This Week in Australian Startups - 9th November, 2022
It seems there’s been no end to the number of layoffs in tech this year. Stripe let go 14% of its staff, Pleo 15%, Opendoor 18% to name a few. According to this list, over 100,000 people across 757 startups have been laid off this year alone.
If you’re having to let people know they no longer have a job, I do believe there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it. We all remember when Better.com CEO fired 900 employees over in a Zoom call leaked to YouTube. In stark contrast Stripe founders have been honest in accepting responsibility and trying to support all departing employees as best they can, outlined in their public letter.
Most notably this year has been Twitter, laying off roughly half of its 7,500 workforce after the $44 billion acquisition by Elon Musk.
Could Musk have handled this better? Certainly, and there’s already a class action law suit in response. Was it needed? Maybe. There’s an argument to be had whether you need 7,500 people to run Twitter.
Sometimes there can be a method to the madness. Let’s not forget that when Steve Jobs returned as Apple CEO famously in 1997, he also laid off 4,100 employees and we all know where Apple is today. Those cuts were just under double those Musk has made at Twitter - which he is now trying to reverse after realising he may need some of that talent after all…
If you’re in a position to be hiring, there’s a lot of exceptional talent on the market right now. Here’s a free list of lists with links to talent affected looking for new roles, and if you’re interested in some of the ANZ talent at Twitter you can reach out to the Head of Sales who has been doing his best to help his affected colleagues.
Top News
Blackbird’s latest $1B AUD fund signals maturation of Australian, New Zealand venture scene, more here
Nvidia touts a slower chip for China to avoid US ban, more here
Is Mastodon the emerging alternative to Twitter? More here
Google and Renault are working on a ‘software-defined vehicle’, more here
WhatsApp officially launches its new discussion group feature, Communities, more here
Instagram Users Will Soon Be Able to Mint and Sell NFTs, more here
AMC is working with Zoom to turn some theaters into giant meeting rooms, more here
2021/2022 Australian Start-Up Salary Guide, download here
Meta to Lay Off Thousands of Staff From This Week, more here
Australian Funding Rounds
Samsara Eco raises $54M AUD for its ‘infinite plastic recycling’ tech, more here
Blackbird and Airtree back anti-fraud startup from the team behind ThreatMetrix in $15.6 million Seed round, more here
Retail media startup Zitcha raises $4.7 million, more here
Investible plants $500,000 in pre-Series A for Queensland agtech startup DataFarming, more here
International Highlights
Resilia Closes $35M Series B, Largest Raise Ever For A Solo Black Woman-Founded Tech Company, more here
Singapore digital health platform Speedoc raises $28m, more here
After 40 million app downloads, PhotoRoom raises $19 million, more here
Travel app Hopper raises $96M from Capital One to double down on social commerce, more here
Ethical lender Plend backed by Monzo and Starling founders in £40m seed round, more here
Portuguese Smartex raises $24.7m Series A to modernise clothes factories, more here
Events
Sydney: Sunrise by Blackbird Ventures, November 10-11
Sydney: Aussie Startups and Founders - Fundraising 101, November 29
Melbourne: Startup Tools for Uncertain Times, November 9