Firemark
People

IAG’s Firemark Ventures names Rebecca Schot-Guppy and Brad Armstrong as general partners

- March 17, 2023 2 MIN READ

Insurance giant IAG’s venture capital arm, Firemark Ventures, has appointed former Fintech Australia boss Rebecca Schot-Guppy a general partner alongside company veteran Bradley Armstrong. The company initially recruited Schot-Guppy  as its leverage and portfolio management manager in late 2021. Armstrong has been with the business for nearly a decade, working his way up the ranks from… Read more »

Vivid Sydney
Events

A bunch of cool new things happening at Vivid Sydney this year, including food

- March 17, 2023 2 MIN READ

The annual Vivid Sydney festival, May 26 to June 17, is expanding its program with new food events to accompany the evening lights.  The 23-day festival features more than 300 events showcasing artists, musicians, and thought leaders while also recognising the significant contributions of First Nations people. This year’s theme is “Vivid Sydney, Naturally” and… Read more »

Pallet Wrap
Climate Tech

Climate tech startup Great Wrap is now producing compostable pallet wrap

- March 16, 2023 2 MIN READ

Melbourne-based material science company, Great Wrap, has launched the world’s first compostable pallet wrap.  The alternative to plastic wrap is made with food waste to combat the global dependence on petroleum-based pallet wrap and plastic pollution.  Cofounders Jordy Kay and Julia Kay saw a materials revolution happening around them. Everything industry from energy, transport, and… Read more »

Lisa Byrne
Cyber security

A data security expert says the federal government’s cybersecurity strategy has the wrong end of the stick

- March 16, 2023 2 MIN READ

The Australian government’s ambition to “become the most cyber secure nation by 2030” is destined to fail unless customers demand “security certifications” from businesses, according to a leading data security expert. Lisa Byrne, from data strategy firm Notitia, said customers will be the catalyst for businesses to “wake up” to their responsibility to provide effective… Read more »

Operation, AI, doctors
AI/Machine Learning

An artificial intelligence ethics expert says Generative AI needs more rules on risk in health and medtech to prevent disasters

- March 16, 2023 4 MIN READ

A new study published in The Lancet by artificial intelligence ethicist Dr Stefan Harrer has argued for a strong and comprehensive ethical framework around the use, design, and governance of generative AI applications in healthcare and medicine, because it has the potential to go catastrophically wrong. The peer-reviewed study details how Large Language Models (LLMs) have… Read more »

Cyber attack
Cyber security

Hackers steal 100,000+ drivers licenses in Latitude Financial cyber attack

- March 16, 2023 3 MIN READ

The driver licence information of a hundred thousand Australians has been stolen after a major consumer finance company was targeted with a “sophisticated and malicious cyber-attack”. Latitude Financial, a major non-bank lender of consumer credit in Australia boasting 2.8 million customer accounts, revealed on Thursday that it had been breached following a significant cyber attack… Read more »

Venture Capital

Giant Leaps: climate tech and female founders are top of the pops in Australian impact investing

- March 15, 2023 2 MIN READ

Women-led startups and others tackling climate and sustainability-related issues are emerging trends Australia’s impact startup ecosystem, a new report from VC Giant Leap reveals. A snippet above a quarter (26%) of the impact opportunities reviewed by Giant Leap come from women-led ventures, a touch above the 23% average in the broader ecosystem. Meanwhile, a majority… Read more »

Fleet Space
People

Fleet Space Technologies promotes Chloe Leclerc to chief marketing officer

- March 15, 2023 2 MIN READ

Adelaide-based Fleet Space Technologies has appointed its former head of marketing, Chloe Leclerc, as its new chief marketing officer (CMO). She’s been charged with building Fleet’s go-to-market strategy and presence in Australia and North America, with a focus on its satellite-based solution for minerals exploration. Fleet designs, builds, and operates small satellites which deliver universal… Read more »

Downsizer
Funding

Proptech startup Downsizer bags $3.75 million in Seed round to help boomers move out and on

- March 15, 2023 2 MIN READ

Sydney-based proptech startup, Downsizer, has secured A$3.75 million in seed capital. The round was led by Correlation Australia Holdings (CAH), supported by existing shareholders, including family offices and high-net-worth individuals. It brings the total raised to date to $6.1 million. Downsizer is an award-winning startup that provides digital solutions for the finance, property, and insurance… Read more »

Turkey vultures, scavenging on Californian beach
Business

3 reasons why Silicon Valley Bank went belly up

- March 15, 2023 4 MIN READ

The Santa Clara, California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has collapsed. This is the second-largest banking failure in US history and the largest failure since the Global Financial Crisis. The US government has stepped in to protect depositors. The government will not bail out SVB. Shareholders are not protected. The deposit protection is funded by a special impost… Read more »

Lewi Software, Geraldine Terada-Bellis, Vishnu Avudainayagam
Funding

Skalata backs Queensland Uni grads in software startup transforming chemical engineering

- March 15, 2023 2 MIN READ

A software startup developed by two University of Queensland graduates has raised $200,000 in a Seed round backed by Melbourne VC Skalata Ventures. Lewi Software is tackling an unsexy part of asset management in the chemicals sector – wastewater management, which has suffered from underinvestment on the software from compared to the rest of the… Read more »

Victor Dominello
Politics

Victor Dominello, the driving force behind the NSW government’s Digital ID project, on the lessons from data hacks and the way forward for online privacy

- March 14, 2023 2 MIN READ

Victor Dominello won’t be NSW government minister cutting the ribbon on the fruits of several years of hard work building the Digital ID app. The member for Ryde retires from politics after 15 years when NSW voters go to the polls on March 25. But for the past several years he’s been driving digital innovation… Read more »

Tank Stream Labs Bradley Delamare
Business

Tank Stream Labs collaborates with Pinstripe Media to offer marketing for startups

- March 14, 2023 2 MIN READ

Scaleup community Tank Stream Labs have teamed up with Pinstripe Media to expand its reach to a global audience.  Tank Stream Labs is one of Australia’s original technology co-working spaces that fosters innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship for founders, industry leaders, scale-ups, and high-growth tech companies.  After launching a range of service offerings in 2022 for… Read more »