Removify was Nick Bell's startup itch that needed to be scratched

Removify is helping businesses remove unwanted and fake online reviews and content with a 'no win, no fee' business model. Nick Bell (pictured) could easily have been forgiven for taking a break from the business world following his $39 million sale of WME Group to Melbourne IT (ASX:MLB) in 2017. But Bell couldn't kee...

Dimmi founder launches new 'smart menu' app me&u

After a 12-month sabbatical following the sale of restaurant booking app Dimmi, Stevan Premutico (pictured) is back with another piece of hospitality-tech sure to make waves in the industry. Called 'me&u', the app allows restaurant-goers to order and pay for food seamlessly at the restaurant. Customers simply need to ...

Hacker given three-year jail term for insider trading

A Melbourne man has been sentenced to three years imprisonment after hacking a financial publisher's system and engaging in insider trading. IT consultant Steven Oakes today pleaded guilty to 11 charges of insider trading, unauthorised access to data with the intention to commit a serious offence, and the alteration of electronic devi...

SaaS scale-up Whispir makes ASX debut

With "on fire" growth in Southeast Asia and major customers like Disney and Virgin Australia, Melbourne-founded global cloud communications scale-up Whispir (ASX: WSP) has opened a new chapter as a public company today. Co-founder Jeromy Wells (pictured) tells Business News Australia the initial public offering (IPO) has be...

Facebook launches crypto project but obstacles abound

Facebook Inc announced ambitious plans on Tuesday to launch a new global cryptocurrency called Libra, part of an effort to expand into digital payments that immediately raised privacy concerns. The social networking giant has linked with 28 partners including Mastercard, PayPal and Uber to form Libra Association, a Geneva-based entity gov...

Can EMVision's portable brain scanner disrupt stroke treatment as we know it?

Studies show the brain ages by about 3.6 years for every hour that passes without appropriate treatment after a stroke. The disease is the world's second-leading killer after cancer worldwide, but to make a diagnoss for treatment the current solution comes in the form of stationary, complex and expensive imaging technologies like...

The programmatic ad platform to give Silicon Valley a run for its money

Programmatic advertising forms the bedrock of most publishers in 2019. Major rags, websites and blogs have all dived into it in the past and still use it today for a very good reason - it is an automated, easy way to boost revenue from websites. But it also comes with a number of problems, which Business News Australia has dived into ...

Afterpay faces AUSTRAC audit into anti-money laundering compliance

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has ordered an audit of fintech Afterpay's (ASX: APT) after identifying concerns over compliance with financial crime legislation. The announcement prompted a 12.6 per cent drop in APT shares this morning down to $22.41. The financial intelligence agency ha...

Emerge Gaming partners with Viacom for Nickelodeon eSports platform

Listed gaming and eSports company Emerge Gaming (ASX: EM1) has been tasked with the development of a Nickelodeon eSports platform in partnership with Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN). Called NickX, the platform is a kid-focused eSports interactive tournament platform showcasing content from Viacom's Nickelodeon brands...

Are businesses taking the threat of cybercrime seriously?

The news that Australian National University suffered from a massive hack, seeing 19 years of data stolen made headlines earlier this week. According to the ABC names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, personal email addresses and emergency contact details, tax file numbers, payroll information, bank account details, and passport ...

Afterpay buy-now pay-later formula proves a success in the US

Buy-now pay-later fintech Afterpay Touch Group's (ASX: APT) latest business update shows the company's US expansion is performing well on track. As it stands Afterpay's US business is generating approximately $1.7 billion in annualised underlying sales. This figure was achieved just 13 months after the group first landed in th...

LiveTiles launches AI-driven data security solution with Microsoft

Within weeks of becoming a launch partner for Microsoft's SharePoint home sites, Australian-founded LiveTiles (ASX: LVT) has announced the launch of a new security platform for Office 365. The company's new AI-driven, data-centric security solution has been launched in conjunction with Nucleus Cyber, following a strategic par...

The INDIGO subsea cable is ready to be deployed

The nearly 10,000km long subsea INDIGO subsea cable connecting Australia and South East Asia is now complete and ready for use. Consortium members can now use the Internet connectivity cable that stretches 4,600km from Singapore to Perth and another 4,600km from Perth to Sydney. AARNet, Google, Indosat Ooredoo, Singtel, SubPartners an...

Vocus receives $3.3 billion takeover offer

Internet service provider Vocus (ASX: VOC) has received a non-binding $3.3 billion takeover bid from private equity firm EQT Infrastructure. The proposal would see EQT acquire all shares in Vocus for $5.25 per share, representing a significant premium to last Friday's closing price of $3.89. The Vocus board has granted the bidder ...

Canva user data exposed in large scale hack

Australian design tool Canva has been hacked, exposing sensitive user data. Yesterday the startup confirmed a number of usernames and email addresses were accessed as part of the hack which occurred on Friday, May 24. According to Canva, passwords were obtained in their encrypted form, meaning they remain unreadable for external parti...

Australians prefer human connection over emerging technologies

No matter how helpful technology is becoming Australians are choosing to stick with their fellow humans over emerging technologies. Unlike our regional neighbours Hong Kong and Singapore, Australia has been characterised as 'losing momentum' in the digital economy, thanks to our reluctance to have technology transform every single...

iVvy partners with fast growing UK hotel group Village Hotel Club

Tech scale-up iVvy has partnered with Village Hotel Club to implement its white label solution across the UK group's website. Village Hotel Club is a fast-moving hotel group with 30 properties as of the time of writing. The group intends to open additional five hotels in the next two years, with a further 15 planned by 2026. iVvy&...

TRAVLR partners with 8common on business and leisure travel platform

Listed fintech group 8common (ASX: 8CO) has tapped travel disruptors TRAVLR to assist in the development of a new business leisure platform. Called Benefits8 the employee benefits platform has been created to serve the growing business and leisure travel opportunity sector and will leverage 8common's Expense8 business unit. The Ex...

Brauz launches reserve in store feature with Forever New and Nike

The team behind eCommerce tech startup Brauz have launched a new feature designed to drive sales in stores. The 'Reserve in Store' feature allows customers to book a time slot to try on the items they have found online in a physical retail location. Launching initially in partnership with Forever New and Retail Prodigy Group, ...

Tritium scores large scale electric vehicle charger deal in Europe

Tritium's disruptive electric vehicle (EV) charging technology will be distributed to 120 sites across Europe in what is a breakthrough deal for the Brisbane-based company. Tritium will supply IONITY with its Veefil-PK 350kW DC high power EV chargers for 120 new IONITY charging sites across Europe. This is the largest deal Tritium...