Toronto-based healthtech and artificial intelligence (AI) firm Healwell AI is making a slew of changes at the top, appointing James Lee to CEO, transitioning the previous leader Alexander Dobranowski to the role of company president, and adding two new executives. 

The leadership changes follow Vancouver-based digital healthcare company Well Health exercising its call rights to gain a majority controlling interest in Healwell, its longtime partner, in tandem with the acquisition of New Zealand healthcare data management company Orion Health. Both Well Health and Healwell are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. 

“We are aligning the company to capture what we now believe are even greater opportunities than originally anticipated.”

Dobranowski, who, according to LinkedIn, has led the company as CEO since 2020 when it was still named MCI Onehealth, will continue to be a member of Healwell’s board and lead its capital markets activities as company president, according to Healwell. Dobranowski will focus on Healwell’s AI and data science solutions with its enterprise life science customers, and work closely with Lee in his new role.

Lee brings prior experience as the CEO of investment and advisory group Jarden New Zealand, where Healwell said he played a key role in expanding the firm’s investment banking footprint. 

Following a stint as Orion’s strategy director, he joined Healwell as chief strategy officer earlier this year to prepare the company’s integration strategy. 

Lee will step into the CEO role on July 1 to lead the transformation of Healwell into “an integrated and connected business focused on redefining preventative healthcare” through data science and AI, the company said in a statement. 

“In the short time since closing the Orion Health acquisition, we have already begun pursuing high impact opportunities as a unified platform and with the strengthening of our executive team, we are aligning the company to capture what we now believe are even greater opportunities than originally anticipated,” Lee said in a statement. 

RELATED: Well Health to exercise call options that give majority controlling interest in strategic partner Healwell AI

Healwell is also padding out its executive suite with the addition of Orion CEO Brad Porter becoming chief commercial officer and Sacha Gera as chief operating officer (COO). Porter will be responsible for Healwell’s commercial strategy, revenue growth, and go-to-market alignment across its portfolio of companies, while simultaneously maintaining his leadership position over Orion. 

Meanwhile, Gera brings executive experience from companies such as investigation intelligence software company JSI, software giant Calian, and communications platform Kandy. Gera is taking the place of Adam Hutton and Paulo Gomes, Healwell’s previous co-COOs, who are “leaving the organization to pursue other opportunities,” according to Dobranowski. 

Healwell chairman and Well Health CEO Hamed Shahbazi said that Healwell is entering a phase of growth after a period of “intense” mergers and acquisitions, adding that Healwell’s board expanded the executive suite “to ensure the company can execute on its objective of integrating its units and delivering a more holistic customer offering” to meet demand. 

Feature image courtesy of Healwell AI.

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Trulioo only entered the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) in 2023, but its presence there is expanding quickly. The Vancouver-based identity tech company reported a 64 percent year-over-year growth in APAC revenue in 2024.

The exceptional growth in the APAC region is a testament to the strength of our platform and the deep trust customers have in Trulioo.

Vicky Bindra, Trulioo

The firm attributed the spike to “significant growth” in identity verification transactions. There was a 37-percent jump in demand from online stores and a 55-percent increase from FinTech enterprises, according to the brand.

“The exceptional growth in the APAC region is a testament to the strength of our platform and the deep trust customers have in Trulioo to support their global expansion,” recently appointed CEO Vicky Bindra said in a statement.

Ivan Yang, Trulioo’s APAC operations director, claimed that the growth “ties directly” to local customers’ changing demands.The company said there was a “boom” in international payments matched by regulatory changes and mounting fraud risks. Worldwide, the company reported a 325-percent increase in document verifications in 2024.

RELATED: Trulioo taps former Nuvei exec Vicky Bindra to take over for retiring CEO Steve Munford

Trulioo was founded by Stephen Munford (who retired in 2025) and Tanis Jorge in 2011. It grew quickly by landing key customers for its identity service, starting with Facebook (now Meta) in 2012 and adding key clients like Google and Microsoft’s LinkedIn. It bought Denmark’s HelloFlow in February 2022 to help with onboarding users.

While Trulioo mostly courted smaller businesses at first, it shifted its focus to medium- and large-sized enterprises in September 2022. It laid off 10 percent of staff as part of the transition. In addition to expanding to Asia in the following year, it launched a global identity platform and capitalized on the AI trend with machine learning technology that could streamline identification.

Truiloo remains a privately held company and isn’t required to disclose its finances. However, it noted both a 34-percent increase in marketplace transitions last year, as well as a 21-percent climb in payments.

Feature image courtesy of Trulioo.

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UCG Canada Holdings (UCG)—which does business under the name of clothing seller Frank And Oak—is set to close all of its stores and sell its brand, marking the end of an era for a former heavy-hitter in Montréal’s retail tech scene. 

In the filing, the company said that it faced significant financial difficulties and couldn’t fund ongoing operations.

