Algorithmic decision-making has enormous potential to do good. From identifying priority areas for first response after an earthquake hits, to identifying those at risk of COVID-19 within minutes, their application has proven hugely beneficial. But things can go drastically wrong when decisions are trusted to algorithms without ensuring they adhere to established ethical norms.… Read more »
Hello all. The week starts on Tuesday for much of Australia thanks to a 94-year-old monarch. Don’t forget to tune into the Startup Daily show on ausbiz.com.au every weekday, 2-3pm, where we talk to startup founders, investors and innovators about everything tech. 1. The Amazon customer is not right When an Amazon customer discovered… Read more »
A Queensland dinner party marketplace that matches hosts with caterers – from chefs and talented home cooks – has raised $600,000 in seed funding. Brisbane-based ACAC Innovation led the raise with the FNQ Angels and the Queensland Government’s Business Development Fund as co-investors. It’s the second time FNQ Angels has supported the regional startup, having tipped… Read more »
Melbourne buy-now-pay-later startup Openpay’s stellar week continued on Thursday when the company raised an additional A$33.77 million through an oversubscribed local institutional placement. The raise comes in a week where Managing Director and CEO Michael Eidel announced the fintech had secured a UK funding facility for £25 million (A$46 million) for its British business, adding… Read more »
Hello and welcome to Thursday What a time to be alive! 1. Fintech explosion A big hello to anyone who bought BNPL Openpay and Zip Co on Monday! Now pubs are reopening, you’re buying the next round. Zip shares just nearly 40% on Tuesday on news that that it was buying US BNPL QuadPay… Read more »
Shares in Zip Co. jumped more than 40% following news that it will acquire the major US buy-now-pay-later venture QuadPay in an all-scrip deal to drive international growth, as well as raising $200 million. QuadPay shareholders will receive up to a 23.3% stake in the Australian fintech (ASX: Z1P) – a maximum of up to… Read more »
Welcome to winter and Monday. It’s a massive day! 1. The Startup Daily Show launches Forgive us for blowing our own trumpet for a second, but we were pretty excited to launch the Start Daily Show on Ausbiz TV. We’re talking startups, tech and innovation for 60 minutes daily show on the business streaming… Read more »
Neobanks and fintech lenders such as Xinja, Judo, Get Capital, Society One and Volt Bank dominated Australian startup sector funding in the first quarter of 2020 in a boom-time beginning to the year. Startup sector analysts Techboard hve been monitoring Australian startup and tech sector growth since 2017 and the March quarter 2020 was the second… Read more »
People and culture platform Culture Amp has been forced to shed 8% of its workforce as global impact of coronavirus hits the international arms of the business. CEO and co-founder Didier Elzinga announced the redundancies to the team on Thursday, with 36 positions going. While the company continues to grow, it has revised down growth… Read more »
Welcome to Wednesday, team. Here are some things we’ve noticed to share with you 1. Google reboots offices Some Googlers will be getting out their best t-shirts to return to the office on July 6. CEO Sundar Pichai said returning to work will remain optional for the rest of 2020 in a blog post to… Read more »
As companies were suddenly forced into remote working, there was a massive surge in demand for collaboration software to help employees collaborate when not physically together. There was plenty of emphasis on video conferencing tools like Zoom, which recently revealed it now has 300 million daily meeting participants, but what about when you actually need… Read more »
The astonishing resurrection of Afterpay’s share price after falling below $10 just two months ago continued today with the buy-now-pay-later fintech’s share price briefly topping $50 in morning trade today. Afterpay (ASX: APT) closed at a new record high on Monday of $49, having announced that interim chair Elana Rubin will step into the role,… Read more »
Sydney Angels, the 100-plus member investment group backing early stage startups, has sent a strong signal to founders with good ideas, announcing $2.4 million in total investment across three tech startups. The three ventures are: Trendspek, a Sydney software ventures that converts drone footage of critical infrastructure that’s difficult to inspect for maintenance, such as… Read more »
Venture capital (VC) funding for startups has fallen by around 20% since December 2019 as the covid-19 pandemic smashed the global economy, but the impact is unevenly distributed according to new research from Startup Genome. The California-based analytics firm’s latest report into global startup funding, the first in a series its planning looking at the… Read more »
The quantum technology sector could be worth more than $4 billion annually and create 16,000 jobs by 2040, according to a report by CSIRO. The Growing Australia’s Quantum Technology Industry report sees potential in everything from national security to mineral exploration, drug and materials development, and communications from spin offs resulting from quantum physics developments.… Read more »
Canva has a new $500 million shareholder – a Sydney private equity firm that previously made a fortune from pet food 
Envato founders exit in $373 million Shutterstock deal 
Outdoor adtech startup Doohly banks $500,000 pre-Seed to speed up digital ad execution 
Breakthrough Victoria invests $37 million to lure US near-space exploration platform World View to Melbourne 
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