☕️AI or Die

Good morning.

In the latest instalment of AI news (no, Nvidia earnings aren’t out until 8:20am), leaked Employment Hero documents seen by Capital Brief show the firm has instructed staff to use artificial intelligence in all problem solving efforts in one of the most aggressive moves by an Australian company to adopt AI to date.

The company’s directive mandates that all 1,500 staff should "start leveraging AI every time you realise you have a problem to solve or idea to explore.” CEO Ben Thompson said "If we don't [adopt AI], others will and we will get steamrolled by our AI powered competitors.”

While designating Google's Gemini as the company's "default AI tool," the policy encourages broad experimentation. "ChatGPT, Grok, Claude, whatever it is—go for it if it sparks something brilliant," Thompson told employees, establishing few limitations beyond eventual manager approval for paid versions.

On the back of the unhinged AI video content posted by the leader of the free world overnight, maybe a healthy sprinkling of corporate guardrails for the technology isn’t such a bad shout.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Bapcor shares surged Wednesday as the auto parts supplier beat earnings and dividend forecasts, despite a 13% drop in net profit amid tough trading in New Zealand.

The quick sync

• AI is lowering the cost of failure for startups, letting them crash and burn faster on the road to success, says a top Salesforce exec. (Capital Brief)

• Employment Hero is making AI mandatory for all 1,500 staff in a radical, oversight-light push to stay ahead of competitors, despite internal concerns. (Capital Brief)

• The private credit boom may be hitting its first cracks, as McGrathNicol warns that lenders are struggling to handle growing distress in their loan books. (Capital Brief)

• Sanjeev Gupta’s last major asset, InfraBuild, is on the brink as Ben Brazil’s FitzWalter Capital demands an $800m repayment, pushing his steel empire closer to collapse. (AFR)

• Trump’s US$5m ‘gold card’ visa plan promises green card privileges to wealthy investors, but experts question its feasibility and potential risks. (Bloomberg)

   

Trading floor

M&A

• Bluebet has made a bid to acquire PointsBet, challenging a $353m offer from Japan’s Mixi. (Capital Brief)

• Platinum Asset Management struggles as Regal Partners considers acquiring its listed investment companies (LICs). (AFR)

• CICC will merge with Galaxy Securities, creating China’s third-largest brokerage as Beijing pushes for stronger domestic investment banks. (Capital Brief)

• Sanjeev Gupta’s Tahmoor Coal Mine sale struggles as miners steer clear. (The Australian)

• Itochu is exiting the proposed buyout of Seven & i Holdings, while Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard remains interested in a takeover. (Reuters)

• Barrenjoey’s role in Worley’s buyback sparks M&A speculation, with Wood Group in focus. (The Australian)

• Telix CEO sells $120m in shares via JPMorgan, breaking a 12-month escrow. (AFR)

• As Elliott pressures Phillips 66 to offload its chemicals stake, Chevron is eyeing a potential buy. (Bloomberg)

• Australia approves Qatar Airways’ 25% stake in Virgin Australia. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the deal will boost competition and expand the airline’s international capacity. (Bloomberg)

Capital Markets

• Warner Bros Discovery will launch its Max streaming platform in Australia on March 31 as a standalone app and through a partnership with Foxtel. (Capital Brief)

• Worley reported a 55% rise in half-year profit to $216m despite project cancellations and plans a $500m share buyback. (Capital Brief)

• Blackstone raises $5.6b for energy transition investments. (Bloomberg)

• Light & Wonder weighs sole ASX listing, with Jarden advising. (AFR)

• Salesforce commits $3.9b to AI, jobs, and sustainability in Australia. (Capital Brief)

• ATO mandates monthly GST reporting for some SMEs from April 2025. (SmartCompany)

• Australia’s annual inflation held steady at 2.5% in January, with key price rises in food, housing, and tobacco. (Capital Brief)

• Woolworths cuts $400m in costs to restore investor confidence. (AFR)

• Analysts are more focused on WiseTech’s growth and revenue model than Richard White’s personal controversies. (Capital Brief)

• WAM is preparing a $400m IPO, with brokers set to begin selling shares next week. (AFR)

• The Greens are pushing to add autism and ADHD treatments to Medicare, funded by taxes on big corporations. (Capital Brief)

• Australia funds Licella's study to make SAF from sugarcane waste in QLD. (Reuters)

• Tesla’s stock slump signals investor frustration with Elon Musk, raising concerns about leadership and governance. (Capital Brief)

• Country Road struggles with leadership turmoil, losses, and job cuts after a $61m slump. (AFR)

• Kelsian’s stock plunges 15% as investors doubt its acquisition strategy. (The Australian)

• Private credit investors in Australia are seeing early signs of distress and seeking help to manage troubled assets. (Capital Brief)

• Australia to review USAID cuts' impact amid rising global instability. (Bloomberg)

• Taiwan cuts GDP outlook amid US tariffs, budget cuts, and China tensions. (Capital Brief)

• Keybridge warned against using administration to block board spill in Wilson Asset feud. (AFR)

• Trump pushes Apple to drop DEI policies amid wider corporate rollback. (Capital Brief)

• Employment Hero mandates AI use company-wide to stay competitive. (Capital Brief)

• Elon Musk built Tesla on a bold vision, but with its stock plunging and rivals closing in, the story he’s selling is wearing thin. (Capital Brief)

• Stellantis sinks into the red amid sales slump and leadership chaos, as Aston Martin trims jobs to steady its finances. (FT)

• The Porsche-Piech family is ramping up investments beyond its struggling auto businesses, seeking larger stakes in new industries as Porsche and VW face slumping sales. (FT)

• Trump says Ukraine's Zelenskiy will visit the US to sign a major resource deal, but the Ukrainian leader suggests negotiations aren't final. (Bloomberg)

VC

• EvenBetter.ai raised $500k from Shearwater Capital to tackle gender pay gaps using AI-driven insights. (SmartCompany)

• Queensland's government is funding a pre-accelerator program, Anyone Can Build, to support CALD women entrepreneurs through mentorship and business development. (SmartCompany)

People moves

• Richard White returns as WiseTech's executive chairman to oversee CEO succession and strategy, amid board resignations. (Capital Brief)

• Robyn Denholm navigates tensions between US tech interests as Tesla chair and Australia’s digital sovereignty as Tech Council chair. (Capital Brief)

• Former Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci is a leading candidate to become the next head of Ticketek-owner TEG. (AFR)

• Michael Hill CEO Daniel Bracken has passed away due to a medical reaction; interim leadership plans are pending. (Capital Brief)

• The Coalition criticizes Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy over tax-free lunch costings, sparking calls for stricter auditing rules. (Capital Brief)

• Worldline appoints Pierre-Antoine Vacheron as CEO after disappointing revenue results, with a strategic update expected in April. (Capital Brief)

• From Goldman Sachs to the Kremlin, Kirill Dmitriev is using Gulf money and power to push a new chapter in US-Russia dealmaking. (FT)

• Jeff Bezos is reshaping the Washington Post opinion section to champion personal liberties and free markets, sidelining opposing views in one of his most direct editorial interventions. (FT)

• Lachlan Murdoch faces a $US4b dilemma as family tensions and soaring share prices complicate his bid to secure control of the Murdoch empire. (AFR)

The watercooler