The company is being sold to 70-year-old Montréal hosiery manufacturer Lamour Group, as well as Saint-Laurent, Que. company Thread Collective, whose brand portfolio includes Bebe and Hurley. The Frank and Oak brand will continue on under new ownership, the company said, but UGC, which is its sole shareholder and largest creditor, has signalled it intends to file for bankruptcy and wind down its operations.

Canadian customers will still be able to purchase items on liquidation through its online store until inventory is depleted.

The news follows a turbulent five years for the e-commerce retailer turned sustainable fashion brand. Frank And Oak filed for creditor protection in December for the second time this decade. It owes a total of $71 million, including more than $55 million in secured debt to UCG and  $14.6 million in unsecured debt to creditors such as Shopify, the Canada Revenue Agency, and the Canada Border Services Agency. 

In the filing, the company said that it faced significant financial difficulties and couldn’t fund ongoing operations. It blamed continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain issues, including delays in spring 2024 due to the “conflict in Gaza.” 

RELATED: SRTX founder and CEO Katherine Homuth to step down amid fundraising push and tariff threat

Frank and Oak was sold to UGC in 2020 as part of creditor protection proceedings. It first filed for creditor protection in June 2020, citing COVID-19 forcing the closure of retail stores, lost profitability, and decreased investor interest. But the documents also revealed losses in 2018 and 2019. 

Instead of pivoting to digital like many other retailers, Frank and Oak began solely as an e-commerce operation. It then opened brick-and-mortar stores and expanded into women’s clothing and sustainable fashion as its sales grew. 

Founded in 2012 by Ethan Song and Hicham Ratnani, Frank and Oak evolved out of the men’s clothing e-commerce startup Modasuite, which launched in 2010 and was backed by Real Ventures. The retailer raised roughly $40 million from firms including Rho Canada Ventures, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Goodwater Capital, and the Québec government’s investment arm, Investissement Québec.

In an email to customers today titled “The End of an Era,” Frank And Oak said that all 14 of its remaining stores would close by May 18. 

“We are hard at work with new partners to determine a better future for the brand, and we hope to come back stronger than ever, with promising new chapters ahead,” the email reads.

Feature image courtesy Frank And Oak.

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Fluent Ventures has announced a $40-million USD venture capital (VC) program to invest in early-stage technology startups applying proven business models to new regions and industries.

The Canadian-founded, San-Francisco-based VC firm is betting that the future of innovation lies beyond just Silicon Valley with a strategy that it refers to as “geographic alpha.” Fluent founder and managing partner Alex Lazarow believes that the world’s biggest problems “are best solved by local entrepreneurs applying globally validated models,” including in Canada.

“I have personal reasons that I’m passionate about supporting Canada, and I also think this is really, paradoxically, an opportunity for us.”

Alex Lazarow,
Fluent Ventures

“We try to take a narrow set of business models that are de-risked, that exist somewhere at scale, with good unit economics, and … take an opinionated bet about why they should work in a bunch of different places around the world,” Lazarow told BetaKit in an interview. “We try to meet as many companies that are doing this as possible.”

That $40-million figure, which Fluent closed last summer, includes both the VC firm’s first fund and its structured coinvestment strategy for limited partners (LPs). Lazarow declined to disclose the exact breakdown.

Fluent is focusing on entrepreneurs building FinTech, health, and e-commerce startups around the world between the pre-seed and Series A stages. The VC firm typically invests after some product validation, and seeks to partner with local funds. Fluent can lead, co-lead, or co-invest, writing cheques between $250,000 and $2 million USD, and is over halfway to its goal of making 25 investments through its debut VC program, including via its fund and coinvestments.

Lazarow, who was born in the United States (US) but grew up north of the border, views Canada as “a core geography” for Fluent. He said that Fluent is actively looking to invest in startups that are based in Canada or led by Canadians abroad. While the VC firm does not have any hard geographic limits or requirements, Lazarow expects it to deploy as much as 10 percent of its first fund in Canadian startups.

RELATED: New early-stage VC fund Trillick Ventures aims to bring funding to “underrepresented” Manitoba

Lazarow previously invested at eBay founder Pierre Omidyar’s philanthropic investment firm Omidyar Network and global VC platform Cathay Innovation, where he backed companies like neobank Chime, insurtech firms Kin and Sidecar Health, buy now, pay later startup Kueski, and software company ZenBusiness, among others. He also wrote the 2020 book Out-Innovate: How Global Entrepreneurs—from Delhi to Detroit—Are Rewriting the Rules of Silicon Valley.

He claims to have backed seven global unicorns in the past decade, many of whom are now LPs in Fluent. The firm’s LPs include over 75 founders, exited entrepreneurs, tech leaders, VCs, corporates and family offices from around the world, like David Vélez (Nubank), Sean Harper (Kin), Adal Flores (Kueski), and Akshay Garg (Kredivo). Lazarow said that many of Fluent’s investors view its global strategy as a way to diversify their VC portfolios.

