Retail giant Woolworths is obviously impressed with the products rolling out of food and drink startup incubator, Seedlab Australia, tipping another $7 million into the project. Woolies previously invested $4 million in Seedlab when it kicked off in 2021, supporting nearly 400 businesses develop new products over that time. Seedlab Australia CEO and cofounder Dr Hazel… Read more »
A margin trading product offered by cryptocurrency exchange Kraken failed to meet its legal obligations under Australia’s Corporations Act, a Federal Court judge has ruled. The judgment hands a rare win to corporate regulator the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) amid an ongoing focus on regulatory compliance in the crypto sector. Justice John Nicholas… Read more »
Early-stage and climate tech VC Investible has appointed Charlie Ill as its new CEO in the wake of Rod Bristow stepping down after four years. Ill became the fund’s first first chief investment officer in early 2023 as the Sydney-based VC ramped up its focus on backing startups across the Asia-Pacific region. He has more… Read more »
The office of the Australian Information Commissioner announced this week it would be taking no further action against facial recognition company Clearview AI. This marked a significant victory for one of the most controversial technology companies in the world. In 2021, Australia’s privacy regulator ruled Clearview AI broke privacy laws for scraping millions of photographs… Read more »
Shared mobility giant Uber is killing off Uber Carshare, its global experiment in hiring neighbour vehicles, after less than three years. The service will shut down in Australia in three weeks on September 12, while the US and Canada will close on 9/11. The experiment began in January 2022, when Uber paid $105 million to… Read more »
Shares in logistics software company WiseTech Global are on a fresh tear today, setting new records following the company’s FY2024 annual results on Wednesday. Founder and CEO Richard White is already a billionaire thanks to the success of Sydney-based WiseTech, which the former AC/DC guitar technician launched in 1994 by writing code for Australian freight… Read more »
Australia’s first dedicated pre-seed venture fund, Maxine Minter’s Co Ventures, has closed its first fund after hitting its $5 million target. Co Ventures Fund 1 is the result of nearly two years of work by Minter, who started fundraising in September 2022, before announcing the launch of her fund in April 2023. The support from… Read more »
The annual Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) Renewables Startup Showcase will return to Sydney in November and the hunt is now on for startups looking for investment to take part. Innovation Bay, the membership community for technology founders and investors, is collaborating with ARENA for the fifth year of the event, on Thursday, November 21.… Read more »
The wildly ambitious SunCable renewable energy project, which plans to build Australia biggest solar farm in the Northern Territory, has been approved by the federal government. Officially known as the SunCable Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink), the 12,000 hectare solar farm – that’s 3000x the MCG precinct – will be built on a pastoral station between Elliot… Read more »
Sydney software proptech Sitemate has acquired fellow Startmate alumni software startup Nomad Fleet in a deal worth $2 million. Surprisingly, it’s the first time in Startmate’s 13-year history that two of the 250 startup to emerge from the accelerator program have teamed up in an M&A deal. Both Sitemate cofounder Hartley Pike and Nomad founder Will… Read more »
Andrew Barnes, cofounder Brisbane workplace learning platform Go1, is following in the footsteps of Atlassian’s Scott Farquhar and relinquishing the co-CEO role at the $3 billion business. Barnes has shared the role with cofounder Chris Eigeland since 2021 and spent nearly a decade as CEO since founding the edtech unicorn in a Brisbane garage with… Read more »
Google has claimed it does not dominate search engine services in Australia after a judge earlier this month found the tech giant operated an illegal search monopoly in the United States. Representatives from Google responded to questions from Australian senators during a meeting of the Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence on Friday, which also… Read more »
Sydney spacesuit startup Metakosmos, which is developing the “Kosmosuit” for life in space, has raised $2 million in a pre-Seed round. The round was led Saudi Arabian technology group Alzadhar Al-Sanai and will be used by Metakosmos to accelerate its innovation pipeline, advance spacesuit technology and launch spin-off applications in multiple industries for new markets.… Read more »
Early childhood edtech LoveHeart AI has raised $2.3 million in a Seed round for its “super-intelligent aide for educators”. The raise was backed OIF Ventures and Skalata. Loveheart was founded in 2022 by Himal Randeniya, who used the proceeds from his first venture, Project Academy, to buy and run several early childhood education centres. He… Read more »
Puddle Pod started four years ago as a weekend side hustle of Startmate CEO Michael Batko. But since then it’s grown into a thriving community of learners committed to improving their professional lives featuring courses for people in startups to ramp up the talents they need to succeed. Puddle Pod has become the go-to productivity… Read more »
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