IIA hands baton to Comms Alliance
Australia's Internet Industry Association is to to shut down and transfer its operations to the Communications Alliance, in the second major termination of an Australian telecommunications representative group in under three years.
New $50m fund to target Aussie IT startups
If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: Now is a fantastic time to be involved in an Australian IT startup. It used to be that it was tough to find finding for great new ideas in the Australian technology sector, but the plethora of sizable investment deals over the past several years proven that the local funding environment has changed substantially.
Queenslander arrested on hacking offences
A 21-year-old man from the rural Queensland town of Kingaroy has been charged with hacking and fraud offences following the alleged hacking of a US based online gaming developer’s computer network, the Queensland Police today.
ATO may investigate Apple, Google
Remember that year when search giant Google made revenues from its Australian operations estimated at north of $1 billion, but paid corporate taxes of just $74,000? Or the year that Apple made $6.1 billion in revenue but paid just $36 million in corporate tax? Yeah, good times, good times. Well, the good times may well be over for these technology giants, with the ABC reporting that the Australian Taxation Office has (finally) set up a dedicated task force to tackle the situation.
50 awesome Australian female programmers
Over at Pollenizer, long-time startup industry figure Bronwen Clune has published a list of Australia's top 50 female programmers.
Simon Hackett funds electric race car
Simon Hackett has teamed up with another senior former senior Internode executive and two early executives from electric car pioneer to found a new startup focused on building a new type of electric car specifically designed for high-speed performance racing.
Bitcoin miner lists on ASX
If you needed any further indication that we now live in the science fiction future long ago mapped out for us by visionary authors, then look no further. News arrived this week that an Australian digital currency company and Bitcoin mining concern, digitalBTC, has listed on the Australian Stock Exchange through a backdoor listing.
Apple iTax: Made in Ireland, designed in the US
Apple, famous for its innovative products, is equally creative in its tax structure. From 2009 to 2012, it successfully sheltered US$44 billion from being taxed anywhere in the world, including sales generated in Australia.
Did Apple shift $9bn of profits out of Australia?
The Financial Review newspaper reports that Apple has shifted some $9 billion in profits out of Australia, avoiding a normal tax situation being applied to them.
Hyde quit NEC to run HP’s Enterprise division
Seasoned Australian technology executive Alan Hyde left his managing director role at NEC to lead the South Pacific division of HP's Enterprise Group, it has been revealed.
Connecting to Australia’s first digital technology curriculum
Australia finally has its first digital technology curriculum which is mandatory for all Australian children from Foundation, the name replacing kindergarten, to Year 8.
IBM Australia to reportedly slash 500 staff
The new year has not started well for Australian technologists in terms of the jobs situation. Qantas is cutting IT workers, Sensis is cutting workers, Telstra is cutting workers, the Victorian Government is looking into offshoring, and now, according to The Australian newspaper, IBM Australia has embarked on another major redundancy round.
UNSW, GoGet working on self-driving car
Researchers at the University of New South Wales have taken the first step towards creating a self-driving car by fitting sensors and other technology to a vehicle owned by car sharing service GoGet.
Optus, AAPT lose CEOs; Huawei Australia gains one
In a flurry of leadership announcements this week, telcos Optus and AAPT have revealed that they have lost their local chief executives, while the Australian division of Chinese manufacturer Huawei has gained a new one.
Monopoly? Melbourne IT buys rival Netregistry
Hosting and domain name specialist Melbourne IT announced today that it had entered into an agreement to acquire its biggest rival, Netregistry for $50.4 million, in a move that will ensure the fortunes of the company's founder Larry Bloch but also potentially create a giant with close to monopoly powers over the Australian domain name space.
Labor demands tax action on transfer pricing
The Federal Labor Party has demanded the Government bring Australia's international taxation regulations into line to deal with multinationals such as Apple and Google, which are siphoning billions of dollars of revenue out of Australia while paying only small amounts of local tax.
Liberals want to make Adelaide “startup capital of Australia”
South Australia's Liberal Party has vowed to make Adelaide "the startup capital of Australia" if it wins the upcoming state election, promising to plough some $500,000 into a startup week and committing to a slew of other initiatives that would help alleviate what the party described as the state's "devastating brain drain" crisis.
Deloitte proposes concrete startup employee share changes
Corporate and technology consulting firm Deloitte has proposed a set of concrete definitions and rules that would substantially change the way the Australian Taxation Office deals with the contentious issue of employee share schemes for Australian startup companies.
Victorian Govt cuts NICTA funding
Australia's peak ICT research body National ICT Australia will be forced to make substantial job cuts to its Victorian operations, ZDNet reports today, as the result of funding cuts by the Victorian State Government.
