Technology

News on tech innovations and their impact on businesses and markets.

Technology
Atlassian acquires The Browser Co. startup
Atlassian has acquired The Browser Co., a startup that offers a web browser with artificial intelligence for US$610 million (A$935.9 million). The deal is expected to be closed in Atlassian’s second fiscal quarter, which ends in December. According to The Browser Co. CEO, Josh Miller, the company will remain independent, and it will continue to develop one of its web browsers, Dia. Atlassian’s CEO and co-founder, Mike Cannon-Brookes, said this deal will be a “bold step forward” in “reimagining” browsers for the work and AI era. “Together, we’ll create an AI-powered browser optimised for the many SaaS applications living in tabs – one that knowledge workers will love to use every day,” he said in a statement. Last year, The Browser Co. raised US$50 million in a funding round led by Pace Capital at a US$550 million valuation. So far, the startup has raised US$128 million across multiple rounds with other investors including LinkedIn’s Jeff Weiner, Medium’s Ev Williams, Figma’s Dylan Field, Notion’s Akshay Kothari, and GitHub’s Jason Warner. This comes after AI startup, Perplexity, which offered Google US$34.5 billion for Chrome, talked with The Browser Co. about a possible acquisition last year, according to The
Technology
Broadcom shares lift 3.9% on AI revenue growth
Broadcom's latest quarterly results delivered another earnings beat on Thursday (Friday AEST), with shares rising 3.9% in extended trading after it revealed US$10 billion (A$15.3 billion) in custom chip orders from a new client. The semiconductor giant reported third-quarter revenue of US$15.96 billion versus expectations of $15.83 billion, with adjusted earnings per share hitting $1.69 against the $1.65 consensus. Its AI revenue surged 63% year-over-year to $5.2 billion, with management guiding upwards for $6.2 billion in the fourth quarter. The company secured $10 billion in orders from a new customer for custom AI accelerators, adding to its growing portfolio of hyperscale clients beyond Google. Tan noted on a call with analysts, “One of these prospects released production orders to Broadcom, and we have accordingly characterized them as a qualified customer for XPUs,” Tan said. He added that the large order increased Broadcom’s forecast for AI revenue next year. “We will ship pretty strongly beginning 2026,” Tan said.ValuationBroadcom's market capitalisation now exceeds $1.4 trillion after shares nearly doubled over the past year. The stock has gained 32% year-to-date, making it one of the few semiconducto
Technology
Figma tanks 14% after first report since IPO
Design software company Figma tumbled 14% in extended trading on Wednesday after the design software company reported its first results since going public in July. Revenue was US$249.64 million, up 41% year-over-year and above LSEG estimates of $248.8 million. Earnings per share broke even, up from a loss of $4.39 one year ago. “We delivered record revenue in Q2 as we continued to innovate with the launch of four new products. Looking ahead, we’re excited to keep building for our customers and help define the next era of digital products and experiences,” said Figma CEO Dylan Field. “We delivered best-in-class revenue growth and positive operating margin as we kept investing in AI and expanded our platform,” said Figma CFO Prover Melwani. “Our 129% Net Dollar Retention Rate also shows that our customers are continuing to deepen their investment in Figma's platform.” Operating income was US$11.47 million, up from $4.88 million year-over-year. Non-GAAP net income was $19.78 million, rising from $14.28 million. The company had 11,906 paid customers with more than US$10,000 in annual recurring revenue at the end of June, increasing by 31%. Its net dollar retention rate of 129% for these customers was down from 132% in t
Technology
Salesforce beats estimates, falls 5.6% on outlook
Salesforce beat estimates on revenue and earnings per share last quarter, as it begins to recover from a year-long slowdown in growth. However, the results failed to satisfy investors as the company’s guidance fell slightly short of expectations. Revenue was US$10.24 billion, rising 10% year-over-year and passing Benzinga estimates of $10.13. Earnings per share were $2.91, up from $2.56 and above estimates of $2.78. “We delivered an outstanding quarter to close out the first half of the year, with strong performance across revenue, margin, cash flow, and cRPO — and we remain on track for fiscal 2026 to be a record year with nearly $15 billion in operating cash flow,” said Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. “These results reflect the success of our customers — like Pfizer, Marriott, and the U.S. Army — who are transforming into agentic enterprises, where humans and AI agents work side by side to reimagine workflows, accelerate productivity, and deliver customer success.” Income from operations was $3.51 billion, compared with $3.14 billion one year ago. Free cash flow was $605 million, down from $755 million. The company’s sales growth had previously been in the single digits for four consecutive quarters, with its shar
Technology
New Mexico, Pentagon invest US$435m into quantum
New Mexico will invest US$435 million (A$664.1 million) into quantum computing in partnership with the United States Department of Defense, as the race to build quantum computers continues to intensify. The American state will team with the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to accelerate the development of quantum technology, under its Quantum Frontier Project plan. This will also advance DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), which aims to build industrially useful quantum computers by 2033. “Quantum computing may prove to be the most consequential technology of this century for national security and breakthrough innovations,” said New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. “New Mexico, having once pioneered applied physics, is excited to partner with DARPA on the QBI program to stay at the forefront of frontier technology and bring our world-class research, development, and entrepreneurial ecosystem into the fold.” “Quantum computing means jobs, innovation, and a stronger economy for our state, and we intend to seize this moment in the global race,” said New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rob Black. DARPA and New Mexico plan to provide contributions of up to US$60 million

