Pay gap holds as Aussie women get in, not ahead

Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.

1.

Promotion problem: The Workplace Gender Equality Agency warned some of Australia’s highest-paid industries face a “promotion problem.” Women have entered once male-dominated fields in greater numbers but aren’t climbing the pay ladder to catch up with their male peers. Capital Brief reports that in 2024, men earned $28,425 more than women on average, with over $11,000 coming from bonuses, overtime and superannuation. “Unlike male-dominated employers that struggle with a talent pipeline, gender-balanced employers may be facing a promotion problem,” the report states. In four industries where 90% of employers pay men more, financial and insurance services stand out: despite employing slightly more women than men, its pay gap midpoint is 22.2% in favour of men. (Capital Brief)

2.

Chip shot: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) plans to invest USD100 billion ($160.3 billion) in chip-making plants in the United States over the next four years, a move President Donald Trump is expected to imminently announce at the White House, according to media reports. TSMC CEO CC Wei will meet with Trump to announce the investment, which includes new semiconductor factories. It is unclear whether the USD100 billion includes TSMC’s previously announced USD65 billion investment in Arizona. TSMC received USD6.6 billion in US government grants under the 2022 CHIPS Act and up to USD5 billion in low-cost loans. The company has begun producing advanced four-nanometer chips in Arizona, with a second factory set to use two-nanometer technology by 2028. The investment will require approval from Taiwan’s government, which has said it will prudently review outbound investments in advanced chip technology. It comes after OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank and Apple have also made US investment pledges in recent months. (WSJ)(Bloomberg)

3.

Claude’s cash: Anthropic raised USD3.5 billion ($5.6 billion) in new funding, tripling its valuation to USD61.5 billion. The funding round, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with a USD1 billion contribution, included Cisco Investments, D1 Capital Partners, Fidelity, General Catalyst, Jane Street and Salesforce Ventures. Existing investors Menlo Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners also participated. The capital will help it develop the next generation of its AI systems, expand its computing capacity and accelerate its international expansion, it said. Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, Anthropic focuses on AI safety, with its Claude models competing against OpenAI’s GPT, Google’s Gemini and Meta’s Llama. Bloomberg reports the company’s annual revenue run rate has risen 30% this year from about USD1 billion in 2024. Major backers Amazon and Google have previously invested billions. The latest round signals strong investor confidence despite rising competition from firms like China’s DeepSeek. (Anthropic)(FT)

4.

Unceremonious exit: Buildkite founder and CEO Keith Pitt is stepping down, the Australian software startup announced. Beyond labelling the move as a "leadership transition," the company, valued at $200 million in 2022 did not provide any explanation behind Pitt’s exit, nor did it announce the appointment of a permanent successor. Chairman Barry Crist will serve as interim CEO. He called the transition a natural stage in a tech company’s lifecycle. Pitt’s resignation comes amid reports of employee dissatisfaction at Buildkite, with a slate of executives jumping ship and Glassdoor reviews that reveal discontent. “Keith defied all odds to bootstrap one of Australia’s most interesting tech companies and a trusted name in developer tools,” Crist said. (Buildkite press release)(Capital Brief)

5.

War chest: European defence stocks surged on Monday, nearing record highs as expectations grew that EU governments would ramp up military spending. The STOXX 600 rose 1.07%, extending a 10-week rally. Rheinmetall jumped 13.71%, BAE Systems 14.58%, and Leonardo 16.13%. The European aerospace and defence index hit a record high, up over 8%—its biggest one-day gain since November 2020. The rally followed weekend talks where European leaders pledged to boost defence spending to support Ukraine and draft a peace plan for the US. The UK committed £1.6 billion ($3.2 billion) in export finance for 5,000 air-defence missiles. The talks came after last week’s Oval Office clash between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, the UK distanced itself from French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposed one-month Russia-Ukraine truce, stating, “There are various options on the table […] but a one-month truce has not been agreed.” (Financial Times)(Reuters)(Capital Brief)

6.

Intel test: Chip designers Nvidia and Broadcom are conducting manufacturing tests with Intel, according to sources cited by Reuters. Intel shares jumped as much as 5.52% to USD25.04 ($40.66) following the news. The testing suggests the companies are moving closer to potential manufacturing contracts with Intel. Winning such contracts would deliver a major revenue boost for Intel, which has yet to secure a high-profile partnership with a chip designer and is grappling with production delays. Sources told Reuters the tests involve Intel’s 18A process, which can produce advanced AI processors and other complex chips. The 18A technology competes with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s offerings. Testing, which can last months, is reportedly focused on assessing 18A’s performance and capabilities rather than final chip designs. (Reuters)(Capital Brief)

7.

Tata Capitalised: Tata Group is targeting a valuation of up to USD11 billion ($17.62 billion) for its financial services arm, Tata Capital, in what could be India’s largest IPO this year, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. The offering could raise as much as USD2 billion, though details may change. Tata Capital’s board recently approved the listing of up to 230 million shares and an equity sale by existing shareholders. It also announced a rights issue worth 15.04 billion rupees. As a non-bank financial institution, Tata Capital provides loans to customers with limited access to traditional banking. India’s IPO market is holding strong despite a recent stock slump, with LG Electronics India planning a USD1.5 billion IPO and Prudential Plc hiring banks for a potential USD1 billion listing. Tata representatives did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment. (Capital Brief)(Bloomberg)

8.

Swiss profits: The Swiss National Bank posted a record annual profit of 80.7 billion Swiss francs ($144.07 billion) for 2024, as equity markets, climbing gold prices and a strong US dollar pushed the SNB to eclipse its 2017 high of 54 billion francs profit. SNB outperformed its provisional figures posted in January, when it said it expected FY profits of around 80 billion francs. The numbers also mark a sharp turnaround from FY2023 results where SNB posted a 2.3 billion franc loss. 2024 saw the bank benefit from foreign currency bond and equity positions, and a 21.2 billion franc gain from its gold holdings. The SNB will be able to pay out to the Swiss central and regional governments for the first time since 2021, as well as a dividend to shareholders. (Reuters)(SNB results)