☕️ Unashamed AIBro

Good morning.

Even the "byte-sized tacos”, “data dumplings” and “AI-dente" on the menu weren’t the most AI-centric elements of Canva's AI Vision event on Wednesday night, Capital Brief reports.

That award goes to Canva co-founder and chief product officer Cameron Adams’ bright green jacket.

“This jacket was actually created by our production manager,” Adams told the sold out crowd. “He fed all of this event into AI and said, ‘What should Cam be wearing on the night?' He came up with this work together with a fashion designer, and I get to wear it tonight, so I feel very special.”

His efforts arguably thrust him well ahead of subspecies the CryptoBro, FinanceBro and Techbro, into pole position among the AIBro lineup as the country’s chief AI enthusiast.

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Market movers

Life360 shares slumped again Wednesday, dragging the tech sector lower, after investors reacted negatively to its USD120 million acquisition of US adtech firm Nativo, despite upgraded FY25 earnings guidance in its quarterly results.

The quick sync

• Labor moves ahead with Australian content quotas, brushing off Hollywood’s trade concerns. (Capital Brief)

• Most Liberal MPs back scrapping net zero, with a formal position due and Coalition talks looming. (Capital Brief)

• ASIC gets louder, tougher and more visible under Longo, with focus shifting to private markets and tech as his exit looms. (Capital Brief)

• Cicada’s new CEO Liza Noonan plans to scale Australian deep techs by connecting them to global capital and national growth priorities. (Capital Brief)

• DEWR rejects call from women-led groups to pause and audit $4.9m FemTech program amid unpaid work dispute. (Capital Brief)

• Government says equity is foundational but let a women-led STEM program sideline the women who built it. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Mineral Resources’ $1.2b sale of a 30% lithium stake to POSCO boosts its valuation and balance sheet. (Capital Brief)

• Greenstone finalises $1b AUD private credit deal, drawing global investor interest. (The Australian)

• Akaysha wins $1b Waratah battery contract despite missing NSW criteria. (AFR)

• Mining giants to sell non-core assets, including Anglo American’s manganese, in 2026. (The Australian)

• Jolt to enter US market with Shell deal for 3000 EV chargers. (AFR)

• UBS to sell Qscan for Infratil, but high price may deter buyers. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• Aristocrat’s profit rose 12% to $1.6b, but shares fell amid higher costs and legal challenges. (Capital Brief)

• Octopus backs $900m NSW solar and storage project after clean energy slowdown. (AFR)

• Flight Centre forecasts up to 18% profit growth as early FY26 trading outperforms expectations. (Capital Brief)

• Oliver Curtis’ $6b AI firm Firmus hires Wall Street talent ahead of 2026 IPO backed by Regal and Ellerston. (AFR)

• Megaport raises $200m to fund an acquisition and India expansion. (Capital Brief)

• DigiCo REIT aims to double IT capacity and raise up to $1b for expansion. (Capital Brief)

• Country Road to expand into third-party brands under new CEO Steven Cook. (AFR)

• Inghams shares fall after profit guidance miss amid rising costs. (Capital Brief)

• Liontown shares rise on Metalshub lithium sales partnership and sector rally. (Capital Brief)

• Barrenjoey tops investor survey for best research and sales team for the third year running. (AFR)

• Microsoft backs Australia’s government AI plan and cloud policy to boost public service efficiency. (Capital Brief)

• Australian super funds put $143b into AI-exposed stocks amid rapid tech growth. (AFR)

• ARN Media warns of 25–27% EBITDA drop amid soft advertising, shares fall. (Capital Brief)

• Singtel forecasts higher earnings despite Optus Triple Zero outage. (AFR)

• Rio Tinto rises as Simandou mine in Guinea begins operations. (Capital Brief)

• Menulog will cease Australian operations after 20 years, resulting in 120 job cuts, as parent company Just Eat Takeaway exits the local food delivery market. (Smart Company)

• Government equity push in STEM criticized as fragmented and lacking long-term strategy. (Capital Brief)

• Denison Gas meets investors in non-deal roadshow as earnings top $75m and owners weigh options. (AFR)

• Humm gets first strike as shareholders protest chair’s withdrawn takeover. (Capital Brief)

• Canva’s Cameron Adams champions AI and wears an AI-designed jacket. (Capital Brief)

• ASIC to target private credit and boost enforcement on financial misconduct in 2026. (Capital Brief)

• Blackwattle Investment Partners seeks $10m for growth and tech upgrades as it pushes toward profit. (AFR)

• Putin approves Citigroup’s sale of its Russian bank to Renaissance Capital. (Capital Brief)

• Anthropic to spend USD50b building US AI data centres, starting in Texas and New York. (Capital Brief)

VC 

• AI-powered e-commerce startup Keeyu raises $2.3m pre-seed to automate e-commerce operations with AI. (Capital Brief)

• MyGig secures $1m to scale AI payroll platform for casual workers. (Smart Company)

• AI chip startup d-Matrix, backed by Microsoft, hits USD2b valuation after USD275m Series C raise. (Capital Brief)

People moves

• Sembcorp hires lobbyist Ryan Liddell to boost Australian energy market push. (AFR)

• Two senior ANZ executives in risk and compliance have departed as CEO Nuno Matos overhauls the bank’s structure and culture. (AFR)

The watercooler