Pathzero is a new startup out of the Antler Accelerator that helps small and medium-sized businesses understand their carbon footprint, set a path to carbon neutrality and share their climate commitment with confidence. They’ve designed a solution that is as effective as getting consultants in, but simpler and more affordable and can happen in a… Read more »
Australian tech entrepreneur Bevan Slattery has seen the value of $2.5 million worth of shares in cloud-based 3D geospatial image venture Pointerra double this morning as investors jumped in the stock in the wake of his investment. Slattery, the billionaire Megaport, NextDC and Superloop founder, took on 50 million shares at five cents each in… Read more »
The National Australia Bank has signed a five-year deal with Microsoft enlisting the software giant’s cloud technology, Microsoft Azure, to co-design and develop the bank’s tech as the Big Four behemoth looks to catch the digital neobanks eating into its customer base. The partnership will see NAB Group, which includes BNZ, and Microsoft share development… Read more »
Shares in US-based, buy now pay later fintech Sezzle (ASX:SZL) had exploded today, up more than 20% in the first hour of trade after the company raised $80 million in an institutional placement. Sezzle shares exploded out of the blocks from $6.95 last Thursday before trade was suspended pending the raise, to climb as high… Read more »
US-based puy now, pay later venture Sezzle (ASX: SZL) has tapped the market for A$86.3 million (US$60m) in the second major raise for ASX-listed fintechs with soaring share prices. The company’s share price jumped more than 40% last Thursday before the ASX called a trading halt following a media speculation of the raise, which represents 8.9% of… Read more »
Western Australian mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest is moving into the fintech space, backing consumer-to-business payments startup Azupay, taking an undisclosed majority stake through his investment company Tattarang. Azupay is the first and only to go live on the New Payments Platform (NPP), which is being implemented by the NSW Government’s Department of Customer Service.… Read more »
Investor lust for ASX-listed fintechs continued today with US-based Sezzle (ASX: SZL) skyrocketing more than 50% in Thursday morning trade before the ASX handed the stock a speeding ticket and placed it in a trading halt. While easing during lunchtime trade, Sezzle shares were at one stage up 54% to peak at $7.50 having started… Read more »
This is the third part in a three-part series on startup growth by venture capital investor Benjamin Chong. Part 1 is here & part 2 here. Growth guru Paul Graham’s startup incubator Y Combinator cites a good growth rate at 5 to 7% per week and an exceptional growth rate at 10% per week. The… Read more »
A motion-detecting fitness app developed in South Australia that pays its users to exercise is set to launch this month. Adelaide-based app development company PixelForce has been working on the project – known as Fitbotic – for the past three years. Managing Director Hinney Lo said Fitbotic used motion detection technology to track the number… Read more »
Buy now, pay later fintech Afterpay will raise $800 million in new equity, topped up to $1.05 billion with billionaire founders Anthony Eisen and Nicholas Molnar each selling down a 10% stake in their existing holdings in the company, worth $250 million in total, as part of the raise. Afterpay put its shares in a… Read more »
Welcome to Monday. Don’t forget to tune into the Startup Daily show on the business TV streaming channel ausbiz.com.au every weekday, 2-3pm, where we talk to startup founders, investors and innovators about everything tech. If you’ve missed an episode, you can catch up on the ausbiz site here. 1. Uber buys rival Postmates for $3.8bn Uber is spending… Read more »
In a sign of the shifting powers in Australian finance, ASX-listed buy now pay later service Afterpay is joining the Qantas Frequent Flyers program. New Afterpay customers will earn 500 Qantas Points for joining and adding their QFF membership number to their Afterpay account and then 1 point per $1 spent, up to a total… Read more »
Engineering startup VAPAR, which utilises artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to check the condition of stormwater and sewerage pipelines, has raised AU$700,000 in seed funding led by Blackbird Ventures and Startmate, as well as angel investors. CEO Amanda Siqueira and CTO Michelle Aguilar, both engineering graduates from the University of Technology, Sydney, co-founded their… Read more »
As the global renewables transition accelerates, the future for coal regions has become a big worry. This raises an important question: can renewables create the right jobs in the right places to employ former coal workers? According to our new research, the answer in many cases is “yes”. Renewable energy jobs provide a good match… Read more »
Keeping track of all the things kids get up to outside of the classroom is one of the biggest juggles parents and educators face, but a new startup, which just raised $850,000 from startup VC firm Jelix Ventures, is well on its way to solving that problem. Software venture Clipboard, founded in late 2017 by… Read more »
‘Have I gone too far?’ How founders can beat their startup demons 
Tassie carbon accounting startup banks $5.3 million Seed round 
Unicorn dehorned: Nasdaq-listed Brisbane EV charging venture Tritium collapses into receivership 
The lessons from Uber, Ola and rideshare’s disruption is that in the end, the consumer still pays 
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