Politics

Trump bump: Tax cuts for all in Labor’s 4th budget ahead of the election

- March 25, 2025 3 MIN READ

The Albanese government’s fourth budget is a pitch for the votes of a sour and alienated electorate, framed against a background of extraordinary international uncertainty. US President Donald Trump isn’t mentioned by name. But he is the colossus in the background of this budget and indeed the imminent election campaign. While the opinion polls and… Read more »

Business

Veteran Sydney software company that bootstrapped for 22 years cashes in with $445 million sale

- March 25, 2025 < 1 MIN READ

A Sydney software company founded in 1999 by two former PwC executives to tackle governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) issues has sold a majority stake in the business to US investment firm PSG Equity for US$280 million (A$445m). The deal for Protecht gives an exit for California growth equity firm Arrowroot Capital after just three… Read more »

Business

US tech giants are complaining to Daddy that Australia and other nations are being mean to them

- March 21, 2025 4 MIN READ

Some of America’s most profitable tech companies have seized on their chance to join US president Donald Trump’s global trade war arguing that laws and taxes in other nations are costing them money. Industry lobby group the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents Amazon, Apple, Meta, Google and Elon Musk’s X, among others,… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

King River Capital is building a $157 million sixth VC fund to back AI

- March 18, 2025 2 MIN READ

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 »

AI/Machine Learning

Artificial intelligence expert Lee Hickin departs Microsoft to become National AI Centre director

- March 17, 2025 2 MIN READ

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 »

Amp cofounders Cameron Priest and Patrick Barnes
Funding

eCommerce platform Amp raises $20 million and goes shopping

- March 11, 2025 2 MIN READ

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 »

Elon Musk
Business

Sinking in: Tesla EV sales are tanking in Australia

- March 10, 2025 3 MIN READ

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 »

Chris Mathwin, James Dao, Jackie Vullinghs, Soroush Pour
AI/Machine Learning

US-Australian cybersecurity startup hacks $4.75 million Seed round

- March 10, 2025 2 MIN READ

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 »

Mike Wishart
Climate Tech

Queensland renewables storage veteran charges up with $15 million raise after a decade bootstrapping

- March 10, 2025 2 MIN READ

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

Quantum Brilliance teams up with Pawsey Supercomputing for a cheaper hybrid quantum solution

- March 10, 2025 2 MIN READ

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 »

AI/Machine Learning

Martech startup Flowing Bee lands on $1.6 million pre-Seed

- March 5, 2025 2 MIN READ

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 »