On December 14 2025, a terrorist attack occurred at Bondi Beach in Sydney Australia, leaving 15 civilians and one gunman dead. While Australia was still reeling in shock, social media saw the rapid spread of misinformation generated and powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI). For example, a manipulated video of New South Wales Premier Chris… Read more »
The Victorian government will wind down startup support agency LaunchVic and rework technology investment fund Breakthrough Victoria as part of broader public sector reforms set to save the state $4 billion. The decision has rattled the state’s startup sector, and spells an uncertain future for state-backed accelerators, grants, and investment funds tailored to local talent.… Read more »
Video game publisher Electronic Arts (EA), one of the biggest video game companies in the world behind games such as The Sims and Battlefield, has been sold to a consortium of buyers for US$55 billion (about A$83 billion). It is potentially the largest-ever buyout funded by private equity firms. Not AI, nor mining or banking,… Read more »
The NSW government has finally confirmed Stone & Chalk as operator of the relocated and rebranded Sydney Startup Hub at Tech Central with Fishburners as anchor partner. The move provides certainty for Fishburners, one of the city’s original startup coworking spaces, which was left marooned at the Startup Hub’s former Wynyard site after the government… Read more »
The federal department tasked with evaluating American firm PsiQuantum’s unsolicited proposal to build a quantum computer in Australia carried out an “appropriate” process despite minor issues with record keeping and planning for market testing, an internal audit has found. PsiQuantum proposed the build in November 2022, and its ultimately successful Brisbane plan — backed by… Read more »
Sydney Startup Hub shuts down today, after seven years, thanks to the NSW government. And right now it’s clear that when it comes to startups, the government couldn’t organise a piss-up in a brewery, to use one of the more polite versions of the idiom. Another way of explaining it is that they’ve bombed the… Read more »
The NSW government has overhauled its MVP Ventures Program, introducing a competitive selection process. It is also launching a targeted funding stream for underrepresented founders, including women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses, and regional entrepreneurs. The update follows weeks of uncertainty around the 2025–26 grant round, which was originally scheduled to open on July 1.… Read more »
The Australian government is reportedly moving to dump plans for dedicated artificial intelligence legislation such as an AI Act, with the minister for innovation saying lawmakers are carefully creating “an Australian approach” for regulation of the technology. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s caucus has reportedly become split on the issue, and tensions have grown since the… Read more »
Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Tuesday will give the diverse collection of participants at the economic roundtable their riding instructions, as he seeks to wring as much substance as possible out of the meeting. The success or otherwise of the three-day summit will reflect on Chalmers, who will not only lead it but has driven the… Read more »
Government-owned NBN Co has chosen Amazon’s Project Kuiper’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technology for high-speed, wholesale fixed broadband to customers in sections of regional, rural and remote Australia. The decision sidelines Elon Musk’s Starlink, which launched in Australia in 2021, and has around 200,000 local customers, and was also pitching for the NBN contract.… Read more »
The money is easy to trace. Scroll back through tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel’s political donations and you’ll soon hit US$15 million worth of transfers sent to Protect Ohio Values, JD Vance’s campaign fund. The donations, made in 2022, are a staggering contribution to an individual senate race, and helped put Vance (Thiel’s former employee at… Read more »
Over my career, I’ve always preferred doing rather than talking. Building things, solving problems, creating new ventures, not giving speeches about them. But I’m here today because I believe Australia is standing at the edge of the next great industrial revolution. One powered not by steam or electricity – but by artificial intelligence. And like… Read more »
The Albanese government has decided to include YouTube accounts in its ban on access to social media for those under the age of 16. The decision will be controversial with many social media users, especially young people, and face resistance from the company. YouTube, owned by Google, has threatened to sue if it were included… Read more »
While Melbourne prepares for another glossy startup gala, let’s talk about what won’t be on the menu. Victoria’s startup agency has locked away $160m+ in public funding—yet no grassroots event support since 2019. VicGov spent $7 m+ on DIF (Digital Innovation Futures)—and it quietly shut down. Melbourne Convention Bureau backs only international events (e.g., C2, GEC)… Read more »
The future of the annual 3-day _SOUTHSTART gathering in Adelaide has been assured until 2028 with three more years of funding from the South Australian government. The new three-year $2 million commitment supporting the delivery of _SOUTHSTART, starting next year, will take the innovation festival to a decade under its current custodianship, with Craig Swann… Read more »
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