Not quite a robot wielding a scalpel, but you get the idea. Pic: Paper Boat Creative / DigitalVision via Getty Images.
Tech
A miniaturized in vivo Robotic Assistant (MIRA) will blast off to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2024 to perform simulated surgical procedures in microgravity.
The test mission will see MIRA operate within an experimental locker the size of a microwave aboard ISS in Low Earth Orbit.
The idea is to fine-tune the robot’s operation in microgravity through autonomous tests including cutting stretched rubber bands and pushing metal rings along a wire, mimicking movements used in surgery.
The technology involved could one day provide a solution to medical emergencies requiring surgical intervention while astronauts are far from home.
Over the next year, University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor of engineering Shane Farritor and his team will write custom software for MIRA, configure the robot to fit inside a standardised space station experiment container and perform tests to ensure MIRA will operate as intended in space. Oh, and can survive a launch.
Everyone. Everyone has news out today. Here’s our super short summaries of who nabbed what revenues and developed cool tech in FY22.
In FY22, Spacetalk generated greater than $20 million in revenue for the first time – $20.7m to be exact – with the launch of its North American business with distribution through retailers including Amazon and Best Buy and expanded distribution in the EU, UK and Australia.
Around $5.7 million (27.5%) of Spacetalk’s revenues were generated from recurring non-device sales (app fee and schools business revenue).
The company says the addition of the JumpySIM virtual mobile network service in the US is expected to increase recurring revenues further.
“The potential for the global connected children’s wearables category is significant,” the company said.
This company’s thermal desorption tech can convert waste tyres into valuable products like fuel, carbon and steel and it looks like uptake is on the rise.
In FY22, operating revenue was $2.9m which reflected a 32.5% year-on-year increase.
“Increased sales of Tyre Derived Fuel Oil (TDFO) demonstrates its growing acceptance within the asphalt industry as a genuine alternative to diesel with commercial, performance and environmental benefits,” the company says.
“Recovered carbon black (rCB) volumes are continuing to build and the recent release of an independent report by the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB), a national transport research organisation, confirms the suitability of rCB in asphalt along with a number of performance enhancing benefits, including significant safety benefits.”
“A report by RPS Group quantifies the environmental benefits from utilising Pearl Global’s products in asphalt.
“These triple bottom line benefits are anticipated to increase its overall acceptance within the industry over the next 12 months which aligns with our commercialisation of the Stapylton facility.”
The semiconductor company reported that consolidated loss for FY22 increased by 49% to $9,355,554, and that revenue, finance income and other income decreased by $95,295 to $4,266,537 – mainly due to an increase in gross expenditure due to BLG opening a fab in the US.
BLG says the fab reduces its reliance on contract manufacturers, reduces production costs, increases profit margins, and is expected to bring forward cash-flow positivity.
The company has already commenced converting the facility for gallium nitride (GaN) production, with plans to launch beta products in the 405nm, 420nm, and 450nm wavelengths.
The GaN laser diodes market is forecast to reach $2.5 billion by 2025, driven by the increasing adoption of high-tech devices and applications, everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to medical devices and advanced 3D printing of plastics and metals – which rely on lasers in their manufacturing processes.
Software player Hansen says its highly predictable revenues from the energy, water and communications sectors are helping afford strong business resilience in times when many in the technology sector are struggling.
Operating revenue for FY22 was $296.5m, up 3.4% on FY21 after adjusting for the one-off Telefonica licence recognised last year.
Plus, the company highlighted a record, final, partially franked, dividend of 5 cents per share.
Environmental tech company Calix said total sales revenue came in at $18.5 million in FY22, down slightly from $19.2m in FY21 following the discontinuance of a US tax law providing benefits associated with treatment of coal prior to its use in power generation.
This sales contribution from a low margin refined coal customer in the US was offset by higher margin sales, with gross profit increasing from $4.9m to $5.1m.
During the period Carbon Direct invested €15m for 7% stake in LEILAC Technology, with Calix retaining a 30% royalty stream of any licence income from the LEILAC Technology – which has potential to be lowest cost CO2 capture technology for lime and cement.
“Despite global inflation and conflict, the interest in technological solutions to environmental pressures continues to rise, and Calix is extremely well-placed to capitalise on its unique technology solutions,” MD and CEO Phil Hodgson said.
The logistics software player delivered FY22 Total Revenue of $632.2 million, up 25%, and says CargoWise revenue was $447.9 million, up 35%, driven by Large Global Freight Forwarder (LGFF) rollouts, new customer wins and increased usage from existing customers.
“Global freight forwarders and logistics organisations continue to accelerate their adoption of technology in the pursuit of improved productivity, and our new Large Global Freight Forwarder wins with leaders like UPS and FedEx demonstrate how CargoWise is rapidly becoming the industry standard,” founder and CEO Richard White says.
The company is also keeping an eye out for M&A opportunities to rapidly add value to the CargoWise ecosystem, and since it has completed 41 acquisitions since IPO in FY16, it’s safe to say that strategy is working out so far.
