Google now lets you mark preferred news sources, which surfaces human-written content over AI summaries in search results. The feature gives readers control over what they see and helps independent publishers compete with algorithmic content. Worth noting: it does not override ranking, but it does increase visibility when relevant.
YouTube went down globally for 90 minutes on February 17, peaking at 340,000 user reports. The culprit: a failed recommendations system that knocked out the homepage, subscriptions, and search across YouTube, YouTube TV, and YouTube Music. Google fixed it by 8:04 PM PST.
eBay is acquiring fashion resale platform Depop from Etsy for $1.7 billion cash, three years after Etsy bought it for $2.27 billion. Depop generated $1.42 billion in GMV last year from 3 million sellers, 90% under 34. The platform stays standalone.
Comedian Hamish Blake launched Hametasker, a jobs platform that requires tasks to be filmed. Airtasker CEO Tim Fung responded by offering $1 for a stake, valuing the venture at $1 billion. The publicity stunt comes ahead of Airtasker's half-yearly results next week.
Australian businesses expanding internationally face hidden costs beyond market entry: double taxation, unfamiliar employment obligations, and banking restrictions. Southeast Asia offers a consumer market 10 times Australia's size, but estate taxes hit 40% in some jurisdictions. Tax treaties do not eliminate planning requirements.
Patient booking platform HotDoc sold to PE firm Potentia Capital for an estimated $250-300 million. Airtree, which led the $2.2m Series A in 2015, exits alongside founder Dr Ben Hurst. The deal values a bootstrapped healthcare SaaS business at 13 million active patients and 23,000 practitioners.
Christchurch startup Appetise closed a $7M Series A after ditching $400k in consumer subscriptions to build a behavioral data platform. Now at $3.5M revenue, they are selling grocery insights to 70 brands including Heinz. Revenue tripled in six months, driven 70% by Australian growth.
The consumer watchdog is widening its focus to digital marketplaces after a year spent hammering supermarkets. Only three platforms have signed the ACCC's product safety pledge. Temu and Shein have not. For B2B sellers on these platforms, compliance risk just got real.
Twelve public B2B companies including RingCentral, LivePerson, and Teladoc now trade below 2.5x revenue. Combined they generate $10 billion in ARR but market cap sits under $10 billion. Growth has stalled, AI narratives are weak, and profitability remains elusive. This is not a broad market problem, it is structural.