Hey big Spender

29.10.2026

News, Insights and Stories from the Australian and New Zealand tech ecosystem.

Spender torches Labor’s Kafkaesque startup CGT maze, pushing a simpler 40% active-asset discount for risk-takers.

Airtree throws $5m more at Metacognition’s AI robots as Australia fights being a model-hosting backwater.

ARENA plugs $2m into Alchemy Charge to crack apartment EV charging with Strata Assist. Register now to join the home-charging revolt.

The AI IPO boom is shaking more than just the markets.

Forget page-one Google: AI search rewards startups with links from many trusted sites.

What can startup founders teach philanthropy, and what can philanthropy teach founders?

Labor agrees to bar AI chatbots barred from grooming kids into synthetic besties as Senate horse-trading looms.

James Hird swaps Essendon chaos for Affinda’s AI sports push, turning messy club data into wins and revenue.

Aged care’s black box is facing a Robodebt reckoning.

The startup’s Micro Honey Harvester ranks among products from the likes of Apple, Anthropic, and Fujifilm on the annual list.

Harrison returns with his latest review of a “gargantuan game”.

In case you missed it

Startup CGT relief gets smarter, but R&D cuts still bite and Senate horse-trading could rewrite the deal.

Canva bets on Craft, its cheaper home-grown AI image model, to defend 250M users from chatbot design creep.

Seek wants $700m out of its VC side hustle as fees keep bleeding $17m a year and shares crater.

In other news

Coffee Supreme CEO Andrew Low says Aussie cafes charge less than their US and European counterparts, but price hikes should come gradually.

AI is helping Red Bull Racing make split-second decisions and SailGP keep its $100 million racing fleet on the water.

Can you feel them calling, your old habits? They’re already cringing at the thought of being abandoned.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news. But if you’ve got a mortgage, you need to hear this.

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