, faster and more efficient – can certainly be a source of frustration for sentient beings. Interactions with chatbots have become increasingly common in our daily lives. But… Read more »

Other tech

AI-led ‘givetech’ Dataro lands $2.5 million seed round to help charities innovate fundraising

- December 17, 2021 2 MIN READ

Aussie “GiveTech” startup Dataro has raised $2.5 million in a seed round to help charities improve their fundraising capacity. The raise was led by Basis Set Ventures, Black Sheep Capital, and Save The Children Dataro uses AI-driven technology to transform how charity fundraising works. Its machine learning algorithms analyse patterns in a charity’s entire history of… Read more »

Andy Penn
Data

Telstra and data science company Quantium launch a joint venture to drill down into data for industrial customers

- November 15, 2021 2 MIN READ

Australia’s biggest telco and data science Quantium plan to launch a joint venture business Telstra says will “unlock the potential of data and AI” for the company and its customers. Sydney-based Quantium is a global leader in using artificial intelligence (AI) to translate raw data into actionable insights. The Woolworths-backed business now operates in 20… Read more »

Data

How AI can shape university courses and what students should study to help them get the jobs they want

- October 12, 2021 4 MIN READ

Graduates entering an ever-more-competitive job market are often unaware of the skills and values they offer employers. The challenge is greater with emerging job roles that require certifications and both multidisciplinary skills and specialist knowledge, even for entry-level positions. We seek to empower our graduates and maximise their career prospects. New research has enabled us… Read more »

Gameface
ASX

US sports gear company snaps up Sydney AI tech startup Gameface for $32 million

- September 28, 2021 2 MIN READ

US lists sports equipment business Slinger Bag is acquiring Sydney player data analytics startup Gameface.ai for US$24 million (A$32m) in an all-stock deal. The trans-Pacific ventures have already been collaborating on a new app for Slinger using artificial intelligence (AI) to provide instant analysis of match play to offer technical and strategy insights. The M&A… Read more »

Quan Pham
Funding

Artificial intelligence provider Pi.Exchange raises $2.75 million pre-series A

- August 26, 2021 2 MIN READ

An artificial intelligence startup making AI accessible to smaller companies has raised  A$2.75 million (US$2m) in a pre-series A round. Pi.Exchange describes itself as an AI-as-a-Service provider and is targeting the banking and retail to professional services sectors with its product. Investors included AI-dedicated VC Boab AI, Artesian, Nextrans and Vision Creator, alongside additional support… Read more »