Telecommunications giant Telstra plans to spend $700 million – $100m annually – over the next seven years to ramp up its data and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in a joint venture with its long-time partner Accenture. The US consultancy firm is already pouring $3 billion into its own AI capabilities and will own 60% of… Read more »
Sydney cultivated meat startup Vow, creator of the “woolly mammoth meatball“, has been forced to slash staffing by nearly a third, with 25 jobs being made redundant as it seeks a new round of investmen. Vow has been developing lab-grown cell-based animal products being served in high-end restaurants in Asia. It is still awaiting regulatory approval… Read more »
Comparison fintech Finder has acquired cashback platform Grow My Money for an undisclosed sum. Founder Pascale Helyar–Moray originally launched Grow My Money as Super-Rewards in late 2019, helping people save for the retirement with a cashback program from shopping. She subsequently expanded into mortage repayments, transforming the fintech into its current form and brand People can shop… Read more »
Imagine there is a public speaking square in your city, much like the ancient Greek agora. Here you can freely share your ideas without censorship. But there’s one key difference. Someone decides, for their own economic benefit, who gets to listen to what speech or which speaker. And this isn’t disclosed when you enter, either.… Read more »
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal published information from Facebook whistleblowers, alleging Facebook (which is owned by Meta) deliberately caused havoc in Australia last year to influence the News Media Bargaining Code before it was passed as law. During Facebook’s news blackout in February 2021, thousands of non-news pages were also blocked – including important… Read more »
Food delivery tech company DoorDash has signed a pioneering agreement with the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) that sets out safety and fairness standards for gig workers. Amid ongoing legal battles by global tech companies over the employment status of gig economy workers, the first-of-its-kind agreement between an Australian union and a delivery platform sets out… Read more »
Send, a 10-minute grocery delivery app, has been placed in voluntary administration less than 12 months after in launched, in an ominous sign for the rapid grocery delivery market. Matthew Kucianski and Matthew Jess of Worrells were appointed Voluntary Administrators of Send App Pty Ltd, on Tuesday this week. The company has around 300 employees… Read more »
In a surprise capitulation, the board of Twitter has announced it will support a takeover bid by Elon Musk, the world’s richest person. But is it in the public interest? Musk is offering US$54.20 a share. This values the company at US$44 billion (or A$61 billion) – making it one of the largest leveraged buyouts… Read more »
Meal home delivery marketplace ChefPrep has raised $3 million in a Seed round. The raise was led by Artesian Ventures and Global Founders Capital. Additional backing came from Yellow Brick Road chairman Mark Bouris, Circular co-founder Yaniv Bernstein and Hungry House founder Graeme Horne. Founded in May last year by Elle Curran and Josh Abulafia,… Read more »
Elon Musk has bought influential social media company Twitter for $61.5 billion (US$44 billion) after a month-long siege that saw Twitter on the brink of diluting its shares to keep Musk away. Current Twitter shareholders will be paid $75.80 (US$54.20) per share in an agreement that Musk has framed as a win for free speech.… Read more »
Most people who use Twitter have had the experience: you fire off a quick tweet, realise it contains a typo, then get annoyed you can’t click “edit” to fix it. Twitter users have been clamouring for an edit button for years. Elon Musk, who has recently been buying up shares in the microblogging platform and… Read more »
If you’ve been a close contact of a COVID-19 case and been stuck at home in isolation, then this news will likely bring a smile. The rules for close contacts in NSW and Victoria are about to change. Victoria is set to scrap its vaccine mandate and end isolation for close contacts of COVID cases… Read more »
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 »
National science agency CSIRO has produced a technology roadmap for growth in protein production in Australia, believing the opportunity is worth $13 billion. Australian agricultural exports were worth around $50 billion in FY2021, and with that figure predicted to rise by 20% in FY22 to more than $60bn, options beyond beef are seen as the… Read more »
The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) has launched legal action against Facebook’s parent company, Meta, alleging the social media giant engaged in false, misleading or deceptive conduct by publishing scam advertisements featuring prominent Australians. The Federal Court case claims Facebook was in breach of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) or the Australian Securities and… Read more »
AI walks, meditation and rituals – the 5 things Canva cofounder Melanie Perkins does to prevent burnout 
Telstra makes $700 million bet on AI to transform its business in Accenture joint venture 
Cultivated meat startup Vow slices 25 jobs amid hunt for new funds 
Richard White sells more than $440 million worth of WiseTech shares 
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