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This Month

Plenty of CEOs have been to the US to consider how AI could change their businesses this year.

How CEOs are using AI, from driverless forklifts to bird counts

Everyone’s doing it, but are they doing it properly? Here is a fascinating snapshot of what Australian companies are doing with artificial intelligence.

  • Anthony Macdonald and James Thomson
Chief executive Clayton Pyne says Humanforce will focus its M&A pipeline on targets in the US and UK.

PE-backed Australian tech firm swallows ASX minnow

The chief executive of Humanforce says its $17.2 million acquisition will complete its suite of human resources software.

  • Tess Bennett
AZZO’s energy management systems, including electricity, water and gas monitoring, are used by the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

California PE Angeleno buys into Aussie energy software biz

Rennie Advisory advised on the raising, conducting a global search for a minority partner to take AZZO to the United States.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
In hindsight, Xero picked up CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy on the cheap. The board has renegotiated a new paypacket, which it says puts her in line with other US-based tech company CEOs.

Xero CEO’s pay rise shows how to earn corporate Australia’s big bucks

There is one way to earn the big money, and it isn’t linked to market cap, importance to Australia’s economy or even shareholder returns.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Whiteoak managing director Greg Garvin.

Private equity shop Whiteoak adds to technology streak with Avolution

Managing director Greg Garvin has led majority investment in the business architecture modelling tool.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
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SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son jokes with Donald Trump during a news conference.

SoftBank woos Trump with $157b investment

The president-elect said he is embraced by business executives as technology leaders and founders flock to Florida ahead of his second term.

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  • Akayla Gardner and Hadriana Lowenkron
Malcolm Turnbull and Semperis’ Mickey Bresman see an opportunity in reducing companies’ need to pay ransoms to cyber attackers.

Malcolm Turnbull goes from PM to investment cyberhawk

The former OzEmail chairman is working with a company trying to reduce the need for businesses to pay cyber-ransoms, the latest in his growing tech portfolio.

  • Paul Smith
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  • AI
Industry Minister Ed Husic.

Husic chases Australian edge in AI, industry says faster pace needed

Industry Minister Ed Husic will announce a National AI Capability Plan in Singapore on Monday where he is signing a memorandum of understanding on AI co-operation.

  • Ronald Mizen
Greg Boorer, CEO and founder of CDC Data Centres

CDC Data Centres $16b sale off to the races; three big funds prep bids

Kyle Mangini, the global head of IFM Investors’ $110 billion infrastructure business, will be the one to watch.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

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
Potentia Capital managing director Tim Reed.

Nomura dangles debt package for Potentia’s Micromine; Jarden on hand

Japanese lending giant Nomura will offer prospective buyers a ready-to-use debt package pegged at around six-times leverage, Street Talk understands.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Tandem co-founder Lauren Humphrey at the AFR’s Entrepreneur Summit earlier this year.

Blackbird-backed HR start-up shuts down due to lack of demand

The employee feedback start-up’s founder admitted there was little customer demand for her business despite having raised almost $10 million three years ago.

  • Amelia McGuire
Canva’s Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht have made important changes that should set it up for a big public listing.

Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht take Canva to the next level

The founders were busier than ever before their bumper US listing, nailing some early challenges to propel them onto the Business People of the Year list.

  • Paul Smith
From left, co-founder Richard White, chairman Richard Dammery and interim CEO Andrew Cartledge are interviewed by Mark Hall, WiseTech’s head of acquisitions & integration at the company’s investor day in Sydney.

WiseTech board is team White, and ‘Richard’s not going anywhere’

Richard White’s successor as WiseTech CEO will be free to practise the same “creative abrasion” style of leadership that invited accusations of bullying.

  • Tess Bennett
A spinoff of Android would also be painful, eliminating Google’s influence over smartphones.

What’s next for Google’s search monopoly?

Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling could cause enormous ripple effects, potentially reshaping the internet.

  • David McCabe and Nico Grant
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The European Union’s effort to break up Google’s online advertising monopoly – an outcome that could reshape the digital economy.

Break up big tech to save competition, democracy and the climate

To save the European Green Deal and restore economic competitiveness, the EU’s new antitrust push must rein in these companies’ enormous power.

  • Cori Crider

November

The world-first law attracted international headlines.

‘Black Friday sale on VPNs’: Social media ban faces early obstacles

Big tech has 12 months to comply with new laws that block children under 16 from accessing platforms, setting up Australia as a high-profile test case for the globe.

  • Tess Bennett
Pro Medicus co-founder Sam Hupert and his business partner Anthony Hall have had a whopper rise.

Rocket stock Pro Medicus redefines what’s possible

The medical software company is the sort of investment that makes you glad your job does not decide on picking whether it is a market winner or loser.

  • Anthony Macdonald
r the technology sector, a trend that is captured by technology themed ETFs.

New rules for spotting ASX tech stars point to these 15 stocks

The Rule of 40 is an old-school metric of tech success. But Goldman Sachs says that with a few tweaks, it can also improve returns for ASX investors. 

  • James Thomson
Fast 100 founders: Outcast cofounder Paris Marchant, MCo Beauty founder Shelley Sullivan, and Medevac Flights founder William Cassidy.

Revealed: Australia’s fastest-growing companies in 2024

In a tough consumer environment, this year’s Fast 100 and Fast Starters finalists have managed to find their niche.

  • Victoria Thieberger

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/software-hqs