2022 starts off with a bang! Australia’s booming tech industry shows no signs of slowing down as it continues to grow at unprecedented levels. With the year starting off this strong, we can’t possibly predict what’s in line for the future.
Just take a look at Rokt. The Sydney-based tech giant smashed Australian VC records with a $458 million Series-E funding round. It’s now more than doubled in value, being worth a whopping $2,750,000,000! (that’s 2.75 BILLION dollars), making Rokt Australia’s third most valuable private company.
“The tech unicorn plans to use the new funding to invest in R&D, international expansion and strategic acquisitions. It works with more than 3,000 brands globally, including Live Nation, Groupon, Vistaprint and Ticketmaster. Headquartered in New York, the company now operates in 19 countries across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.”
This round of funding is sure to have a ripple effect on not only Sydney’s tech scene, but internationally as well.
And Rokt isn’t the only company making international news, Australian startup Car Next Door just got acquired by Uber! This comes just 2 short years after receiving over $6 million in investment capital from Hyundai.
“Over the last decade, Uber has created shared rides options like Uber Pool, invested $800 million globally to drive electric vehicle uptake, and integrated micro mobility, and public transport options into the Uber app. Car Next Door co-founder and CEO Will Davies said working with Uber gave them the ability to scale up their ambitions.”
Much like Car Next Door, tech giant Afterpay is also looking to scale up their operations. After being acquired for $39 BILLION in August, they’re now working with the NSW government to expand operations to Tech Central.
“We are excited to enter the next phase of our growth here at Tech Central and look forward to working with the NSW government on attracting and retaining the best talent the state of NSW has to offer. Australia has the talent, skills, and lifestyle, as well as infrastructure to be a global leader in technology and innovation. Sydney’s Tech Central is a ringing endorsement of our huge potential.”
With all this growth in the tech scene, the government definitely has its priorities in order. But working with Afterpay isn’t the only thing they’re doing to promote growth and cultivate tech talent. They recently boosted funding to women in STEM to $54 million through grants and scholarships.
“We’ve seen throughout the COVID pandemic just how important the STEM sector is to protecting Australians, which is why the Government is committed to increasing women’s participation in this essential and growing field.”
If all the above stories and government initiatives aren’t enough to remind us that Australia is a hub of tech talent and opportunity, let’s remind ourselves that Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, concurs with Tom Hadju’s statement that “South Australia is a next generation state, it’s the center of the new digital economy.” If Elon Musk agrees, you know it must be true ;-)
Despite being in business for over two decades, Phocas’ product launch cadence is still very much like a hot new startup. Engineers get to learn something new every day while exploring new tech stacks while working to fix a lot of ‘world’s first’ problems and assessing the latest technology available to improve existing products and create new ones.
Whether you’re looking to switch roles, advance in your career, or just looking for a change of pace - this article is for you.
You don’t need to look further than the news to know that there’s a lot of pressure on employees in tech… Burnout, the great resignation, tech valuations… It’s a lot. And showing your team some love can make a big difference at times like these.