A deep tech startup looking to turn Nikola Tesla’s vision of wireless power transmission into reality has banked $2 million in follow-on funding. The round for Aquila was led by Alua Group, supported by existing investors Blackbird and Icehouse, who backed a $3 million Seed round 12 months ago. Aquila was cofounded by 24-year-old Billy… Read more »
Specialist agtech venture capital firm Tenacious Ventures has attracted support from investors such as Tesla chair Robyn Denholm and RBA board member Carol Schwartz, securing $18 million in commitments for the first close of its second fund. Tenacious Ventures Fund II has a $50 million target and will maintain the existing focus on early stage… Read more »
If Build Club founder Annie Liao needs a motto, it should be “Move fast and make things”. This week, the 15 artificial intelligence (AI) startups accepted into the inaugural Build Club Accelerator graduated after an intensive six weeks, culminating in Monday’s Demo Day. Liao set out to create an accelerator program backing technical AI engineers… Read more »
Fast-rising food brand Naked Rivals, which began life as a side hustle for husband-and-wife founders Andrew and Kate Gordon just 18 months ago, has raised $3 million from angel investors. The Sydney couple developed Naked Rivals during their third pregnancy in October 2022, while still in their full-time day jobs in financial services. Trying to… Read more »
The City of Sydney is hoping to turn up to 600 tonnes of food waste into animal feed and fertiliser as part of a year-long trial with climate tech startup Goterra. Goterra recycles food waste using modular maggot-based robotic systems. Founder Olympia Yarger developed the system, which uses black soldier fly larvae to eat through… Read more »
A photographer disqualified after winning an AI image competition with a real photo says playing a trick on the judges proved “nature still outdoes the machine”. Miles Astray’s photo ‘FLAMINGONE’ won the People’s Vote and a Jury Award after he entered it into the artificial intelligence category of the 1839 Awards for photography this month, but was… Read more »
Women’s jobs site Freelancing Gems has been acquired by regional community and Women’s Awards program Beam in Business. Freelancing Gems cofounders Fleur Madden and Kirsty Jackson launched the site in 2020, as Covid hit, using AI-driven matching models to connect women to their next remote, part time, freelance, contract role. The site also champions women… Read more »
The overheated tech salary days of 2022 may be set to return, in engineering at least, if crypto gaming billionaire Ed Craven has his way. Craven, 28, and his cofounder Bijan Tehrani at online casino Stake.com and live-streaming platform Kick, are offering sign-on bonuses for senior and principal software engineers and engineering managers of between… Read more »
Breakthrough Victoria, the state government’s $2 billion tech investment fund, is backing California-based Liquid Instruments with $15 million to bring the test equipment manufacturer to Melbourne. The 10-year-old firm, headquartered in San Diego, began life in Canberra, and builds cutting-edge test and measurement instruments used by engineers, scientists, and students, which can be reconfigured, saving… Read more »
After stepping into the breach as interim CEO of IT professional association ACS following the sudden departure of Chris Vein during the Christmas break, Josh Griggs is taking the helm officially to start the new financial year. Griggs has been appointed CEO from July 1 after serving six months in an interim capacity. He comes… Read more »
Sydney-based Floatspace, the ‘Airbnb for boat experiences’, has been acquired by yacht charter business Ahoy Club. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Floatspace founder Hugh Treseder, will remain as CEO of the brand under its new owners. Ahoy Club was founded in 2018 by Sydney billionaire Ian Malouf and his daughter, Ellie,… Read more »
The centrepiece of the NSW government’s business support in the 2024-25 Budget is the expansion of the Service NSW Business Bureau. However, the lack of substantial assistance to counter the rising cost of doing business has left business advocates scratching their heads. To further the reach of the Service NSW Business Bureau initiative, the government has… Read more »
Sydney-based portable computer screen startup espresso Displays has landed a major retail distribution deal with JB Hi-Fi stocking two of its products in more than 100 stores across Australia and New Zealand. JB Hi-Fi is selling the espresso Display 15 touchscreen and espresso 17 Pro touchscreen ahead of the end of the financial year in… Read more »
A proptech startup used by governments and leading property developers has raised $5 million. Six-year-old Archistar was backed by existing investors NAB Ventures and Kim Jackson’s Skip Capital, with PEXA chair Prabhat Sethi also chipping in. The startup has now raised $40 million since it was founded in 2018, including $6 million in April 2021… Read more »
You might think government debt is bad, but it actually plays a crucial role in modern finance. Back when he was treasurer, Peter Costello famously declared that April 21 2006 would be known as Australia’s “Debt Free Day”. On this day, he proclaimed, the Commonwealth would eliminate its net debt and “pay off the mortgage”.… Read more »
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