This Month
AI boom leads start-up funding recovery in $4b year
New data lifts the lid on private tech investment in Australia, with a quarter of the money going to firms building products based on artificial intelligence.
- Tess Bennett
January
Atlassian rockets to three-year high after earnings surprise
Mike Cannon-Brookes says the company has had some “massive customer wins”, sending its shares soaring almost 20 per cent on Friday.
- Updated
- Tess Bennett
What Atlassian has quietly done to attract top talent
The Nasdaq-listed productivity software giant has quietly allowed staff to begin selling shares after just three months. Critics say they may as well pay cash.
- Updated
- Tess Bennett
Atlassian backs British start-up that creates AI avatars for CEOs
Synthesia’s $290 million fundraise will help it build a presence in Australia, and dovetail its products with Atlassian, which joined a series D funding round.
- Paul Smith and Hans van Leeuwen
Silicon Valley’s lurch to the right catches the eye of local VCs
Some 15,000 kilometres away from Washington DC, where tech is cosying up to Donald Trump, local start-ups are pondering whether to ride the anti-DEI wave.
- Paul Smith
December 2024
Atlassian tower the next frontier for reborn hostel operator
As it prepares for its most ambitious opening yet, YHA Australia’s business continues to boom as demand for budget stays grows.
- Larry Schlesinger
With Canva as a client, this start-up just hit $100m thanks to Airtree
The Brisbane company has raised $22 million, and is now backed by Scott Farquhar and Kim Jackson’s Skip Capital along with Employment Hero founder Ben Thompson.
- Updated
- Tess Bennett
Canva, Cotton On and Atlassian among the top 20 corporate givers
The amount of funds donated by the top 50 corporate philanthropists has jumped to $1.7 billion.
- Sally Patten
November 2024
‘Nanny state’: Top techies slate rushed social media laws
Australia’s tech sector was stunned at being given only 24 hours to respond to new social media laws, and warns they are ill-defined and risk unintended consequences.
- Paul Smith
Five founders keeping the faith with investors
Corporate Australia has recently experienced a founder “killing season”, but these founder-led companies are still keeping shareholders happy.
Cannon-Brookes mansion hosts Double Bay Halloween
On Thursday evening, hundreds of pint-sized local ghouls descended upon the erstwhile couple’s estate, to partake of candy.
- Myriam Robin
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.
- Tess Bennett
October 2024
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.
- Tess Bennett
Ever wondered what companies do with their old laptops and iPhones?
Sydney entrepreneur Annette Brodie creates new opportunities for obsolete tech via her social enterprise The Reconnect Project.
- Hannah Tattersall
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.
- Tess Bennett and Amelia McGuire
- Updated
- AI
Tech giants, major banks warn Labor to tread lightly on AI regulation
The companies say sweeping rules like those in Europe and called for by public interest groups will do more harm than good, and could restrict new uses.
- Updated
- Amelia McGuire
Unlikely winners of ATO’s R&D tax rules
The tax office’s first transparency report on R&D tax credits reveals the unlikely winners of the system.
- Mark Di Stefano
ASX slumps; Beirut bombarded; The whole world’s going private
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
Scott Farquhar and Kim Jackson sell Point Piper’s Elaine for $130m
Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar and his wife Skip Capital’s Kim Jackson sold their unused waterfront mansion Elaine in Point Piper for about $130 million.
- Bonnie Campbell
How office workers are losing their social skills
Consultants say incidents of inappropriate workplace behaviour are becoming more common as increasing technology use erodes our people skills.
- Euan Black