Visual design platform Canva has revamped its business products, launching an enterprise solution, in the hope of luring in more customers ahead of plans to list publicly next year. The changes were announced at Canva Create, the company’s annual showcase, which moved from Sydney to the US for the first time as the software business… Read more »
Two more hospitality payments platforms have merged as the sector continues to consolidate with Melbourne’s HungryHungry joining forces with New Zealand white label mobile payments platform MOBI. The deal follows the merger of rival meal ordering apps Mr Yum and me&u in late 2023. HungryHungry, founded in 2019 Shannon Hautot and Mark Calabro, began life… Read more »
Up to 2,800 Telstra workers will be retrenched by year’s end, with Australia’s largest telecommunications carrier announcing plans to pare its workforce in an AI-driven “reset” of its enterprise arm including an overhaul of its Telstra Purple services business. The package of reforms is designed to contribute to $350 million in cost savings as the… Read more »
Little Birdie, the online retail marketplace developed by Catch founders Gabby and Hezi Leibovich, and backed with $30 million in pre-Seed funding from the Commonwealth Bank, has shut down. In an email sent to customers just after 5pm on Friday, May 17, the company said the retail product price comparison site has “paused operations”. “For… Read more »
Brisbane solar battery startup Redback Technologies is out of voluntary administration after two months with new owners in charge. Fintech Australia Ebon has put an initial $500,000 into the business after creditors approved a deed of company arrangement (DOCA) earlier this month to allow Redback, founded in 2015, to trade its way back to profitability,… Read more »
The receivers of Brisbane-based electric vehicle charging venture Tritium are hopeful of finding a buyer for the company, having stabilised the business and kept it trading. The 23-year-old business imploded last month after attempts to find a buyer fell through as it teetered on the brink of insolvency, despite being listed on the US Nasdaq, when… Read more »
The best tech companies to work for in Australia have been revealed, with some familiar faces topping the list. The Great Place to Work organisation’s annual Best Workplaces in Technology Australia list has been unveiled, based on confidential surveys of tens of thousands of employees at tech firms around the country. The list defines a great workplace… Read more »
Sydney investment firm Quadrant Private Equity is now a Canva shareholder after acquiring a hefty $500 million slice of the design giant, including more than $100 million worth of shares from VC fund Blackbird. That represents about 1.2% of the company’s stock. The deal comes after $2.4 billion worth of Canva shares changed hands earlier… Read more »
Envato, the creative marketplace that grew to generate more than US$1 billion in revenue for its users annually, is being acquired by US listed imagery company Shutterstock in a deal worth US$245 million (A$373m). It marks the end of an 18-year journey for cofounders Collis and Cyan Ta’eed, and their friend Jun Rung, having launched… Read more »
Airwallex is offering to waive initial FX fees for startups as part of a new program for the sector. The foreign exchange fintech has launched Airwallex for Startups, with vice president of small-to-medium enterprises and growth, Matthew Sek, saying it’s been designed to unlock growth opportunities for startups and help them get their finances in… Read more »
Less than three years after listing on the US Nasdaq, Brisbane-based electric vehicle charging company Tritium has been placed in receivership in a spectacular collapse for the 23-year-old business. McGrathNicol Restructuring has appointed partners Shaun Fraser, Katherine Sozou, Matthew Hutton and Jamie Harris as receivers of Tritium DCFC Ltd (Nasdaq: DCFC), less than a day… Read more »
Sydney startup Heatseeker, which uses AI to simplify business idea validation and market research, has launched the alpha version of its testing platform to help founders speed up the time to product launch. Heatseeker.ai was cofounded in 2023 by serial entrepreneurs Kate O’Keeffe and Fiona Triaca. They set out to develop a way to understand… Read more »
The New York-based cofounder of New Zealand subletting startup Kiki, Toby Thomas-Smith, is blunt in his own performance assessment. “When we launched Kiki.nyc last year I fucked up,” he’s written on LinkedIn, after the business shuttered its New York launch after 3 months, only to revive it late last month amid controversy over plans to… Read more »
StartSomeGood, the pioneering platform helping social entrepreneurs succeed, has been acquired by social innovation business General Good, founded by media entrepreneur Piers Grove. StartSomeGood CEO and cofounder Tom Dawkins said the strategic move will continue the commitment he started 13 years ago to building a social entrepreneurship movement, partnering with circular economy accelerator Boomerang Labs under… Read more »
Sydney startup Forage, which helps students move from study to the workforce with virtual job simulations, is being acquired by US education firm EAB. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Forage was founded in 2017 by Pasha Rayan and Tom Brunskill as InsideSherpa. They set out to help students from less advantaged backgrounds a… Read more »
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