VCs might be used to cold calls from startups seeking cash, but as takeover offers go, the WhatsApp MagicBrief cofounder George Howes received from Canva’s billionaire cofounder Cliff Obrecht was unexpected. Howes was at Sydney airport last month ready to move to the UK and launch his advertising tech platform there when the request to meet… Read more »
Every business leader talks about values. But living them – truly embedding them into daily decisions, behaviours, and culture – is rare. At Employment Hero, we don’t just talk about values – we operationalise them. That’s what The EH Way is all about: a living framework to keep us mission-aligned, fast-moving, and true to our… Read more »
StrongRoom AI will live on under new management with Queensland pharmacy entrepreneur Joe Zhou acquiring the Melbourne healthtech startup from the administrators in a deal finalised late on Thursday. The sale follows a last minute battle for control of the business last week when an early investor, InterValley, and one of the company’s cofounders, make… Read more »
Tech is stalling. Consumer is surging. And if you’re still waiting for the return of traditional VC exits – you’re already behind. Here’s the hard truth: liquidity has dried up in venture tech. IPOs are trickling. M&A deals have slowed to a crawl. According to PitchBook’s 2023 US VC Valuation Report, exits in the tech… Read more »
ASX-listed data centre business NextDC (ASX:NXT) will build a $2 billion tech hub in Port Melbourne as part of the Victorian government’s Fishermans Bend Innovation Precinct. Named M4, it will be purpose-built for sovereign AI, high performance computing (HPC), advanced manufacturing and deep tech, with three core components: an AI factory to support NVIDIA’s Blackwell and… Read more »
Finding a job is getting tougher, and more frustrating. Posting “open to work” in LinkedIn, then submitting your CV isn’t the solution, especially when you’re competing with hundreds of others for the same role. AI is adding to the complexity on both sides. But there is a way to enlist artificial intelligence to give jobseekers… Read more »
After four months of hard work building their ideas, fresh crop of 7 new portfolio startups in the Founder Institute ANZ early stage accelerator will make their debut at Demo Day this evening, June 10. Anyone is welcome to be a part of the free online event Demo Day and startup showcase from 6pm AEST, with… Read more »
A no-holds-barred and very public blow-up between the world’s richest man and the president of the United States has had social media agog in recent days, with each making serious accusations against the other. And while tech billionaire Elon Musk appears to have cooled the spat somewhat – deleting some of his more incendiary social… Read more »
Joel Macdonald’s been busy resetting his thinking in the last few years after the cofounder of Getswift was banned by the Federal Court from running companies in Australia for 12 years. He’s been in therapy, busy journaling, writing affirmations on glass walls in an apartment, taking psychedelics, including ayahuasca and mushrooms, and the former CEO… Read more »
EVP has added 20 more defendants, including earlier VC investors – taking the total to 32 – in its legal action to recover $10.4 million invested in StrongRoom AI. EVP has a freezing order over the company’s assets and during a case management hearing on Wednesday added the company’s other early investors, including Artesian Ventures,… Read more »
Kiwi startup founders take around 29 months on average to score their first pay cheque, but when they get there, they’re doing of okay, with 50% of them on more than NZ$195,000 (A$182k) according to the New Zealand Founder Pay Report 2025. The first deep dive into startup life in Aotearoa, by LiveRem and Oxygen Advisors,… Read more »
Online commercial insurance platform Upcover has partnered with legal tech startup Lawpath to make it easier for small businesses and startups to access legal and insurance services. This new bundled offering, launching this month, will be offered online via both platforms for Australian businesses to buy tailored insurance coverage alongside custom legal documents Upcover cofounder… Read more »
The Business Council of Australia doesn’t see artificial intelligence (AI) as a chance to improve CEO bonuses by firing a company’s workers, but rather a chance to finally lift national productivity after decades of stagnation. The industry lobby group has released a report, Accelerating Australia’s AI Agenda, arguing AI has the potential to reverse Australia’s… Read more »
The federal Labor government’s flagship National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC) is back investing post-election, hitting the send button on another $27 million to lead a $40 million Series C for PolyActiva. The 15-year-old Melbourne biotechnology scaleup is developing potentially revolutionary eye implant technology to treat glaucoma and improve treatment outcomes for patients with ocular (eye)… Read more »
A nine-month wait to finalise their pre-Seed round has paid off for product market testing startup Heatseeker, nearly doubling its size to US$1.5 (A$2.3m). The raise was led by San Francisco-based Capital F, with support from Dom Pym’s family office, Euphemia, Even Capital and East End Ventures. In September last year, the Sydney via Gold… Read more »
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