Atlassian Joins the AI Browser Battle

Hey Superheroes,

Gold just hit a record high… and investors aren’t buying it for the sparkle. The precious metal surged past US$3,500/oz this week as markets brace for global uncertainty, rate cut speculation and fresh concerns over central bank independence.

Over in China, momentum is building. The Shanghai Composite is sitting at 10-year highs, powered by a surge in margin lending now topping US$320 billion. Investors are piling into tech and AI stocks with borrowed cash even as weak domestic demand and property woes linger.

Overall, it’s been a big week for markets. Let’s get into it.

Browser Wars Reloaded: AI shakes up your tabs

The battle to be your default browser just escalated and it’s no longer just about speed or security.

With Google dodging a forced breakup of Chrome this week and Atlassian making a billion-dollar push into AI-powered browsing, the humble web browser is shaping up to be the next big software battleground. The focus? Not consumer eyeballs – but the modern workplace.

Let’s break it down.

💻 Atlassian enters the ring with a A$1b AI browser play

Atlassian is set to acquire The Browser Company – makers of Arc and Dia – in a US$610 million (A$936 million) deal, its biggest AI investment to date. 

The goal? Build a new kind of browser purpose-built for productivity that integrates directly with its suite of workplace tools like Jira and Confluence.

Unlike Chrome or Safari, this browser isn’t for watching Netflix or checking footy scores. It’s designed to reduce the “tab overload” of work life and bring smarter, AI-powered navigation to enterprise workflows.

📊 A big move for the future?

It’s a bold move for the Sydney-based tech firm, which is still recovering from a 30% drop in share price this year. While revenue rose 20% to US$5.2 billion, the company remains under pressure to grow profitably and land bigger customer deals.

The new browser may help Atlassian deepen its enterprise moat, especially as demand for AI-integrated workplace tools heats up.

🛡️ Google avoids a Chrome carve-up

Meanwhile, Alphabet scored a major legal win in the U.S. where a federal judge ruled that it no longer needs to divest its Chrome browser.

The Department of Justice had pushed for structural remedies in its antitrust case, arguing that Google’s browser reinforced its dominance in search. But the judge said a Chrome divestiture would be a “poor fit” and opted instead for behavioural changes.

That means Google can keep paying partners like Apple – reportedly US$20 billion a year – to make Google Search the default on Safari and Siri. But the company must now limit exclusive contracts and separate app bundling from revenue sharing across services like Chrome, Search, Assistant and the Play Store.

Alphabet’s stock is up 12% for the week.

Klarna eyes US$14B valuation and CBA’s watching closely

Klarna has officially launched its long-awaited IPO, aiming to raise US$1.27 billion and secure a valuation of up to US$14 billion (A$21.5 billion).

The Swedish fintech is offering 34.3 million shares including about 5.5 million new shares and nearly 29 million from existing shareholders like CBA, Sequoia, BlackRock and Silver Lake. Klarna has also applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “KLAR”.

🏦 CBA’s $1.2 billion stake is (mostly) staying put

Commonwealth Bank’s stake in Klarna has swelled to nearly A$1.2 billion, up from A$956 million at June 30. It plans to sell about A$100 million worth of shares into the IPO, but will remain locked into the rest of its holding for the next six months, along with other selling shareholders.

CBA currently owns about 4.7% of Klarna’s ordinary shares, which may dilute slightly depending on whether underwriters exercise their option to purchase more stock.

📈 What it means for BNPL

Klarna’s float is the largest BNPL listing since Block bought Afterpay in 2021, and it marks a cautious return of investor appetite for fintech IPOs.

The company says it will use proceeds for working capital, operations and potentially acquisitions, after several aborted listing attempts earlier this year.

🔦  Some other things we’re shining the Spotlight on:

XERO’S $23M CEO: Xero boss Sukhinder Singh Cassidy has defended her A$23.5 million pay packet after nearly half of shareholder votes rejected the company’s remuneration report at its AGM. While most of the package is made up of share-based incentives, investor backlash centred on its size and alignment with local governance standards.

BROADCOM’S AI ENGINE: Broadcom reported Q3 revenue of US$15.95 billion, edging past expectations with AI chip sales reaching US$5.2 billion. But it was CEO Hock Tan’s bullish FY26 forecast – citing over US$10 billion in new AI orders – that sent shares higher. The chipmaker now expects US$6.2 billion in AI revenue next quarter.

COLLINS FOOD SIZZLES: Collins Food jumped over 8% this week after the KFC operator reported a 6.7% lift in total sales for the first 18 weeks of FY26. Same-store sales rose across all markets, and the group reaffirmed full-year profit guidance, pointing to margin gains from improved execution and easing cost pressures.

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