Australia is coming back. In the face of a once‑in‑a‑century pandemic, the Australian spirit has shone through. Doctors and nurses on the front line. Teachers and students in the virtual classroom. Businesses, big and small, keeping the economy moving. ‘Team Australia’ at its best. A nation to be proud of. We have come so far… Read more »
While plenty of investors wanted in on the ASX listing of tech-based labour hire and recruitment company, Hiremii, which raised $6 million at 20 cents a share in an oversubscribed IPO, it seems plenty also wanted out today. The Perth-based company’s share price tanked more than 25% on the opening day of trade to close… Read more »
ASX-listed payments platform Tryo (ASX: TYR) is spending $22.5 million to acquire NAB-backed digital health payment startup Medipass Solutions The deal gives an exit for the four-year-old Melbourne-based startup’s key investor, NAB Ventures. Founder Peter Williams and CEO Jonathan Davey will also sell their stakes, in the 100% acquisition by Tyro, but will remain with… Read more »
Billionaire Jeff Bezos’s space launch company Blue Origin has announced it will sell its first flights into microgravity to the highest bidder. Blue Origin and its two greatest competitors in the “space tourism” field, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, claim to be advancing humanity through the “democratisation” of space. But these joyrides aren’t opening up access… Read more »
Fintech Athena Home Loans has raised $90 million in its latest funding round. A range of previous investors returned for the series D, led by Square Peg Capital, including AirTree Ventures, Macquarie Bank, superannuation funds AustralianSuper, Hostplus, and Sunsuper, plus Salesforce Ventures, and Apex Capital. Athena previously raised $70 million in a series C in… Read more »
Competition regulator the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) is applying to the Federal Court to appear as part of a local legal battle between Fortnite maker Epic Games and Apple over control of the App Store. Epic has filed an anti-competition complaints against Apple in the European Union, UK, US and Australia over App… Read more »
As the number of coronavirus in India surpassed 20 million this week, resulting in more than 220,000 deaths, a group of leading Australian tech and investment companies, led by Canva, have stepped in to launch a fundraising campaign to get much-needed medical supplies to the nation. Canva, in collaboration with SafetyCulture, Airtasker, Blackbird Ventures and… Read more »
The federal government revealed some of its budget plans this week with prime minister Scott Morrison and treasurer Josh Frydenberg announcing a $1.2 billion Digital Economy Strategy. The headline figure is not as impressive as it initially sounds, with that figure spread out over six years rather than the usual budget stretch of four. And… Read more »
Facebook’s quasi-independent Oversight Board on May 5, 2021, upheld the company’s suspension of former President Donald Trump from the platform and Instagram. The decision came four months after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg banned Trump “indefinitely” for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The board chastised Facebook for failing to… Read more »
Privacy-focused messaging app Signal has invoked the ire of Facebook after it created a series of advertisements designed to show Instagram users how their data is being used for micro-targeting. In a blog post this week, Signal’s head of growth Jun Harada said the app – owned by the non-profit Signal Foundation – found its ad-buying account… Read more »
Sydney-based non-alcoholic spirits startup, Lyre’s has soared to $179 million valuation just two years after launching following a seed-plus round of $9 million. US-based Morgan Creek Capital Management, early-backers of Alibaba, SpaceX and Lyft, and Bitburger Ventures, the VC arm of the German brewers came on board as new investors with existing supporters DLF Venture, VRD… Read more »
More than $500 million of a $1.2 billion digital economy strategy in Tuesday’s budget will be spent on overhauling the federal government’s myGov and My Health Record sites. The initiatives, to be announced by Scott Morrison on Thursday, include $200.1 million for myGov, which is the main portal for people to access government services online.… Read more »
New Zealand anti-money laundering regtech startup First AML has launched in Australia to help the venture capital sector tackle the federal government’s compliance requirements. A second tranche of AML legislation is expected to be introduced by 2023 and several of the Australia’s top VC firms using the platform. Under Tranche 1, Australia has 15,000 reporting… Read more »
As tens of thousands of satellites are launched into orbit over Earth, UNSW Sydney startup HEO Robotics is looking to launch a space camera next year to help them keep an eye on their space assets. With tech companies ranging from Elon Musk’s Starlink to defence, weather and Internet of Things tech startups all launching… Read more »
It has been a big year for cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is worth six times what it was 12 months ago, and the joke currency Dogecoin has seen a hundredfold increase in price. A boom in “non-fungible tokens”, or NFTs – tradable tokens based on the same technology as cryptocurrency – is transforming the art market. With… Read more »
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