Australia’s IT industry just isn’t sexy enough
Those of you who've been following Delimiter over the past several days might have noticed that I've gotten a little bit on my high horse over the issue of industry subsidies. I was a little shocked by the massive national ruckus created by the request by fruit processor SPC Ardmona for millions of dollars worth of government assistance for its plant in Shepparton, Victoria, when larger issues in the nation's technology sector are almost completely ignored. Today I've published a further view on the issue on the ABC's The Drum site, arguing that it's because the IT industry just isn't sexy enough.
Great debate on the lack of diversity in IT startups
Clune's right: Australia's IT startup scene is predominantly composed of white, middle class males, a physical form which venture capitalists usually identify with. But Liubinskas is also right: Things are more complicated than that in real life, and opportunities do abound for the passionate or determined, regardless of who they are. Perhaps the passion and diversity in this debate do much to illustrate the sector as a whole.
Apple Australia’s revenues flat in 2013
The revenues of Apple's Australian division have finally stopped their massive annual growth initiated in 2009, as the company's lack of new product lines over the past year have stalled its onwards financial march.
99designs co-founder directly siphoning Aussie IT talent to Silicon Valley
Heard the term "Australian brain-drain"? You're probably not going to see a more blatant attempt at it than this.
Govt “committed” to addressing startup share issues
The new Coalition Federal Government has stated that it is "committed" to addressing the ongoing concerns Australian startups have with tax arrangements for employee share schemes, re-opening consultation on the matter for two weeks late this month and early in February. Any opening up of the scheme is likely to be welcomed by Australia's IT startup sector.
Telstra snaps up O2 Networks
The nation's largest telco Telstra today announced it had acquired O2 Networks, a leading Australian provider of network and security consulting and integration services for enterprise customers, in a deal reported to be worth $60 million.
US VC firm pumps $30m into Aussie software vendor
US-based venture capital firm Technology Crossover Ventures has invested $30 million into Australia-based company SiteMinder, which develops software that allows hotels to better monetise their inventory themselves and via more easily connecting to online platforms.
Could Telstra buy Telecom NZ?
Speculation has started floating around Australia's blogosphere from senior sources that the nation's number one telco could find it opportunistic to be positioning itself for a buyout of New Zealand's incumbent telco Telecom New Zealand.
Atlassian shifts to the UK, on paper
Australian software firm Atlassian has revealed it will shift its headquarters to the United Kingdom on paper, to aid with its plans to eventually list in the United States.
Ingogo picks up another $3.4m funding
What this investment, as well as the planned ASX listing and its past healthy fundraising efforts, shows is that ingogo is pulling in substantial revenues.
Telstra shares millions with Box
The nation's largest telco Telstra has added to a recent splurge of funding on smaller companies, ploughing a reported $10 million into US-based corporate cloud file-sharing company and Dropbox competitor Box.
The Australian IT sector needs a stronger voice
The call for a technology policy think tank is opportune and probably long overdue. The Australian IT industry is a massive industry, a huge success story for Australia, and well deserving of its own voice.
Xbox One goes off with a bang … but will the PS4 launch eclipse...
Which console launch are you most excited about, and why? Am I right that the PlayStation 4 has most of the momentum at this point? Or is underdog Microsoft making a comeback with the Xbox One?
It’s not just Freelancer: Aussie tech IPOs are back in general
Freelancer chief executive Matt Barrie shocked a few in Australia’s tech sector with his mid-September rejection of a $400 million offer from a Japanese HR and recruitment giant to buy his company. The executive’s decision to list his company on the Australian Stock Exchange instead was similarly controversial. However, as I write in Delimiter 2.0 today (subscriber content), Freelancer’s not alone. There’s half a dozen other technology industry companies seeking to list on the ASX late this year or early next.
Freelancer’s IPO: A billion reasons to care
For the Australian tech company market, the success of Freelancer would be a good thing and could possibly serve to boost the likelihood of other companies receiving investment. But because tech companies listing on the ASX are relatively uncommon, they are often treated as scarce events resulting in a general temptation to attach too much significance to a company that has yet to really prove it is worthy of the attention.
Australian retailers online: Late to the party and much to do
Australian consumers are embracing digital commerce, but Australian retailers are failing to build long-term relationships with their customers online, according to new research.
DesignCrowd picks up another $3m
Australian web startup DesignCrowd announced overnight that it had picked up a further $3 million in funding from Melbourne-based venture capital firm Starfish Ventures, which it will use to continue to scale up its operations and take advantage of the growing trend towards crowdsourcing tasks online.
Great FAQ on Australia’s IT startup scene
Are you a Sydney-based technologist interested in getting out of Australia's corporate IT sector and into a hot IT startup? Or perhaps a budding entrepreneur looking to start one? Well, local tech startup consultancy and incubator Pollenizer's got your back. The company's Ben Ma has published an extensive overview of Sydney's tech startup scene.
