Tech news from Australia & New Zealand in the second quarter of 2023 captures headlines, articles, commentary and reports on technology developments, implementations, innovations and issues across April, May and June of 2023.
Broken out into months – April, May & June – Australian and New Zealand tech news summaries for Q2 2023 can be read in full below.
Australia: June 2023 & New Zealand: June 2023
Australia: May 2023 & New Zealand: May 2023
Australia: April 2023 & New Zealand: April 2023
Australia: SXSW Sydney 2023 – October 15-22
◉ Plus: Asia tech news daily / weekly newsletters >
Tech Council of Australia: Australia’s Generative AI opportunity
tech news, Australia: June 2023
- Australia: Mash lands $2M pre-A funding with tech-enabled, curated bespoke and remote creative teams focused on marketing-related work for brands
- AUKUS partners – Australia, US and UK – ran AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Pillar program test focused on AI-controlled drone ‘swarming’ to trial leading-edge technologies
“This trial demonstrates the military advantage of AUKUS advanced capabilities, as we work in coalition to identify, track, and counter potential adversaries from a greater distance and with greater speed,” UK Deputy Chief of Defence Staff Rob Magowan said.
- Here’s a quick intro to the FinTech Australia 2023 Finnies Winners
- ‘Safe and responsible AI in Australia: discussion paper’ released, with public submissions closing July 26th
- Australia: An intro to the winning startups and services from The Governor of Victoria Startup Awards, celebrating startups, investors, services and more
- Australia: Li-S Energy unveils 20-layer lithium-sulfur batteries, potentially offering cheaper, lighter-weight storage, and cost and safety benefits over standard lithium units
Tech Council of Australia: Australia’s Generative AI opportunity
- Download: ‘The State of AI Governance in Australia’, a report from The Human Technology Institute at the University of Technology Sydney
- Australia: A look at Endua, working on hydrogen power banks capable of up to 100kW per unit, aiming to supplement diesel generators in microgrid situations via 6×3 meter sized units
- Australia: Gov’t announces $55M quantum industry feasibility grants, with estimates the industry ‘could be worth as much as $6.1 billion and employ 19,000 Australians by 2045’
“Cooke said the Australian Quantum Growth Centre will provide ‘up to $18.5 million in grant funding over four years for an existing organisation to deliver a range of industry growth services to the sector.’”
- Australia: Tech Council of Australia National Tech Summit is set for July 20-21 in Brisbane
- Australia: Hysata hydrogen-focused clean energy firm gains Morgan Stanley backing with sights on raising as much as $68M Series B funding, with conditional orders and letters of intent in place
Australian Strategic Policy Institute: AUKUS and critical minerals
- Australia: China’s MG EV automaker cuts $6000 from price for MG4 electric vehicle, making it Australia’s first entry-level model under $40K and undercutting rival BYD
- Australia: Gov’t has published the Critical Minerals Strategy 2023–2030, setting out a vision for growing Australia’s critical minerals sector
“Based on a survey of how widespread entrepreneurship is across business managers — Australia was ranked 62nd of 64 countries. The credibility of managers was a little better at 46th.”
- Australia: Air Force Commander to lead federal government cybersecurity incident response efforts as inaugural national cybersecurity coordinator, commencing in July
- Australia: New South Wales to open state’s first International Landing Pad by year-end in bid to attract tech firms from overseas
CSIRO: Australian Tech Industry Map
- Australia: ElectraLith unveils lithium extraction system using brine, allowing extraction from salt lakes, mine tailings and more without chemicals, delivering cleaner, cheaper EV batteries
- Australia: Treasury’s ‘Strategic Plan for Australia’s Payments System’ roadmap is available to download, looking at 5 key components
- Australia: Financial regulator imposes requirement on Medibank to hold extra $250M in capital to ‘expedite remediation’ following huge 2022 data breach
“Medibank is already facing several class actions over last October’s cyberattack which saw about 9.7 million Australians have their personal medical information compromised, and in some cases posted online.”
- An overview of the challenges involved in New Zealand’s aspirations for AUKUS Pillar 2 participation, the pillar dealing with advanced technologies
- Inaugural South Korea-Pacific Islands Summit sees growth in defence cooperation with Korea to join Indo-Pacific Endeavour drills, and underwater mines detect-and-disarm program
- ‘The growing centrality of India in Australia’s Indo-Pacific policy’ via Observer Research Foundation
CSIS: Mapping semiconductor supply chains – Indo-Pacific’s importance
tech in New Zealand: June 2023
- New Zealand: Onwardly cybersecurity SaaS startup partners Brightly, SafeAdvisory and Theta to provide businesses with a comprehensive one-stop approach to cyber-resilience
- An overview of the challenges involved in New Zealand’s aspirations for AUKUS Pillar 2 participation, the pillar dealing with advanced technologies
- New Zealand: Cogo, carbon footprint management fintech, raises NZ$1M with services to banks, help bank customers measure and reduce their carbon impact
Kordia: NZ Cyber Security Report 2023
tech in Australia: May 2023
- Australia: CommBank Startup Pitch Fest applications close May 8th for selection for the May 24th event, part of Melbourne Small Biz Week
- Australia: Applications close July 7th for fintech startups to enter the Pitch, backed by AWS, Fintech Australia and others
- Australia: Adelaide’s Paladin Space is developing an orbital collection-and-compacting solution to clear space debris
- Australia: Government releases inaugural National Quantum Strategy, setting out a” long-term vision for the country’s approach to the technologies involved
Australia: SXSW Sydney 2023, October 15-22
- Australia: Inaugural Foodpreneurs Festival set for May 19th at Sydney Startup Hub, showcasing founders in food and drink, sustainability and packaging
- Australia: Novalith gains Au$23M Series A with lithium extraction method cutting costs across processing, plant and plant footprints by up to 65%, 50%, and 25%, respectively whilst using 90% less water
“Microsoft on Wednesday argued against Australia focusing too much on sovereign tech capabilities and data storage requirements, telling a parliament inquiry it would harm competition and security.”
