Welcome to Giant Leap’s Small Steps, a newsletter offering global insights and news on the impact startups landscape. We’ll be sharing an edited version with Startup Daily readers every fortnight. Giant Leap is Australia’s first impact venture fund, and they use this newsletter to surface the ideas and businesses that intrigue and inspire them and… Read more »
Ammonia is the world’s most important fertiliser, improving crop yields to feed the planet, but producing it is incredibly energy intensive. A new startup, Jupiter Ionics, emerging from Monash University’s Technology Precinct, has found a way to produce ‘green’ ammonia. Scientists at Monash University, led by chemistry professor Doug MacFarlane, have developed a process similar… Read more »
The Technology Council of Australia (TCA) and the Digital Skills Organisation (DSO) have forged an industry partnership in a bid to help solve the nation’s tech talent shortfall. The TCA has forecast that Australia will need one million people in tech jobs by 2025. That means 140,000 more people need to enter tech jobs over… Read more »
Welcome to our weekly column on the important things to see and do for the ANZ startup community, brought to you by the director of the Spark Festival, Maxine Sherrin. She picks out 3 things worth putting in the diary for the week ahead. If you’d like to know more, sign up to the Weekly Sparks, Maxine’s… Read more »
Startups impact network organisation Stone & Chalk has won the tender to run the NSW government’s new Scaleup Hub at Tech Central. The announcement came as NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, and trade and industry minister Stuart Ayres opened the Tech Central Quantum Terminal today. The rest of the project, around Sydney’s historic Central Station building, is due… Read more »
Digital health startup Midnight Health has partnered health insurer nib, in a $4 million deal for a 50% equity stake in the business. The healthtech venture launched its first platform, Youly, in February this year, offering delivery of the Morning After Pill along with additional women’s healthcare needs, such as the contraceptive pill, thrush, sleep… Read more »
Australian car insurance startup Ride Protect, which is designed specifically for rideshare drivers, launched this week. Ride Protect founder and CEO Jeremy Bennett developed the insurtech solution after realising that up to a third of gig economy drivers had not told their insurer they are part of a rideshare/food delivery service or are unaware they… Read more »
A new, female-led group looking to tackle investment in the digital health space is looking the ramp up support for startups with an international panel of experts for advice and support. ANDHealth CEO Bronwyn Le Grice is driving the project, recruiting Lisa Suennen, known as a “unicorn collector” in the US digital health sector, to… Read more »
Cicada Innovations is launching a grain agtech challenge to uncover innovative deep tech solutions that will help to drive sustainability and improve profitability in the grain growing industry. The GrowLab Grains Challenge, a collaboration with the Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC), is now seeking applications from entrepreneurs, grain growers, and researchers. Successful applicants will take part in… Read more »
Researchers at the University of Queensland (UQ) will conduct a world-first global trial to see if the spare battery capacity in electric vehicles (EV) could support the local electricity grid, and potentially power homes. UQ has partnered with analytics platform Teslascope to recruit Tesla owners internationally to take part in the study examining car use and… Read more »
Swinburne University of Technology is launching an new innovation hub to develop air transport solutions from flying taxis to better spaceships. The Aerostructures Innovation Research Hub (AIR Hub) will bring together aerospace research, design, and manufacturing startups and experts to develop innovative materials and manufacturing processes for passenger planes, air cargo, and other solutions such… Read more »
Expressions of interest are now open for the first cohort for CUREator, Australia’s first national biotech incubator. CUREator was established with $40 million in funding from the federal government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and the incubator, run by the Brandon Capital-managed Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF), hopes to play a hand in developing up… Read more »
Australian disability sex aid startup Handi has changed its named to Bump’n following a trademark dispute with a Scandinavian company that makes a male masturbator called The Handy. Handi founder Heather Morrison said they were approached by Norwegian sex tech company, who own the trademark for “The Handy”. They insisted the Australian startup change its name.… Read more »
Female founders tackling issues ranging from climate change to health, and AI are among 11 emerging technology started crowned as winners of the annual Australian Technologies Competition. Five of the 11 companies to win are led by female founders. They were chosen from 18 companies involved as finalists in the competition. The women-led companies are… Read more »
Novalith Technologies, a climate technology startup that’s developed a more environmentally friendly extraction process for lithium, has raised $2.5 million in a seed round. The raise was led by the CEFC’s Clean Energy Innovation Fund, which contributed $1.5 million. The US-based Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust’s Neglected Climate Opportunities LLC also joined the round. Novalith… Read more »
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