Corruption raises its ugly head in Australia’s technology sector
The newspaper alleged, and Leighton has substantially verified, the fact that staff from Visionstream were suspected of aiding Silcar staff in stealing Visionstream tender files relating to a $240 million contract to deploy Optus’s 4G network, which the two contractors were competing to bid. I’ll have a separate article on that situation shortly.
What you may not realise is that this not an isolated incident.
Sysadmin victory: Bulletproof to list on ASX
Sydney-based hosting and cloud computing company Bulletproof Networks has unexpectedly revealed its intention to list on the Australian Stock Exchange through a reverse takeover of a mining firm, in the second example in as many months of a major Australian technology firm going public.
Telstra nabs startup star for incubator
The nation's largest telco Telstra has poached Pollenizer co-founder Mick Liubinskas to help it get its new startup incubator Muru Digital (muru-d), in a move that marks the end of an era for startup incubator Pollenizer and one of the most famous partnerships in Australia's technology startup ecosystem.
Delivery drones: Approach with caution
As many people will be aware, yesterday an Australian startup named Flirtey announced that it in March next year, it would launch a commercial drone package delivery service, using "fully automated drones" to deliver packages in inner Sydney through short flights. But can this claim be believed?
Freelancer’s IPO and the new tech millionaires
Freelancer, the online freelance and labour market site has issued its prospectus ahead of a listing on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).
Intel buys Barrie’s Sensory Networks
Those of you who’ve been following the exploits of Freelancer.com chief executive and all-round celebrity Australian technologist Matt Barrie will no doubt be interested in the news that one of the other companies Barrie helped found, high-performance networking outfit Sensory Networks, has been bought by giant chipmaker Intel for about $20m.
FastMail staff buy it back from Opera
Long-time Australian email company FastMail.FM has announced that it has been bought back by its own employees from Opera, just three and a half years after it was sold to Norway-based browser firm.
Australia’s second dot com boom is here
If you've been paying attention to Australia's technology startup sector recently, you might have noticed that it's absolutely booming. Tens of millions of dollars are being ploughed into new startups, incubators and co-working spaces are popping up all over the place, and successful startups like Freelancer.com are considering massive stock market listings.
‘Keeping the company in Australia’: Freelancer.com turns down $400m buyout to list on ASX
Outspoken Freelancer.com chief executive Matt Barrie today noted that the company would turn down the offers it had received to sell to a larger group or take investment, instead flagging plans to list on the Australian Securities Exchange later this year and continue the drive to develop Australia's home grown technology industry.
Taxi app goCatch picks up $3m investment; Uber offers ‘free’ week in Sydney
Uber this week announced a somewhat-free week in Sydney, allowing users up to $60 worth of credit on its service. Meanwhile the service which is emerging as its main local competitor, goCatch, just pulled in a cool $3 million in venture capital.
Kogan puts company up for sale
Depending on what you choose to believe, a report published by the Financial Review this morning suggests that either Ruslan Kogan may have run out of energy and is looking to take a break or is looking to take his business to the next stage with a decent slab of capital injection.
Japanese firm makes $400m offer for Freelancer.com
Thought Australian outsourcing marketplace Freelancer.com was going to grow up into a strong, Australia-based company that would conquer the world? Well, it appears that you may be wrong. According to US technology blog TechCrunch, Japanese HR and recruitment giant Recruit Co. has made a $400 million offer to buy Matt Barrie’s bouncing baby boy.
Bugcrowd picks up $1.6m funding
There might not be enough capital floating around in Australia’s IT startup ecosystem for it to expand at the rate some would like, but some startups, at least, are not finding much difficulty with raising capital. Crowdsourced security startup Bugcrowd today revealed it had picked up $1.6 million in funding from Australian and US investors.
Coalition dumps Lundy’s $42m NICTA boost
The Coalition has revealed an extra $42 million in funding to support peak ICT research group National ICT Australia (NICTA) unveiled several weeks ago by Labor Digital Economy Minister Kate Lundy will be a victim of its election drive to cut costs.
Australia’s IT startups need more capital
According to Phil Morle, the co-founder of startup incubator and consultancy Pollenizer, the situation still isn’t where it needs to be in terms of IT startup funding in Australia.
Will the green shoots of Australian innovation policy be cut off prematurely?
Understandably, new governments have an interest in putting their own stamp on policy, particularly in areas as critical to our future as research and innovation, but sometimes continuity and re-badging is preferable to scorched earth.
Telstra buys comms integrator NSC
The nation's largest telco Telstra has substantially boosted its enterprise telephony business and thrown down the gauntlet to Optus through the acquisition of one of Australia's largest communications and network integrators, NSC Group.