- Australia: The Supporting Australian Critical Minerals initiative preps to provide 4 years of support to grow and consolidate opportunities for the domestic critical minerals industry
- Australia: An intro to the 10 startups selected for Curtin University’s Accelerate program, working in healthcare, construction, mining and more
- Australia: Defence 10x Accelerator applications close May 29th for Australian startups building solutions enhancing the country’s sovereign defence capabilities
Australian Strategic Policy Institute: AUKUS and critical minerals
- Australia: eBay Ventures backs The Volte, a startup allowing users to rent luxury dresses to other consumers, backed by direct integration with retailers and designers
- Australia’s Green Gravity energy storage firm to build R&D facility in NSW, utilizing disused mine shafts for gravity-driven energy production, and to feature ‘digital twin’ for modeling, analysis and refinement
- Tennis Australia launches 2nd round of AO StartUps program, seeking tech startups globally with a focus on sports innovation
- Australia: Purple Hive Project trials AI-backed hive at North Queensland cargo port, using high-def cameras and AI analysis to spot parasites
- Australia: RBA and Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre complete first successful CBDC transfer in pilot program, trading the eAUD to the USDC stablecoin
KPMG Venture Pulse Report Q2 2023 – Asia findings
- Australia: TikTok expands controversial trial of gambling-focused ad partnerships
- Australia’s Xsights takes overall win at Future Food Asia 2023 Awards with XIoT Tag enabling real-time tracking, data collection and processing of livestock location and health
- Australia: Queensland’s White Graphene takes win at recent Sustainability in Space Pitch Challenge, with Boeing set to invest up to $100K in the firm’s nanomaterials concept
- Australia: Arula gains $2.2M with Earth Observatory data platform, featuring satellite imagery archive and API allowing users to search and order data from free and commercial satellites
- Australia: Medical cannabis firm, Cannaponics, secures $5M via crowdfunding, seeing prescriptions demand predicted to hit 30,000kg by 2024
World Economic Forum Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2023
- Australia’s Immersion Group backed by Japan’s Nissui seafood major with land-based cultivation of methane-reducing seaweed for use in cattle feed
- Australian Securities Exchange abandons blockchain tech or distributed ledger tech for revamp of Clearing House system, and now seeks a more conventional solution
- Australia: Former NSW digital gov’t minister Dominello to take seat on Tech Council of Australia board, ensuring the board maintains a bi-partisan model
- Australia: Latest edition of Silicon Beach Virtual Pitch Night from Silicon Beach Australia is set for June 1st, with pitch slots available
- Australia: An intro to 3 of the country’s agri-tech startups, working on vertical farming, biotech, and indoor farming solutions
Digital Assets in Australia – Tech Council / Accenture
- Australia: AustCyber and Stone & Chalk launch AustCyber Innovation Network, aiming to boost innovation, fortify cyber security communities, and provide collaboration opportunities
- Available now: ‘ASTN Sports Innovation Report 2023’ from the Australian Sports Technologies Network, looking at a sector now on-par with fintech, valued at Aus$4.25BN
- Australia’s Fleet Space Technologies hits $350M valuation with ‘nanosatellites’ with focus on identification of mineral deposits from space
World Economic Forum: Shared Intelligence for Resilient Supply Systems
New Zealand tech: May 2023 snapshot
- New Zealand: 5 startups selected for Global innovation launchpad for New Zealand aquaculture, working in oyster cultivation, packaging and transport, and more
- New Zealand: Gov’t to partner New Zealand Steel to shrink carbon footprint of Glenbrook steel mill, including construction of electric arc furnace
Australian Strategic Policy Institute: AUKUS and critical minerals
Tech in Australia: April 2023
- Australia: Bill introduced to parliament proposing a licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges, bringing them in line with other financial service providers in the country
- Australia: MADU, helping online publishers monetise visual content by turning photos into revenue-generating items by recognising products and and creating affiliate links
- Australia: Shell to build massive battery system with storage to power 80,000 homes in Victoria for 1 hour during peak demand times, with launch slated for late 2024
- Australia: Amazon Web Services to invest $13BN in expanding cloud computing data centers in Sydney and Melbourne, with projected creation of 11000 jobs
- Australia: Spiral Blue hits world-first milestone with space-based edge computing, allowing for faster processing of large amounts of data
TeleGeography: Submarine Cable Map
- Australia: WA tech startups looking to expand into the UK market – apply to attend London Tech Week 2023 from 12-14 June as part of an organised trade mission
- Australia: An overview of Woolworths-backed Seedlab Australia, the country’s first FMCG-only business incubator
