Bunnings may be a goldmine for Wesfarmers, but ecommerce site Catch has been a millstone since the ASX-listed retail conglomerate bought the tech startup for $230 million in 2019. Today, Wesfarmers announced it will shut down Catch at the end of April, blaming increased competition in Australian ecommerce. They expect Catch to post a loss… Read more »
A startup that accredits and verifies workers and volunteers in care, sport and community roles has signed a five-year deal with Tennis Australia as part of the Australian Open. Oho is one of five Australian startups among 12 for the annual AO Startups program, which runs during the grand slam tournament, integrating into the event.… Read more »
Investors keen to climb about the success of ecommerce unicorn Rokt have shelled out US$335 million (A$510m) to acquire existing shares as the business gears up for an IPO in 2026. The sales values the privately owned New York-based Australian-founded scaleup at US$3.5 billion (A$5.6bn), up from $US2.4 billion (A$3.5bn) in late 2022 when $750… Read more »
A medtech startup developing the world’s first arthroscopic (joints) surgical robot has raised $5 million in a Series A to crack the US market. Convergence Medical was backed by US investor Avicella Capital, at a valuation above $30 million. The funds will support plans to commercialise the robot, expand into the US to grab a… Read more »
Telecommunications giant Telstra plans to spend $700 million – $100m annually – over the next seven years to ramp up its data and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in a joint venture with its long-time partner Accenture. The US consultancy firm is already pouring $3 billion into its own AI capabilities and will own 60% of… Read more »
Sydney cultivated meat startup Vow, creator of the “woolly mammoth meatball“, has been forced to slash staffing by nearly a third, with 25 jobs being made redundant as it seeks a new round of investmen. Vow has been developing lab-grown cell-based animal products being served in high-end restaurants in Asia. It is still awaiting regulatory approval… Read more »
Last week billionaire Elon Musk got a bit upset when an Australian journalist wrote a 2025 predictions column saying the US-based immigrant will resign as Tesla boss. “After constant controversies and distractions, it will all come to a head in 2025, and Musk will be forced to hand over the reins at Tesla, a company… Read more »
A who’s who of Australian investors have backed a new sports VC fund by Tennis Australia’s AO Ventures, committing around $49 million to its first close. They include Mark Nelson from Caledonia, Tanarra’s John Wylie, Melbourne-based businessman Mark Healey, Ashok Jacob from Ellerston Capital and Robyn and Victoria Denholm’s family office, Wollemi Capital Group. International… Read more »
The federal government will make another $3 billion equity investment into the National Broadband Network (NBN) to national fibre-to-the node (FTTN) network as Labor and the Coalition begin campaigning ahead of an election due by May. NBN Co will contribute more than $800 million to the plan to upgrade around 622,000 homes and businesses nationally… Read more »
Small business HR and payroll platform Employment Hero has spent $112 million acquiring a Canadian rival as part of ambitions to expand into the North American market. The scaleup’s founder and chief economist, Ben Thompson said Canada has been in our expansion plans since their Series A, eight years ago “Humi is Canada’s leading employment… Read more »
Entrepreneur, mother and billionaire Melanie Perkins has been taking stock of her working life and goals for the year ahead, admitting that she got it wrong when she “used to work seven days a week, barely pausing to breathe, thinking it was the only way to succeed”. Perkins revealed the lessons she’d learned to maintain… Read more »
Troubled Victorian medical device startup Seer Medical has been placed in voluntary administration amid a product recall and legal battle with its ousted cofounder. Lindsay Bainbridge and Andrew Yeo from Pitcher Partners Melbourne were appointed administrators on January 6 following a pre-Christmas board meeting where the medtech’s directors voted to hand over the books. Pitcher… Read more »
Billionaire Richard White topped up his bank account in the December quarter, selling more than $440 million worth of shares in WiseTech, the logistics software company he founded 30 years ago. The sale represents less than 1.5% of his holding in WiseTech (ASX: WTC). White sold 3,564,742 shares across 31 days of on-market trading between… Read more »
In October last year, the world’s richest conspiracy theorist, Elon Musk, announced plans for a robotaxi, the Tesla Cybercab. Production would begin he said “in 2026”, before correcting himself to “before 2027”, because “I tend to be a little optimistic with timeframes”. That observation is an understatement inversely proportional to Musk’s wealth. So it wasn’t… Read more »
Matt Vitale, the CEO and cofounder of Birchal, has stepped down from his leadership role and away from the business, saying he was “a bit broken” after eight years of building the pioneering crowdfunding platform. Techstars boss Kirstin Hunter will take on an advisory role as CEO transition lead in the interim, Birchal chair Adam… Read more »
The one that got away: After paying $230 million for Catch, Wesfarmers is shutting it down 
Antler Investor Memo Series: Lyngo AI answers the healthcare communication crisis with AI receptionists 
Tennis Australia is using facial recognition at the Australian Open to monitor fans 
Applications for Catalysr’s ‘migrapreneur’ startup accelerator program are about to close 
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