Round three of the South Australia Space Collaboration and Innovation Fund will open next Tuesday, September 23, with two projects awarded up to $150,000 each This round is focused on real-world applications of space-derived data to solve pressing challenges on Earth. Funding will support innovative projects that demonstrate clear commercial potential in areas such as: … Read more »
It often takes an incoming government a full electoral term to figure out which bits of policy it should never have thrown out. But on an unseasonably warm September Monday in Sydney, the Minns government wasn’t about to repeat that habit. In a full-throated sales pitch as to why it wants both the local and… Read more »
Victorian government-backed venture fund Breakthrough Victoria has lured another NSW startup across the border, investing $2 million in proteins manufacturer Harvest B as part of a $3.5 million pre-Series A. The round was led by Mandalay Venture Partners, supported by Breakthrough Victoria, Alberts Impact Ventures, the Investible Climate Tech Fund, and Investible Club. In January,… Read more »
Australians love reminding ourselves we invented Wi-Fi, the black box and the Hills Hoist. But those stories are outdated. The challenges we face today are new. Nostalgia won’t build the systems we need to turn our next breakthrough into something the world buys. No wonder we rank 68 out of 69 countries for entrepreneurship in… Read more »
The federal government’s claim that several hundred Freedom of Information (FOI) applicants’ requests to the eSafety Commissioner last year were “AI bot-generated” is false, according to eSafety’s publicly available documents. “We’re frankly being inundated by anonymous requests … many of them we’re sure are AI bot-generated requests,” Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler said… Read more »
New Zealand ocean security startup Starboard Maritime Intelligence (SMI) has banked a NZ$23 million (A$20.7m) Series A. The round was co-led by SMI’s first backer, Kiwi VC Altered Capital, with new investors OIF Ventures and King River Capital, supported by Co:Act Capital, Icehouse Ventures, and Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation. The funding is for global expansion into… Read more »
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) will get one more crack at cryptocurrency fintech, Block Earner, in a long-running dispute over one of its investment products after the High Court granted the regular special leave to appeal a Full Federal Court decision it lost. It will be the fourth case in a two-year legal battle… 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 »
In less than four months, world-first legislation will ban Australian under-16s from certain social media platforms. Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, X, Reddit and YouTube will all be off limits for children and teens. It’s still not clear exactly how the restrictions will be implemented. But the federal government says social media platforms must take “reasonable… Read more »
The NSW government has overhauled its MVP Ventures Program, introducing a competitive selection process. It is also launching a targeted funding stream for underrepresented founders, including women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses, and regional entrepreneurs. The update follows weeks of uncertainty around the 2025–26 grant round, which was originally scheduled to open on July 1.… Read more »
The Australian government is reportedly moving to dump plans for dedicated artificial intelligence legislation such as an AI Act, with the minister for innovation saying lawmakers are carefully creating “an Australian approach” for regulation of the technology. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s caucus has reportedly become split on the issue, and tensions have grown since the… Read more »
Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Tuesday will give the diverse collection of participants at the economic roundtable their riding instructions, as he seeks to wring as much substance as possible out of the meeting. The success or otherwise of the three-day summit will reflect on Chalmers, who will not only lead it but has driven the… Read more »
Competition watchdog the ACCC has struck a deal with Google over anti-competitive behaviour in a deal with Telstra and Optus to pre-instal Google Search on Android mobile phones, agreeing to a $55 million penalty. The deal now needs to be ratified by the Federal Court, which will decide if the penalty is appropriate. Google co-operated… Read more »
The Australian government is reportedly moving to dump plans for dedicated artificial intelligence legislation such as an AI Act, with the minister for innovation saying lawmakers are carefully creating “an Australian approach” for regulation of the technology. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s caucus has reportedly become split on the issue, and tensions have grown since the… Read more »
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