Australian tech news headlines in February 2023 covered items, technologies and issues including the potential for job creation and innovation in the crypto industry, data security concerns around China-owned surveillance cameras in Australia, emerging regulation for the Australian buy-now-pay-later fintech sector, and many more.
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SharePass: Secure communications cybersecurity from Australia
- Australia: “Customers like chatbots as they provide 24/7 support (76%), faster response times (58%) and autonomy (44%)…respondents are 24% more likely to interact with brands using a chatbot than…with an agent…”
- Australia: Q-CTRL raises $27.4M with Salesforce Ventures as a new investor, developing software that helps quantum computers run more accurately
- “According to the survey, 62% of Australian CFOs believe their IT security and resilience measures are effective…”
- Australia: H2i Technology working on systems to inject hydrogen into diesel engines to reduce overall diesel use, building 10 commercial-ready systems with plans for field testing
- Australia: “If the crypto ecosystem matures and develops, it could open significant new opportunities for businesses and consumers alike, creating jobs and fostering innovation…”
“The crypto ecosystem also has the potential to help improve competition in the technology and other sectors, which would carry broader benefits for the Australian economy. Australian businesses can take advantage of the technological advancements to improve their operations, create new opportunities for growth, build efficiencies into existing products, and explore new markets.”
- Australia: A brief intro to 5 agri-tech startups worth keeping an eye on, working on autonomous equipment, methane reduction and more
- Australia: Digital 2023 report finds Australia has the highest monthly TikTok usage time in the world with users spending an average of 29 hours, 36 minutes per month on the platform
- Australia: Defense Department to remove surveillance cameras made by China’s Hikvision and Dahua from gov’t buildings, firms already sanctioned
- Australia’s Openpay buy-now-pay-later firm enters receivership, just a week after recording quarterly revenue of over Au$10M
- Australia: Fable Food Co alt-meat startup raised $8.5MM Series A funding led by Singapore’s K3 Ventures VC, focusing on shiitake mushrooms instead of soybeans or peas
- Australia: Griffith University inks 3 -year partnership with LuminaX Healthtech Accelerator for 14-week programme to fast-track commercialisation and market-readiness for 10 Australian startups each year
Digital Assets in Australia – Tech Council / Accenture
- Australia: CryptoSpend fintech builds on launch last year of country’s first Australian-native crypto-Visa card with sights on $5M Series A fundraise, with app allowing users to pay bills, send crypto or cash out to Au$
- Australia: Tracksuit raises $6.8M, focusing on quantifying the value of a brand
- Australia: Comm’s and Media Authority to explore implementation of SMS sender ID register to block cyber-scammers from sending false-ID texts, a system used in the UK, Spain, Ireland and Singapore
- Australia: Gov’t privacy reform proposal would give citizens greater control of personal information, and to opt out of targeted ads, erase their data and sue for serious breaches of privacy
- Australia: Securities & Investments Commission supports formal regulation of ‘buy now, pay later’ financial products as a form of credit, seeing growing issues in consumer ability to repay, and provider fees
Tending Australia’s tech ecosystem: Who should be regulator(s)?
- Australian tech major Atlassian apparently hacked, seeing staff and office details posted online as a result of compromised third-party service
- Australia: Loam gains Au$105M Series B funding with soil carbon capture technology utilizing fungi
- Australia: SwarmFarm Robotics raised $8.3M Series A with driverless tech, specialty robotics solutions and an open platform to develop on
- Australia: China’s Alipay+ preps for activation in 8000 retailers using Australia’s epay, boosting cross-border mobile payments with global wallets
- An intro to a range of cybersecurity-focused startups to watch in 2023 including Australia’s SharePass, providing end-to-end encryption in confidential data transfers
- Australia: Vic gov’t now conducting audit of all security cameras at gov’t-owned sites to identify China state-owned companies, with likely replacement required due to espionage concerns
Pacific Islands Forum: Pacific Security Outlook Report 2022-2023
- Australia: Monash University adds Transact’s NFC-enabled ID system for students, faculty and staff, with ID storage via Apple Wallet or Google Wallet
- Australia: An intro to SharePass, providing confidentiality in communication with end-to-end encryption
- Australia: ULUU, combating climate change by sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere using seaweed-based material and microbial fermentation to create bioplastics
- Australia: Volvo and GEODIS launch pilot program aiming for first fully electric truck in the Australian market, focusing on metro areas and a 200km range
- Australia: $1M AgTech Grants Program launched by Agriculture Victoria and LaunchVic, providing grants of $50K to 20 emerging agri-tech startups selected
- Immersve web3 startup partners Mastercard with sights on allowing New Zealand and Australia-based customers to make purchases directly from Ethereum crypto wallets
- Australia: Gov’t to appoint a Coordinator for Cyber Security, and new agency, with boosted authority to protect the nation from cyber-attacks
Current cybersecurity rules in Australia are “a patchwork of policies, laws and frameworks that are not keeping with the challenges presented by the digital age,” said Clare O’Neil, minister for home affairs and cybersecurity.
- Australia: 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy Discussion Paper is available now, and open for submissions from the Australian public
- Australia: Adelaide’s Southstart, Startmate and Rampersand partner to give early-stage founders a chance to talk with VCs and pitch, as part of upcoming Odyssey festival
- Enterprise Singapore and Australia’s Haymarket HQ partner for 6-month Singapore-Australia Accelerator to help Singapore startups expand into Australia
Deloitte: 2023 Semiconductor Industry Outlook
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