May
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Big win for Square Peg as Nvidia buys AI start-up Deci
The Melbourne VC firm will soon be toasting a rich profit on its investment in an Israeli AI start-up, when it is acquired by chip titan Nvidia for $447 million.
- Nick Bonyhady
- Opinion
- Venture capital
Stick or twist? How start-up investors know when it’s time to sell
VCs selling down Canva stakes could leave huge gains on the table, but don’t want to leave selling too late. Poorly timed sales have a history of destroying value.
- Adir Shiffman
April
Uber and GoCatch stagger out for round two of court case
Nobody expected a clean fight when GoCatch called out Uber for huge damages, but startling details in the first week of the trial have left both sides wounded.
- Paul Smith
Founder fights and investor fury exposed as Uber makes its case
Investors in fallen transport app GoCatch were alarmed by its lack of progress and wanted to sack its co-founders around the time UberX launched in Australia, private emails show.
- Paul Smith
Uber’s ‘espionage plot’ to ‘crush’ Packer-backed rival GoCatch
Well before the ride-sharing giant dominated, it had a big local rival. This week, Victorian courts will hear explosive claims of how it killed the competition.
- Paul Smith
March
- 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
January
Square Peg starved of exits; returns disappoint
No exits in a year, more write-down provisions and lacklustre returns from its latter funds sums up local VC bigwig Square Peg’s returns.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Many start-ups that survived 2023 are delaying inevitable, VCs warn
This year will be a make or break, according to some of the largest venture capital firms, which say there is plenty of investor interest in the best companies.
- Paul Smith
December 2023
Bonfire of the CEOs: Rear Window’s 2023 year in review
The year ended with a lecture from the mining establishment, but not before a carry-on of CEOs joined the unemployment queue.
- Myriam Robin and Mark Di Stefano
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
‘Australian Tiger Global’: VCs firms split over investment strategy
Blackbird Ventures is using its size to pay more for stakes in early-stage start-ups than many of its rivals, who say it could eventually hurt founders.
- Nick Bonyhady
November 2023
How the tech crowd track their health to live longer
‘Quantified self’ is a movement where the health conscious are trying to leave nothing to chance, using the latest in technology to monitor their bodies and fitness.
- Nick Bonyhady
Pro-Palestine boycott of Aussie companies condemned
Prominent Jewish Australians including Paul Bassat and Mark Leibler have condemned a campaign to target local retailers linked to Israel.
- Patrick Durkin
October 2023
Good luck, rich parents and Canva: how Blackbird made millionaires
The names of some of those making a fortune from Blackbird’s first VC fund are surprising. One of them, Rayn Ong, says his good fortune was ‘life-changing’.
- Paul Smith
‘Not going anywhere’: Goyder meets AFL chiefs after Qantas retirement
Days after putting in place his retirement plans at Qantas, Mr Goyder will convene the AFL Commission on Monday. He is expected to tell club bosses he will stay in the job for another two years.
- Mark Di Stefano and Patrick Durkin
Mark Leibler has five grandsons in Israel. Three were just called up
The shocking attack on Israel by Hamas militants has brought back terrifying memories for Australian Jews, including lawyer Mark Leibler. And many of them have friends and family in the firing line.
- Updated
- Patrick Durkin, Samantha Hutchinson and Jessica Sier
AFL’s succession drama approves a spin-off
An interview in the AFR has opened up a race to see who will replace Tony Shepherd as club president of the GWS Giants.
- Mark Di Stefano
Inside the ultra-high-pressure world of Airwallex
The Australian payments giant grew out of a Melbourne coffee shop almost a decade ago and became a global player. But is it ready for prime time?
- Lucas Baird and Jonathan Shapiro
Embattled Richard Goyder farewells Gil McLachlan. Again
You know you’ve drawn a power crowd when not only doesn’t the prime minister get to speak, but his presence rates only a passing mention.
- Joe Aston and Myriam Robin
September 2023
- Exclusive
- Voice to parliament
Why Canva’s Melanie Perkins is finally backing the Voice
Even some of Australia’s most progressive companies have been wary of endorsing the Voice as No campaigners seek to portray them as “elites”.
- Nick Bonyhady
Richard Goyder weighs Qantas positives, Joyce’s payout
The Qantas board led by Richard Goyder will need to weigh up whether to release all shares and bonuses for Alan Joyce worth more than $21 million.
- Mark Di Stefano
