Sydney stories

Regulation, soft plastics revival and cost-conscious shoppers are driving five packaging shifts set to reshape Australia by 2026.

Sydney Mardi Gras has overhauled its festival app with Safety Circles, a Fan Wall and Strobe tools to boost safety and connection.

MODLR has added a Visual Scripting Engine to its CPM platform, letting finance and operations teams build no-code data workflows.

CFOs shift from hiring to hardware, funnelling bigger budgets into tech, AI and sales while HR, headcount and pay growth lose momentum.

LoopMe plugs 23m Australian audience profiles into Evorra’s marketplace, enabling AI-powered segment building and activation across channels.

CFOs are funnelling 2026 budgets into tech, AI and sales, while easing back on hiring, HR spending and rapid pay growth.

Celonis touts digital twins and process data as the missing link to turn scattered enterprise AI experiments into measurable business gains.

Asus courts 215 APAC partners in Sydney, tying AI PCs and omnichannel retail to an ambitious 30% consumer notebook market share goal.

DroneShield taps veteran executive Michael Powell as chief operating officer to steer global growth and ramp up Australian production.

Firmus secures USD $10 billion debt led by Blackstone and backed by Coatue to supercharge Australia’s nationwide AI factories rollout.

Cowbell and Zurich roll out Prime One cyber cover for Australian SMEs, targeting firms up to AUD $100 million turnover with rapid broker access.

Openmarkets adds two non-executive directors and a new CFO to bolster governance and growth plans ahead of its proposed Nasdaq listing.

Wishlist app Sortd rides holiday boom with AUD $8m in sales, 96% user growth and revenue up more than 600% across peak Q4 trading.

Revolut passes 1m Australian customers and vows nearly AUD $400m investment, stepping up its challenge to local digital banking rivals.

Adactin has been added to Australia’s national AI Directory, linking its cloud and AI services with organisations seeking local expertise.

ARM Hub launches Propel-AIR 2.0 with MassRobotics visit, linking Australian startups to Boston mentors, investors and global robotics networks.

Cost-of-living pressures are pushing Australians to swap traditional red envelopes for digital gift cards this Lunar New Year.

Empathetic AI unveils ‘finance-grade’ agents and a Luna tax copilot, promising explainable, audit-ready automation for accounting teams.

Scalare turns operating cash flow positive as cash receipts surge 231% to AUD $4.58 million after acquisitions and founder platform rollout.

Prophet appoints data scientist Rachel Scott as Head of Marketing Science to lead customer-facing decision science and marketing effectiveness.