Melbourne startup Sonnant, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for content discovery for the spoken word, has raised $750,000 in a seed round led by radio and TV company Southern Cross Austereo (SCA). The strategic investment by SCA will help support the recent launch of LiSTNR, the rebranded PodcastOne audio channel and… Read more »
Australian social media startup LITT, which touts itself as a ‘Facebook alternative’, broke Australian equity crowdfunding records when its campaign opened on Tuesday, raising $500,000 in just 40 minutes. The Western Australian venture then went on to have the second fastest to CSF raise to $1 million, taking 11 hours. That record was set just… Read more »
Australian workplace tech powerhouses Atlassian and Culture Amp have been included in the top 10 for Fast Company’s annual list of the world’s most innovative companies. Unsurprising, project management tool Asana, Zoom and Slack take out the top three spots following a year where remote work and communication came to the fore, with Atlassian recognised… Read more »
Two startups have kicked major goals as they look to take their ideas global with help from ANSTO’s nandin Innovation Centre Amentum Aerospace is a software business that enables innovation in defence, aviation, space operations and research, and is now pitching to major European space agencies and airlines. The startup is being backed by the NSW Government,… Read more »
Antler Australia will open an office in Melbourne in mid-2021 as the Sydney-based startup accelerator and investor moves from a year of virtual, online programs to a more physical presence. The venture, which launched in Australia in 2019, has backed 40 companies in that time and began something of a de facto national expansion in… Read more »
Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, recently announced his company had bought US$1.5 billion (almost A$2 billion) of Bitcoin. The announcement led to a flurry of enthusiasm and a quick surge in price for the controversial cryptocurrency. This price bump has been good news for Musk in the short term. At one point, Tesla’s… Read more »
Sydney-based car loan fintech Carclarity has raised a $1 million seed round led by Equity Venture Partners (EVP), just 12 months after launching. The funds will be use to build the startups product and development as it looks to expand from car financing to embedding itself in the car buying experience. Others in the funding… Read more »
The fight between Epic Games, the company behind the wildly popular video game Fortnite, and tech giant Apple, which banned the company from its App store in August last year, is currently playing out in the Australian legal system, as well as the US, UK and Europe Last month Epic Games announced it had filed… Read more »
Since May 2007, US-based digital artist Mike Winkelmann (who goes by the name Beeple) has posted a new artwork online every day. He posted the 5,000th one in January, and has now packaged them into an enormous digital collage titled Everydays: The First 5000 Days, which was auctioned online by Christie’s on February 25. The… Read more »
Code Camp was one of Australia’s fastest growing social impact and education ventures when the coronavirus pandemic hit 12 months ago. Founder Ben Levi had spent six years building the country’s largest STEM school holiday programs, teaching more than 100,000 Australian students to design and code apps, online games, digital worlds, and websites. The business… Read more »
Data and analytics startup smrtr has raised $2.5 million from property giant Stockland as it looks to use data to drive retail sales. Stockland has been a client of the data-as-a-service venture, founded in 2009 by Dr Boris Guennewig and Georgie Brooke, since 2013, and an earlier investment from the property company in October 2020… Read more »
Sydney regtech startup Adatree has been approved to take part in Australia’s open banking system as Accredited Data Recipient (ADR) for the Consumer Data Right (CDR). It’s the first early-stage startup accredited and the first ADR with a female CEO, Jill Berry. Adatree helps fintechs gain access to open banking, offering of a scalable technology… Read more »
Afterpay investors received some good news today when Citi Research upped its price target for the buy-now-pay-later fintech’s stock from $115 to $124.80 following the release of the company’s earnings results. Citi has maintained a “Neutral” rating on the BNPL’s shares (ASX: APT), which soared to a record high of $160 last month, then went… Read more »
Australian marketing company Sensis, publisher of the Yellow and White Pages, has been sold for A$260 million to US Nasdaq-listed Thryv Holdings. Thryv is a supplier of small business software in the US and owner of the Yellow Pages brand in the states. The price represents a significant haircut for US private equity firm Platinum… Read more »
Commonwealth Bank-backed Swedish bank and payments fintech Klarna has raised US$1 billion (A$1.3bn) in a fresh equity round from new and existing investors that gives values the business at an astonishing US$31 billion (A$40bn). That new valuation is a 200% jump on just six months ago, and a rise of nearly 500% on the US$5.5bn… Read more »
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