NewsBite

Tess Bennett

This Month

Bond University student Julia Senz’s first assignment topic was to compare surf culture with Aboriginal saltwater culture. 

Bond University rides crest of the wave for teaching

Bond University has been named the top university for Teaching in this year’s The Australian Financial Review Best Universities Ranking.

Several Australian start-ups want to compete with the space sector’s giant, Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Australia’s rocket industry reaches a crucial inflection point

Local space entrepreneurs are attempting to take a slice of SpaceX’s business, as demand for launch services far outweighs supply.

How a ‘family smartphone’ can help keep kids off social media

No one has a landline any more, but one Brisbane family has found benefits in sharing a spare smartphone.

Steve Johnson from Forager Funds is advocating for change at the top of Bigtincan.

Forager fundie seeks to spill ASX tech minnow’s board

Forager Funds’ Steve Johnson has written to Bigtincan’s shareholders urging them to deliver a second strike on executive pay and block a SPAC takeover.

Silvija Martincevic, CEO of Deputy, said the $1 billion had increased spending of R&D.

Profits slump at workplace unicorn Deputy after hiring spree

The company makes software used by workers to manage their rosters. Its valuation topped $1 billion this year after an investment from a US labour hire firm.

Advertisement
Adam Gilmour said he wants to see the company’s first rocket launched before the end of the year.

Gold Coast rocket company gets green light for first launch

After a two-year battle with the regulator, Gilmour Space has been granted approval to launch its Australian-made rocket to compete with SpaceX.

Have a listen to this AI sales call – it’s getting scarily realistic

When it came to selling a new range of drinks to schools, supermarkets and petrol stations, a Brisbane entrepreneur succeeded with artificial intelligence.

Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are still bullish on Atlassian’s outlook.

Atlassian co-founders $5b richer as Cannon-Brookes answers doubters

An after-market rally on Wall Street has added about $2.5 billion apiece to the fortune’s of Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar.

October

Canva co-founders Cameron Adams, Cliff Obrecht and Melanie Perkins at a company event.

Canva valuation leaps to almost $50b as overseas investors eye Australia

The design software giant is the largest of the country’s privately owned technology firms, and is seen as a bellwether for the local start-up sector.

  • Updated
Karen Cariss will step down from the PageUp  board after selling her remaining stake in the company she founded in 1997.

Tech founder cashes out with more than $100m after 27-year run

Private equity giant EQT has acquired HR software business PageUp, buying out the founders.

Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes will report his first earnings report as solo CEO tomorrow.

Why Cannon-Brookes is under pressure over first solo Atlassian result

Shares in Atlassian have rallied 20 per cent in the last month, with investors betting the CEO is under-promising and over-delivering.

BHP grooming ‘internal candidates’ for chairman, CEO succession

BHP chairman Ken MacKenzie says directors of the miner will discuss whether it’s time for a new chairman in 2025.

Whitefield is braving the IPO market, saying it will buck the trend of LICs trading at steep discounts.

Whitefield braves ASX’s IPO drought with income fund

The team behind the 100-year-old Whitefield Industrials has launched an IPO for its Australian equity income strategy despite a shrinking market for listed investment companies.

Tech Council chairwoman Robyn Denholm and her fellow board members have been criticised by members for failing to act against Richard White until he chose to resign.

Angry members brand Tech Council a ‘billionaires lunch club’

The industry association for some of the country’s largest technology firms failed to act on allegations against WiseTech founder Richard White, they say.

Greens MP Michael Berkman suffered a 7.3 per cent drop in his primary vote in the Brisbane seat of Maiwar.

Greens’ power push suffers setback in Brisbane

The Greens had hoped to win six seats in the Queensland election, but instead are in a close race to retain the party’s two seats.

Advertisement
Lisy Kane, Lucy Wark, and Jessy Wu.

Tech founders’ ‘rock star status’ trumps bullying accusations

Women across Australia’s technology sector say Richard White’s new role sends a clear message to the rest of the industry.

Richard White earlier this year. He has built WiseTech into the country’s largest listed software group.

Tech Council ‘assessing’ White allegations

The founder of WiseTech Global has already stepped aside from public commitments as a board member. Shares in his software giant fell below $100 on Thursday.

Ryan Kolln CEO of Appen.

Appen CEO apologises as tech failure leaves workers unpaid

Contractors paid by the ASX-listed company to train artificial intelligence models for technology giants have not been paid in more than a week after their money was due.

Canva co-founders Cliff Obrecht, Melanie Perkins and Cameron Adams unveiled a new set of AI features this week.

Canva touts revenue leap, new AI tools after Leonardo buy

The $39 billion graphic design company has unveiled new generative AI features after hiring 1000 employees so far this year, and buying out a local rival.

Richard White in August. The billionaire has built WiseTech Global into a software giant, but has recently been selling shares.

Billionaire Richard White’s WiseTech share sales to pay ex-wife

The businessman has previously said he was selling down his stake in the software giant he founded because investors were demanding shares be made available.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/tess-bennett-p4yw9c