Latest updates for ANZ sales professionals
Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Productivity, says formal qualifications matter less as AI changes what employers value. Judgment and oversight skills will trump degrees as AI handles execution work. Worth noting: Atlassian just cut 1,600 jobs to fund AI investment.
Sydney defence tech company Advanced Navigation closed a $158 million Series C led by Airtree, with $50 million from the NRFC. The company hired Michelle Toscan as APAC Head in December to drive sovereign positioning tech sales. Revenue hit $21.8 million in FY2024, but EBITDA was negative $14.3 million.
New measurement data from Larridin reveals most sales teams are not using the enterprise AI tools companies paid for. The bigger issue: VPs have no visibility into what is actually working. Here is what the data says about AI ROI and where the money is going.
Amazon leads 2026 tech layoffs with 16,000 cuts attributed to AI efficiency. Reality check: Goldman Sachs data shows AI threatens 2.5% of US jobs, and workers in AI-exposed roles show no higher job loss rates yet. The automation narrative is running ahead of the evidence.
Jason Lemkin's team processed 1.5 million inbound sessions and sent hundreds of thousands of outbound messages using Artisan, Salesforce AgentForce, Qualified, and Monaco. The takeaway: your human playbook has to work first, and you probably only need one vendor.
Australia's financial regulator surveyed 1,227 18-28 year olds. Two-thirds use social media for investment decisions, one in five rely on AI tools, and 52% trust finfluencers. ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland warns algorithms prioritise clicks over accuracy, putting young investors at risk.
Four Australian startups raised $31.9 million across energy, legal tech, health, and construction. MGA Thermal's $17 million clean energy round led the week. Context: ANZ hit $5.1 billion in 2025 funding, but this signals a return to smaller deals after Q4's $2 billion surge.
Australian construction tech startup Scopey Onsite closed $850k pre-seed funding after relocating HQ to Ireland. The AI platform turns WhatsApp messages into structured site records. No details on sales team size, hiring plans, or comp structure disclosed.
Quieter funding week with $31.9M across four deals. Firmable, an AI sales intelligence platform, closed close to $20M Series A led by Airtree for US expansion. MGA Thermal added $17M for industrial energy storage. ANZ VC remains selective: Q3 2025 hit $1B across 116 rounds, 70% concentrated in top 10 deals.
MGA Thermal closed $17 million led by IP Group Australia. The Newcastle-based thermal energy storage startup has now raised $50 million total. No hiring numbers disclosed, but CEO Mark Croudace says they are scaling commercial capability and manufacturing.
Melbourne fintech Pay.com.au is eyeing an April ASX listing at $850m valuation, raising $85m. The company processed $2bn in payments for 50,000 SMEs, but sales team size and expansion hiring plans remain unclear. Worth watching if you are tracking ANZ fintech growth.
Atlassian is cutting 1,600 roles globally, around 10% of its 16,000-person workforce. CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes says the cuts will fund AI investment and enterprise sales expansion. Impact on ANZ sales teams unclear, but the restructure includes shifting skill mix for AI-era software delivery.