This week’s funding roundup looks a little different. While it includes startups building AI, solar and medtech solutions, it also includes a bakery with a cult following and a rapidly growing retailer that caters to parents. Keep reading to learn more about 19 Australian and Kiwi companies that have raised more than $59.6 million in… Read more »
Over the next decade, Elon Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire. The Tesla board recently proposed a US$1 trillion (A$1.5 trillion) compensation plan, if Musk can meet a series of ambitious growth targets. Australia’s corporate pay packets aren’t quite on that scale. Yet even here, it was recently reported departing Virgin chief executive Jayne… Read more »
Back in the depths of raising funds during Australia’s funding winter, I was given some unexpected but prescient advice by an overseas investor: “Don’t come here.” My co-founder Skye and I were on the outskirts of London and meeting with the General Partner at one of UK’s largest fintech funds, canvassing the idea of expanding… Read more »
Australia’s national science agency CSIRO says it will cut up to 350 more research jobs after already removing over 800 positions in the past 18 months amid rising costs and stagnant funding. The news comes just days after the heads of CSIRO’s digital and manufacturing research arms — which have both seen job losses — left… Read more »
A Sydney startup founder’s post about “fully adopting” a Silicon Valley-style work culture has sparked a debate about long hours in tech and whether work-life balance clashes with ambition. After arriving in San Francisco two weeks ago, Lyra co-founder and COO Anh Dao posted that he had experienced a “wake-up call” on work culture, and… Read more »
The global investment frenzy around AI has seen companies valued at trillions of dollars and eye-watering projections of how it will boost economic productivity. But in recent weeks the mood has begun to shift. Investors and CEOs are now openly questioning whether the enormous costs of building and running AI systems can really be justified… Read more »
I’ve often wondered why October feels so bloody busy. Every year, without fail, a cavalcade of major games are launched around late September and early October. They often smother one another; before you can finish one, another blockbuster is already out. You could argue that it’s a fantastic launch window for the run-up to Christmas,… Read more »
Australian shoppers are expected to spend $6.8 billion this Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) , according to the Australian Retailers Association. For e-commerce founders, this represents one of the year’s biggest opportunities for growth. But the challenge has intensified. Temu has increased Australian ad spending by 110% (ABC News), while Shein has ramped up theirs by… Read more »
Freelancer marketplace Airtasker has completed a $10 million equity capital placement led by US radio and podcast giant iHeartMedia, powering the Australian company’s overseas marketing effort. The deal will help Airtasker — the Sydney-based platform connecting customers to freelance gardeners, bartenders, accountants, and beyond — compete for publicity against global rivals like Upwork and Fiverr. The… Read more »
When I began reading Elaine Castillo’s Moderation, a new American novel about the psychological damage of online moderation, I had to pause. I’d read novels that confronted difficult material before, but this one blurred the line between bearing witness and re-enacting pain. The book follows Girlie, a content moderator for a social media giant whose… Read more »
Australia’s startup sector has seen a huge week of dealmaking. Firmus came in clutch on Friday morning with a massive $500 million raise just two months after it raised $330 million, making it one of the largest tech rounds announced this year. In total, eight companies pulled in $572.12 million across AI infrastructure, biotech, renewable… Read more »
If only I’d waited. A year on from purchasing a Steam Deck, and it now seems like Valve has launched a device specifically targeted at gamers like me. This time last year, caught up in the hype, I purchased a Steam Deck OLED. I was elated when it arrived in the mail; finally, a device… Read more »
Recently, I had a tough conversation with my 12-year-old son. Australia had just announced that from December 2025, no one under 16 will be allowed to create a YouTube account. The idea is simple: protect kids from harm. But here’s the problem – this ban won’t do what it promises. In fact, it risks making… Read more »
Chief artificial intelligence officers will be appointed to every federal agency in 2026 as generative AI causes a “fundamental shift” in government operations, according to an AI Plan for the Australian Public Service (APS) released by the federal government on Wednesday. The plan will see every government worker given access to generative AI tools, as… Read more »
Let’s be honest, even just writing this sentence has meant engaging with some very basic artificial intelligence (AI) as the computer checks my spelling and grammar. Ultimately, the quality and integrity of the finished article are a human responsibility. But the questions this raises go well beyond everyday word processing. Powerful AI is now changing… Read more »
Daily startup news and insights, delivered to your inbox.