The NBN alone does not guarantee a strong “digital economy”
If you listen to the rhetoric emanating from Australia’s political sector, especially the Australian Labor Party, you’d no doubt believe that the construction of the NBN alone was enough to guarantee that Australia will develop a strong local technology startup culture, similar to that found in Silicon Valley in the US, or in other locations internationally such as Tel Aviv in Israel. However, as one of Australia’s most experienced startup mentors and commentators, Sandy Plunkett, writes, this simply isn’t true.
Beyond Silicon Valley: Start-up hubs in Australia’s backyard
The next Atlassian could be started by a pair of Chinese students studying right now in Melbourne, or an Australian-born Vietnamese or Indian entrepreneur who can leverage transnational family connections and build a fast-growing company.
Tech startups: Now is your chance to shape policy
Earlier this month the Rudd Labor Government issued a discussion paper on the taxation of employee share schemes. This is the best opportunity for as long as Senator Kate Lundy can remember to contribute to a formal process about how we provide the right practical and effective incentives for start-ups in Australia.
Great startup insight from 99designs
Often I've found, in my field of online publishing, that the solution you're looking to with regard to a problem you're experiencing has already been worked out by someone else -- someone you can easily talk to about it. Startups thrive when they interface with each other and share lessons.
Dick Smith moves into David Jones
Consumer electronics retailer Dick Smith has revealed it will take over the electronics retail operations of some 30 David Jons stores around Australia from October, as the troubled company's new private equity owners continue to push to rehabilitate its operations.
Why the NBN probably won’t kill Foxtel
The theory that the National Broadband Network is a threat to Foxtel's pay TV business doesn't really hold water.
IT startups pan ‘narrow’ tax changes
Those of you who were watching closely would have noticed that the Federal Government finally last week released a discussion paper looking at new rules for Australian technology startups (see the media release here), which would make it much easier for IT startups with 10 staff or less to launch share programs for employees without having those programs attract massive taxation headaches. But do the rules go far enough?
Nintendo Australia finances fall off a cliff
The Australian division of Japanese video gaming giant Nintendo has taken another staggering hit to its finances for the second year in a row, losing a further 36 percent of its overall revenue over the past year as its flagship Wii U console has flopped with consumers due to what is perceived to be a lack of quality games.
Software is officially a rip-off in Australia, So what can you do?
It’s official: Australia isn’t the “lucky country” in the IT sector. Consumers, government and industry down under are charged typically 50% more for software and hardware compared to their American counterparts. Why is this the case and, more importantly, what can affected customers do about it?
Drastic govt measures needed: IT price hike report pulls no punches
The Federal Parliament committee examining IT price hikes in Australia has published an extensive report recommending a raft of drastic measures to deal with current practices in the area, which, the report says, are seeing Australians unfairly slugged with price increases of up to 50 percent on key technology goods and services.
Bigcommerce pulls in mega US$40M round
Australian e-commerce software as a service firm Bigcommerce revealed overnight that it had picked up a further US$40 million in funding, taking its total investment from the US venture capital scene to some $75 million and further illustrating the rapid growth of Australia's startup scene.
Is the Govt’s missed e-health target meaningful?
We could question whether there are not better things within the health system that the nearly AUS$1 billion spent so far on PCEHR could have been spent on.
Telstra pumps $18m into US startup Kony
Telstra has been talking up its investment arm for a while now, and it's good to see the company start to make some strategic investments. It's just a pity that it's not focusing more on Australia.
Carnegie unveils $120m ‘digital’ fund
Venture capital and private equity firm M. H. Carnegie has revealed it is preparing to launch an $120 million venture capital fund using local user interface and digital marketing firm Vivant as an incubation facility, in one of the more unusual such collaborations seen so far in Australia.
Why Australia should tax Apple + Google less
Writing on the ABC's The Drum site, Institute of Public Affairs senior fellow Julie Novak argues that globally, countries are competing to be centres of taxation, and that Australia should start playing the game better, as low-taxing countries such as Ireland have.
Tax heat intensifies on Apple Australia
Given that Australia's Parliament is currently in the process of introducing laws that would force more taxation transparency on companies like Apple, and that governments in the US, UK and Australia are all now angrily demanding answers from companies such as Apple and Google on this issue, I suspect that we'll see some resolution of the tax situation with respect to these giant technology multinationals soon.
Retail POS startup Kounta kicks off investment
We're seeing a great deal of investment in Australian technology startups at the moment. After years in the wilderness after the dot com crash, the local funding scene appears to be running hot. The latest cab off the rank is point of sale startup Kounta, which last week announced it had kicked off its first venture round, with Reckon founder greg Wilkinson kicking in an unspecified amount and joining Kounta's board.
