Quantum, Tax and AI

By the Orchestra editors · 4 min read

TL;DR

PsiQuantum breaks ground on its Brisbane quantum facility while Diraq opens a bigger US HQ
Labor's startup CGT carve-outs draw mixed reactions from founders worried about talent drain
Adobe rolls out AI assistants across Photoshop, Premiere and friends
Kate Chaney pushes Canberra to move faster on AI policy

Australian Tech

PsiQuantum breaks ground at Brisbane site

PsiQuantum has started construction on its Australian quantum computing facility at the Moreton Bay Central Innovation Precinct, after ditching earlier plans to build at Brisbane Airport. The company is pushing ahead even before formally securing the land for what it hopes will be its first utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer.

Startup CGT carve-outs announced but founders aren't sold

The Albanese government confirmed carve-outs for innovative startups from its capital gains tax discount changes, with strict innovation criteria and $50M turnover limits. Founders remain sceptical, warning the concessions won't stop Australia's talent drain to friendlier jurisdictions.

Kate Chaney calls for faster AI policy action

Teal independent MP Kate Chaney has released a discussion paper arguing Australia's AI response is too slow, with regulators left underfunded and lacking clear direction. The paper calls for "no regrets" reforms to prepare for AI's long-term impacts.

AI · Worldwide

Adobe ships AI assistants across Creative Cloud

Photoshop, Premiere, Illustrator, InDesign and Frame.io each get a bespoke AI assistant in public beta. The chatbots can organise projects and automate app-specific tasks, powered by Adobe's conversational creative agent.

Amazon moves to sell its AI chips externally

AWS is in talks to sell its custom AI chips to third-party data centres, directly challenging Nvidia's dominance. CEO Andy Jassy pegs the opportunity at $50 billion.