Northside Ventures founder and general partner Alex McIsaac told BetaKit that Lazarow “does a great job of creating real value for founders by connecting them to a global network of operators, investors, and peers.”

Fluent’s Canadian LPs include Prax Health co-founder and CEO Meghan Jewitt, Coastline Academy co-founder and CEO Nigel Tunnacliffe, Rackhouse Venture Capital partner Brendan Baker, and Greyhill Capital Partners co-founder and partner Faizal Javer.

RELATED: Northside Ventures closes first early-stage VC fund at $15 million CAD

Tunnacliffe told BetaKit that part of the reason he decided to invest was Lazarow’s pre-Fluent track record. “I wish I could go back and be an LP in his career of investments, but the next best thing is to back his fund.”

Jewitt told BetaKit that she was attracted to Fluent’s thesis of applying business models that have worked in one region or industry to other areas, noting that many strong companies have been built this way.

Lazarow is known in part for helping to popularize the term “camel startups,” a phrase used to refer to companies outside of Silicon Valley with strong unit economics that manage cash burn well from the outset. He noted that camel startups—a counterpoint to firms that have pursued growth at all costs in the hopes of achieving “unicorn” status and a $1-billion valuation—tend to be common in ecosystems with less capital, including Canada.

“I think this is default mode, certainly for most Canadian founders I meet,” he said.

RELATED: Shopify, Lightspeed lead Canadian tech stock surge after US pauses universal tariffs

Fluent has invested in 13 startups, including one undisclosed company founded by a Canadian, and deployed approximately a third of its fund to date. The firm has made investments across North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia, supporting startups inspired by North American firms like ZenBusiness, Neo, Ramp, Brex, and Rippling. 

Its portfolio includes Sabi, a business-to-business (B2B) marketplace transforming agricultural and industrial inputs in Nigeria, BRKZ, a Saudi Arabia-based construction tech platform founded by Careem’s former COO, and Prima, a Mexican B2B manufacturing platform.

The VC firm has also leveraged some learnings from outside the US to back domestic companies, including New York’s Baton, a marketplace streamlining small business transitions, and Los Angeles-based Iconic, a tech-enabled merger and acquisition advisory firm.

For his part, Lazarow said he is undeterred by the global trade war and current tensions between Canada and the US. “I have personal reasons that I’m passionate about supporting Canada, and I also think this is really, paradoxically, an opportunity for us,” he added.

“Borders around the world—not just the US and Canada … are seemingly going up, but information transfer is more porous than ever,” Lazarow said. “I actually think that’s going to accelerate the opportunity for local entrepreneurs to leverage the models that exist elsewhere.”

Feature image courtesy Fluent Ventures.

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The Government of Ontario is investing $750 million to support Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs across the province as part of a plan to mitigate the impact of the United States’ (US) tariff actions. 

Announced at McMaster University yesterday, the commitment is expected to support more than 20,000 STEM seats per year in publicly-funded colleges and universities across the province. In a statement, the province said the investment would build a “skilled, made-in-Ontario talent pool” to ensure businesses have the highly skilled workers to “retain and grow Ontario’s economic advantage for decades to come.”

The investment “comes at a pivotal moment when Ontario urgently needs to boost its productivity and economic competitiveness.”

Steve Orsini
Council of Ontario Universities

“Our government is working to protect Ontario by building a more resilient economy that can withstand whatever comes our way, including tariffs and economic uncertainty from the U.S.,” Ontario Minister of Colleges Nolan Quinn said in a statement.

Post-secondary institutions can access the funding once they have signed the next Strategic Mandate Agreement, a five-year funding agreement that outlines provincial support for colleges and universities. 

According to the province, the number of Ontario students applying to undergraduate STEM programs at Ontario universities jumped by 34 percent from 2020 to 2024. It further claims that, on average,  STEM graduates have lower unemployment and higher wages post-graduation than non-STEM counterparts.

“This essential investment will help address the growing demand for university STEM spaces, building the highly skilled workforce Ontario needs in critical sectors like advanced manufacturing, AI, and life sciences,” Council of Ontario Universities president and CEO Steve Orsini said in a statement. “It comes at a pivotal moment when Ontario urgently needs to boost its productivity and economic competitiveness.”

RELATED: Ontario takes bite out of Premier Doug Ford’s promised US procurement ban

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been under pressure to bolster the province’s economic sovereignty amidst the economic tensions with the US. Last month, 75 Ontario CEOs signed an open letter calling on Ford to prioritize homegrown innovation, including efforts to combat “Ontario’s talent crisis.” The business leaders demanded an industry-driven skills development approach rather than the academic approach announced yesterday. 

The new funding follows a report from the province’s Higher Education Quality Control of Ontario earlier this month. The agency found that domestic post-secondary enrolments in Ontario are expected to grow by 45 percent, requiring an additional 225,000 seats by 2046. The report warned that, without planning and funding for the demand, students in Ontario may be left out of their preferred programs.

