Sat 31 Oct
LiveGet it free
ZOTPAPER

News without the noise

Business

Business news from Australia and around the world: companies, deals, earnings, regulation and the people running them.

1822 articles · page 23 of 38

AllStartups
Viewgridlistcompact
Business

Paramount Skydance closes $110bn Warner Bros merger, forming Skydance behemoth

Paramount Skydance has completed its merger with Warner Bros Discovery in a deal valued at $110bn to $111bn, creating a new entertainment giant called Skydance. The combination unites major studios, streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max, and news networks CNN and CBS News under one roof. Skydance CEO David Ellison on Tuesday denied that the company has been politicized despite close ties to the Trump White House, and confirmed that CNN editor-in-chief Mark Thompson and CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss will remain in their roles.

· 4 sources
Business

Privacy commissioner launches probe into Chinese smart glasses company after security flaws exposed

The Australian privacy commissioner has opened a formal investigation into Shenzhen Qingcheng Future Technology Co, the Chinese software company behind cheap smart glasses sold in Australia, after an ABC investigation found serious security flaws exposed users' sensitive data. Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind said the company ignored multiple attempts to seek information, raising concerns about fundamental compliance practices.

· 4 sources
Startups

On-Device AI Assistant Underdog Launches with Privacy-First Approach and Novel Business Model

Sigil Wen, a self-taught coder and Thiel Fellow who once lived in an AI hacker house with prominent researchers, has launched Underdog, an invite-only beta of an AI assistant that runs entirely on-device. The app, which currently works on Macs and Windows PCs with mobile versions coming, aims to provide a private alternative to cloud-based assistants like Instinct and Muse by keeping data on users' own machines and encrypting account keys.

· 2 sources
Business

Tesla, AGL, EnergyAustralia join forces against plan to fund EV chargers via power bills

Tesla and some of Australia's largest power companies have united to fight a controversial plan that would allow monopoly grid owners to build public EV chargers and recover most of the cost through higher electricity bills for all households. In a joint letter to local authorities, the electric car giant and more than a dozen industry players including AGL, EnergyAustralia, Engie and private charge-point operator Evie Networks said the decision risked saddling households with higher costs for uncertain benefits.

· 4 sources
Startups

Furientis Raises $25M Seed Round to Mass-Produce Low-Cost Missile Interceptors

Furientis, a defense startup just one year old, has raised a $25 million seed round led by Silicon Valley venture firm Benchmark to mass-produce low-cost interceptor missiles. The company already holds a funded Pentagon contract and aims to help address a critical shortage in U.S. missile inventory, offering a cheaper alternative to traditional interceptors by using readily available components and rapid manufacturing cycles.

· 2 sources
Business

US invests $9.5 billion in new Baltimore shipyard to boost Virginia-class submarine production, AUKUS implications unclear

President Donald Trump will announce a $US6.6 billion ($9.5 billion) investment in a new shipyard in Baltimore to produce components for the Virginia-class submarine, the same vessel Australia is due to acquire under the AUKUS pact. The facility, to be built by defense tech company Anduril Industries at Sparrows Point, aims to ramp up lagging US submarine production, though officials declined to say whether it would help fulfill US obligations to Australia under the trilateral security agreement.

· 8 sources
Startups

Type One Energy raises $200M to build fusion power plant by 2034

Type One Energy, a Knoxville, Tennessee-based fusion startup founded in 2019, has raised $200 million in a Series B round to fund development of a 400-megawatt commercial fusion power plant it aims to bring online by 2034. The company plans to act as an integrator, designing plants and buying components from a network of suppliers rather than building them in-house, a strategy its chief executive says will require 'a different order of magnitude' less capital than vertically integrated rivals.

· 2 sources
Business

Google and Constellation Strike 3.6-GW Nuclear Power Deal, Investing $4.3 Billion

Google has signed a landmark 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy for 3,590 megawatts of electricity, backed by more than $4.3 billion in investment to upgrade existing nuclear reactors across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. The deal, announced Tuesday, represents the largest power contract in PJM Interconnection, the nation's biggest electric grid, and marks the latest effort by a major tech company to secure reliable, carbon-free energy for expanding data centers.

· 3 sources
Business

Drax datacentre plan could nearly double Gatwick's annual flight emissions, analysis finds

A planned datacentre at Drax's North Yorkshire biomass power station could produce nearly double the annual carbon emissions of all flights out of Gatwick airport, according to an analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The campaign group estimates the 1.2GW facility, designed to serve growing AI demand, would burn 4.9 million tonnes of wood a year and emit 8.6 million tonnes of CO2 annually.

Startups

Firmus, Australia's AI Infrastructure Hope, Targets $44 Billion ASX Listing

Firmus, a seven-year-old Australian company building specialised cooling infrastructure for AI chips, is set to list on the Australian Securities Exchange this month with a targeted valuation of about $44 billion, placing it just behind retail giant Woolworths. The company, which operates a factory in the Canberra suburb of Hume producing large white metal enclosures called 'HyperCubes', aims to contract its high-efficiency AI infrastructure to major technology firms including Meta.

· 3 sources
Business

Barkly Rare Earths reports near-perfect drill hit rate at NT project

Barkly Rare Earths has reported that 43 of 44 drill holes from its phase one campaign at its Northern Territory namesake project returned significant rare earth intercepts, with shallow high-grade mineralisation confirmed across a 23-kilometre area. The company said magnet rare earth oxides (MREO) made up 29-39 per cent of total rare earth oxides, consistent with the ratio of the existing inferred mineral resource.

· 3 sources