VC vows to back 1,000 women-led startups by 2030

Just 0.7% of all venture capital in Australia goes to 100% female-founded and led businesses. For US-owned VC fund, F5 Collective – which has invested in seven APAC, female-led businesses over the past year – it’s a huge opportunity. In fact, it wants to invest in 1,000 female founders by 2030. It’s no secret that […]

95% of NFTs are dead. But why?

The concept of non-fungible-tokens (NFTs) and their potential value was difficult for many people to get their heads around. It turns out the global scepticism was warranted. A new study has found 95% of NFT collections are worthless. When it comes to cryptocurrency, NFTs have been dubbed the rising stars of the growing market over […]

Is graphite the new lithium? Global energy markets set for major shake-up

New Zealand-based CarbonScape is set to commercialise the production of biographite – a new, cleaner graphite alternative for lithium-ion batteries. CarbonScape, which began developing its clean graphite alternative, biographite, in 2016, recently banked $18 million in an investment round led by Europe’s largest supplier of wooden construction material, Store Enso, to commercialise its materials throughout […]

Australia’s Airbnb battle begins as Victoria signs off on new levy

Victoria has just passed a 7.5% levy on short-term rental accommodation. After New York’s Local Law 18 came into effect in early September, is Airbnb on a collision course? Short-term rental platform Airbnb came out of the famous startup incubator, the Y Combinator, in 2009 with about 2,500 listings and 10,000 registered users. Today, Search […]

Gross national happiness: What the world can learn from Bhutan

Australia is suffering from a mental health crisis. Suicide and self-harm are increasing, and some are linking it to technology. Meanwhile, in Bhutan, there is a nuanced vision for creating happiness but also, a push to digitalise. It is also seeing a serious brain drain. Where are they going? To Australia. Forbes Australia’s Stewart Hawkins […]

The Aussie cardboard drones hitting Russia in massed attacks

Dubbed the “origami of death”, Melbourne-made flatpack drones assembled with glue and rubber bands have been hitting targets inside Russia since June, most recently destroying US$100 million worth of aircraft. Family-owned Australian company SYPAQ Systems has been sending 100 cardboard drones a month to Ukraine for the last year. Designed to carry more benign payloads, […]

Could this peanut allergy drug open up a $4 billion market?

Melbourne biotech Aravax is in the middle of peanut allergy drug trials which, if successful, promise to open up an estimated US$4-billion global market. In a Nutshell It takes courage to tackle peanut allergy. In the 1990s, a child died during a clinical trial after an injection of peanut extract. It was a dosing error, […]

Skincare founder used ChatGPT to win over Shark Tank judges

The first episode of Shark Tank proves that a good idea that solves a common problem, combined with a healthy dose of sheer determination is sometimes all it takes to start a fast-growth company. Key Takeaways Skincare entrepreneur Davey Rooney was the first entrepreneur to face a new panel of judges on the latest season […]