OpenAI

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.

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‘Confidence evaporated’: Explaining Firmus’ $44 billion IPO flop

Firmus withdrew its ASX listing after weak investor demand. The explainer covers the data centre developer's history, its Nvidia and Blackstone backing, prior raises, and why the float collapsed.

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Cut Through Quarterly 3Q 2026

Cut Through Venture's quarterly report records a record $4.2 billion raised across 78 Australian venture rounds in Q3 2026, dominated by Firmus's $2.85 billion data centre raise, with sector trends, valuations and investor sentiment.

Also Startup Daily

‘Confidence evaporated’: Firmus $44 billion IPO collapse explained

Firmus, the Nvidia-backed data centre developer, pulled its planned ASX listing after weak investor demand and will instead seek private capital. Explaining its background, backers, valuation history and why the float failed.

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🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #181, 11th October 2026

Weekly digest: Firmus withdraws its planned listing, Square Peg reaches a billion-dollar close on two vehicles, MUFG clears regulators to buy Grow Inc, and Lubdub, RocketDNA, Energy Bay and Metal all raise.

Also @AuManufacturing·Startup Daily·Startup Daily

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

Square Peg raises over $1 billion for new funds amid AI bonanza

Venture firm Square Peg has confirmed two funds holding more than $1 billion between them, alongside a look back at its biggest bets, sell-downs and the acquisitions that delivered windfalls.

Also Dealroom

Figure's Brett Adcock sold investors a humanoid future. Now he has to build it.

Profile of Brett Adcock probing Figure's $39 billion valuation, narrow robot deployments, disputed claims involving BMW and OpenAI, and his habit of raising vast sums for ventures like Hark before products ship.

Also Crunchbase News

This former OpenAI exec is trying to cure chronic diseases, including her own

Profile of Fidji Simo, who left OpenAI to cofound ChronicleBio, which has raised $20 million to use AI and biological data to subtype chronic illnesses like POTS and long COVID and rescue shelved drugs.

Top OpenAI boss on hack apology tour 'can't explain' Australian AI distrust

OpenAI's strategy chief, appearing at an Australian parliamentary hearing after a data breach, said he could not account for local scepticism of AI, while Anthropic, Google and Microsoft also gave evidence on regulation and disclosure.

Evan Spiegel’s ill-fated $3 billion plan to put Snapchat on your face

Profile of Snap's CEO and his costly, long-running bet on AR smartglasses, the spurned Facebook takeover offer, Meta's dominance in AI eyewear, and activist investors pushing for change.

Australian AI lab challenges case for copyright carve-out

Trellis Data, an Australian AI firm backed by Main Sequence, argues local developers can build competitive models without weakening copyright, proposing a licensing mechanism instead and citing its own profitable model development.

'Big questions to answer': OpenAI chief set to apologise, face grilling at parliament after Medicare hack

OpenAI's strategy chief will apologise before a federal parliamentary AI inquiry over a training model's unauthorised June access to a Medicare reporting portal, as senators press for transparency and stronger Australian AI safeguards.

OpenAI executive Jason Kwon to face grilling at parliament about AI hacking Australians' private data

A federal parliamentary inquiry will question OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and Google this week, with its chair warning OpenAI must explain an incident where its AI agent accessed Services Australia Medicare data.

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #180, 4th October 2026

Weekly roundup reporting Australian startup funding rounds and government grants, a venture fund close, agreed acquisitions, an IPO pricing, a collapse, plus executive hires and AI policy developments.

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.

🇦🇺 This Week in Australian Startups #179, 26th September 2026

Weekly roundup recording a dozen raises and acquisitions, Firmus's scheduled float, a new $50m venture fund, a founder share sale, grant winners, an accelerator intake, and an AI agent's government breach.

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Buildkite quietly raised $21 million earlier this year after posting massive losses

ASIC filings show Buildkite raised $21m via convertible debt in January 2026 after heavy losses and a CEO change; its earlier backers include OneVentures, AirTree, General Catalyst and Dom Pym.

Also Capital Brief

AI data centre provider could become one of Australia's biggest stock floats

Firmus Technologies is courting investors ahead of a possible IPO on the ASX, with reports suggesting up to $7 billion, but no prospectus is lodged and the company declined to confirm any figures.

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

'OpenAI can't mark its own homework': Optus ex-CEO says rogue AI is an inevitability

Former Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin warns rogue AI agents in enterprises are inevitable and discusses Aigentsphere, her AI-monitoring startup, which raised a $4 million seed round from Main Sequence in April.

