Business strategy

Carbar founder Des Hang on why consolidation is a sign that your startup’s market is maturing

- June 5, 2025 2 MIN READ

Remember when car subscription services were the next big thing? Around the late 2010s, they were everywhere, hailed as the future of driving. All the benefits of having a car, without the long-term commitment. One monthly payment covering everything from insurance to servicing. It was a simple, flexible alternative that struck a chord, especially with younger drivers… Read more »

Tim Veron and Michael Pang
AI/Machine Learning

Glucose monitoring startup Vively metabolises $1.6 million Seed round

- May 28, 2025 2 MIN READ

Metabolic health monitoring platform Vively has raised $1.6 million in a Seed round as it rolls out its Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) program to tackle pre-diabetes. The round was led by Archangel Ventures with support from Bupa Ventures, the VC arm of not-for-profit private health insurer Bupa, and others. Archangel previously led 2022’s $1.5 million… Read more »

Marc Lyons, Briony Cole, Annika Ojala
Other tech

Melbourne event breaks taboo, shining spotlight on sextech innovation

- May 19, 2025 2 MIN READ

Curious about what happens when innovation meets taboo? Melbourne will host Unconventional Startups: What Sextech Entrepreneurs Can Teach Us About Launching a Startup, an event aiming to highlight the innovative potential within the often-overlooked sextech industry. Held on 22 May at Collingwood Yards, the one-night-event will feature discussions on privacy, branding, global scaling, and investment… Read more »

Accelerator

AO StartUps is looking for sportstech for its winter intake ahead of the Australian Open

- May 16, 2025 2 MIN READ

Applications for the mid-year intake of AO StartUps, the pioneering sports and entertainment tech program powered by Tennis Australia and the Australian Open, are open until the end of May AO StartUps launched in 2022, and has now supported more than 30 startups across verticals including participation, fan engagement, high performance and event operations. The… Read more »

Jim Chalmers
Other tech

Labor will ‘do more to embrace technology’ in its second term

- May 7, 2025 3 MIN READ

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says embracing technology will be a core tenet of Anthony Albanese’s re-elected Labor majority government following Saturday’s landslide victory against a Liberal-National coalition led by Peter Dutton. The prime minister’s victory guaranteed Labor a second consecutive three-year term and saw Dutton lose both his Brisbane seat of Dickson and his leadership of… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

A nuts idea: why this female founder is talking to rugby league’s top brass about sperm and fertility

- May 1, 2025 2 MIN READ

Probably the last time the NRL talked about testicles was 12 years ago when former Souths forward Sam Burgess copped a two-match ban for a “squirrel grip” tackle on a Melbourne Storm player. But this weekend, as the rugby league fans gather for Magic Round in Brisbane, medical researcher and entrepreneur Saara Jamieson from Cool… Read more »

Climate Tech

Used EV batteries have huge potential as an energy source, but their manufacturers are holding us back

- April 29, 2025 4 MIN READ

Around the world, more and more electric vehicles are hitting the road. Last year, more than 17 million battery-electric and hybrid vehicles were sold. Early forecasts suggest this year’s figure might reach 20 million. Nearly 20% of all cars sold today are electric. But as more motorists go electric, it creates a new challenge –… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Job Matched, a recruitment startup bootstrapped by a first-time female founder, is using AI to get the cultural fit right in hiring

- April 16, 2025 2 MIN READ

A recruitment platform that combines the simplicity of dating app swiping with AI-powered soft skills matching was launched in Sydney by a first-time founder this week.  Job Matched is the brainchild of Australian-American Kayla Parry, who set out to make hiring faster, smarter and more human. Parry was on Startup 360 this week, where she… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

A VC’s list of 10 startup ideas Australian founders should tackle

- April 7, 2025 2 MIN READ

As Australia builds up to the federal election, debates around sovereignty, national security, and economic resilience are taking centre stage. Concurrently, the startup ecosystem is awash with vibe-coded consumer apps.  But coding with Lovable is just the start of a deeper shift: the AI opportunity in this decade won’t just be in frontend tools. It… Read more »

Business

Veteran Sydney software company that bootstrapped for 22 years cashes in with $445 million sale

- March 25, 2025 < 1 MIN READ

A Sydney software company founded in 1999 by two former PwC executives to tackle governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) issues has sold a majority stake in the business to US investment firm PSG Equity for US$280 million (A$445m). The deal for Protecht gives an exit for California growth equity firm Arrowroot Capital after just three… Read more »

Other tech

Lessons from New Zealand’s 45-year-old home-grown and forgotten school computer: The Poly-1

- February 19, 2025 3 MIN READ

Some 45 years ago, a team of staff and students at Wellington Polytechnic designed and built a desktop computer with an operating system customised for the needs of New Zealand schools. The Poly-1 was far ahead of international competition, but New Zealand failed to capitalise on the opportunity. At the time, public investment in a… Read more »

Other tech

Steve Baxter’s new defence-focused VC fund locks and loads $10 million in first close on $60m target

- February 6, 2025 2 MIN READ

Brisbane-based specialist defence technology venture capital firm, Beaten Zone Venture Partners, has secured more than $10 million in commitments, to call first close on the fund. The figure takes the fund to its final condition for ESVCLP (Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnerships) status, with its first capital call underway this week.   Founder and… Read more »