Happy democracy sausage weekend! As Australians head to schools and halls on Saturday (although around 20% of the population has already voted) to cast their verdict on the last three years of the Albanese government, Startup 360 cohosts Simon Thomsen and Kayla Medica took a look at the policies and election promises for the tech… Read more »
Warning: This story contains references to child sexualisation. Meta’s artificial intelligence chatbot has reportedly been found engaging in sexual conversations with underage users, even while voiced by the likenesses of celebrities such as actors John Cena and Kristen Bell. The social media giant’s AI chatbot, Meta AI, reportedly engaged in sexual discussions with accounts set… Read more »
The husband of Australia’s first “Aussie” astronaut, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, has been appointed the new director of space at the South Australian Space Industry Centre (SASIC). Campbell Pegg has spent 15 years in the space industry across five countries, and was most recently assistant director for satellite engineering at Optus. He’s worked in leadership positions across government,… Read more »
More than 100 fintech leaders have signed a letter to both the Labor government and Coalition opposition ahead of the May 3 election calling on them to live up to promises made in previous campaigns for reform in financial services, saying the sector’s growth is being hampered by “policy inertia”. Issues such as crypto and… Read more »
Elon Musk says he will “significantly” reduce his work advising the United States government in May to allocate “far more” of his time to Tesla, following the company’s 71% drop in quarterly profits. “The large slug of work” establishing the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for US President Donald Trump had been mostly… Read more »
Greens Senator Nick McKim wants to end would-be Prime Minister Peter Dutton… in Fortnite. The veteran Tasmanian senator — whose career has spanned over two decades in federal politics — is perhaps the only politician who has taken to a gaming platform to pitch himself and his party to voters ahead of the May 3… Read more »
Tech giant Google has just suffered another legal blow in the United States, losing a landmark antitrust case. This follows on from the company’s loss in a similar case last year. Social media giant Meta is also currently embroiled in a landmark legal battle in the US that could change not only how it operates,… Read more »
Industry body the Australian Computer Society (ACS), which represents around 50,000 members in tech, said whoever forms government after the May 3 election needs to take urgent, coordinated action on digital skills reform and research commercialisation to secure the nation’s economic future. The recent ACS 2025 Election Forum in Sydney brought together leaders from industry,… Read more »
Australia’s peak science and tech body has warned the Coalition’s plans to shut down Labor’s $15 billion manufacturing fund would put a handbrake on the nation’s innovation efforts. Citing Coalition sources, the AFR reported last week that if the Coalition wins the upcoming May election it plans to redirect all remaining capital allocated to the National… Read more »
The global trade war triggered by US President Donald Trump earlier this month shows no signs of ending anytime soon. In recent days, China suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals that are vital ingredients in everything from electric cars and drones to the semiconductor chips that power artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Around… Read more »
The startup world thrives on innovation – new ideas, fresh perspectives, and bold solutions to problems others overlook. Queer-led businesses have been driving that kind of innovation for decades, yet we remain one of the most underfunded, undervalued, and underestimated forces in the ecosystem. Right now, we’re experiencing a critical moment where the progress we’ve… Read more »
If you need a reality check on just how crazy Donald Trump’s tariff plan-du-jour was last week, well, after wiping trillions in value from global markets, he followed up with April 9’s insider trading scam before the US President tanked markets all over again and capped it off with some crony capitalism. Economics analyst Joey… Read more »
Australia needs to reduce its “risk aversion” in order to improve its lagging research and development (R&D) sector and fragmented innovation ecosystem, according to industry experts. The nation has struggled to capitalise on innovations developed by universities and startups, and has seen their intellectual property taken overseas in search of greater funding, a panel of… Read more »
Back on February 13, Startup Daily announced news that battery storage tech startup Allegro Energy had bagged a $1.85 million federal government grant. The Newcastle-based startup was one of five early stage tech companies funded under the $400 million Industry Growth Program, and the money is for the mass production of their water-based Redox Flow Batteries… Read more »
Looking at the NSW Innovation Blueprint 2035, it’s disappointing to see how disconnected it is from the day-to-day realities of being an innovator. Just like magic beans – big on promises, but scant on mechanisms. Without knowing the responsible government executives, the funding, the timelines and specific actions, it’s very hard to believe it will… Read more »
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