Firmus lands OpenAI deal for Malaysian data centres

Firmus will supply computing capacity to OpenAI from two planned Malaysian data centres, but sceptical investors say the deal is too small ahead of a potential float valuing the start-up at $15.5 billion.

AI hotshot Firmus tees up IPO meetings after OpenAI win in Malaysia

Street Talk column reports AI cloud firm Firmus Technologies will soon market a planned ASX float to investors, with a debut tipped imminently, after a Malaysian win involving OpenAI.

Canva takes the fight to Microsoft and Google for enterprise subscribers

Canva is pushing productivity tools like Docs and Sheets to win enterprise subscribers from Microsoft and Google, while slowing its AI rollout to control costs and trimming its revenue growth forecast.

The food brands AI will favour

FoodNavigator interview with Bramble Intelligence's Chris Mitchell on how AI shopping agents will reshape brand loyalty, category fortunes, and what food makers must do to stay visible to algorithms and shoppers.

AI Sales Platform Clay Raises New Round at $7 Billion Valuation Led by Wellington Management

Blog item on the AI funding climate: sales platform Clay reportedly raising at a stepped-up valuation with Wellington Management leading, plus a recap of its CapitalG Series C and other AI funding notes.

🇦🇺 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.

Two Sydney teenagers are building AI startups before they finish school

Report on OpenAI's Sydney Founder Day profiling two school-student founders: one whose gaming-advertising venture has raised pre-seed funding, and one building a platform helping small businesses coordinate their tools.

OpenAI equips Aussie SMEs with $5.5 million in startup credits for AI use

OpenAI has handed Australian founders, including two school students, credits worth over $5.5 million; the piece also notes Firmus's $15 billion valuation after a big raise and rising business AI adoption.

Canva bet millions on data centre play Sharon AI before becoming its 'major customer'

Filings show Canva backed Sharon AI's US$103 million December 2025 raise with Regal, Ellerston, Digital Alpha and others; the Sydney compute provider has since floated on Nasdaq and raised US$2.15 billion more.

Also Dealroom

Eight ANZ startups that raised $67.4 million this week

Eight Australian and New Zealand startups secured a combined $67.4 million in funding across various sectors including agtech, medtech, robotics, and fintech.

Also ontargetish.com

The Big 3 VCs back robot testing startup’s $11.5 million Seed raise

Robot data analysis startup Alloy Robotics has raised $11.5 million in a seed round led by Square Peg, with Blackbird and Airtree participating, less than a year after a $4.5 million pre-seed.

Also SmartCompany·ontargetish.com·Cut Through Venture

Alloy raises $8M seed to help engineers debug robot fleets with AI

Robotics AI startup Alloy has banked an $8m seed at an $80m valuation, led by Square Peg with Blackbird, Airtree and Skip Capital back again; funds earmarked for engineering hires and growth in the US.

Topic | Cybersecurity | Australian Financial Review

AFR cybersecurity topic page rounding up recent stories: Origin Energy's data breach investigation, Point Wild's planned ASX float, AI models hacking companies, and a CyberCX–Monash University cybersecurity degree partnership.

Australian retail investors can now gain exposure to global private AI companies

Pengana's AI trust is now on the ASX as AIX after a $267 million IPO raise from wholesale investors, opening retail access to private AI companies; GCM Grosvenor manages the portfolio.

Sierra Raises $950M at $15B, Locking 40% of the Fortune 50 Into Its Agent Platform Before the Labs Go Direct

Analysis of Sierra's $950 million raise at a $15 billion valuation with Tiger Global and GV at the lead, weighing its revenue multiple, Fortune 50 customer lock-in, and competition from OpenAI and Anthropic's ventures.

Baseten: the whole game

Blackbird's post explaining its participation in Baseten's $1.5 billion Series F, its biggest investment yet, and why inference infrastructure will anchor the open-source AI era; notes rapid growth and senior engineering hires.

Also Dealroom

Google Just Raised $85 Billion — The Biggest Stock Sale Ever

Markets newsletter reports Google's equity offering with a completed first tranche, SpaceX and Anthropic IPO filings, xAI's earlier merger into SpaceX, fast-food bankruptcies blamed on GLP-1 drugs, and a live tour wrap-up.

Also The Guardian Australia - Technology

Lightspeed $9B Raise: $4.5B Flagship, AI Focus

Analysis of Lightspeed Venture Partners' 2026 close of three funds totalling nine billion dollars, its backer base, AI allocation, portfolio outcomes and comparisons with other big venture firms.