Google’s new Aussie MD: Zero tech/media experience
This morning search advertising and technology giant Google appointed a new managing director for its Australia and New Zealand division. While Maile Carnegie is a very seasoned executive with a few decades at consumer goods company Proctor & Gamble (P&G), we'd have to question her fitness to provide vision for Google's local operations ... given that the executive appears to have zero experience in either the technology or media industries, which is kind of where Google specialises.
Kogan loses licence in high-speed police chase
We know we’ve pinned Ruslan Kogan for a certain degree of … arrogance, previously, but we really didn’t expect the maverick online retail and consumer electronics guru to go quite this far in proving our point.
Tapestry.net picks up $400k investment
Not every Web 2.0 startup is for sexy young things who are devoted to sharing every instant of their “social universe” online. Some startups aim at different categories. A good example is Tapestry.net, which just picked up a cool $400k in investment from government group Commercialisation Australia.
Telstra, Seven splurge on HealthEngine startup
Telecommunications and media giants Telstra and Seven West Media have revealed they will splurge a total of $10.4 million on HealthEngine, in a move which represents the second major investment in the seven-year-old Perth-based health appointment search startup in less than a year.
Google Australia increases tax bill slightly, but results still globally inconsistent
The Australian division of search and software giant Google has published its latest set of financial results for the 2012 calendar year, revealing that it paid several million dollars more tax than the paltry $74,000 sum it claimed in 2011, but also that its revenues and headcount jumped substantially over that period.
Despite Aussie windfall, does Apple profit slide suggest hard times ahead?
blog Even as it marks the tenth anniversary of iTunes and its companion iPod device, Apple’s first profit decline in a decade has many observers contemplating the future of the pioneering company – and asking whether Steve Jobs’ spirit of innovation has in fact passed along with the company’s co-founder.
Profiteers snap up Boston Marathon, Waco domain names
Australia’s tight domain name policies may have prevented opportunistic cybersquatters from cashing in on local disasters, but this week’s Boston Marathon bombing and Waco fertiliser explosion have had less luck avoiding cybesquatters, analysis by a local domain-name specialist has revealed.
Business warming to NBN but most still unprepared for it
Australian businesses expect massive change from the NBN and are rapidly warming to the potential role of NBN-driven teleworking, but most still aren’t ready for the changes the network will bring, a major survey of business readiness has concluded.
Australian Bitcoin mining probably not worth it
You may recall that MacTalk founder and all-round geek Anthony Agius has been conducting something of an experiment to determine whether an Australian Bitcoin miner could make enough money to justify the practice. Well, the results are in: And the answer is: “Most likely not”.
Twitter buys Aussie startup We Are Hunted
Australian startup We Are Hunted, which was formed out of Wotnews as a side project and survived its death, has just annoucned that it has been bought by social networking site Twitter.
Can man survive off Bitcoin mining alone?
Melbourne geek Anthony Agius’ newest venture is attempting to ascertain whether he can make enough money from mining the Bitcoin virtual currency to keep himself in new servers and fast broadband in the style to which he has become accustomed.
Australia trains more fitness than IT professionals
From the thought-provoking blog of REA Group chief information officer Nigel Dalton and his consulting colleague James Pierce comes the news that Australia is currently training many more fitness instructors than IT professionals.
“Open, frank + candid”: Apple defends tiny tax bill
Iconic technology giant Apple has described its relationship with the Australian Taxation Office as "open, frank and candid" and its process of calculating its local tax obligation as "rigorous", despite the fact that the company last year paid local company tax of just $40 million, off Australian revenues of $6 billion.
Apple’s longest statement about Australia ever
This brief speech was read by Apple Australia managing director Anthony King to Australia's House of Representatives' Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications last week on Friday 22 March. As far as Delimiter is aware, it represents the longest and most detailed statement technology giant Apple has made with respect to its operations in Australia over at least the past decade.
“An absolute national imperative”: Matt Barrie’s epic rant on Australia’s IT investment
Freelancer.com chief executive Matt Barrie has published an impassioned article on his LinkedIn profile strongly heavily criticising the Government for its underinvestment in the technology sector, which he said had led to a situation where Australia is devoid of good IT talent and "missing out" on the ongoing industry revolution.
Pre-launch web startup Canva raises $3m
Australian web startup Canva this morning revealed it had picked up a $3 million seed round from a number of early stage investors and venture capitalists in Australia and Silicon Valley.
Blackbird launches $30m Aussie VC fund
Less than 24 hours after one of Australia's most high-profile declared Australia's venture capital industry "dead", a new $30 million venture capital fund has launched locally to support the next wave of Australian tech startups, backed by a who's who list of the local early stage technology industry.