The AI decision support and data insights provider says Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) at the end of FY22 was $18.2m, a +172% year-on-year growth which was driven by new contract wins mainly in 2H FY22.
Total group revenue rose 97% to $16.5m with revenue from recurring licensing, subscription and usage fees of $14.2m, representing a +129% YoY growth.
During the period, Beamtree picked up Potential(x) Australia’s largest healthcare data analytics company, and Ainsoff, a small AI-focused developer of healthcare products using Beamtree’s RippleDown product as the foundation.
Notably, Potential(x) contributed ~$7.7m revenue and ~$0.9m operating profit in FY22.
ELMO saw strong ARR growth of $108.2 million, up 29% for FY22, and said revenue was up 32% at $91.4 million.
ARR guidance for FY23 is $134-$140 million, and CEO Danny Lessem says operating cash flow breakeven is forecast for FY23.
“Our Group organic growth accelerated as small and medium sized businesses continue to adopt cloud-based solutions to manage an increasingly flexible or hybrid workforce,” he said.
“Our strong brand in the markets we operate, our many years of investment into our product and the increased adoption of people management software, have ensured that we have strong momentum going into FY23.”
This company’s software is used for critical asset intensive industries including natural resources, energy and water utilities, public infrastructure and defence.
And revenue was up 43.6% to $48.2m in FY22, with more growth flagged for FY23.
MD Ben Buckley said the acquisition of Clarita Solutions in November 2021 and Work Management Solutions, which was announced in June 2022 and completed in early August, allowed COSOL to offer customers a full, end-to-end asset management solution.
“With the integration of Clarita and WMS, we now offer a unique and compelling offering for any asset heavy organisation looking to optimise its operations,” he said.
AI chip developer Brainchip said it made a net loss after income tax for the half-year ended 30 June 2022 of $8,255,802 (30 June 2021: $9,298,244).
R&D costs included $450,000 paid to Socionext as the final milestone payment related to the fabrication of the Akida device and $927,590 in third party licences and hardware related to the development of next-generation Akida engineering samples.
But revenues for the half-year ended 30 June 2022 of $4,831,081 increased 529% from $767,545 in the same period a year ago.
“The increase in revenue is a result of the partnership with MegaChips and predominantly comprised licensing revenues of Akida 1000 recognised in the current period,” the company said.
Reference checking platform XRef says it achieved another record year for sales and revenue.
“The value of Xref credits sold in FY22 grew 41% year on year, to $16.9 million, while Marketplace sales grew 15% to $4 million,” CEO, co-founder and executive director Lee Seymour said.
“Overall the combined growth rate of 36% saw group sales reach $20.8 million.
“Continuing on from the strong FY21 growth, Group revenue grew a further 29% year on year with Xref growing 33% and Marketplace growing 14% respectively.”
The first half of FY23 will see Xref preparing to launch products to grow the marketplace and platform subscriptions – with its new subscription model leaving “plenty of opportunity for growth as we follow the expansion and success of our customer base,” the company says.
During the year, a global lithium-ion battery manufacturer and ENAX Inc., a Japanese battery developer, have evaluated the company’s AnteoX cross-linker technology, demonstrating its capability to enhance capacity retention in multiple battery formulations.
Plus, commercial collaborations have expanded from 10 to 26 counterparties.
The company is also continuing in-house development work for the formulation of a high silicon content anode, with material progress made in FY22 towards a milestone target of 500 cycles at 80% capacity retention.
Another company that saw solid growth in FY22 was Zoom2U, whose key drivers included an increase in both e-commerce and the outsourcing of delivery services by retailers, boosted by Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
Gross Marketplace Value (GMV) was $17,474,295 representing growth of 57% and revenue of $4,633,184 represented growth of 63% – aided by growth in Zoom2U, an online marketplace for Australian delivery services, while Locate2U offers deliver management software globally.
For context, the Australian delivery service market was valued at $6 billion in 2022.
Onboarded customers included Bunnings, Couriers Please, Telstra, Bing Lee, Best & Less, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Jaycar and 99 Bikes.
And the company acquired the Local Delivery Shopify app which has provided access to existing customer relationships with approximately 570 e-commerce businesses in over 45 countries.
The facilities and strata management platform says FY2022 revenue was $12.67m – up 10.2% on pcp – and that licence fees increased by 20.9% reflecting full period impacts from the successful implementation of the PICA contract, new and backlog customers including two large Middle East customers, higher utilisation of the platform from existing customers and annual price increase.
“As of June 2022, we had $12.1m in Contracted ARR and almost 87% of total revenue came from recurring licence fees,” CEO and interim CFO Simond Lee said.
“This reflects strong growth in licence fees from new and existing customers highlighting the ongoing demand for Urbanise’s strata and facilities management (FM) platforms across our key markets.
“The ‘stickiness’ of our platforms was once again evident with our customer retention rate of over 95%.”
Lee said in strata, the focus is on small to medium strata managers in Australia, and large property developers and Owners Association managers in the Middle East.
In FM, the company is targeting asset owners and FM outsourcers including growing revenues with existing customers.
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