Technology

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

Technology
digiDirect snaps up Mwave after Esel collapse
Electronics retailer, Mwave has been sold to the digiDirect Group following its parent company Esel, entering voluntary administration. In a business update on Mwave’s blog, the business said it would continue to trade from its Lidcombe headquarters before transferring its operations to the digiDirect Group’s headquarters in South Strathfield, Sydney. All current Mwave employees have also been offered roles under its new owners. “Under the new management, our vision is to build on the Mwave operation that customers know and love and utilise the resources and expertise within The digiDirect Group,” the company stated. “The digiDirect Group and its subsidiary companies [have] a long history and stellar reputation of serving its customers and broader industry with excellence on a consistent basis. Mwave will be no exception to this.” All orders and transactions from Mwave will also remain the same according to the update. DigiDirect Group CEO Shant Kradjian said Mwave would greatly complement the business. “The business has been a pioneer in the technology space and enables us to drive scale in a fast-growing category, borne from consumer demand, fuelled by the continued growth of the gaming community,” Kradjian
Technology
Trump's phone venture stirs conflict-of-interest fear
First came a variety of products, ranging from Trump Bibles, to trading cards, sneakers and luxury watches. Now the Trump organisation is allegedly proposing to launch its own mobile phone service. Growing scepticism aside - that this will be yet another Trump-branded product destined to fail – critics have raised ethical concerns that Trump’s business empire is capitalising on its association with the sitting president. On Friday, the U.S. president reported that he had amassed $8 million from various licensing agreements in 2024 alone. Dubbed Trump Mobile, the new service unveiled yesterday looks to take on Apple and Samsung with a mobile phone plan and a $499 smartphone that is expected to launch in September. According to its website, Trump Mobile will offer a US$47.45-per-month plan that includes unlimited talk, text and data, as well as roadside assistance and a “Telehealth and Pharmacy Benefit." The company is also proposing to sell a “T1” smartphone - which appears to feature a gold-coloured metal case etched with an American flag – which is expected to launch in August. Meanwhile, the Trump Organisation said consumers would be able to use the new service using their existing phone. As with the string
Technology
OpenAI scores multi-million US defence forces contract
OpenAI has scored a multimillion-dollar contract with the United States defence forces. The Department of Defence confirmed the deal in a statement, which will see the tech company join forces with the Department under a year-long, US$200 million contract. It will see this work mostly in the National Capital Region, covering Washington D.C. and parts of Maryland and Virginia. "Under this award, the performer will develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both [the] warfighting and enterprise domains", the statement said. It is not the first foray OpenAI has had into the White House, with CEO Sam Altman joining President Donald Trump back in January to confirm it would throw its weight behind the US$500 billion Stargate project for AI infrastructure development in the United States.
Technology
Wireless licence holder’s shares reach for the stars
Satellite telecommunications company EchoStar Corp's share price doubled on Monday on reports United States President Donald Trump had urged the company to reach a deal with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its wireless spectrum licences. EchoStar (NASDAQ: SATS) shares rose $8.28 or 49.11% to close at US$25.11, which capitalises the company at $7.22 billion (A$11.03 billion), after trading as high as $25.39. Trump has intervened to push EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to resolve a dispute over the company’s valuable spectrum licences, according to a Bloomberg article. Trump met on Thursday with Ergen and telephoned Carr, who came to the White House to join the meeting, according to a Reuters story citing the Bloomberg article. EchoStar had not responded to requests for comment, according to Reuters. The FCC is investigating EchoStar’s compliance with its obligations to provide 5G service in the U.S., as the company tries to protect its licenses from the threat of revocation. Spectrum licenses are permits issued by the government that grant exclusive rights to use specific parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as certain radio frequencies. After Elon Musk's Spa
Technology
Entirely AI-made ad aired during NBA finals for Kalshi
An entirely AI-produced ad was shown to millions of viewers watching the NBA finals for the betting platform Kalshi. The ad reportedly only cost US$2,000 to make and featured a variety of images, including an alien chugging a beer and a farmer floating in a pool of eggs with the tagline “the world’s gone mad, trade it”.Watch the ad in full.The ad was created by self-proclaimed AI filmmaker PJ Accetturo using Veo 3. He took to X and explained the entire process of how he created the ad in two days. “Kalshi hired me to make the most unhinged NBA Finals commercial possible,” he wrote. “Network TV actually approved this GTA-style madness. “High-dopamine Veo 3 videos will be the ad trend of 2025.” According to Accetturo, the ad took around 300-400 generations to get 15 usable clips. “One person, 2-3 days. That’s a 95% cost reduction vs traditional ads,” he wrote. The ad is on track to finish with 200 million impressions across all platforms, according to a Kalshi spokesperson.

