MAKING THEIR MARK
Tasmanian tech start-ups to take notice of.
BITEABLE
HOBART-based video software company Biteable is well and truly out of the start-up stage and is on a steep trajectory of growth, with more than seven million users.
The online video making platform enables businesses, marketers and other clients to create video content in minutes with stock footage and animations from the Biteable studio.
Co-founder James MacGregor said demand for video had risen throughout the coronavirus pandemic, with businesses and other clients looking for online means of communication.
Seven years after launching, the business now has about 40 staff across offices in Hobart, Melbourne and overseas.
HANDBUILT CREATIVE
Launched in 2009, David Shering and his team built the Richmondbased augmented reality [AR] company as a web and branding company before diversifying into AR in 2014. Handbuilt is a trailblazer in the tech space and has created more than 100 AR ‘story stops’ to enhance visitor experiences around the state.
IGNITE DIGI
Operating out of an advanced manufacturing warehouse at Glenorchy, Ignite Digi designs, manufactures and sells premium accessories that optimise the performance of gimbal stabilisers and cinema cameras.
It was established in 2013 by cinematographer Tom Waugh and aeronautic engineer/ gimbal operator Chris Fox, with a focus on aerial cinematography.
But the business has since evolved from drone technology for filmmakers.
They export to more than 40 countries and their accessories have been used by large international companies.
Film productions A Star Is Born, Deadpool 2 and True Detective were filmed with equipment enhanced by Ignite Digi products.
Apple, Tesla and Uber use the company’s products to film their advertising while the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Fox Sports use Ignite Digi equipment to lift the production value of live sporting events.
SECRET LAB
World-renowned duo Jon Manning and Paris ButtifieldAddison are seen as gurus for budding programmers who want to build apps for iPads, iPhones and Mac computers.
Since their return to Tasmania in 2011, after working in
Silicon Valley for two years, Paris and Jon’s business has also created The Museum Game for the Australian Museum and interpretative apps for Tasmanian historic sites including Port Arthur and the Female Factory. Preschool-age children are also becoming hooked on the pair’s Play School game for iPads, commissioned by the ABC, while older kids are being motivated to learn via their timestable game, featuring a frog that gobbles up bugs.
UPGUARD
While not originally created in Tasmania, Upguard is a cybersecurity company which uses ratings to prevent data breaches. Its co-founder Mike Baukes has moved to the state from Silicon Valley and runs the head office from Hobart.
Originally called ScriptRock, in 2013 the company successfully raised $US8.7m in a capital round that included investors such as the James Packer-backed Square Peg Capital and PayPal’s Peter Thiel.