Firmus pulls its gigantic IPO: Here’s what you need to know
The “AI factory” developer, founded by Oliver Curtis and Tim Rosenfield, attempted to hit the ASX later this month with a market value of over $40 billion. Investors balked.
Daniel Van Boom
Square Peg raises over $1 billion for new funds amid AI bonanza
The Australian VC finalised two funds, one for early-stage investments and another for bigger bets, totalling over $1 billion.
Diraq scores $73 million in US defence race against quantum heavyweights
Diraq has progressed to the third and final stage of a quantum computing program run by the US Department of Defense. It comes with US$51 million in funding – with a possibility of another US$249 million.
Anthropic will let Australia stress test dangerous new models
The AI giant told a parliamentary enquiry that it is finalising an arrangement for Australian safety researchers to evaluate its latest and greatest (and most threatening) models.
‘Culture clash’: Inside three years of transformation and tumult at Xero
Sukhinder Singh Cassidy was hired to turn Xero from a Kiwi upstart into a global heavyweight. In more than a dozen interviews with current and former employees, and with Singh Cassidy herself, Forbes Australia examines what that transformation has cost, and whether a company can go global without losing the culture that built it. Late […]
Australia’s youngest billionaire Ed Craven places his next big venture bet
Maincode, the AI lab building Australia’s first sovereign LLM, is spinning up a venture capital arm its hopes will turn leaders in finance, healthcare and entertainment into disruptors.
$790 million medtech Harrison.ai reveals revenue surge after restructure culling 15% of staff
Harrison.ai founders Aengus and Dimitry Tran say their $789 million startup is reorganising to prepare for a commercialisation drive at home and abroad – but that R&D remains in Australia. Harrison.ai cut 15 per cent of its workforce earlier this year in a restructure founders Aengus and Dimitry Tran say will allow it to put […]
NZ’s richest woman targets Seek with AI recruitment startup
After nearly two decades building toy giant Zuru, Anna Mowbray is betting AI can disrupt recruitment. Her startup Zeil is now targeting Australia as the first step in a global expansion. Zuru cofounder and New Zealand rich lister Anna Mowbray is bringing her AI-powered recruitment platform to Australia, where she hopes will rival recruitment giants […]
Heidi hits $1.2 billion valuation with $480 million in fresh funding
The startup, which Blackbird said is its fastest growing investment ever, has hit $50 million in annualised revenue and is now moving to agentic healthcare. Key Takeaways AI healthcare startup Heidi has become Australia’s fourth unicorn of 2026, raising capital at a $1.26 billion valuation as it looks to hit break-even territory on its breakneck […]
Anthropic pledges ‘heavy’ investment in Australia but asks for copyright compromise
As it heads towards a US$2 trillion IPO, AI titan Anthropic told Parliament it has accepted a broad copyright exemption is not on the table – but calls for a more narrow concession. AI giant Anthropic told a Parliamentary Committee that it will invest in large data centre projects in Australia, but called for the […]