Australia is spending a fraction of its GDP on artificial intelligence and machine learning, compared to its international rivals, and will lose jobs without increased investment in the technology, experts says. Analysis by the University of Adelaide’s Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML), which is pushing to establish a National Centre of Excellence in Machine… Read more »
Crowdfunding appears to be the new go-to capital tap for non-tech startups, with Sydney-based drinks brand Nexba the latest startup to tap its supporters for cash, setting a new record for Australia’s largest non-tech crowdfunding raise in the process. Nexba just scooped up $6 million in a Series A Round and as part of the… Read more »
Brisbane’s RiverPitch Live – think Shark Tank livestreamed – is coming to Sydney next month and is seeking startups to take part. The series, run by River City Labs, had up to 15 startups take part in each RiverPitch Brisbane Live event before a live audience of more than 100 people, including especially screened high-profile… Read more »
It’s a startup with the potential to turn into unicorn, according to one of the country’s highest profile investors, Steve Baxter, who’s just led a $1 million seed round in Brisbane video platform Clipchamp, with the former Shark Tank shark declaring it “Canva for video”. Canva, the Sydney graphic design startup founded by Mel Perkins… Read more »
Supp is an app currently available to hospitality venues in Melbourne that offers casual shifts and connects employers with workers The idea was the brainchild of the couple behind Fitzroy’s Lune Croissanterie Supp is now seeking $1m via equity crowdfunding to take the idea interstate In the last two years, some of the biggest names… Read more »
When your family’s been on the land for 60 years, it’s doesn’t sound like startup territory, but farmers now all about disruption and the need to pivot a business. Dairy farming has changed dramatically in the past two decades since the biggest disruption of all, deregulation, arrived in 2000. Since then, Queensland has lost over… Read more »
Mums became big news this week, with Labor leader Bill Shorten talking about how his mother was an inspiration to him and shaped his political views. Politicians aren’t the only ones with inspiring mums. Becoming an entrepreneur is often the result of hard work, sacrifice, love and more from parents who’ve raised their child with… Read more »
The annual Startup Genome Global Startup Ecosystem Report sees Sydney fall in the top 30 rankings Melbourne’s ecosystem is on the rise as a “challenger” to crack the top 30 The Sydney result is ‘disappointing’ and the city has now slipped from 16th in 2015 While there is growth overall, Australia is lagging behind global… Read more »
Melbourne lawtech startup Plexus, has closed the largest venture capital raise in Australian legal history, $4.65 million in Series A funding, led by KPMG. The professional services company’s legal arm, KPMG Law has also formed a strategic alliance with Plexus. Aconex co-founders, Rob Philpot and Leigh Jasper, and Message Media co-founder Grant Rule also participated.… Read more »
86 400 is a new digital-only bank led by British entrepreneur Anthony Thomson It’s backed by Sydney-based payments services company Cuscal The bank is waiting for APRA approval to launch with a savings account this year It’s seeking $250m over the next three years to strengthen its balance sheet Digital banking startup 86 400 (named… Read more »
Perth-based Demand.film is hoping its 110,000-strong customer base will put their money where their eyeballs are, launching a seven-figure equity raise via crowdfunding. The on-demand cinema startup, which has a catalogue of hundreds of films, predominantly documentaries alongside Australian classics such as Mad Max and Crocodile Dundee, offers crowdsourced, single event-screenings in… Read more »
R&D investment in Australia has now been in decline for a decade and sits below the OECD average Labor wants to increase the figure from the current 1.9% of GDP to 3% by 2030 Businesses collaborating with universities or CSIRO scientists will receive a 10% premium R&D tax incentive The proposal is expected to cost… Read more »
British online real estate agent Purplebricks is pulling out of Australia after less than three years as the business struggles globally and the local arm is battered by the slump in property prices in the country’s two biggest markets, Sydney and Melbourne. The local market’s challenging conditions appear to have hit the business hard,… Read more »
Startup accelerator BlueChilli is launching a healthtech accelerator in Singapore, giving the Sydney-based venture a permanent HQ in the city-state. Founder Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin has partnered with the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry’s development agency, Enterprise Singapore, to launch the accelerator with an eye to the fact that the US$6.3 billion invested in 2018… Read more »
Cybersecurity startup Kasada has raised $6.5 million from the CSIRO’s innovation fund, Main Sequence Ventures, and Westpac’s Reinventure Group to ramp up its technology to tackle automated bots attacking websites. The raise comes 12 months after Kasada’s wunderkind founder and CEO, Sam Crowther, first raised $2.5 million for his venture. Kasada’s cloud-based tech product,… Read more »
Biotech incubator CUREator tips $12 million into 19 startups tackling global health
Veteran tech director Cass O’Connor to chair Airtasker as James Spencely steps down to focus on humanitarian work
Agtech accelerator Sparklabs Cultiv8 is backing 10 cleantech startups in a new program
Queensland sustainable packaging startup Earthodic bags $1.85 million pre-Seed round
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