While many worry that they’re going to lose their job to a robot in the years ahead, that’s already happening in an area few suspected: social media influencers It seems the age of the Kardashians is waning, replaced by artificial intelligence and digital influencers embraced by those under their influence. New research, led by Swinburne… Read more »
The government’s REDSPICE cyber security program – a $9.9 billion centrepiece to last week’s budget – has come at the cost of a $1.3 billion Sky Guardian drone project which has already set taxpayers back $10 million, senate estimates revealed on Friday. Despite the $9.9 billion headline figure championed by the Treasurer in his budget speech, a… Read more »
Auckland-based VC Icehouse Ventures has raised its first NZ$5 million towards a $20m target to invest in women-led startups. The new ArcAngels Fund II is Aotearoa’s largest fund investing exclusively in female-founded and led ventures. Theresa Gattung, Chair of Global Women and the Kiwi lead for women entrepreneur initiative SheEO, is a cornerstone investor in… Read more »
Perth-based startup LatConnect 60 (LC60), an Earth observation and data fusion company, is partnering with Queensland rocket company Gilmour Space Technologies, in a project to to build and launch the first microsatellite in a planned high-resolution hyperspectral imaging constellation. LC60 CEO and founder Venkat Pillay, and Gilmour Space’s Adam Gilmour announced the deal at the… Read more »
A global team of researchers, including from Monash University, have developed a new algorithm that will enable building more resilient, efficient, and faster blockchains. The algorithm is a new Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus protocol, which is used to overcome faults and avoid system failures, especially in blockchain applications. The higher the fault tolerance the… Read more »
It’s not long since billionaires were competing to get to the “edge of space”. Now, the first set of private citizens are getting ready to take a SpaceX shuttle up to the International Space Station (ISS). Unlike the short “joyrides” of Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, this mission will be reaching the roughly 400km altitude… Read more »
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean wants to “level the playing field” for female founders when it comes to access to capital for their startups. In a speech to the COSBOA National Small Business Summit today, Keen focussed on the role of women in business, their underrepresentation “in our trades, our offices and our boardrooms” and improving… Read more »
The Canberra Cyber Hub, ACT Government and Digital Skills Organisation (DSO) have partnered together to deliver a pilot program aimed at addressing the massive shortage of a skilled workforce in cyber security. DSO CEO Patrick Kidd said the 12-month pilot will help identify which skills companies will be need on the cybersec front in the… Read more »
The Australian arm of New Zealand equity crowdfunding startup PledgeMe is back with a new name, Microwd, new owners and a new focus to back female-led startups. While the Kiwi side of the decade-old CSF venture continues, the seperate Australian business has been acquired by investment software company Finley Capital Partners, which has appointed Megan… Read more »
Brisbane infrastructure monitoring startup Aurtra has been acquired by French multinational Schneider Electric in a multi-million-dollar deal. The startup, founded in 2017 by Dr Richard Harris, Steve McRae and Terry Woodcroft, was built on sensor technology developed at the University of Queensland technology to monitor the health of electricity network transformers. Aurtra licensed the patented… Read more »
Consultancy giant KPMG Australia is offering a $100,000 prize to a startup working on tech solutions to address nature and biodiversity-related problems as part of a new program. The KPMG Nature Positive Challenge is designed to encourage and support the growth of the nation’s most innovative startups and impact ventures in the eco space. The… Read more »
The federal government is investing $2.2 billion for university research commercialisation which would place “university innovation and industry collaboration front and centre of Australia’s economic recovery.” Part of this funding includes $1.6 billion over ten years for Australia’s Economic Accelerator – a new competitive funding program to help university projects bridge the so-called “valley of… Read more »
Social enterprise Thankyou is tackling a new issue that strikes at the heart of its own existence Launched in 2008 to alleviate poverty, the business has since donated $17 million to organisations around the world fighting against global poverty. But co-founder Daniel Flynn said that one thing he’s learnt over the last 14 years is… Read more »
Melbourne startup The Room Xchange has launched a mandatory verification feature on its house-sharing platform. Founder and CEO Ludwina Dautovic said the new ‘Verified’ feature also ensures that all profiles are real and current, with the site’s search algorithms simplifying the matching process to make it easier for people to find the right housemate based on personality,… Read more »
OK so I need to address it, and here are my thoughts on that slap! The slap that is the Climate Change crisis unfolding in front of our eyes. It’s shocking and it’s causing irreparable damage. The Great Barrier Reef is suffering its fourth mass bleaching since 2016 Antarctica recorded a new World Record for… Read more »
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Here are the finalists in Fintech Australia’s 2024 Finnies awards 
Atlassian cofounder Scott Farquhar steps down as co-CEO 
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