“Burning ambition”: Brisbane launches digital economy strategy
It seems virtually everyone's getting on the whole "digital economy" bandwagon these days. The latest cab off the rank is Brisbane, which has appointed a chief digital officer and this week launched its new 'digita strategy'. Nice.
This is how Google changes country MDs
Other companies' Australian managing directors exit gracefully, in a carefully stage-managed process which sees a replacement privately sourced almost before the incumbent leaves. But not Google. Google just dumps a new job ad on its country page as the local MD leaves the country.
Pollenizer celebrates five years with a book
Startup consultancy and incubator Pollenizer celebrates five years with a new book about the lifecycle of startups, Startup Focus.
Pollenizer takes a further $1.1m, rejigs model
Australian startup incubator Pollenizer has raised a further $1.1 million to continue to develop its operations, and has substantially reformed its model on building startups to place a higher emphasis on its staff acting as co-founders of the startup companies it helps to foster.
ANZ’s startup accelerator reveals next class
The Innovyz START startup accelerator program recently launched by ANZ Bank has revealed the second 10 startups to which it will attract funding and mentorship, with the major of successful startups originating in South Australian capital city Adelaide.
Optus re-opens startup funding applications
Just wanted to post a brief note that Optus has opened the second round of applications for Australian IT startups to attract seed funding under its Innov8 program.
Taxi 2.0 service Uber now in Melbourne
Following the launch of next-generation taxi service Uber in Sydney in late October last year, the US startup has now annoucned that it has launched quietly in Melbourne.
Govt delays IT startup funding decisions
According to From Little Things, the Gillard Government is currently sitting on its hands with respect to decisions about supporting Australia's IT startup sector and hasn't responded to its own review in the area.
A fascinating startup brain dump from Phil Morle
If you're interested in Australia's IT startup ecosystem, you could do a lot worse than read this fascinating braindump by Morle posted amid the dying embers of 2012.
Leave Google’s tax alone, Victoria tells Federal Govt
Today Victoria's’s Technology Minister Gordon Rich-Phillips has gone into bat for technology giants such as Google, defending the search giant against the Federal Government’s attempts to make it pay a fair level of tax in Australia.
Atmail picks up $2m from Starfish
Anyone who still thinks there aren't sufficient funding options in Australia for startups had better take another look at that belief, because over the past year we've seen an absolute heap of decently sized early funding rounds for fast-growing local IT companies. Now there's one more to be added to the list -- email and collaboration company Atmail, which has picked up $2 million from Starfish Ventures.
A detailed report into Australia’s IT startup scene
The From Little Things blog created by Australian startup incubator Pollenizer recently has been turning up some solid content; profiles of Australian startups, interesting tidbits about the local investment and more. And today it’s gone one better, publishing a detailed report into Australia’s IT startup scene and how it compares internationally.
Optus makes first startup investments
National telecommunications player Optus has made its first investments in several Australian technology startups, courtesy of its Innov8 seed fund set up in collaboration with parent SingTel, with local groups 121cast and Venuemob getting the nod for initial capital investment.
Airbnb officially launches in Australia
A quick search of accommodation crowdsourcing website Airbnb reveals that it’s been operating in Australia for a while (or at least taking bookings and accommodation advertisements from Australians), but the US-based startup hasn’t previously had an official presence Down Under. Until now.
Taxi 2.0 service Uber hits Sydney
US-based personal transport startup Uber has started testing its service in Sydney, encouraging Sydneysiders to download its mobile application and start requesting rides instead of using existing taxi services.
Melbourne CDN startup wins $2.3 million
Melbourne-based cloud content delivery network startup MetaCDN this week revealed it had completed one of the largest early stage investment rounds in an Australian technology startup over the past several years, winning $2.3 million in funding from investors including Starfish Ventures and the University of Melbourne Endowment fund.
A solid overview of Australian startup funding
Mark Greig, the commercial director of Pollenizer Global (and chairman of Pollenizer’s Investment Council) has published an extremely common sense blog post outlining some the basic things you need to know about investing in Australian IT startups.
Court throws out Australia Post digital lawsuit
The Federal Court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Australia Post against fledgling e-post joint venture Digital Post Australia with reference to the similarity in the name of the company with its own well-established brand.
Aussie mobile startup wins $2m funding
Australian mobile app platform startup biNu this week revealed it has picked up $2 million in investment funding from a number of high-profile investors, including TomorrowVentures, the investment group of Google chairman Eric Schmidt.
$1.2m: Aussie startup Scriptrock gets funded
Australian IT startup Scriptrock has won venture capital funding of $1.2 million from a list of names which reads like a who's who of the local and international technology investment scene.
