Latest updates for ANZ sales professionals
Arkeus closed a $25 million Series A at a $100m valuation, 7x its seed round two years ago. The Melbourne-founded drone AI startup is building a manufacturing facility in Queensland and expanding into the US and Europe. No public detail yet on sales headcount or comp structure.
NSW shadow minister Jacqui Munro has launched #StopTheTechTax targeting Labor's proposed capital gains tax changes. The campaign reflects growing sector concern that moving from the 50% CGT discount to cost-base indexation, plus a 30% minimum tax on real gains, could increase founder tax bills at exit and push talent offshore.
Melbourne defence tech startup Arkeus closed A$25M Series A led by QIC Ventures at A$100M valuation. The company builds AI-powered hyperspectral sensors for autonomous military platforms and has won contracts with the Pentagon and Australian Defence. Money goes to manufacturing scale-up in Queensland and US market expansion.
SaaStr's traffic nearly doubled year-on-year, with direct visits up 160%, organic search up 42%, and referrals up 116%. The data suggests AI adoption is driving B2B content consumption across all channels, not killing SEO as predicted. APAC is exploding: Singapore traffic up 429%, Australia up 127%.
For decades, the fix for slowing growth was simple: hire a better VP Sales. A great sales leader could double revenue in 90 days without changing the product. That playbook still works, but the underlying assumption has collapsed. Products are no longer static.
Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh says Australia's AI adoption sits at 7%, concentrated in big banks and enterprise. The gap between large firms and SMEs is widening. For sales teams, that means the buyers with budget for AI tools are still mostly the majors: CBA, Macquarie, NAB, Westpac, ANZ.
SaaStr's flagship event lost 48 of its 2025 sponsors, nearly all legacy B2B SaaS companies. The trade show rebuilt with 63 new sponsors, mostly AI-native vendors chasing AI-first buyers. If your customer base still looks like 2023, here is your warning.
Two Australian startups closed funding this week: Harrison.ai raised $179 million for healthcare AI expansion into US and UK markets, while insurtech UpCover secured $19 million ($8m debt) at a $45 million valuation. Both are hiring, but the sales motion looks very different.
Atlassian fell off Australia's best tech workplace rankings after cutting 1,600 roles in May 2026, about 12% of its global workforce. The Sydney-based company also disappeared from LinkedIn's career growth list, marking a sharp reversal for the former employer brand leader.
Reevo closed $80M from Coastal Ventures and Kleiner Perkins to build an AI-native revenue operating system targeting mid-market GTM teams. The company is betting fragmented sales stacks, averaging 10-15 tools per team, will give way to unified platforms. Founder team from DoorDash, Stripe, and Square.
Only 7% of Australian businesses broadly use AI, according to Federal Treasurer Andrew Leigh. For sales teams targeting SMB and enterprise segments, that is 93% greenfield opportunity with significant education friction. AI adoption remains concentrated among tech incumbents: Amazon, Optus, Telstra, Splunk.
SaaStr is running 21+ AI agents in production, including two 'AI VPs' that cost $257 combined last month while replacing what used to be 5 full-time roles. The company swung from minus 19% to plus 47% revenue growth YoY. Here is what the actual bills look like and why cost is no longer the constraint.