Last year, the Ontario government committed $1.3 billion to the province’s post-secondary institutions, which also included $100 million to support STEM program costs. The province claimed that, combined with today’s announcement, Ontario has made the largest investment in post-secondary education in its history.

Feature image courtesy Nolan Quinn via LinkedIn. 

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“What is Canada the best at?”

It’s a question that Cameron Schuler has asked many rooms, but this time he was hoping the audience would yell something other than “hockey.”

“Modern AI was born in Canada, so we want to make sure that its future, and all the economic and societal benefits that come with it, is born here as well.”

Schuler is the Chief Commercialization Officer and Vice President of Industry Innovation at the Vector Institute. In March, Schuler was on stage at Vector’s annual Remarkable Conference. Organized by Vector, an independent, not-for-profit corporation dedicated to advancing AI research in Canada, the two-day event convened top minds from public policy, private institutions, academia, and the corporate environment to highlight the national imperatives of AI adoption and commercialization.

An underlying theme of the event was that accelerating the use of AI in Canada is no longer just about increasing the country’s productivity and competitiveness. It is also a means through which the country can build its strategic position in the face of a US trade war and a new global order.

“Based on the resources we have in Canada, we should be the best in the world at using AI,” Schuler said. “Just as we’re the best at thinking about it.”

Bridging research and industry

There is no doubt that Canada has led the world in the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning. The Remarkable Conference took place the same week that Richard Sutton of the University of Alberta was named the recipient of the 2024 Turing Award for his work on reinforcement learning. 

Months earlier, the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Geoffrey Hinton, the “Godfather of AI” who founded the Vector Institute in 2017 along with Brendan Frey and Raquel Urtasun, among others.

The Vector Institute is also supporting researchers using AI to advance cancer detection, unlock secure data sharing, and deliver high-performance models that run lean. This kind of research is shaping a future where AI is not only powerful, but more practical, faster to deploy, safer to use, and easier to trust.

Despite Canada’s role in creating AI, many at Remarkable warned that Canada is squandering a major competitive advantage as it lags behind in widespread adoption and commercialization.

Azin Asgarian, the AI Technical Lead at Georgian, also spends her time advising leaders how to approach technology.

As part of the panel “Bridging the Gap: How AI Research Accelerates Proof of Concepts to Production,” Asgarian said that many of her portfolio companies face a “buy or build” challenge, and that the amount of hype and products in the market requires companies to be strategic about their path to adoption.

“Everything is moving so fast, that companies need clear direction,” she said of the applications of AI. “So I think it’s very important to tie the ideas to very clear business outcomes.”

This is where the Vector Institute excels. As part of its mandate, the institute helps partners explore AI research and its application in specific business use cases.

“Vector’s ability to accelerate and to share community practice can be so helpful,” said Vector board member Shauneen Bruder. “It does take, I think, a level of leadership and insight nationally in order to really capture the opportunity.”

Canada taking the lead

“This is Canada’s moment to lead,” said Kristin Milchanowski, Chief AI and Data Officer at BMO. “We have every tool, every resource readily available to shape the future of AI – and we can win this moment. With the right focus, we can turn Canada’s AI leadership into real-world impact, accelerating innovation, driving progress for a thriving economy, and cementing Canada’s position on the global stage.”

At BMO, Milchanowski thinks about AI and the use of data from the perspective of both “offence and defence.”

Her team deploys technology to provide insights and services to banking customers, but also to strengthen its security and approach to risk management. 

For Canada, accelerating the use of AI could not only increase the country’s productivity and competitiveness, but also bolster its strategic position amid the current market environment.

“It’s not just a tool for efficiency,” Milchanowski said. “We believe it’s a really transformational force when deployed responsibly and thoughtfully.”

Proof of concept

Laura Gilbert is used to making the case for AI to skeptical audiences.

As the former Director of Data Science in 10 Downing Street, the office of the British Prime Minister, Gilbert used technology to advance solutions that the government had lacked capacity to address.

As an example, Gilbert said that up to 22,000 people in the UK are believed to die each year as a result of prescription medication errors, costing the National Health Service approximately $1 billion pounds a year.

“What kind of cancer-saving treatments could you use that on instead?” she asked. “It’s a very complex problem to solve because of the nature of drug interactions, and we don’t have the kind of human resources that can go through and manually solve those problems. Therefore, AI is an answer.”

Now the Head of the AI for Government Program at the Ellison Institute of Technology at Oxford, Gilbert attended Remarkable as part of her ongoing effort to build global networks among those who believe in the application of technology for the public good.

“You know, particularly in Downing Street, I was surprised by how very few voices actually go into any one decision,” she said. “The thing that becomes important is making sure that those voices are really well advised and have access to information they can understand and want to understand.”

Schuler went one step further, telling the Remarkable audience that AI adoption should be seen as central to Canada’s future security and sovereignty.

