Last week, I explained why, in my first few weeks working in deep-tech VC, I decided to scan the Australian AI ecosystem and talk to more than 50 founders building inspiring and impactful companies in the AI space. If you have not done so, have a read here. In today’s instalment, I will run through… Read more »
Most people are familiar with the deluge of artificial intelligence (AI) apps that seem designed to make us more efficient and creative. We’ve got apps that take text prompts and generate art, and the controversial ChatGPT, which raises serious questions about originality, misinformation and plagiarism. Despite these concerns, AI is becoming ever more pervasive and… Read more »
Customer relationship management (CRM) and revenue operations software startup Nexl has raised $4 million in new capital, backed by B2B-focused VC EVP alongside follow-on funds from Vulpes and Saniel Ventures. Nexl was founded 3.5 years ago by Philipp Thurner, who was head of innovation at top tier law firm Gilbert and Tobin. The software platform… Read more »
Melbourne healthtech startup, MoreGoodDays has raised $3.5 million for a digital solution to managing chronic pain. The round was led by Blackbird, with support from impact fund Giant Leap, Side Stage Ventures, the Snow Foundation, and LaunchVic’s female-focused sidecar investment program, the Alice Anderson Fund. Neala Fulia and Helena Ngo co-founded the healthtech platform to… 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 »
Privately-owned design platform Canva is among multiple Australian tech companies with funds stuck in Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which was seized by Californian regulators on Friday after customers tried and failed to withdraw an estimated US$40 billion in funds. After an anxious weekend wondering if they’d see their money again, US officials stepped in earlier… Read more »
The US Treasury Department has intervened to guarantee deposits following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and halt broader bank run jitters. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Board chair Jerome Powell, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) chair Martin Gruenberg released a joint statement on Sunday night, US time, amid concerns of… Read more »
Silicon Valley Bank, which catered to the tech industry for three decades, collapsed on March 10, 2023, after the Santa Clara, California-based lender suffered from an old-fashioned bank run. State regulators seized the bank and made the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation its receiver. SVB, as it’s known, was the biggest U.S. lender to fail since… Read more »
Sydney enterprise software company, Capsifi, announced its new executive leadership team. The company has appointed a new Chair, Andrew Barkla, CEO, Ian McAdam, and CRO, Tony Mascarenhas. Capsifi founder and former CEO Dr Terry Roach has decided to shift his attention to the strategy and vision for product innovation. Capsifi is an architecture software platform… Read more »
Move over ‘financial wellness’, the next frontier for fintechs is ‘financial intelligence’, says the founder of digital banking alternative Yondr. Money management is something of an obsession for Melbourne-based entrepreneur Shane Chanel. He first knew he wanted to be a financial planner as a 16-year-old student at Melbourne’s Nazareth College. After studying financial planning at Deakin… Read more »
Professional Golfers Association (PGA) champion Kel Nagle’s granddaughter, Alicia Nagle, launched her startup, Zonely, to make golf fun, accessible, and social for all players. Founder Nagle said that with Zonely, she wants to change golf’s poor brand image for golfers and people who’d like to try and become golfers. Zonely is a golf community with… Read more »
Payments platform Cuscal has acquiring Consumer Data Right startup Basiq for an undisclosed sum. The deal provides an exit for investors including NAB Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and Westpac’s Reinventure, as well as Visa. The VC arms of the Australian banks first backed Basiq in 2017, doubling down in a Series A in 2021. Cuscal, owned… Read more »
The battle between Facebook and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) had a hearing in the High Court this week over the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal in which the personal data of 300,000 Australians was harvested without their consent. Facebook has been fighting a court battle for three years following revelations that between… Read more »
The current housing crisis has renewed debates about how to regulate short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb. The international research on the impact of these rentals is clear: when landlords “host” tourists rather than residents, housing supply is depleted, rents rise and neighbourhoods change. Given Australia’s dire shortage of rental housing, restricting short-term rentals seems… Read more »
Australian space systems engineer Katherine Bennell-Pegg is hoping to become the first Australian-born woman in space, heading to Germany next month for astronaut training with the European Space Agency (ESA). In November last year NSW-raised Dr Meganne Christian was selected as part of the ESA’s astronaut class as one of 11 reservists. She was born… Read more »
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