Technology
Klarna seeks US$14bn public listing valuation
Swedish firm Klarna is aiming for a US$14 billion (A$21.37 billion) valuation on its long-awaited United States public listing. The company plans to offer 34,311,274 ordinary shares priced between US$35 and $37 each in a bid to raise up to $1.27 billion. Klarna will offer 5.56 million of those shares, while the remaining roughly 28.8 million will be put forward by existing shareholders who are selling their stock. The company will list shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “KLAR”. The Swedish fintech company drew investor attention as its valuations rose $5.5 billion to $45 billion in just two years, thanks to three funding rounds between mid-2020 and 2021. This has since dropped 85% to $6.7 billion in 2022, with the company blaming macroeconomic conditions linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for the slump. Klarna was founded in 2005 and is best known for its buy now, pay later model, which allows consumers to split purchases into instalments and has looked to expand into products like debit cards and deposit accounts. Revenue for the company rose 20% year-on-year to $823 million during the June quarter. However, Klarna also posted a net loss of $53 million, increasing from the same period las
Technology
Antitrust ruling sends Google shares to record highs
Alphabet shares jumped 6% in extended trading after a federal judge ruled that Google can keep its Chrome browser while also banning the company from exclusive search contracts. United States District Judge Amit Mehta delivered his much-anticipated remedy decision on Tuesday, nearly a year after finding that Google illegally monopolised internet search markets. “Google will not be required to divest Chrome; nor will the court include a contingent divestiture of the Android operating system in the final judgment,” Mehta's ruling read. “Plaintiffs overreached in seeking forced divestiture of these key assets, which Google did not use to effect any illegal restraints.” The decision is a significant victory for the tech giant, which had faced calls from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to sell Chrome entirely.What the DOJ wantedThe DOJ had pushed for what would have been a substantial corporate breakup. Google faced potential divestiture of Chrome, the web browser that feeds data to its advertising business. The company could also have been forced to sell Android, its mobile operating system used across multiple hardware brands. That would have intrinsically affected Google's business model, putting at risk its US$26
Technology
Meta rushes AI safety fixes amid Senate investigation
Meta will block its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots from discussing suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders with teenagers following a federal investigation into leaked documents that showed the company approved "sensual" conversations with children as young as eight. The announcement came after two weeks of damage control, with Meta now saying its chatbots will redirect teens to professional resources rather than engage with sensitive topics. Meta said updates to its AI systems are in progress and already place users aged 13 to 18 into "teen accounts" on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, with content and privacy settings that aim to give them a safer experience. What got the ball rolling were leaked internal documents - which Meta has dismissed as “erroneous” - triggering Senator Josh Hawley to launch a federal probe into what exactly Meta thought was acceptable behaviour for AI systems interacting with minors. Also released recently was a damning safety study showing Meta AI chatbots actively coaching teen accounts on suicide methods.Senate inquiryHawley launched his investigation after the discovery of Meta's "GenAI: Content Risk Standards" - essentially a playbook for what the company's AI chatbots were all
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RPMGlobal soars to record after Cat springs A$1.1bn bid
RPMGlobal Holdings shares soared through the A$1 billion valuation mark to a record high after it disclosed an agreed takeover bid from heavy machine giant Caterpillar Inc (Cat). RPM Global shares said it had received a non-binding indicative proposal from Caterpillar at $5.00 cash per share, valuing the mining software company at $1.123 billion (US$734 billion), via a scheme of arrangement. By the time of writing, RPM Global (ASX: RUL) shares had soared by 87 cents (22.94%) to $4.64 after earlier touching a record high of $4.78. RPMGlobal said it had entered into a six-week exclusivity deed with Caterpillar to allow it to undertake confirmatory due diligence and work towards reaching an agreement on acceptable terms of a binding scheme implementation deed (SID). The RPMGlobal Board intended to recommend, and vote their shares in favour of, the transaction, subject to conditions including the parties entering into a binding SID on terms consistent with the proposal and following the completion of due diligence. The recommendation is also subject to no superior proposal being received, and an independent expert concluding the transaction is in the best interests of shareholders. Caterpillar submitted the indicativ