“Toronto has the most dynamic AI ecosystem in the world and that’s why Vector is here to deliver on its promise,” he said. “Modern AI was born in Canada, so we want to make sure that its future, and all the economic and societal benefits that come with it, is born here as well.”

PRESENTED BY

Learn more about how the Vector Institute is driving research excellence and leadership in AI.

Feature image of Azin Asgarian alongside panelists from Cohere, Deloitte, TD Bank, Layer 6, by Nathan C. Lalonde, Vector Institute.

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American electric vehicle (EV) producer Rivian has elected Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez to its board of directors, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

The role is “effective immediately,” according to Rivian. The executive’s term expires at Rivian’s 2026 annual shareholder meeting.

Rivian has been developing an AI assistant for EVs since 2023.

Cohere directed BetaKit to Rivian when asked for comment. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement that Gomez would help the Irvine, Calif.-based automaker “integrate new, cutting-edge technologies into our products, services, and manufacturing.”

While the companies haven’t shared exact details of how Gomez will contribute, Rivian software chief Wassym Bensaid told TechCrunch the company has been developing an AI assistant for its EVs in-house since 2023. Existing vehicles have support for Amazon Alexa voice commands that let drivers control some car functions, such as the climate system, hands-free.

Rivian also announced a joint venture with Volkswagen (VW) in June 2024. The partnership will see Rivian develop software for VW cars, starting with the production version of the entry-level ID. EVERY1 EV due in 2027.  

Rivian currently sells just two luxury EVs, the R1S SUV and the R1T pickup truck. Both retail for well over $100,000 USD. The company hopes to widen its audience soon with the more affordable R2, a 2026 model year car starting at $45,000 USD. Compact R3 and R3X models are expected in late 2026 or early 2027.

Gomez co-founded Cohere in 2019 alongside Nick Frosst and Ivan Zhang. The Toronto-based firm has so far concentrated on training and delivering generative AI models for enterprise clients in categories such as energy, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and the public sector. It has yet to enter the automotive space.

RELATED: Waabi fuels up to launch fully driverless trucks in 2025 with $275-million CAD Series B

Gomez was previously a researcher at Google Brain under the division’s leader at the time, AI “godfather” (and recent Nobel Prize laureate) Geoffrey Hinton. He co-wrote a 2017 paper credited for helping to launch generative AI.

Regardless of Gomez’s contribution, Rivian faces significant competition from other brands’ in-car AI services. In January, Google introduced an Automotive AI Agent platform that will provide conversational, information-backed help in cars from makes like Mercedes-Benz. Hyundai also announced in early 2024 that it was developing its own large-language model that would help power a new car operating system. VW said it would offer OpenAI’s ChatGPT in its cars, but not for driving-related commands.

Feature image courtesy of Rivian.

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Amid the continued artificial intelligence (AI) boom, Toronto-based password management software company 1Password has added some new capabilities to its Extended Access Management (XAM) platform.

These additions include new administrative and compliance features as well as tools designed to help customers manage AI agents more securely, “with the same rigour” as a human identity without sacrificing developer speed. 

In an interview with BetaKit, 1Password co-CEO David Faugno said that over the past month or so, he has been seeing “a tremendous acceleration of adoption of agentic [AI] solutions in companies everywhere,” and noted this has created a new set of business security concerns.

“If you are not front and centre on AI and its impact to your business … then you’re at risk.”

David Faugno,
1Password

AI agents are software systems that use AI to autonomously perform tasks to achieve specific goals, and there is a lot of hype and some caution right now regarding their potential impact. Many businesses have been adopting AI agents, but those AI agents are often accessing sensitive corporate credentials and data and taking action with limited oversight, which creates an “unbelievable security risk,” Faugno said.

As Faugno put it, 1Password aims to “make the easy thing the secure thing” for clients using not just its password manager, but XAM, including those looking to leverage agentic AI.

Many leaders have been pressuring their teams to adopt AI. Faugno pointed to Shopify co-founder and CEO Tobi Lütke’s recent memo stating that employees must prove AI cannot help before asking for more resources or staff as just one example of a broader trend.

1Password has spent time refining some of its developer tools for use with AI agents, and is now launching a software development kit for agentic AI, service accounts, and audit logs.

RELATED: At World Summit AI, cautious tone of researchers drowned out by cutthroat adoption race

Faugno said these capabilities will help developers build secure AI workflows that point back to 1Password when coding agents so those credentials can be managed, activate and deploy two-factor authentication, and track agent activity.

“There’s a lot more we can do on top of that baseline, but that baseline exists today, it’s been fine-tuned for this use case, and we’re ready to roll with it,” Faugno said.

Founded in 2005 under the name AgileBits, 1Password is one of Canada’s most valuable tech companies. 1Password sells identity security and access management software to over 165,000 businesses and millions of consumers, helping individuals and clients like Aldo Group, Associated Press, Canva, IBM, Intercom, Salesforce, and Under Armour secure sign-ins to applications and websites.

