Inside the 2025 LaunchVic Gala and the startups it’s betting on
From fertility tech to quantum sensing, four Melbourne startups took centre stage at LaunchVic’s 2025 Gala as part of a broader $3.75 million push to grow Victoria’s startup sector.
Shivaune Field
Journalist
Agentic AI startup Source raises $2.1m from Aussie investors
Founded six months ago, Source is led by 18-year-old wunderkid Liam Fuller. Square Peg led the raise when Fuller was 17, making him the youngest founder in the portfolio. Ten13 VC and Aussie angels have written checks too.
Why Kyri Cycles has its sights set on Gen Alpha
Hardware founder Olivia Orchowski can see enormous potential in creating a wearable ring to track the menstrual cycles of Gen Alpha women. Monetising it without applying a subscription fee to access that data is the next hurdle.
How Susie Wolff’s F1 Academy is shaping Australia’s next racing stars
Two Melbourne teenagers are lining up on grand prix grids worldwide, raising the profile of women in motorsport and vying to be F1’s first official female driver. It wouldn’t have been possible without another game-changing woman: Susie Wolff.
2025 state of raising: $1.8 billion in – as late-stage deals boom
In just six months, Australian tech firms have raised more funding than they did throughout all of 2024. Late-stage raises are driving the investment, while early and seed-stage have dropped sharply from last year.
The Aussie investment in Mira Murati’s $18.5b ‘Thinking Machines Lab’
Australian founder and VC Paul Bassat’s Square Peg Capital is backing Murati’s record-breaking AI startup that aims to ‘advance collaborative general intelligence.’
Christian Horner exits Red Bull Racing, effective immediately
Horner, who has led the team for two decades and held both the CEO and team principal titles, will be replaced as CEO by Racing Bulls’ Laurent Mekies, with immediate effect.
23 Australian deep tech startups to watch in 2025
From biology to the built world, these 23 homegrown deep tech startups are innovating their way to the future.
‘Entry-level jobs are under threat’: Inside the AI shift reshaping the workforce
Gaining and refining skills anyway you can get them is the new path forward, say tech insiders.
Ikea, Fortescue, Lendlease: The ‘real zero’ leaders leaving net zero behind
Climate Integrity and UTS have named three companies as global decarbonisation leaders. They have surpassed net-zero sustainability commitments — and are achieving ‘real zero’ ones.