OVER AND OUT

• Days following our last vlog, major global IT outage takes out banks, airlines and businesses following a software update at cybersecurity software CrowdStrike
• Cybersecurity Israeli startup Wiz has turned down a $23 billion acquisition offer from Alphabet/Google
• Uber scraps $105m Aussie car-sharing division which they launched following the Car Next Door acquisition in 2022
• Little Birdie, founded by Catch founders, raised $30m from CBA, recently pivoted to an AI shopping tool, acquired by CashRewards (owned by 1835i)

G L O B A L

• Block: Nick Molnar, co-founder of Afterpay, received a promotion. Now Block’s head of sales and will report to Jack Dorsey. This comes 3 years after its record breaking $39 billion acquisition by Block (then Square).
• OpenAI: Three OpenAI leaders are leaving. Rapid innovation. Rapid people movements.
• Amazon: Locally, Sydney is first cab off the rank for launching Amazon’s same-day deliveries MILESTONES
• Maxine Minter closed $5m for her first fund as a solo GP at Co Ventures – Link-in-bio platform Linktree announced it has made its 4th acquisition being Sydney founded social media scheduling tool Plann
• Airwallex announces incredible milestones: US$500M ARR, US$100B annual transaction volume, listed on Forbes Cloud 100 – Forbes Cloud 100 – Australian representation: Canva (4th), Airwallex (54th)

AI IS IN THE WATER

• 3 years after selling A Cloud Guru for $2 billion, Sam Kroonenburg is back with Cuttable, automated digital advertising agency and closed $5.5 million seed funding by Square Peg Capital and Rampersand
• MarTech startup IntelligenceBank, Founded by Tessa Court, completed their first acquisition of AI compliance software business Red Marker
• Australian founded Canva acquires Australian founded Leonardo.ai to boost its generative AI efforts (AFR reported at $320m)
• Microsoft made its AI-powered Designer available for free to all users taking direct aim at Canva

FUN FACT

• August 7th in 1991 was the day the first website launch

ABOUT

Tobi Skovron and Gavin Appel spearhead our monthly vlog – a must-watch for those seeking insights into the local startup and VC sphere. Captivating audiences with their infectious enthusiasm for the startup and venture capital landscape, Tobi and Gavin unpack the latest trends and events.

The vlog consistently delivers high-quality, engaging content, covering everything from fundraising, M&A, product launches, new venture funds, and more. Tobi and Gavin rapidly explore each topic, while making complex concepts accessible. It’s an indispensable resource for those hungry for knowledge about the local startup and VC scene.

Gavin is the Founder and CEO of Ignition Lane, where he advises founders and leaders growing tech companies. He has 25 years of experience in the technology industry across startups, corporates and venture capital. Gavin was a founding VC Partner at Square Peg, an SVP of Product and Technology at Experian, and was one of the first employees and CTO at Hitwise – a venture-backed startup that was acquired for US$240m in 2007.

Tobi is the CEO and co-founder of CreativeCubes.Co, and has over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience across Australia and the U.S.

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