1Password has raised $920 million USD in total funding to date from a group that includes Accel, Iconiq Growth, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, and Tiger Global, among others. The firm most recently closed a $620-million Series C at a $6.8-billion valuation in early 2022, and surpassed $250 million in annual recurring revenue in 2023. 1Password co-CEO Jeff Shiner told BetaKit earlier this year that the company remains cash-flow positive and well capitalized

RELATED: 1Password builds on B2B growth with acquisition of UK-based Trelica to help companies secure unmanaged apps

A year ago, 1Password launched XAM to help businesses “secure every sign-in for every app on every device.” XAM was a combination of 1Password’s password manager and the device-trust tech the firm acquired through its purchase of US-based Kolide in early 2024. 

1Password’s strategic acquisition of UK-based Trelica earlier this year gave the company access to “shadow IT discovery capabilities” to help security teams spot and manage access to previously unknown and unmanaged applications. Since then, Faugno noted 1Password has been working to integrate this tech into XAM, and develop the AI capabilities the company just announced.

“Our view is, if you are not front and centre on AI and its impact to your business in a number of dimensions, then you’re at risk,” Faugno said.

Faugno argued using AI to save on headcount is “table stakes” now.

He said that 1Password has been aggressively using AI for the past year. “The first generation of AI deployment was, ‘Hey, how can I save [on] head count, not having to hire more in this area because I can do things a little more efficiently,’” Faugno said. “And those days are gone—that’s table stakes.”

Today, Faugno said, 1Password’s focus is on how to use AI to deliver “outsized business outcomes,” such as improved customer satisfaction or brand-new product capabilities.

“It’s not the cost, it’s the business outcome … that’s the power of AI, and that’s what actually is going to drive winners and losers,” Faugno said. “So that’s the orientation we’re taking on a job-by-job basis.”

Feature image courtesy 1Password.

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FundThrough has secured a $25 million USD ($34.6 million CAD) Series B round and acquired American invoicing platform Ampla as the Toronto company navigates the unexpected complications of its strong presence in the United States (US). 

The all-equity round was led by Klister Credit, with participation from other returning investors, including the Canadian Business Growth Fund and Urbana Corporation. CEO Steven Uster told BetaKit in an interview that the capital will be invested into improving FundThrough’s platform technology, integrating new invoicing software partners, and potential future acquisitions.

“Although we don’t have a specific number, we are always on the lookout for synergistic opportunities,” Uster said in a statement, later adding that FundThrough is “well-positioned to be the consolidator platform.” 

CEO Steven Uster claimed that FundThrough has funded almost $3 billion of invoices to date. 

Founded in 2014, FundThrough provides invoice factoring for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), allowing them to sell their unpaid invoices to FundThrough and get cash upfront for their business needs rather than waiting for a client to pay. Uster claimed that FundThrough has funded almost $3 billion of invoices for thousands of small businesses to date.

Some of FundThrough’s desired technology enhancements are coming through its acquisition of Ampla, the company’s first deal since it acquired one of its biggest competitors, BlueVine, in 2021. Uster said Ampla brings automated onboarding and credit underwriting for SMBs, which will enhance its overall user experience, such as making it easier to directly integrate with other accounting software providers and use its service with the push of a button. 

The 2021 BlueVine acquisition dramatically altered the Canadian company’s customer make-up, with 85 percent of FundThrough’s clients now hailing from the US–a disparity the Ampla acquisition may further strengthen–and also grew its revenue by an average of 50 percent per year, according to Uster. 

As the company now finds itself in the middle of the economic tensions between the US and Canada that are changing how businesses operate, Uster said it’s fortunate that many of FundThrough’s clients don’t sell cross-border. However, the market chaos has led to an opportunity as many of FundThorugh’s customers “freeze” due to the uncertainty of input costs.

RELATED: FundThrough acquires invoice financing business from Silicon Valley’s BlueVine

“Factoring as an industry tends to outperform in times of uncertainty or even in recessionary environments, because banks tighten up and large customers who pay the invoices hold on to their cash for longer, and take longer to pay their small suppliers,” Uster said. 

“One of the reasons that we wanted to raise this round is, in a time of uncertainty, we want to be able to serve more small businesses and help them through this, and now we’ll be able to do it.”

Uster declined to disclose any terms of the recent Ampla deal, but said its CEO, Anthony Santomo, is joining FundThrough as an adviser to ensure a smooth transition alongside his “core team” integrating across the company’s engineering, operations, and leadership. 

Uster added that he’s “expecting big things” from Santomo, describing him as well-connected in the investor community with a great vision of Ampla’s technology. He also indicated that, if the transition period works out, Santomo may stick around.

“It’s almost like this is the dating period before you get married, I think we both want to see where this goes,” Uster said. “He’s excited about FundThrough and we’re excited about him.” 

Feature image courtesy FundThrough.

The post FundThrough acquires American company Ampla alongside fresh Series B funding first appeared on BetaKit.

