Joseph Lam

Sydney

Technology Reporter at The Australian Business Review

Technology reporter at @Aus_Business. Formerly news and digital at @Australian and the odd feature on race and culture at @SCMPnews. Got a tip, leak or breach?

Articles

Fintech boss backs card surcharge shake-up, says companies manipulating consumers

3 weeks ago | stockhead.com.au | Joseph Lam

Credit card providers are abusing and “manipulating” payment surcharges for commercial gain, exacerbating the cost of living crisis for Australians, the Czech Republic-born, Canberra-raised founder of one of the country’s hottest fintech start-ups says. Pred Dragila — who founded payments company Fat Zebra in 2012 — said card surcharges were becoming an additional revenue stream for payment providers, short-changing customers for no good reason.
US cybersecurity firm Datadog commits to first local data centre, eyes nation’s $147bn IT market

3 weeks ago | theaustralian.com.au | Joseph Lam

The Australian Business NetworkNasdaq-listed Datadog will build its first data centre outside the US and Europe in Australia, as the company seeks to nab a slice of the nation’s $147bn IT market. Datadog announced on Thursday it had enlisted the help of AWS to build the data centre, which would be used to provide sovereign cyber-security services.
Why this analyst thinks investors have got it wrong on data centres

1 month ago | couriermail.com.au | Joseph Lam

Greg Boorer, the chief executive and founder of CDC“Waning faith” in the nation’s data centre market will be short-lived according to analysts who believe “good” market updates have not been met with the right responses from investors. The market got the “wrong messages” when Chinese AI company DeepSeek launched its latest model in January and investors punished the likes of local data centre operators NextDC and Goodman Group, according to E&P analyst Paul Mason.
Why this analyst thinks investors have got it wrong on data centres

1 month ago | realcommercial.com.au | Joseph Lam

“Waning faith” in the nation’s data centre market will be short-lived according to analysts who believe “good” market updates have not been met with the right responses from investors. The market got the “wrong messages” when Chinese AI company DeepSeek launched its latest model in January and investors punished the likes of local data centre operators NextDC and Goodman Group, according to E&P analyst Paul Mason.
Centuria rides data boom launching AI factory with ResetData

2 months ago | realcommercial.com.au | Joseph Lam

Centuria and ResetData will launch the nation’s first sovereign AI factory in Melbourne later this year, leveraging Nvidia chips to provide AI capabilities at a fraction of the cost of other players in the market.
Elon Musk playing ‘three dimensional chess’ with $155bn bid for OpenAI, experts say

2 months ago | stockhead.com.au | Joseph Lam

Elon Musk’s $US97.4bn ($155bn) bid to gain control of OpenAI has raised concerns among some of Australia’s tech sector, with some experts glad the billionaire Tesla boss wants the company to return to its non-profit roots while others say Musk is playing a game of “three dimensional chess”. On Monday in the US, a Musk-led consortium of investors threw the multi-billion dollar sum at the non-profit which controls OpenAI.
Planning to spend big on Valentine’s Day? Post-Christmas gift returns hit $11m

2 months ago | stockhead.com.au | Joseph Lam

Australians should consider carefully before they splurge on Valentine’s Day gifts, as that expensive present might quickly find its way back to the shop. A software-based returns vendor recorded about 88,600 items were returned in the two weeks after Christmas. About 380 Australian received $11m worth of gifts returned for a refund post-Christmas, as the higher cost of living prompted people to consider alternative ways to raise money.
Google dumps diversity hiring targets

2 months ago | stockhead.com.au | Joseph Lam |Jared Lynch

Google will scrap its diversity and inclusion programs, which sought to employ workers from under-represented communities. The $US2.35 trillion ($3.74 trillion) company is the latest American tech titan to abandon diversity, equity and inclusion programs in a move to better align itself with the Trump administration.
Fortinet opens $75m North Sydney office as staff headcount triples

2 months ago | heraldsun.com.au | Joseph Lam

A reception area at Fortinet $75m McMahons Points headquartersUS cybersecurity company Fortinet opens its $75m data centre and Sydney headquarters on Friday, after the company more than tripled its local headcount. The company has hired between 60 and 70 staff per year for the past three years, rising from 72 to now more than 260 – 200 of whom will be based at its new office.
Fortinet opens $75m North Sydney office as staff headcount triples

2 months ago | realcommercial.com.au | Joseph Lam

US cybersecurity company Fortinet opens its $75m data centre and Sydney headquarters on Friday, after the company more than tripled its local headcount. The company has hired between 60 and 70 staff per year for the past three years, rising from 72 to now more than 260 – 200 of whom will be based at its new office. Fortinet bought the building at 162 Blues Point Road, McMahons Point, about 450m from North Sydney Station, from private property company Kingsmede in 2021 for $60m.