Last year I attended a panel on generative AI in education. In a memorable moment, one presenter asked: “What’s the big deal? Generative AI is like a calculator. It’s just a tool.” The analogy is an increasingly common one. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman himself has referred to ChatGPT as “a calculator for words” and… Read more »
Eckhart Tolle once said, “Awareness is the greatest agent for change.” In a world that’s moving faster than ever, this quote couldn’t be more relevant – especially for leaders and staff burning the candle at both ends, both professionally and personally. Having a front row seat to leaders and businesses for the past decade as… Read more »
Nutromics’ latest raise adds fuel to its push for continuous molecular monitoring in the ICU, with vancomycin the first target and a local advanced-manufacturing play on the table.
The recent Productivity Roundtable in Canberra focused on how to increase productivity and resilience with technology, but one niche sector was overlooked, as it often is: agtech. Yet agriculture is where some of the most urgent innovation is taking place, particularly in adapting to climate change, increasing yields and productivity. Beanstalk’s Drought Venture Studio, backed… Read more »
An all-women founding team has as little as a 1-in-5000 chance of being funded in Australia according to the latest analysis of investment data from Blackbird. The VC fund released details on its efforts to close the gender investment gap for the 2025 financial year (FY25), with head of impact, Kate Glazebrook, saying “the last… Read more »
Finder cofounder and chief operating officer Jeremy Cabral is downing after 16 years of helping lead the business to pursue new opportunities in AI. The move leaves just CEO Frank Restuccia still in an operational role among the comparison website’s cofounding trio, which includes Cabral and Fred Schebesta. Crypto evangelist Schebesta stepped down as co-CEO… Read more »
The University of Newcastle is backing women entrepreneurs and aspiring leaders around the Hunter and Central Coast regions with a new program to help them take charge. FLIP is a nine-week program aimed at building entrepreneurial confidence, validating business ideas and developing an authentic leadership presence in a supportive, hands-on environment. It’s run by the… Read more »
Crowd-sourced funding (CSF) platform Birchal is increasing its clip of the ticket on raises under $500,000, and shedding roles for the second time in 14 months as CEO Kirstin Hunter looks to put the business on a more financially sustainable path. Two leadership roles have been made redundant, cutting the team to four. SmartCompany reported… Read more »
The government’s trial has found age-assurance for its under-16 social media ban can be done effectively and protect privacy but there is not a one-size-fits-all model. The report, from an independent company and released in full, also warns continued vigilance is needed on privacy and other issues. It found some providers, in the absence of… Read more »
Sydney Startup Hub shuts down today, after seven years, thanks to the NSW government. And right now it’s clear that when it comes to startups, the government couldn’t organise a piss-up in a brewery, to use one of the more polite versions of the idiom. Another way of explaining it is that they’ve bombed the… Read more »
Welcome to our new weekly round-up of Australian startup raises, in a collaboration between Startup Daily and our sister publication, SmartCompany. The last week of August features 5 startups spanning vaccine delivery, logistics and cross-border payments, which collectively raised $95.45 million. (A shoutout to our cousins across The Ditch too, where the former Kiwi TikTok… Read more »
A $42 million project to put an Australian-designed and built lunar explorer on the Moon will be realised by the end of the decade. NASA has confirmed the Roo-ver will make the 384,000km trip from Earth as part of its Artemis Moon exploration program, via NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services by 2030. The Roo-ver, 20kg semi-autonomous… Read more »
Episode 28 of Startup 360 is a little different, with cohost Simon away at a company offsite and Majella busy with the Sydney Startup Hub closure. So we’ve picked out two of our favourite interviews of the last six months to shine a light on them once again. Irish-Australian teenager Liam Fuller starred on Startup… Read more »
Quantum infrastructure software startup Q-CTRL has been awarded to contracts worth $38 million (US$24.4m) under the US Department of Defense agency DARPA’s Robust Quantum Sensors (RoQS) program. The funding is for Q-CTRL’s quantum sensing technologies in high-performance military vehicles, in a collaboration with Lockheed Martin. Engaging Q-CTRL’s solution comes as GPS becomes increasingly vulnerable to… Read more »
A pet food startup making dog treats from feral buffalo in the Northern Territory (NT) has banked around $30,000 to develop the idea thanks to the NT government’s Innovation Grants program. Peco Pet Food makes Buff Jerky and Buff Jellies treats for dogs. The startup will expand its range to Buff Bites an all-natural gelatin… Read more »
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