Short-lived: Six months killed two hyped startups
Two of Australia's most hyped Internet startups have shut their doors just six months after launching or taking investment, in a sign of how quickly events move in the rapidly evolving local technology ecosystem.
Aussie IT startup A-Team creates new VC fund
A who’s who of the Australian technology startup founder scene (you know these guys, it’s much of the same crew behind initiatives such as Startmate — the Atlassian founders, Niki Scevak and so on) has reportedly banded together to kickstart a new Australian venture capital fund dubbed ‘Blackbird Ventures’.
Trio of Aussie IT startups win investment
Three Australian IT and web startups have revealed that they have attracted sizable investment rounds over the past week, as the nation's startup community continues to gain in scale amid a constant and ongoing series of capital injections that is fuelling individual company growth and the growth of the local ecosystem as a whole.
Sydney’s Bubble Gum studio raises $2.5m more
Sydney-based children's entertainment company Bubble Gum Interactive has raised another $2.5 million to help fund the expansion of its Little Space Heroes online game, adding to an initial $1 million raised in mid-2011.
News aggregator Wotnews shuts down
Australian Internet news aggregator Wotnews has announced it will shut the site down to focus on its sister site WeAreHunted, potentially leaving site investor and Wotif.com multimillionaire Graeme Wood out of pocket.
Sydney’s Paloma wins $1.5m local investment
Sydney-based next-generation mobile startup Paloma Mobile has raised $1.5 million in investment funding from Australian venture capital firm OneVentures, in a move which will further highlight the growing strengths of the local funding landscape for Australia-based technology startups.
Australia’s IT startup scene: Blooming, not dying
This morning the Sydney Morning Herald published a series of articles claiming that Australia's technology startup ecosystem is unable to support local entrepreneurs, causing them to increasingly head to the US in search of the financial backing they are unable to attract in Australia. The only problem is, the evidence doesn't support this assertion.
Airtasker startup wins $1.5m in funding
Australian startup Airtasker has secured $1.5 million in funding.
Reckon invests in local SaaS startup
Australian software specialist Reckon has announced a strategic minority investment in local start-up Connect2Field. Reckon acquired a 30 percent stake for $660,000, thus providing its customer base a useful application for field staff management and paving its way into the CRM space.
iOS conference One More Thing set for May
The second edition of One More Thing, a conference of iOS developers and designers, has been scheduled for May 25th and 26th in Melbourne, Australia.
Australia Post sues digital rival over name similarity
Australia Post has instituted legal proceedings against fledgling e-post joint venture Digital Post Australia with reference to the similarity in the name of the company with its own well-established brand. It has sought an injunction in the Federal Court to stop Digital Post Australia from using the name ‘Digital Post Australia’ for its digital mailbox service.
River City Labs boosts Brisbane’s startup infrastructure
River City Labs, a Brisbane based start-up company, was officially opened on 22 March 2012 by Brisbane Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner. According to a press release, Labs is a not-for-profit co-working space founded and funded by Stephen Baxter, PIPE Networks co-founder (pictured, above left) and a well-known figure within the telecommunications and Internet industry.
Australians offered digital inbox for real mail
A trio of business process companies have teamed up in a joint venture to offer Australians an easy way to receive their physical mail -- online.
Startup pays local to line up for iPad
Australian startup Airtasker has used its fledgling jobs board service to advertise for someone to line up outside the Sydney Apple store to buy the new iPad when it is launched this Friday in Australia.
Victoria Govt launches $11m ICT fund
The Victorian Coalition Government has launched an $11 million 'Digital Futures Fund', which is aimed at giving a substantial boost to cutting edge Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects in the state.
Atlassian buys HipChat
Australian enterprise software firm Atlassian revealed this week that it had acquired San Francisco-based HipChat.
Startmate startups incorporated in … Delaware?
Every so often you come across something in Australia’s technology sector which infuriates you because of its counter-intuitiveness. Today’s item is the news broken by Mahesh Sharma at ZDNet.com.au that local technology incubator Startmate has successfully advised its latest batch of companies to become incorporated in the state of Delaware in the US instead of in Australia.
Kondoot social network plans $10 million IPO
Australian video social network Kondoot has announced plans to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in a bid to raise $10 million for its marketing and expansion plans.
Aussie start-up incubators need fresh meat
There is good news for Australian start-ups looking for investment and guidance, as start-up incubators are opening new rounds of applications for their funding intake and mentorship programs. These investors provide internet companies seed capital, mentorship, connections, opportunities for Australian web start-ups, usually for a minority stake, and even pitch for top-tier venture capitalists and angel investors.
Australian web 2.0 start-ups raise big capital
Thereitis.com, the Adelaide start-up spun out of Flinders University has elicited a $2 million angel investment round to steer international commercialisation of its user interface technology.