- Australia: LuminaX unveils 2023 HealthTech Accelerator cohort, with startups working on technologies including 3D printing, artificial intelligence, child development and more
“For Australia and its partners, the skill shortage is particularly evident in advanced technology sectors, including areas of priority for AUKUS Pillar 2…”
- Australia: Big4 consulting firms PwC and KPMG jump on the ChatGPT bandwagon; PwC via startup partnership, and KPMG via proprietary version of the software
- Australia: SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre announces over $1M support for new space-tech developments, with testing as payloads on Waratah Seed satellite craft
- Australia: Venture Business Summit event is set for April 17th in Sydney Startup Hub, running with the theme of ‘Scaling growth sustainably’
- Australian Securities & Investments Commission cancels Binance license for derivatives business in targeted review, seeing issues in classification of retail and wholesale clients
World Economic Forum: Global Risks Report 2023
- Australia: Gov’t begins series of cybersecurity exercises with the banking and finance sector to build response capacity and knowledge in the event of cyberattacks
- Australia: Latitude Financial received ransom demand after cyber-attack but will not pay, taking advice from gov’t and cyber experts, stating it ‘would only encourage further extortion attempts’
- 3 Australian female founders selected for Cartier Women’s Initiative, working in social impact solutions in decarbonization, health-tech and education technology
- Australia: “…cash represented just 6% of Australia’s point of sale market share in 2022. This is the lowest rate of cash usage in the Asia-Pacific region…”
- Australia: Fivecast secures $30M Series A with cybersec platform, using artificial intelligence and ML to more efficiently analyse online info
- Australia to move up critical minerals value chain with new metals processing facility planned for WA, building on existing supply of near half of world lithium supply
“More than $3.1 billion was lost to scams in 2022 — an 80% increase from 2021 — according to a report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission…”
- Australian Defence Force found to be using DJI drones, a company sanctioned by the US, leading to calls for government-wide policy on use of tech from suppliers deemed to be high-risk
- Australia: Cortical Labs gains $10M with biological artificial intelligence, combining lab-grown human brain cells and computer chips
- Australia: Finalists have been selected for the FinTech Australia 2023 Finnie awards – here’s an overview
Australia: “Everything that we fear about what TikTok may become already is occurring on WeChat…narratives are managed, information is managed, dissenting views are demoted or eliminated…”
- Australia: A brief intro to 3 startups that presented at Swinburne University’s 2023 Pre-Accelerator Pitch Night, working in transport-tech, finance and sustainability solutions
- ICYMI: Quad countries – US, Australia, India and Japan – to build system enabling each government’s cyber body to share information on cyber-attacks targeting critical infrastructure
What is secure? An analysis of messaging apps
- Australia: Digital Health Festival 2023 set for June 6-7 in Melbourne, featuring Startup Village section
- Australia: ‘How to build on the blockchain’ online event is set for May 2nd, looking at tools, frameworks and resources
- Australia’s CyRise Accelerator, formed by Deakin University and NTT global IT firm, announces May closure
- Australia: Ocean City Labs tech startup hub opens its doors on the Sunshine Coast, providing programs, resources and co-working spaces
- Australia: ‘Startup Year’ program gains gov’t education legislation committee approval towards offering loans to final-year undergrads, post-grads and recent graduates for university accelerator participation
CSET: Mapping emerging technologies and their supply chains
New Zealand tech: April 2023
- New Zealand: Creative HQ 2023 Impact Accelerator unveils 15 startups selected, working on for-good and social impact solutions
- New Zealand: Kea Aerospace unveils solar-powered, car-launched, uncrewed stratospheric craft for use in environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, disaster management, maritime awareness and more
“Being solar-powered with zero emissions, the Kea Atmos is the perfect tool for climate change research. The company envisions its solar-powered Kea Atmos giving the complete picture needed to monitor the land, waterways, and coastline to protect it for the future. Kea Aerospace is working on more than just harvesting better data; it will manage the entire pipeline from data acquisition and storage to analysis and delivery…”
- New Zealand: Bspkl deep-tech manufacturing startup raises NZ$2.5M with tech producing cleaner hydrogen using fewer precious metals
- Better Bite Ventures’ First Bite fund unveils 4 alternative-protein startups backed, from Singapore, New Zealand and India, and opens applications for the next cohort
What is secure? An analysis of popular messaging apps
ASIA’S TECH NEWS: DAILY & e-newsletters
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