All 14 of the startups participating in the sixth Canadian edition of the Google for Startups Accelerator focus in some way on artificial intelligence (AI).

“[The cohort] is pretty diverse, but it’s all in the realm of this new age of AI.”

Iran Karimian

Last year’s Canadian accelerator cohort featured 10 AI-enabled startups out of 14. This cohort marks the first made up entirely of AI-native or AI-enabled startups. Iran Karimian, Google Canada’s head of accelerator and startup ecosystem, told BetaKit that Google looks for companies building with AI or machine learning, or have a “very clear case of how they plan to implement it in the near future.” 

The 14 startups cover a range of verticals, including workplace management, healthtech, and fintech. 

“[The cohort] is pretty diverse, but it’s all in the realm of this new age of AI,” Karimian said. “A lot of the startups that were admitted into the cohort this year are looking to adopt Gemini into their workflows from beginning to end.”

The 10-week hybrid program provides a mix of mentorship sessions and technical expertise from more than 500 Google volunteer mentors. Startups also gain access to Google Cloud credits as well as help in migrating their existing data to Google’s cloud. The program does not provide equity funding to the selected startups.

To be eligible for the program, startups should be generating revenue, sit between seed and Series A funding stages, and have a deeply technical focus that preferably uses AI or machine learning.

RELATED: Google Cloud Startups leader sees opportunity for startups building AI agents amid pressure to move quickly

“The biggest differentiator between selecting companies is a really clear, technical ask of how Google can help,” Karimian said. 

Companies that graduate from the program can still access support and mentorship from Google through monthly virtual events and an alumni network, Karimian said. 

The latest cohort included five Montréal-based startups, a record for the city, which boasts strong ties to the Canadian AI research community. Gym management software startup FLiiP will be participating, following a $4.4-million seed round raised earlier this year to expand into the US and incorporate AI. Chief growth officer Oss Ouahdi said that FLiiP plans to use the accelerator to add a suite of AI features to its platform for fitness businesses, with the goal of rolling them out when the program ends.

Ouahdi said the startup is looking to get “strategic support to align our go-to-market and product roadmap around adoption, not just AI for innovation’s sake.”

Kitchener–Waterloo-based ConeLabs, which offers AI-powered building and infrastructure inspections, plans to use Google’s AI and cloud expertise to boost its algorithm that detects structural defects.  

Anderson Petergeorge, co-founder and CEO of Toronto-based Quanto, said he hopes to focus on compliance and security during the program while scaling up his automated bookkeeping platform.

“A key challenge is balancing innovation with responsible AI implementation, ensuring our automation is both cutting-edge and reliable for our customers,” Petergeorge said in a statement.

The accelerator cohorts are not the only component of Google for Startups that has shifted focus towards AI. It even rebranded its popular “Founder Fridays” hybrid community meetups to “AI Gatherings,” Karimian confirmed.

Last year, Google for Startups made Founder Fridays a quarterly event, experimented with live editions in Toronto and Montréal, and centred the events around AI implementation. 

“In terms of our content and our thought leadership, everything took the lens of AI into consideration,” Karimian said.

According to Karimian, the event’s new focus was so well-received that Google decided to officially rename it. In particular, the October 2024 edition in Montréal saw its best attendance ever, both in person and online.

The full list of companies is below:

• 4Point (Toronto)
• Agentnoon (Richmond Hill)
• ConeLabs (Kitchener)
• ElephasCare (Waterloo)
• FLiiP (Montréal)
• Happly (Montréal)
• Luxsonic (Saskatoon)
• MarketMind Technologies (Toronto)
• Numr (Markham)
• Quanto (Toronto)
• Simmunome Inc. (Montréal)
• Singularity Health (Vancouver)
• Tedy (Montréal)
• Waveshaper AI (Montréal)

Karimian said the Canadian accelerator program has supported 120 Canadian companies since February 2020, which in turn have raised $480 million and created over 1,000 jobs.

Feature image courtesy Google.

The post Latest Google for Startups Accelerator cohort makes AI de facto entry requirement first appeared on BetaKit.

After building a presence in Europe, French insurtech unicorn Alan has come overseas and set its sights on bringing some more competition to Canada’s health insurance market.

Like telecommunications and banking, Canadian health insurance is dominated by just a few major players, which Alan’s general manager of Canada Mark Goad said often charge “exorbitant fees” for coverage.

“[Alan] saw something that we see in a lot of Canadian markets—[a] highly concentrated oligopoly.”

Mark Goad,
Alan

“Canadians, we know we pay a lot for telco,” Goad told BetaKit in an exclusive interview. “We know we pay a lot for banking. You also get absolutely hosed on health insurance.”

Alan hopes to help change that, starting with the launch of its first product for the Canadian market—digital group health insurance geared towards tech startups and small businesses that it says is cheaper and easier to access than comparable services from its competitors. 

The announcement comes six months after Alan secured a licence from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to sell health insurance in Canada. According to Alan, this made it the country’s first new health insurance carrier in nearly 70 years.

