UNSW chancellor David Gonski and Simon Sheikh’s impact investment fintech Future Super are among the investors in a new US$100 million fund to back artificial intelligence (AI) startups. King River Capital said it’s nearing the final close of its latest A$157 million fund, which continues its ongoing strategic focus on AI-driven software startups both here… Read more »
Lee Hickin, Microsoft’s artificial intelligence policy lead for Asia, has departed the tech giant after more than six years to become the new director of the National AI Centre (NAIC). The NAIC was established in 2021 to support and accelerate Australia’s AI industry. Its inaugural director, Stela Solar, herself a former Microsoft executive, stepped down… Read more »
Sydney investment firm Quadrant Private Equity has made another foray into startups, with plans to take an equity stake in Legal Vision. The size of the investment was not disclosed, but it’s the first from the Sydney PE firm’s latest and 10th fund, the $660m Quadrant Growth Fund 3, which looks to invest between $50… Read more »
An AI-driven eCommerce software platform with the same name as one of the country’s best known Australian financial services companies has raised $20 million. Amp, founded in 2022, has been backed by existing investor, Singapore’s Openspace Ventures, with Sydney’s One Ventures also hitting the EFT button. TradeGecko founder Cameron Priest and Advocately founder Patrick Barnes,… Read more »
An eight-year-old workplace safety and wellbeing app founded by three former public servants and used by McDonald’s has raised another $40 million. Sydney scaleup Sonder pitches itself as an EAP alternative that makes it easier for staff to get help. The latest funding came from existing investors Blackbird, MA Growth Ventures. and Seek, with super… Read more »
While the Tesla CEO is busy rage-tweeting, Roman saluting, dialling into far-right German political rallies, cutting aid funding and sacking US government workers, sales of his car brand in Australia, as well as the rest of the world have gone over a cliff, with January’s poor results continuing in February. The plunge for Nasdaq-listed EV… Read more »
An Australian-American cybersecurity startup has raised US$3 million (A$4.75m) in Seed funding to develop its artificial intelligence-driven defensive systems. The round for Harmony Intelligence was led by Airtree Ventures, alongside 30 strategic investors, including First Row Partners, Maxwell Capital, and execs from Canva, Adept AI, and Plaid as well as The Lean Startup author Eric… Read more »
A Queensland renewable energy tech company has taken on its first external investment, banking $15 million in a round led by Ellerston Capital’s Industrial Growth Fund and Fifth Estate Asset Management. The raise for EcoJoule Energy, which provides solutions for managing renewable energy integration, will be used for international expansion, as well as a national… Read more »
Quantum computing has reached another milestone with a breakthrough hybrid computing workflow developed by Quantum Brilliance and Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre. The system integrates quantum processing with traditional high-performance computing (HPC), providing researchers and enterprises with a flexible and scalable way to explore real-world quantum applications. The milestone, led by Dr Pascal Elahi and Pawsey’s… Read more »
Flowing Bee, the AI-powered behavioural insights platform for marketing strategy and execution, has raised $1.6 million in a pre-Seed round. The raise was led by Archangel Ventures, with participation from The University of Melbourne Genesis pre-seed Fund, Antler, LaunchVic’s Alice Anderson Fund, and M8 Ventures, plus strategic angel investors. The cash will be used to… Read more »
Three years after a record $2.2 million pre-Seed round for two teenagers to solve the problem of abandoned online sales, their eCommerce fintech has raised another $18 million in a Series A. The round for Brisbane startup Instant was led by Belgian early stage VC Hummingbird Ventures, which revels in the title “the best venture… Read more »
OG Australian startup community Fishburners is changing its guard, with CEO Martin Karafilis stepping down tomorrow after 26 months in the role, and chief operating officer Majella Campbell taking on the top job. Campbell has been central to Fishburners‘ success as it rebuilt post covid, developing a range of programs and events from its home… Read more »
Wisetech Global’s former CEO, Richard White, finally has a new job at the logistics software company he founded 30 years ago – executive chairman. The appointment follows the resignation of former chair Richard Dammery and three other non-executive directors, Lisa Brock, Michael Malone and Fiona Pak-Poy, on Monday in a battle for control of the… Read more »
Sydney advertising and electric vehicle charging startup Jolt has eschewed VC funding for its latest global expansion, instead striking a $214 million (C$194m) loan agreement with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to fast track its charging network across the top of North America. The funds will see Jolt install 1,500 fast and free kerbside chargers… Read more »
Australia has banned the use of Kaspersky Lab products across government, mandating the popular antivirus suite be removed from federal government systems. Since 2017, Russia-based cybersecurity vendor Kaspersky Lab has faced a slew of international bans over perceived risks to national security – namely that the Kremlin could hold sway over the organisation and its… Read more »
US-Australian cybersecurity startup hacks $4.75 million Seed round 
ASX-listed accelerator Scalare Partners buys VC marketplace Inhouse Ventures for $1.73 million 
Artificial intelligence expert Lee Hickin departs Microsoft to become National AI Centre director 
Private equity firm Quadrant takes a $50-100 million slice of startup veteran LegalVision 
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