Is graphite the new lithium? Global energy markets set for major shake-up

New Zealand-based CarbonScape is set to commercialise the production of biographite – a new, cleaner graphite alternative for lithium-ion batteries. CarbonScape, which began developing its clean graphite alternative, biographite, in 2016, recently banked $18 million in an investment round led by Europe’s largest supplier of wooden construction material, Store Enso, to commercialise its materials throughout […]

Australia’s Airbnb battle begins as Victoria signs off on new levy

Victoria has just passed a 7.5% levy on short-term rental accommodation. After New York’s Local Law 18 came into effect in early September, is Airbnb on a collision course? Short-term rental platform Airbnb came out of the famous startup incubator, the Y Combinator, in 2009 with about 2,500 listings and 10,000 registered users. Today, Search […]

Gross national happiness: What the world can learn from Bhutan

Australia is suffering from a mental health crisis. Suicide and self-harm are increasing, and some are linking it to technology. Meanwhile, in Bhutan, there is a nuanced vision for creating happiness but also, a push to digitalise. It is also seeing a serious brain drain. Where are they going? To Australia. Forbes Australia’s Stewart Hawkins […]

The Aussie cardboard drones hitting Russia in massed attacks

Dubbed the “origami of death”, Melbourne-made flatpack drones assembled with glue and rubber bands have been hitting targets inside Russia since June, most recently destroying US$100 million worth of aircraft. Family-owned Australian company SYPAQ Systems has been sending 100 cardboard drones a month to Ukraine for the last year. Designed to carry more benign payloads, […]

Could this peanut allergy drug open up a $4 billion market?

Melbourne biotech Aravax is in the middle of peanut allergy drug trials which, if successful, promise to open up an estimated US$4-billion global market. In a Nutshell It takes courage to tackle peanut allergy. In the 1990s, a child died during a clinical trial after an injection of peanut extract. It was a dosing error, […]

Skincare founder used ChatGPT to win over Shark Tank judges

The first episode of Shark Tank proves that a good idea that solves a common problem, combined with a healthy dose of sheer determination is sometimes all it takes to start a fast-growth company. Key Takeaways Skincare entrepreneur Davey Rooney was the first entrepreneur to face a new panel of judges on the latest season […]

Tennis Australia backs 7 startups – including one Aussie wayfinder

Tennis Australia has revealed its AO Startups incubator has accepted its mid-year intake. Among the seven global start-ups accepted into the program is one Australian business, digital wayfinder PAM. Forbes Australia meets the founder. Tennis Australia’s start-up incubator, AO StartUps, has announced its mid-year intake, with the start-ups accepted set to pilot their technologies during […]

Amanda Healy closing the gap

There’s no bank of mum and dad for First Nations kids  

Amanda Healy is an indigenous woman who employs 850 people at her engineering business. And she’s bent on straightening out what’s crooked in the land of opportunity. Amanda Healy was working up near the Arctic Circle, doing human resources for BHP as they built Canada’s first diamond mine when she faced a problem no male […]