Today
‘Not honourable, but lawful’: Uber justifies using spyware on rival
Uber’s lawyers said taking private data from its rival GoCatch was not like burglary, and compared its lawbreaking to publishers selling Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
- 1 hr ago
- Paul Smith
- Exclusive
- Weight loss
Trish lost 25kg on replica Ozempic. She fears for patients like her
Patients like Trish Miller are afraid their weight loss will come to a halt as the regulator mulls a ban on replica anti-obesity drugs made by pharmacists.
- Nick Bonyhady
Yesterday
- Exclusive
- Insolvency
How Macquarie’s $46m investment in an Aussie tech firm turned into $1
Macquarie Capital poured $46m into Plutora, but sold its stake for a dollar, and administrators have met to try to figure out what is left in its operations.
- Paul Smith
March
Crypto-based video gamers pull $US600 million valuation
The Funded blog is the home for news on the tech deals that are done in Australia, as soon as we hear about them.
- Updated
- Paul Smith
Canva’s billion-dollar bet on a 37-year-old Nottingham company
The company’s move to buy a professional graphic design suite puts it in direct competition with Adobe for enterprise spending.
- Nick Bonyhady
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Square Peg touts billion-dollar returns as it hits up market for $843m
Square Peg, one of Australia’s biggest venture capital firms, has revealed its returns to shareholders have topped $1 billion
- Paul Smith
- Exclusive
- Cars
$300m to ‘zero’: Blackbird-backed start-up stalls
VC backers of Baraja have written down their investment on the polarising LiDAR technology for autonomous vehicles to nil.
- Nick Bonyhady
No plans to wind up embattled $2b VC fund: Pallas
Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas has hit back at calls to wind up the state’s venture capital fund, saying there isn’t enough private money to support start-ups.
- Updated
- Gus McCubbing
- Exclusive
- Funding
Australia has its first tech ‘unicorn’ in two years
Software firm Deputy cracks the billion-dollar valuation milestone to break Australia’s unicorn drought, after a prospective US customer invested $37 million.
- Tess Bennett
- Exclusive
- Funding
Tech star lends staff cash to buy its shares
SafetyCulture, a $2.7 billion software firm, is helping staff buy more stock and is structuring its sales to avoid debts accrued by some US start-up workers.
- Nick Bonyhady
- Exclusive
- Funding
Big media names pour cash into ‘cookie-free’ ad start-up
Media boss Antony Catalano and Seek co-founder Matt Rockman are among investors in a new advertising tech start-up, which eschews privacy-invading cookies.
- Paul Smith
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The real issue at the heart of Employment Hero’s super stoush
The battle between the start-up and industry fund Hostplus has many juicy elements, but it is how the super sector wields its power that is most interesting.
- James Thomson
- Exclusive
- Superannuation
$2b start-up hands win to industry super in Hostplus feud
Employment Hero’s software was recast to reflect pre-existing super accounts, but its founder sustained his crusade against Hostplus, which sought his sacking.
- Nick Bonyhady and Hannah Wootton
Victorian government venture capital fund referred to auditor-general
The Allan government is standing by Breakthrough Victoria’s chairman John Brumby as the opposition claims the fund needs to be investigated.
- Patrick Durkin and Gus McCubbing
Canva revenue growth hits 60pc, investors seek shares worth $3.6b
Co-founder Cliff Obrecht says the listing will be in the US because the ASX is a small market and its investors don’t understand tech as well as their American counterparts.
- Nick Bonyhady
- Exclusive
- Funding
Senior staff exodus as high-value Sydney start-up struggles to scale
Dovetail, one of Australia’s most richly backed start-ups has suffered an exodus of crucial senior staff, as it struggles to keep customers and grow.
- Jessica Sier
- Exclusive
- Atlassian
Joe and Vinay got a $1.5b Atlassian exit. They have lessons for founders
When Loom’s CEO first met Atlassian’s Scott Farquhar he wasn’t interested in selling, but four years later Atlassian bought his company at a $790m discount to it’s 2021 valuation.
- Nick Bonyhady
- Exclusive
- Mergers & acquisitions
Melbourne entrepreneurs’ $30m payday in Singapore buyout
The deal for 100 per cent of the shares in privately held Trade Indy closed last week, and all of its 28 full-time staff will move across to Singapore’s Sqreem.
- Paul Smith
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Quadrant swoops on $100m Canva stake in Blackbird sale
A $100m stake in the runaway tech star is set to change hands, as VC firm Blackbird plans a trade to PE firm Quadrant.
- Paul Smith
- Analysis
- Competition
Google’s plan to dodge day in court over ‘killing’ Aussie start-up
It is six years since an arbitrary ruling by Google killed a $200m Melbourne start-up. Now, its founder’s costly crusade for justice hangs on a US judge’s ruling.
- Paul Smith
