James Riley

Sydney, Ultimo

Editorial Director at InnovationAus, providing news and commentary on public policy in the tech and innovation sectors. Cycles for sanity :)

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Articles

Melbourne biotech PolyActiva scores $27m NRFC investment

1 week ago | innovationaus.com | James Riley

Melbourne-based biotech firm PolyActiva, which has spent 15 years developing an eye-implant technology to treat glaucoma, has won a $27 million investment from the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation as part of a $40 million Series C round.
US curbs chip design software and other shipments to China

1 week ago | innovationaus.com | James Riley

The United States has ordered a broad swathe of companies to stop shipping goods to China without a license and revoked licenses already granted to certain suppliers, said three people familiar with the matter. The new restrictions – which are likely to escalate tensions with Beijing – appear aimed at choke points to prevent China from getting products necessary for key sectors, one of the people said.
EU plans tech scale-up fund to narrow gap with US, China

1 week ago | innovationaus.com | James Riley

The European Commission plans to create a public-private fund of at least €10 billion euros (A$17.5 billion) to help tech companies scale up as the European Union aims to narrow its innovation gap with the United States and China. Launched on Wednesday, the Commission’s ‘Choose Europe to start and scale’ strategy is designed to make up for the EU’s shortfall in unicorn companies – startups with a value that has risen above $1 billion.
Brian Schmidt is ‘scared’ about our research capacity - this is why

1 week ago | innovationaus.com | James Riley

Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt and economics professor Richard Holden gave a joint address on Wednesday to the National Press Club in Canberra. Their key message? Australia isn’t spending enough money on university research. Schmidt wants to ensure Australia can undertake research vital to our national interests. “I look around and I am scared,” Schmidt said.
Another US state to enforce age verification on app stores

1 week ago | innovationaus.com | James Riley

A bill that requires Apple and Alphabet’s Google to verify the age of users of their app stores could become law this week in Texas, putting the second-most-populous state in the US at the centre of a debate over whether and how to regulate the use of smartphones by children and teenagers. Senate Bill 2420 would require app store owners to verify the age of the user of a device, and, if that user is below the age of 18, require parental consent to download apps or make in-app purchases.
Can Jim Chalmers fix his superannuation tax dilemma?

1 week ago | innovationaus.com | James Riley

The Australian newspaper has ramped up its campaign against Labor’s plan to increase the tax on earnings from superannuation funds with balances greater than $3 million in the past week with three separate editorial columns. Henry Ergas questions the principle that superannuation is lightly taxed. To do so, he creates a mythical world in which the counterfactual is one in which earnings can accrue and compound without being taxed. That, of course, is what happens with capital gains.
Growing appetite: WiseTech’s largest ever acquisition

1 week ago | innovationaus.com | James Riley

ASX-listed logistics software outfit WiseTech Global has announced its’ biggest ever acquisition, signing a US$2.1 billion (A$3.25 billion) deal to buy US-based global trade software maker e2open. The company says the acquisition adds a complimentary set of products to its CargoWise ‘ecosystem’, especially in adjacent areas of domestic logistics and carrier integration, as well as global trade and supply chain management.
Owning the algorithm: Australia’s path to AI sovereignty

1 week ago | innovationaus.com | James Riley

Australia stands at a pivotal moment in shaping its digital future. As global competition in AI accelerates, Australia must act decisively to secure its digital sovereignty. Investing in sovereign AI capability – developed, deployed, and governed domestically – is essential to ensure ethical alignment, operational control, and resilience across key sectors such as defence, national security, law enforcement, intelligence, public services, and critical infrastructure.
Nvidia to launch cheaper Blackwell AI chip for China

1 week ago | innovationaus.com | James Riley

Nvidia will launch a new artificial intelligence chipset for China at a significantly lower price than its recently restricted H20 model and plans to start mass production as early as June, sources familiar with the matter said. The GPU or graphics processing unit will be part of Nvidia’s latest generation Blackwell-architecture AI processors and is expected to be priced between $6,500 and $8,000, well below the $10,000-$12,000 the H20 sold for, according to two of the sources.
Musk’s DOGE expand Grok AI in US govt, raising concerns

2 weeks ago | innovationaus.com | James Riley

Billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE team is expanding use of his artificial intelligence chatbot Grok in the US federal government to analyse data, said three people familiar with the matter, potentially violating conflict-of-interest laws and putting at risk sensitive information on millions of Americans.