Melbourne link-in-bio startup Linktree has made three key US-based hires to build out its executive team under CEO and cofounder Alex Zaccaria. Snap’s former VP of Engineering Farnaz Azmoodeh has signed on as chief technology officer, while the business now has its first chief product officer in former Headspace chief product and content officer at… Read more »
Nine female entrepreneurs participated in the first We Are Emersyn Female Founders Pitch Competition in Perth last week. Emersyn is an accelerator platform that helps women entrepreneurs launch, build, and grow businesses. It offers educational programs, mentors, advisors, and a supportive community to help female founders succeed. Megan Del Borrello founded We Are Emersyn in… Read more »
Scroll the news and it won’t take long to find a story about a cyber attack or data breach on yet another unlucky company. With corporate cyber crime on the rise, it’s time for startups to learn from others’ mistakes. You don’t want to think it’ll happen to you, until it does. That’s the message… Read more »
Victorian startup agency LaunchVic’s ongoing support for female founders is continuing with a new grants program for organisations to run pre-accelerator programs for women entrepreneurs. Grants of up to $300,000 are available to support programs offering women founders with the advice, support and networks required to build a minimum viable product and find their first… Read more »
Amid concerns about students using artificial intelligence and programs like OpenAI’s ChatGPT to do assignments, we feel obliged to warn kids doing homework not to rely on it for biographical research. It seems one thing on the internet that the chatbot hasn’t bothered to scour for information is LinkedIn profiles, if the responses offering professional… Read more »
Curtin University has revealed the startups in its newly redesigned accelerator program. Curtin Accelerate is free program to university researchers, staff, students, and graduates. It equips them with the tools to take their ideas to market quickly and effectively. The Accelerate program supports innovative projects such as a construction marketplace platform to connect clients with… Read more »
Sydney biotech company SpeeDx has raised $26 million for US expansion and to ramp up its diagnostic technologies for illness such such as cancer. The raise included $5 million from Dr Andrew Forrest’s new $250 million VC fund Tenmile, which the WA mining billionaire launched last year with backing from his private investment company, Tattarang. Existing… Read more »
Melbourne aerospace startup Kite Magnetics has revealed its 120 kW air-cooled electric motor, the world’s most powerful for planes, at the Avalon Air Show. The lightweight motor, made from a unique new magnetic material called Aeroperm, is more powerful than a small car engine but only weighs as much as a full suitcase. Kite Magnetics… 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 »
Former Victorian innovation, medical research and digital economy Jaala Pulford, has joined the board of medtech, biotech and pharma growth centre MTPConnect, replacing Sue MacLeman as chair. Pulford left politics after 16 years at the 2022 state election, and had a strong focus on medical innovation, having established mRNA Victoria and also playing a key role… Read more »
The horror run of losses at Kogan.com has continued in the first half of the 2023 financial year, with the online retailer’s statuary loss doubling on 12 months ago to $23.8 million as revenue and sales plummeted by around a third. Releasing its half-year results to December 2022 today, Kogan.com (ASX: KGN) saw gross sales… Read more »
Atlassian cofounder and renewables advocate Mike Cannon-Brookes has backed a new fund to finance grid-scale battery projects via his family fund, Grok Ventures. Canberra-based specialist fund manager Infradebt announced that Grok, JANA Diversified Infrastructure Trust and several existing family office clients had participated in the first close of its Infradebt Energy Transition Fund (ETF). The… Read more »
Property data and analytics platform CoreLogic has acquired Victorian technology company, Plezzel. Plezzel provides real estate agents in Australia with customisable digital advertising and marketing. They also provide a platform to help agents respond to questions and requests from people interested in buying or renting properties. The cost of the acquisition was not disclosed. The… Read more »
Early-stage venture capital firm Investible has named Asia-Pacific investment expert Charlie Ill as the group’s first Chief Investment Officer as the fund ramps up its global presence. The Sydney-headquartered VC, which also has an office in Singapore, has also promoted Jayden Basha to principal and Ben Lindsay to investment manager. Ill has been charged with… Read more »
India has established itself as a noteworthy startup hub in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), attracting considerable venture capital (VC) funding. It’s among the top four markets globally, alongside the US, the UK, and China. In 2022, India accounted for 5.1% and 6.3% of global VC funding value and volume, respectively. Nevertheless, investor confidence has taken a… Read more »
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