Australia’s science and technology sectors have urged Federal Parliament to pass the Australian Research Council Amendment Bill – and make a key amendment that requires the research funding agency to notify successful applicants within 21 days of grant approval. In its submission to the Senate Committee on Education and Employment reviewing the Bill, Science &… Read more »
It “most likely” won’t lead to an arrest, but the outing of Russian cyber criminal Aleksandr Ermakov for the 2022 Medibank hack “puts sand in the gears of cyber criminals,” a cyber expert has said as Australia’s government applies cyber sanctions for the first time. The announcement that Ermakov had been singled out for the hack –… Read more »
The founding CEO of The Tech Council of Australia (TCA), Kate Pounder will step down from the role after three years at the end of next week. TCA chair Robyn Denholm paid tribute to Pounder for launching and cementing the lobby group as a critical industry body and raising the profile of the tech sector… Read more »
Last year Blackbird Ventures made a massive bet on a New Zealand rental accommodation app, just six months after it had turned down a $200,000 pitch for cash. In August 2023, Blackbird instead tipped $7 million into a A$9.5 million Seed round for Kiki. The startup’s cofounder Toby Thomas-Smith, said Blackbird’s New Zealand partner, Samantha… Read more »
On Wednesday, the federal Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic revealed an interim response from the Australian government on the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI). The public, especially the Australian public, have real concerns about AI. And it’s appropriate that they should. AI is a powerful technology entering our lives quickly.… Read more »
Melbourne biotech startup Prota Therapeutics has raised US$21 million (A$32m) ahead of a Phase 3 clinical trial for its oral therapy treatment for peanut allergy. The round, a combination of equity and debt financing, was led by Singapore-based SPRIM Global Investments (SGI). Australian VC OneVentures was an early backer of the biotech and one of… Read more »
Green energy infrastructure startup National Renewable Network (NRN) has secured $10 million in funding as part of its ambition to provide low cost solar and battery setups to 250,000 Australian homes by 2030. The funding facility of up to $10 million has come from Catalytic Impact Capital, an impact/ESG-focused private credit business offering secured loan… Read more »
Jessy Wu helps lead Afterwork Ventures, a community-powered VC deploying $20 million across Australia and New Zealand. Previously, Wu was a Senior Investment Analyst at NAB Ventures. Outside of work, Wu volunteers as a Telephone Crisis Supporter for Lifeline and as an ethics teacher for Primary Ethics. A person dedicated to giving back, Wu has… Read more »
Airwallex, the Melbourne-born fintech unicorn, is preparing to list publicly over the next two years according to one of its cofounders. The international payments business, last valued at US$5.5 billion (A$8.5bn) when it raised US$100 million in late 2022, turns 10 next year, having raised US$902 million in the seven years since it was founded… Read more »
As car manufacturers have demonstrated for years, there is no functional reason why robots require a head, face, or personality – but with Generative AI (GenAI) now offering irresistible possibilities for designers, humanoid robots were out in force at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Chinese firm Kepler Exploration Robot Co, for one, used the… Read more »
The cofounder of Stake, Matt Leibowitz, has resigned as CEO, having led the digital broker since its launch in 2017. He will move to executive director and continue to work on the platform’s product and business strategy. Leibowitz will be replaced by the company’s new chief commercial officer, Jon Howie, who joined the business in… Read more »
Landlord borrowing alternative Futurerent, which lends property investors up to $100,000 of their rental income in advance, has secured $50 million in debt funding and is launching a new US division of the brand called Downpayments. The venture debt was provided by US VC Second Century Ventures and California-based lender Partners for Growth (PFG), which has… Read more »
Staff at Canva, along with early-stage investors such as Australia’s leading VCs, are close to hitting the jackpot for their initial belief in the global design platform, with around US$1 billion (A$1.49bn) in privately owned shares set to change in the coming weeks as a secondary market sale. US tech site The Information published news… Read more »
Law firm Lander & Rogers will run its seventh accelerator program for legal tech startups in 2024, with applications now open. The focus is once again on artificial intelligence (AI), which, like so many traditional industries, is now transforming law. Since it began, the LawTech Hub accelerator has assisted 25 startups – all bar one… Read more »
Venture fund Blackbird has surveyed its investment efforts in 2024, and deployed almost the same amount last year as it has annually, on average, since 2020. Blackbird’s annual year in review reveals they deployed $229 million across 20 new and 30 follow-on rounds in 41 companies. That’s an increase on the 38 cheques in 2023,… Read more »
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