The 2020-2021 Budget, to be delivered by the Treasurer next Tuesday, will be arguably one of the most important, if not the most important since the end of the Second World War. This year, the global economy is forecast to contract by around 4.5%. The world economy during the GFC declined by 0.1%. So in… Read more »
The federal government is selecting six priority areas for support in a $1.5 billion manufacturing plan Scott Morrison will outline in a pre-budget address. They are resources technology and critical minerals processing, food and beverage, medical products, recycling and clean energy, defence, and space. The plan will also focus on building “supply chain resilience” after… Read more »
Presentation platform SalesPreso has raised $5 million, and has also rebranded as LivePreso as it ramps up its offering for business. Shearwater Growth Ventures, the $50 million Sydney VC fund co-founded by former WiseTech directors Charles Gibbon and Mike Gregg, with managing partner Zac Zavos, led the round. Melbourne investor and MedAdvisor chair Chris Ridd… Read more »
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced an $800 million digital technology plan for business as part of the ongoing stimulus response to the Covid-19 pandemic The PM said next Tuesday’s Budget would support businesses to recover and create more jobs. The major areas of focus for the plan include digitisation of the government’s business register,… Read more »
Shares in fintech MoneyMe (ASX: MME) have jumped more than 12% in opening trade on Tuesday after the company announced a new $167 million warehouse funding facility led by Westpac, that will cut its funding costs by more than 50%. The company put its shares in a trading halt yesterday pending the announcement. The deal… Read more »
Airwallex has topped up its US$160 million (AU$254m) series D raise from April with an extra US$40 million ($57m) with Skip Capital, the family investment fund run by Kim Jackson with her husband, Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar. Regular backer Square Peg Capital also returned for the latest cash injection, which continues to value the… Read more »
Financial platform Douugh will finally make its long-awaited ASX listing this week in a reverse takeover of suspended telco Ziptel. The listing is the latest twist and turn for the fintech, which in recent months raised $750,000 from equity crowdfunding as part of a $6 million series A round ahead of the float. Douugh doesn’t… Read more »
Many in the fintech sector will remember 2020 as a period of tough decision making, hardship and sacrifice. Countless plans for growth have been adapted or scuttled altogether in the name holding the business together, to weather this once in a lifetime pandemic. But by the end of October, we believe we will have a… Read more »
Facebook has announced the latest version of its successful standalone virtual reality (VR) headset, the Oculus Quest 2. The new device packs more computing power and a sharper screen than its predecessor, and is also US$100 cheaper. Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 (from AUD$479) is a powerful wireless VR headset for gaming and, Facebook hopes, much… Read more »
Big four bank NAB has launched the first bug bounty program for Australian banking in a partnership with crowd-sourced security company Bugcrowd. NAB will reward vetted security researchers who uncover previously undisclosed vulnerabilities in the bank’s tech environment. But to take part, you must have an ‘Elite Trust Score’ on the Bugcrowd platform. San Francisco-based Bugcrowd… Read more »
Sydney-based non-alcoholic spirits company, Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Spirit Co. has $16 million in seed round funding 18 months after launching as the startup’s growth continues to grow exponentially worldwide. The backers include VRD Investment, Doehler Ventures, DLF Venture and Maropost Ventures, with family funds in Europe, America and Australia tipping in. Lyre’s CEO and co-founder Mark… Read more »
Shares in buy-now-pay-later fintech Afterpay (ASX:APT) are down more than 6% trade on Thursday after the company announced Chief Financial Offer (CFO) Luke Bortoli will step down after three years in the role. Rebecca Lowde, Chief Executive of ASX-listed Salmat, and the former CFO of fintech Bravura Solution, will become CFO on October 6. Afterpay… Read more »
The Morrison government will make sweeping changes to the insolvency system to improve the chances of saving small businesses hit by the pandemic. The reforms – which are described as the most significant for three decades – will cover three quarters of businesses currently subject to insolvency, almost all of which have less than 20… Read more »
Melbourne-based ESN Cleer is set to deliver a major medical breakthrough in the next 12 months as it releases the world’s first early risk detection screening for heart disease. The medtech startup has developed a simple saliva test that can be used by GPs to detect early risk for developing heart failure, which kills 10… Read more »
Tests of commonly available fabric masks by scientists at Flinders University has concluded that they significantly reduce the number of aerosolised viruses a wearer could be exposed to. The study, published in Pathogens, found even the poorest performing mask filtered at least 50% of viruses. The viral filtration (VFE) was calculated for two sizes of… Read more »
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