Amazon

Whos Paying Whom in AI Booms Circular Money Machine

Analysis of circular financing among AI companies, using Nvidia's investments in OpenAI, Anthropic, CoreWeave and Australian data centre builder Firmus to question how much of the AI boom reflects genuine demand.

Also Rampersand·Dealroom·Cut Through Venture·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Forbes Australia·Business News Australia·Forbes Australia·Forbes Australia

OpenAI projected to bring in $20bn less in revenue than expected

OpenAI now expects roughly $50bn in annual revenue, well short of what it told investors earlier; the report also recalls its huge March fundraiser, Anthropic's raise, and SoftBank's bond sale and AI spending.

Also cnbc.com·tech-insider.org

From prison to billionaire data centre operator, the incredible story of Oliver Curtis

Analysis tracing Oliver Curtis from an insider trading prison term to his central role in Firmus's planned $7.2 billion Australian sharemarket listing, with Blackstone and Nvidia among its existing backers.

OpenAI's $122B Capital Raise Signals a Definitive Transition to Infrastructure Utility

Analysis of OpenAI's completed $122 billion raise at an $852 billion post-money valuation, covering NVIDIA, Amazon and SoftBank participation, a bank credit facility, retail demand, and a delayed IPO plan.

Also forkast.news

OpenAI's $122B Capital Raise Signals a Definitive Transition to Infrastructure Utility

Analysis of OpenAI's completed $122 billion raise at an $852 billion post-money valuation, examining its mix of vendor compute, contingent commitments, retail participation and debt, and arguing the company now operates as an infrastructure utility.

Also finance.yahoo.com

Q2 2026 Global Fund Newsletter

Quarterly report from the Defender Global Fund flagging an 84.7% portfolio return, profits taken on SharonAI following its February Nasdaq uplisting, SharonAI's GPU collaboration with NVIDIA, and fresh investor subscriptions.

Q2 2026 Global Fund Newsletter

Defender's quarterly newsletter reports an exceptional quarter for its global fund, headlined by portfolio holding SharonAI, which surged after a February Nasdaq uplisting and an NVIDIA GPU deployment partnership.

Also Defender AM portfolio·Startup Daily·AFR Technology·Forbes Australia·Forbes Australia·Dealroom

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #176, 30th August 2026

Weekly roundup: Blackbird confirms a record fund close and Galileo reaches a first close, Genesis merges with Proudi, IREN secures massive debt, and several startups report raises, grants and program wins.

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #175, 23rd August 2026

Weekly roundup: Constantinople raises $62.5m; Blackbird wraps fund six above $1b; Guardhouse buys Mobohubb; SCX.ai debuts on the ASX; plus seed rounds, exits and executive changes across the ecosystem.

Topic | Managed funds | Australian Financial Review

An AFR managed-funds topic page: a star small-caps deputy goes solo with a new Sydney firm, Gigacomm buys rival DGtek, Google plans a multibillion-dollar domestic bond, plus fund manager and market stories.

Veridooh appoints former IPG CEO David Bell to advisory council

Australian adtech firm Veridooh adds ex-Interpublic chief executive David Bell to its advisory council; the write-up also covers his career and Veridooh's 2022 Series A raise.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Diageo Acquires Tipplesworth: A Strategic Pivot Toward Premium Ready-to-Drink Innovation

Spirits giant Diageo bought British premixed cocktail maker Tipplesworth for £112 million in March 2024; the article examines the deal's rationale, the brand's retail growth, and planned expansion into Canada, Australia and the US.

Eight ANZ startups that raised $102 million this fortnight

Roundup of eight Australian and New Zealand startups whose late-July funding totals $102 million across space capsules, medical devices, livestock breath analysis, sports analytics and AI crop forecasting.

Investment Notes: Outlier Space

Investible's note explains its pre-seed backing of satellite startup Outlier Space alongside GD1 and others, arguing uncrewed return-capable platforms will make off-world manufacturing viable as the ISS retires.

Also Forbes Australia·SmartCompany

Frasé Skin raises $1.2 million to expand its tradie-focused skincare into the US

The Dubbo-founded, Newcastle-based skincare brand for tradies completed a 535-backer equity crowdfunding raise on OnMarket and is expanding into the US via Amazon, with capital earmarked for marketing, inventory and team growth.

Australia doesn’t need copyright change to win data centre billions, AI boss says

The head of neo-cloud firm Sharon AI argues no copyright change is needed to attract data centre investment; the piece recalls its Nasdaq listing raise and a large new financing.

Also AFR Technology·Forbes Australia·Dealroom

Cover Genius Raises $100M From Vista Credit Partners

Vista Credit Partners is backing Cover Genius's USD 100 million raise, which puts the insurance platform's value at USD 1.9 billion; Morgan Stanley acted as placement agent.

Also SmartCompany·inspirepreneurmagazine.com·Cut Through Venture·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Forbes Australia

OpenAI's $122B Raise at $852B Valuation: IPO Rehearsal [2026]

Analysis of OpenAI's record Series F close, its investor lineup, revenue climb, valuation scepticism, earlier rounds, employee share sales, and its path toward a possible public listing.

Stone & Chalk appoints AI leader Stela Solar as CEO, signalling new era for Australia’s largest innovation hub

Stone & Chalk named Stela Solar its new CEO, replacing Chris Kirk. Solar, formerly of Accenture and the National AI Centre, aims to enhance AI support for Australian startups.

