Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak has been declared a national emergency and residents more suburbs in the capital’s south-west will be banned from leaving their region under stricter lockdown laws. People who live in the Cumberland and Blacktown local government areas (LGAs) will also be added to the list of workers who are not allowed to leave… Read more »
Shares in BNPL Zip crashed nearly 8% today after the company released its Q4 trading update. The fintech (ASX: Z1P) painted a rosy growth picture, but analyst nemesis UBS said the 4Q volumes “were below expectations” resulting in a “significant volume miss” compared to forecasts, with US momentum starting to slow. Zip closed at $6.99,… Read more »
Tennis Australia will follow the lead set by US governing sports bodies such as the NFL and NBA and launch its own venture capital fund to back tech startups. Wildcard Ventures will invest in early-stage startups using technologies that benefit the sports, health and entertainment industries. The fund will also create a syndicate for investors… Read more »
When pandemic lockdowns hit leading Melbourne chef Shane Delia last year, he became a startup entrepreneur, launching Providoor, a restaurant meal delivery service taking on the tech giants and putting more money back into the pockets of struggling restaurateurs. In the last 12 months Providoor generated more than $40 million in revenue for the Melbourne… Read more »
Digital lending and payments provider WLTH has landed a $3 million seed round, with the Brisbane fintech now launching a $15 million series A with an eye to international expansion. The venture, founded in 2019, has trimmed its sails since originally announcing its intentions earlier this year for a $5m seed, followed by a $20… Read more »
A new report into Victoria’s startup sector reveals that any politician wanting to promise voters jobs should be looking to back startups. The Startup Employment in Victoria report bydealroom.co, in collaboration with LaunchVic, found a 10.75% increase in startup jobs year-on-year between 2018 and 2020. Around 5,900 direct new local jobs were created by local… Read more »
Perth-based startup Komo Digital now has one of the most important jobs for the Australian team at the Tokyo Olympics – driving fan engagement. The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has appointed Komo to deliver a fan hub to support the AOC’s first-ever digital fan engagement strategy for the Tokyo Games, which kick off today with… Read more »
Big four bank ANZ will turn its ANZi ventures and incubator business as a stand-alone entity in the hope that it will operate more like a startup. The bank is hoping the new venture, which will change its name from ANZi to 1835i, will have greater freedom to act quickly as it develops a pipeline… Read more »
HR and payroll startup Employment Hero has raised $140 million in a series E that tripled the venture’s valuation to $800 million. The round is led by US-based Insight Partners, with local existing investors SEEK, OneVentures, AirTree Ventures and Salesforce Ventures also chipping in again. The cash will be used to bolster engineering capabilities, enhance… Read more »
The founders of leading local fintechs, including Prospa, Zip, Athena Home Loans and Honey Insurance will offer paid vaccination leave for all permanent employees, joining a campaign to encourage other Australian company owners to do the same. David Hyman, co-founder and CEO of Lendi Group is behind the push, dubbed the Great Aussie Vaccine Drive, saying… Read more »
Victoria’s 5-day lockdown will now last for at least for another seven days to July 27, joined by South Australia which is also going into lockdown for a week from 6pm tonight, July 20. South Australian Premier Steven Marshall announced a week-long lockdown on Tuesday morning. The state has five cases linked to the current… Read more »
Buy-now-pay-later market leader Afterpay (ASX: APT) is getting into ibanking, launching an app-based no fee deposit account paying 1% interest. The ASX-listed fintech has been granted an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) by ASIC so it can provide general financial product advice and distribute basic deposit products and debit cards. Called Money by Afterpay, the… Read more »
Brisbane-based online corporate training marketplace Go1 is Australia’s newest unicorn startup after raising a whopping US$200 million (A$273m) series D. Japanese investment powerhouse SoftBank’s Vision 2 fund led the round, announced less than a fortnight after it backed another Brisbane startup, Skedulo’s $100 million raise. Others investors in the latest Go1 round include AirTree Ventures… Read more »
The Australian government has accused China’s Ministry of State Security being behind a global hack of Microsoft’s Exchange email system earlier this year. The announcement, released by Foreign Affairs Minister Senator Marise Payne late on Monday night, alongside Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews and Defence Minister Peter Dutton, coincidences with similar findings announced by leading… Read more »
Supermarket giant Woolworths is backing accelerator Seedlab Australia with a $4 million investment to help startup founders develop new food, beverage, home and personal care products. The Seedlab accelerator program will identify founders and ventures with the potential for high growth in categories such as artisan foods, health and wellness, and more sustainable products, offering… Read more »
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