Technology news in Australia in April 2024 touched on items and implementations including: 3D metal printing in Australia’s growing space technologies industry; Cicada Innovations’ new health-tech focused facility; Australia’s moves to build a domestic solar panel manufacturing industry; National Australia Bank’s free cybersecurity software initiative; Australia-Thailand partnership on fintech; and many more.
Our other editions span daily updates, weekly newsletters, monthly round-ups, and quarterly collections.
ASPI: AUKUS Pillar 2 Critical Pathways – A road map for int’l collaboration
- Australia: Stables, digital wallet and payments startup, launches international remittances powered by stablecoins, focusing on Australia-Philippines transactions / read it here
- Australia: Canada’s WonderFi to acquire FX Institutions, yet-to-launch Australian crypto exchange, giving WonderFi its first crypto licence outside Canada, to provide OTC crypto trading services / read it here
- Australia: Cicada Innovations deep-tech incubator launches Cicada HealthTech Hub in Sydney, targeting health-focused pre-revenue stage startups, spinouts, research projects and more / read it here
- Australia: iLAuNCH Trailblazer initiative commissions Nikon multi-metal 3D printer to make space missions more affordable and efficient with lighter, faster and more robust aerospace components / read it here
- Australia: Cauldron Ferm fermentation-focused foods company secures Au$9.5M Series A to build large-scale facility to manufacture high-value ingredients / read it here
SXSW Sydney 2024 / October in Australia
- Australia: QuantumTX 2024 Queensland METS Technology Incubator Program applications are now open for solutions in the mining equipment, technology and services sector / read it here
- Australia: An intro to the Seabin, a simple world-first product aiming to clean the oceans, one marina at a time / read it here
- Australia: Diraq quantum tech firm hits milestone for spin-based quantum processors, functioning at temperatures 20 times warmer than before while holding stability and accuracy / read it here
- Sunrise Australia tech, startup and creativity conference set for May 1-2 in Sydney / read it here
- Australia: AGL Energy and SunDrive Solar cells firm partner for facility feasibility study into commercial-scale solar cell manufacturing / read it here
- Australia: An overview of the recently-announced Solar SunShot, a Au$1 billion government initiative to bring solar manufacturing back to Australia / read it here
Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia strategy to 2040
- Australia-India Cyber & Critical Technology Partnership Grant Round 4 applications are open – deadline is May 24th / read it here
- Australia: First Australians Capital gains $500K grant to provide seed funding for Indigenous Australian-led startups / read it here
- Australia’s Vow alt-meat firm gains Singapore approval for sale of quail-derived cultured meat products, making it just the 4th company approved globally to sell cultivated meat products / read it here
- Australia: Monochrome Asset Mgmt has applied for a spot bitcoin ETF with Cboe Australia listing exchange which, if approved, will allow the country’s first direct investor holdings of bitcoin / read it here
- Video: ‘Australia’s Place in the Global Quantum Economy’, a panel discussion from the recent Quantum Australia 2024 conference / read it here
- Australia: Gap Drone secures partnerships to develop drone delivery capabilities for remote and regional communities, targeting payloads of 60-90kg at speeds of 120km/h and a range of 1100km / read it here
ASPI: Australian and the global critical minerals race
- Australia: Space Machines Company reportedly struggling to establish and hold communications with Optimus spacecraft, following launch of on-orbit satellite inspection, servicing and protection vehicle / read it here
- Australia: UK’s Founders Factory Nature & Biodiversity Tech Accelerator sets up in Perth, with $7.2M, 3-year WA gov’t support, and Rio Tinto lined up for separate mining-tech accelerator / read it here
- Australia: Westpac is in talks with Amazon for Project Kuiper satellite system use to make banking more accessible, particularly for remote Indigenous communities / read it here
- Online now: March 2024’s collected tech news summaries from across Asia and the Indo-Pacific / read it here
- Australia: Vudoo selected by Amazon Web Services Partner Network with shoppable video tech, turning content and ads into directly-shoppable on-screen assets / read it here
- Australia: BHP and Rio Tinto piloting electric smelting that may reduce steel industry gas pollution in first-of-its-kind move in Australia, potentially cutting blast furnace C02 by 80% / read it here
2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent
- Australian Federal Police and US FBI join for arrest of individuals believed to be behind development and distribution of Firebird/Hive remote access malware / read it here
- Australia: Billionaire and philanthropist accuses Facebook parent of ‘blatantly refusing’ to take action against crypto scam ads using his likeness / read it here
- Australia: Jumar Bioincubator opens doors, unveiling 16 early-stage firms taking residency in Melbourne Biomedical Precinct / read it here
- Australia: First Australians Capital gains $2M investment from Visa Foundation for its FAC Catalytic Impact Fund, focusing on Indigenous business development / read it here
- National Australia Bank partners CrowdStrike global cybersecurity firm to provide eligible small businesses with free cybersecurity protection for 12 months / read it here
- Australian Federal Police arrests 5 in EuroPol-coordinated global raid on cyber-criminal gang linked to industrial-scale phishing believed to have impacted 94000 in Australia alone / read it here
Blockchain Australia – Digital Assets Policy
- Australia: “Holding social media companies accountable for seriously harmful misinformation and disinformation on their platforms has never been more important…” / read it here
- Australian gov’t makes near $1BN investment in quantum tech firm, PsiQuantum, with sights on delivery of the country’s first quantum computer / read it here
- Australia: “Holding social media companies accountable for seriously harmful misinformation and disinformation on their platforms has never been more important… / read it here
- Space Law and Policy Conference 2024 set for May 30th with theme of ‘To Orbit and Beyond: Challenges and Outlook for Space Law and Policy in Australia, New Zealand and the Global Context’ / read it here
- Australian National University researchers and Queensland’s CQSola join on Au$2.25M project to speed commercialization of solar-to-hydrogen systems, incorporating NZ, US and German involvement / read it here
Action Plan: Australian Cybersecurity Strategy 2023-2030
- Australia: University of Sydney awarded $18.3M federal grant over 4 years to establish research and commercialisation group for the country’s quantum sector / read it here
- An intro to 9 Australian and New Zealand tech startups that collectively raised $60.3M in the week past / read it here
- “With a collective exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of over sixteen million square kilometers, the Pacific Islands occupy nearly 10 percent of the world’s maritime space…” / read it here
- Japan to participate in AUKUS Pillar 2 component, joining Australia, the US and the UK in collaboration on defence tech across fields including quantum and artificial intelligence / read it here
- India Australia Rapid Innovation & Startup Expansion – RISE – Accelerator unveils 15 startups and SMEs selected for the program’s first edition, focusing on circular economy solutions / read it here
- FinTech Australia and Thai Fintech Association ink MOU around collaboration and promotion of fintech capabilities between Australia and Thailand / read it here
Critical technologies, quarterly – Q1 2024
Tech news: Asia & Indo-Pacific
- Daily: On Twitter/X / On Facebook / On LinkedIn
- Weekly: Asia’s Tech News, Weekly – Linkedin & Substack
- Monthly: Asia & IndoPac monthly tech summaries
- Quarterly: Asian tech quarterly, every 3 months