TechCrunch Mobility: Uber everywhere, all at once

Mobility newsletter roundup: Uber's robotaxi deal with Rivian, Nvidia's automaker partnerships, Advanced Navigation's Series C, other startup raises, and acquisitions including Amazon's purchase of robotics startup Rivr.

Why Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe is Developing AI Robots

Rivian chief RJ Scaringe has secured US$500m for Mind Robotics, his AI robotics venture, with Accel and Andreessen Horowitz co-leading and Eclipse Capital adding funds, valuing the months-old company at US$2bn.

OpenAI announces $110 billion funding round backed by Amazon, Nvidia - CNBC

OpenAI has raised a record private financing of $110 billion, with Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank investing, lifting its pre-money valuation sharply, alongside an expanded cloud partnership with Amazon Web Services.

Also cnbc.com·tech-insider.org·forkast.news·finance.yahoo.com·finance.yahoo.com·benzinga.com·The Guardian Australia - Technology

Sharon AI ponders ASX listing after $1 billion Nasdaq debut

Australian AI infrastructure company SharonAI Holdings has debuted on Nasdaq at a valuation above $1 billion, with a December pre-IPO round, backing from Digital Alpha and USD.AI, and an April ASX float planned.

Former Canva executive raises $9.9 million for product mapping startup Adora

Product-mapping startup Adora, co-founded by an ex-Canva product chief, has landed seed funding with Blackbird leading and four other backers, earmarked for product work and Sydney hiring.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Investment Notes: Adora Seed

Team Techstars Sydney: How Juxtabyte is turning data into gold

Startup Daily profiles Juxtabyte, a data governance startup founded by former CBA data governance lead Hugh Le, ahead of the Techstars Sydney 2025 cohort's Demo the Future event.

Eight ANZ startups that raised $113 million this week

Weekly roundup of eight trans-Tasman startup raises worth a combined $113 million-plus, alongside Joe Zhou's buyout of StrongRoom AI from administrators.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Mental health startup Tala Thrive reveals $500,000 pre-seed raise as it moves back to Melbourne

An exclusive interview with founder Sonia Kaurah discloses the culturally focused mental health platform's previously unreported $500,000 pre-seed round, backed by crowdfunding and angels, as the company relocates from London to Melbourne.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily

Cheque-in: 8 ANZ startups banked $53.46 million in funding this week

Weekly roundup of eight Australian and New Zealand funding rounds totalling about $53.5 million, led by SwarmFarm Robotics' $30 million Series B for its farm robots.

Eight ANZ startups that raised $53.56 million this week

Funding roundup: eight trans-Tasman startups together secured $53.56 million, topped by SwarmFarm Robotics' Series B, with Amber, Javln, Enhance Labs, Indi, Wych, Lift Women and Ambra Spirits also raising capital.

Investment Notes: Enhance Labs Pre-Seed

Blackbird's investment note announces a pre-seed backing of Enhance Labs, an early-stage AI startup, and outlines its product approach and founding team.

Also Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany

Cashback platform Cashrewards to close after 11 years

Cashrewards, a shopping rebates platform once bought by ANZ's venture arm, is shutting down and returning member balances. It had earlier acquired Little Birdie, previously backed with $30 million by Commonwealth Bank.

Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily

Automated eCommerce fulfilment startup rejected by VCs warehouses $38 million

Skutopia, an ecommerce fulfilment startup, has secured $38 million in a round Pemba Capital led, with MA Financial and Blackpeak Growth Partners also backing, to expand warehouses and target the US.

Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily

AI-powered fleet logistics startup Adiona Tech drives away with Startup World Cup Sydney win

Fleet-logistics software firm Adiona Tech won the Sydney pitch competition and heads to the San Francisco finale vying for a US$1 million investment prize; Telstra and Third Sphere previously backed the company.

Here are the 16 startups pitching at Startmate Demo Day this week

Preview of the sixteen startups in Startmate's Summer '25 Accelerator cohort pitching at Demo Day at Carriageworks, closing out Blackbird's Sunrise gathering in Sydney.

Aura Group, Venture Capital, and a Success Story in Smarter Retail Logistics

Aura Group's promotional piece showcases portfolio company Shippit's capital-efficient logistics growth and announces that Aura Venture Fund III is opening to investors; no amounts, closings or new company raises are stated.

RealVC founder Matt Berriman heads to US as Livewire boss

Sydney gaming-marketing firm Livewire names RealVC founder Matt Berriman as New York-based chief; cofounder Brad Manuel heads to Los Angeles. RealVC and other existing shareholders recently put in more money, amount undisclosed.

Catch: A business timeline, in their words

Retrospective timeline of Catch's journey from its 2006 launch through Tiger Global's investment, the Menulog and Luxury Escapes deals and Wesfarmers' $230 million acquisition, to Wesfarmers' announced wind-down.

Work skills edtech HEX acquires Sydney tech training startup EntryLevel

Education startup HEX has bought Sydney-based learning platform EntryLevel for an undisclosed amount, while securing another year of Atlassian Foundation backing and partnering with Toyota's trust on a STEM program for regional students.

The one that got away: After paying $230 million for Catch, Wesfarmers is shutting it down

Wesfarmers is closing Catch, the online retailer it bought for $230 million in 2019, citing local ecommerce competition; the story also recalls Catch's venture backers and Little Birdie's $30m stake, pause and rescue.

Also Startup Daily