Aussie startup wants us to outsource chores
Airtasker, a new online community marketplace based in Australia that lets people outsource everyday tasks and chores to ‘runners’ -- local community members looking to earn some extra money -- was launched on February 21, according to a media release issued by the company this week.
Aussie group buying sector worth $500m in 2011
Online group buying deals are finding favour with more and more Australians, going by sales figures. According to local emerging technology analyst firm Telsyte, the online group buying market generated revenues worth $498 million in 2011.
Pollenizer-backed Pygg banks $600k
Another one of startup incubator Pollenizer's portfolio companies has raised a significant amount of investment capital to expand its operations, with social payments company Pygg today revealing it had taken $600k in funding.
19-year old Aussie pumps taxi booking app
A 19-year-old Australian developer, Zac Altman has successfully launched an online service for taxi users in Australia focusing on mobile bookings, thrusting himself into an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
APN invests in Pollenizer’s Friendorse
Newspaper group APN News & Media has confirmed that it is investing in the Pollenizer-backed startup Friendorse.
BugHerd takes $500K venture capital investment
BugHerd, the Australian developer of the bug-tracking software by the same name, revealed yesterday that it had received a $500K investment from Melbourne-based venture capital firm Starfish Ventures.
Financial problems take down 99dresses
Pollenizer-backed startup 99dresses this week took its site down for renovation promising that it would eventually return, but revealing it was suffering from financial problems linked to its use of virtual currency.
Startmate announces class of 2012
Startmate, the Sydney based mentor-driven seed fund that invests in Australian techies who have ambitions of creating startups, has announced its latest class of protégées for the 2012 program. The fund was announced at the Tech23 2010 event held in Sydney and it has a stated mission of helping create world-class companies that will solve customer problems.
Pollenizer calls for new startup partners
Local startup incubator Pollenizer has launched the opening of its Autumn semester intake for new startups from 1 April 2012, calling for applications until 20 January. Those businesses shortlisted will be notified between 23 and 25 January.
UNSW creates IT startup incubator
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) has announced the launch of what it describes as its Venture Incubator Space under the auspices of the university’s School of Computer Science and Engineering.
Ex-ninemsner Sneesby returns as Cudo CEO
Mike Sneesby was yesterday announced as the Chief Executive of Cudo, the online group buying company that is a joint venture between Microsoft and Nine Entertainment Co (NEC).
NSW Govt funds Fruit Ninja Sydney studio
Leading Australian game developers Halfbrick Studios are opening a new Sydney office and will be developing the next edition of their internationally acclaimed app Fruit Ninja in the city, announced NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner yesterday, with the support of funding from the State Government.
Yelp launches in Australia; but will it fly?
US-based community led search site Yelp has ventured into Australia through a local version of its site. The website is a platform for sharing opinions and recommendations on businesses and services in the neighbourhood.
An insider’s look at Aussie app development
Australian iOS and Android app development house Shifty Jelly has published an extensive and heart-felt blog post detailing what it's really like to be an app developer in the cold, hard smartphone/tablet world.
Future Capital expands with Agenda and BlueChilli
Future Capital Development Fund (FCDF), the prominent Australian web 2.0 investment group, announced its investment yesterday in two more companies, TheAgendaDaily.com and BlueChilli Technology. This brings the total of fast growing Internet companies in the Future Capital portfolio to at least 14.
PIPE founder, Gordon Bell invest in OrionVM
Australian cloud computing startup OrionVM today revealed it had taken angel investment capital from two high-profile technology sector luminaries: PIPE Networks co-founder Stephen Baxter and US engineer Gordon Bell, of Digital Equipment Corporation fame.
Australian startup Grabble bought by Walmart
Retail giant Walmart has acquired fledgling Aussie tech startup Grabble for an undisclosed figure, with the deal being announced this week on the company’s site by founders Stuart Argue and Anthony Marcar.
Delicious buys Aussie startup Trunk.ly
Global social bookmarking company Delicious has bought Australian startup Trunk.ly, less than a year after the site launched in the wake of Delicious' own temporary sunset at the hands of former owner Yahoo.
Pollenizer raises another $1.1m for startups
Australian startup incubator Pollenizer today revealed it had added a further $1.1 million in investment to its coffers, with the aim of furthering its mission of helping to build innovative technology startups.
VCs plough $14m into crowdsourcing startups
Two high-profile Australian startups who have built their businesses on crowdsourcing this week revealed they had attracted a total of $14 million in venture capital funding that will allow them to continue to grow aggressively and extend their reach outside Australia.
Is an Australian Silicon Valley a realistic goal?
The question of how Australia could develop its technology startup sector to become more like California's Silicon Valley is one that has plagued the industry, politicians and financiers for some time. But is this even a realistic idea?