Technology
Amazon invests $20bn in Australian infrastructure
Amazon has announced plans to invest A$20 billion between 2025 and 2029 to expand, operate and maintain its data centre infrastructure in Australia. The new deal is expected to strengthen Australia’s cloud and AI capabilities in what will be the country's largest publicly announced global technology investment. “We’re taking advantage of the AI revolution - the Australian way,” Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, posted to X. “This is a huge vote of confidence in the Australian economy. “Australia is already a leader in technology, and we’re keeping our eyes on the future while putting Aussie jobs front and centre.” To support its expansion of local cloud infrastructure, Amazon is investing in three new solar farms. European Energy will deliver solar farms in Victoria and Queensland. This builds upon Amazon's $467 million renewable energy investment from 2020 to 2022. Amazon Web Services CEO, Matt Garman, said the investment would deepen Amazon's long-term commitment to Australian organisations' development and growth. “We’re proud to be expanding our world-class data centre infrastructure, bringing more renewable energy projects online, and supporting the country’s vision to be a global AI leader,
Technology
AI disruption: What’s next for the global workforce?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly growing, with many embracing it in their personal and professional lives. According to a new report by the Kingston AI Group, greater utilisation of AI in key industries is set to boost GDP by more than A$200 million per year in Australia and has the potential to create 150,000 new jobs. “AI’s a lightweight technology, so it delivers a return on investment quite quickly because it doesn’t need heavy infrastructure to get up and running,” Australian Institute for Machine Learning Director, Professor Simon Lucey said. “An investment in this year’s budget actually could turn things around.” Companies adopting AISome companies, especially in tech, have already taken the plunge into implementing more AI into their business model. A key example of this is Klarna, which announced it would replace over 700 human workers with AI after its valuation dropped from US$45.6 billion in 2021 to $6.7 billion. However, the “buy now, pay later” company backpedalled on this plan with CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski citing AI job cuts which have led to “lower quality” customer service and vowing to hire more humans. “As cost unfortunately seems to have been a too predominant evaluation factor when
Technology
NVIDIA drops China from forecasts as US curbs bite
NVIDIA, the world’s leading AI chipmaker, has announced that it will no longer include China in its revenue forecasts. This is following strict United States export controls that limit sales of advanced chips to the country. CEO Jensen Huang confirmed the decision, stating that NVIDIA is not counting on U.S. restrictions being lifted anytime soon. During CNN's Anna Stewart interview in Paris, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang was asked whether export controls will be lifted after talks in London. “I’m not counting on it but, if it happens, then it will be a great bonus. I’ve told all of our investors and shareholders that, going forward, our forecasts will not include the China market,” he said.Jensen Huang, Founder, President, and CEO. Credit: NVIDIAExport curbs have cost NVIDIA billions, with a $2.5 billion revenue hit in Q1 and an expected $8 billion loss in Q2. The company previously sold $4.6 billion worth of H20 chips in China, but revised regulations have blocked future sales. NVIDIA’s China business accounts for 12.5% of its total revenue, making this a significant shift in its strategy. Huang has criticised U.S. export policies, arguing that restrictions are not achieving their intended goals. He warned that th
Technology
Chipper AMD reveals open AI vision, showcases new tech
AMD has revealed its open AI ecosystem vision, showcasing new hardware and software solutions for enhanced artificial intelligence (AI) performance and efficiency. AMD's AI Ecosystem Vision AMD introduced an integrated AI platform at the Advancing AI 2025 event. The platform includes AMD Instinct™ MI350 Series accelerators and the ROCm™ software ecosystem. Chair and CEO Dr Lisa Su emphasised the importance of open standards and collaboration in driving AI innovation. “AMD is driving AI innovation at an unprecedented pace, highlighted by the launch of our AMD Instinct MI350 series accelerators, advances in our next generation AMD ‘Helios’ rack-scale solutions, and growing momentum for our ROCm open software stack,” said Dr. Su. “We are entering the next phase of AI, driven by open standards, shared innovation and AMD’s expanding leadership across a broad ecosystem of hardware and software partners who are collaborating to define the future of AI.”AMD Instinct™ MI350 Series GPUs. Credit: AMDAMD Instinct MI350 Series The MI350 Series GPUs deliver a 4x increase in AI compute and a 35x leap in inferencing. MI355X offers 40% more tokens-per-dollar than competitors. The series exceeded AMD's five-year energy efficiency g