Published on the 19/01/2026 | Written by Newsdesk
AppWrap aims to help you keep up to date with an easy to read collection of news and snippets published by other leading tech media publications that we trust. AppWrap January 2026 20.01 Gilmour Space has become Australia’s first space tech unicorn a
AppWrap aims to help you keep up to date with an easy to read collection of news and snippets published by other leading tech media publications that we trust.
AppWrap January 2026
20.01 Gilmour Space has become Australia’s first space tech unicorn after raising $217m in a Series E funding round – its largest funding round to date. SpaceNews reports the round was led by the federal government’s National Reconstruction Fund and retirement savings fund Hostplus along with several other investors.
20.01 A bill cracking down on hate speech has passed the House of Representatives and Senate at a special sitting late on Tuesday, a month after 15 were killed at Bondi Beach. It includes provision to ban groups deemed to spread hate, the BBC reports. The hate speech reforms were originally part of an omnibus bill along with gun reforms, but the two were split last week. The gun reform bill, which includes a buyback scheme, was also passed.
16.01 Social media companies removed access to around 4.7 million accounts for those under 16 in the first half of December, eSafety says.
16.01 Alphabet’s Waymo robotaxi business has held discussions with Chinese car maker Geely, and other electric car makers, as it looks to enter the Sydney market. AFR reports. Waymo is stepping up its efforts in Australia, with the appointment of a lobbyist and a search for an office now underway. It has yet to lodge an application to begin testing in the city.
13.01 Advertising is hitting the AI chatbots with ads starting to show up in Google’s ‘AI Mode’ in what the Washington Post says is likely to be just the beginning of more trial-and-error attempts this year. Google has been pushing a new type of ad in AI Mode to advertisers, OpenAI has also been looking at introducing advertising in ChatGPT and Perplexity attempted ads but pulled back last year – but has left the doors open to try again.
08.01 The DTA has warned against outright bans of IT suppliers and services companies for unethical behaviour warning such bans could introduce significant operational risks and unintended consequences. ITnews reports parliament is considering an exclusion regime preventing those engaging in unethical conduct from bidding for government work, in the wake of the PwC scandal. The DTA, however, says blanket bans could block access to tech advances or skilled resources.
