Within six months, I bootstrapped my startup to 1.4 million users. Two years later, our software is used by 16 million people worldwide Venture capitalists scoffed when I said I was self-funding (bootstrapping) my new artificial intelligence startup. Other industry veterans I spoke with said competing without a fair whack of VC dollars was a… Read more »
UNSW chancellor David Gonski and Simon Sheikh’s impact investment fintech Future Super are among the investors in a new US$100 million fund to back artificial intelligence (AI) startups. King River Capital said it’s nearing the final close of its latest A$157 million fund, which continues its ongoing strategic focus on AI-driven software startups both here… Read more »
Lee Hickin, Microsoft’s artificial intelligence policy lead for Asia, has departed the tech giant after more than six years to become the new director of the National AI Centre (NAIC). The NAIC was established in 2021 to support and accelerate Australia’s AI industry. Its inaugural director, Stela Solar, herself a former Microsoft executive, stepped down… Read more »
US Shark Tank investor and cybersecurity startup founder Robert Herjavec is joining Melbourne scaleup Zetaris as executive director of global strategy. He was so impressed, he’s also invested in the company, although that figure was not disclosed. Herjavec believes Zetaris has unicorn (worth more than $1bn) potential. Zetaris was founded in 2013 by Vinay Samuel and… Read more »
An Australian-American cybersecurity startup has raised US$3 million (A$4.75m) in Seed funding to develop its artificial intelligence-driven defensive systems. The round for Harmony Intelligence was led by Airtree Ventures, alongside 30 strategic investors, including First Row Partners, Maxwell Capital, and execs from Canva, Adept AI, and Plaid as well as The Lean Startup author Eric… Read more »
After a year of shoehorning generative AI into its flagship products, Microsoft is trying to recoup the costs by raising prices, putting ads in products, and cancelling data centre leases. Google is making similar moves, adding unavoidable AI features to its Workspace service while increasing prices. Is the tide finally turning on investments into generative… Read more »
Flowing Bee, the AI-powered behavioural insights platform for marketing strategy and execution, has raised $1.6 million in a pre-Seed round. The raise was led by Archangel Ventures, with participation from The University of Melbourne Genesis pre-seed Fund, Antler, LaunchVic’s Alice Anderson Fund, and M8 Ventures, plus strategic angel investors. The cash will be used to… Read more »
AI-based doctor clinical notes taker Heidi Health has raised a further $26.8 million (US$16.6m) to top up its 18-month-old Series A. The follow-on investment was led by US VC Headline (formerly e.ventures and BV Capital), which sees Heidi as Australia’s next Canva or Atlassian supported by Local Globe, Anthology (Menlo Ventures and Anthropic) . Existing… Read more »
Badly behaved artificial intelligence (AI) systems have a long history in science fiction. Way back in 1961, in the famous Astro Boy comics by Osamu Tezuka, a clone of a popular robot magician was reprogrammed into a super-powered thief. In the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the shipboard computer HAL 9000 turns out to… Read more »
Entries for a pitch competition offering a prize package worth more than $200,000, as well as $20,000 in perks for every artificial intelligence (AI) startup that enters close this week. Pitchapalooza, by the team behind Cut Through Venture and One Pitch, is searching for Australia’s best AI pitch. Entries close on Friday, February 28. The… Read more »
Thirty-four artworks created with artificial intelligence (AI) have gone up for sale at Christie’s in New York, in the famed auction house’s first collection dedicated to AI art. Christie’s says the collection aims to explore “human agency in the age of AI within fine art”, prompting viewers to question the evolving role of the artist… Read more »
Twine, an AI startup offering conversation insights for business, has raised $2.3 million (US$1.5m). The round was led by Sydney VC Airtree, with support from angel investors Gill Findlay from Immutable, Sam Nickless, CEO of legal heavyweight Gilbert + Tobin, and Hemal Shah, Atlassian’s product VP. The funding will be used to accelerate product development and… Read more »
The Emerging Tech Unpacked podcast unpacks emerging tech topics with diverse perspectives. Host Lucy Lin shares what she learnt about deepfake technologies and a life in intelligence. In our latest episode of Emerging Tech Unpacked, I had the privilege of interviewing one of the most fascinating guest I’ve ever met – Emerald Sage. She’s a… Read more »
Last week, Google quietly abandoned a long-standing commitment to not use artificial intelligence (AI) technology in weapons or surveillance. In an update to its AI principles, which were first published in 2018, the tech giant removed statements promising not to pursue: technologies that cause or are likely to cause overall harm weapons or other technologies… Read more »
Sydney healthtech startup Harrison.ai has raised AU$179 million (US$112m) in a Series C as it looks to expand in the US The round was co-led by Aware Super, ECP and existing supporter Horizons Ventures, the VC firm of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing. The federal government’s $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund announced its $32 millions… Read more »
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