Latest updates for ANZ sales professionals
Australian exports to the US face a new 12.5% tariff starting today, replacing the temporary 10% levy. The Trump administration claims Australia has not done enough to stop forced labour imports. Australian government says the findings lack credible evidence.
Logistics operator Andrew McKenna bought the Sendle brand, trademarks, and domain after the carbon-neutral shipping platform shut down in January 2026. The company raised over $100 million before a failed merger with US logistics firms killed the business. No word yet on sales team rebuild or enterprise customer strategy.
SaaS investor Jason Lemkin raised his hand for a six-figure fund admin deal. The vendor sent generic emails, gated a boilerplate deck behind a signup wall, and did zero research. Deal died in two touches. This is what weak discovery and template fatigue look like when they cost you real pipeline.
ASIC data shows business insolvencies up 75% since 2019, with cash flow cited as the main failure driver. The core issue: small businesses are financing their customers' operations through extended payment terms while their own bills are due immediately. Payment Times Reporting shows large businesses now pay 69% of invoices within 30 days, but 60-day cycles remain standard in many B2B segments.
Block released Buzz, a free workplace chat app that puts humans and AI agents in the same conversations. The open-source platform combines chat, code repos, and project management in one interface. No visible sales team yet, this is an engineering-led product launch, not an enterprise play.
Jason Lemkin's SaaStr AI scaled to 20+ production AI agents handling SDR, BDR, and support work while cutting human headcount to just 3. Revenue up 47% YoY. The agents generated $1M+ in direct sales, but they still need traditional CRM infrastructure. Here is why ripping out your sales stack for a Postgres database does not work.
BNPL provider Zip is shutting down New Zealand operations effective 16 August, citing strategic focus on Australia and US markets. The company posted $65.1m cash EBITDA in Q3 FY26 (up 41.5% YoY) but did not disclose headcount impact or sales team changes from the NZ exit.
University of Canberra AI expert Ryan Payne says workers over 50 are unlikely to retrain for AI-heavy roles, while employers see under-25s as over-reliant on AI. The federal government's 'jobs created, not lost' promise ignores reality: roles are changing faster than workers can adapt.
Dropbox guided to revenue decline. PagerDuty ARR is dead flat at $496M. Net dollar retention below 100% means the existing base is shrinking. This is what happens when AI agents replace headcount and seat-based models break. Your expansion motion just became a retention problem.
Sydney-founded insurtech Cover Genius closed a $143 million funding round backed by Vista Credit Partners, valuing the company at $2 billion. The 2017 Smart50 winner now serves major clients including Booking.com and eBay, with plans to expand AI capabilities and make acquisitions.
Auckland-based Tracksuit bought Sydney's Hall to track how brands appear in ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini responses. The acquisition adds AI visibility tools to Tracksuit's existing brand-tracking platform, which already monitors consumer perception through surveys. Hall founder Kai Forsyth joins as product lead for AI visibility.
Sydney-based Oz Hair & Beauty bought Melbourne retailer Beauty Works in July, adding a Melbourne Central store and e-commerce operation to its portfolio. The deal, undisclosed sum, signals a shift from product retail to service-integrated strategy as the $100m revenue business expands beyond its NSW base.