The company claims its new offering lets employers buy and manage group health insurance for employees entirely online within minutes, without brokers, phone calls, paper forms, or hidden costs, at 15 percent fees—half the cost of the average incumbent insurer—with no multi-year lock-ins.

Alan intends to offer health insurance coverage across three types of plans to start, ranging from $86 to $149 CAD per person monthly, that include prescription, dental, and paramedical needs. Alan’s mid-tier, $100 option is currently available to businesses in Ontario and Alberta, with the rollout of its premium and more basic plans to follow shortly. Pending regulatory approval, Alan intends to launch the product in British Columbia and Québec later this year.

Founded in 2016, Alan sells health insurance to employers and provides virtual healthcare to their employees via its app. Workers can chat with doctors, order prescription glasses, and access preventive care content. 

Goad described Canada as “a big bet” for Alan, and said the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board is “an important part of that story.” Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG) led Alan’s Series E financing in 2022, and the pension fund supported the company’s Series F round last year.

When TVG first invested, Alan had seen success in France, Spain, and Belgium, and was looking at more countries when Canada emerged as a potential target. “They saw something that we see in a lot of Canadian markets—[a] highly concentrated oligopoly,” Goad said.

RELATED: PolicyMe eyes new insurance products, more big-name partners after raising $30 million over two years

Goad, who was Alan’s first Canadian employee, previously served as COO at Toronto and Halifax-based healthtech startup Curv Health and associate at OMERS Ventures. 

Alan aims to drive preventive care, something Goad worked on during his time at Curv. “We got blocked at every channel, through the brokers and the folks that had the system up today,” he said. When Goad was presented with the opportunity to build Alan’s Canadian presence from insurance down to healthcare, he said he leapt at the chance.

Most recently valued at $6.3 billion CAD, Alan has raised more than $1 billion in total funding and amassed 700,000 individual members across 35,000 business customers. It is currently generating $780 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and growing 50 percent year-over-year. 

“This thing is a beast that no Canadian’s ever heard of, and that’s fine with us right now,” Goad said. “We’re trying to change that slowly.”

According to Goad, Alan’s size, balance sheet, experience, and tight governance controls have enabled the company to move quickly in Canada. “We can go to these big markets that have scary regulatory and capital requirements, we have the balance sheet to go enter them and we can shake them up, because, frankly, the challenges of these systems are so similar,” he said.

RELATED: Long-life startup NiaHealth exits stealth with $2.5 million in pre-seed funding

Goad noted that Alan grew to over $100 million in ARR in Belgium in five years, and said the company’s financial plan for Canada is “equally aggressive.” To support its Canadian expansion, the company intends to grow its local workforce to 50 over the next four years.

Alan intends to start small in Canada with tech startups, and will focus first on providing quality service and building customer champions before moving up market, a playbook the company has followed in other countries. “We know that buyer because we are that buyer,” Goad said. 

Alan’s Canadian clients include Data Loft, Upside Robotics, and Vantage Developments. Goad expects Alan to move into white-collar work and other industries over time.

Goad sees an opportunity down the road for Alan to expand beyond just health into other adjacent insurance programs. But for now, he said Alan is “just excited to add another option.”

“I think that’s what Canadians deserve,” Goad said. “I wish it’d be easy to do in some of the other industries that we care a lot about, but we’re very proud to be able to do it in this one.”

Feature image courtesy Alan.

The post France’s Alan comes to Canada with digital group health insurance for tech startups first appeared on BetaKit.

Edmonton-based healthtech startup NiaHealth has left stealth mode and revealed that it raised $2.5 million CAD in pre-seed funding led by Version One Ventures. 

Investor Boris Wertz claimed that 90 percent of NiaHealth’s early users found health risks they could act on.

The company secured the round in late 2023, but hadn’t disclosed this until its public debut. Co-founder and CEO Sameer Dhar’s ScaleGood Fund also participated in the round alongside Garage Ventures and Union Capital. Individual round contributors include Wattpad co-founder Ivan Yuen as well as two investors in Dhar’s previous startup, DJI Capital President Blaine LaBonte and Boston Consulting Group Senior Advisor Mike Bernstein.

The company hopes to prevent disease and other medical conditions by streamlining tests. Annual plans for its just-launched beta program start at $299 CAD and include at least 35 tests for biomarkers like heart cholesterol levels, blood platelet counts, and metabolism. A full selection of tests for hormone levels and other characteristics starts at $599 CAD, with add-on test packages and a $1,299 CAD “Optimum” plan for people who want concierge services and quarterly health coaching.

Once customers have their tests, NiaHealth uses a combination of AI insights, diagnostics, and one-on-one clinician consultations to give subscribers action plans for changing their lifestyles. The company says it conducted over 100,000 tests while in stealth. Venture One founding partner Boris Wertz claimed in a blog post that 90 percent of these early users found health risks they could act on, such as pre-diabetes status or reduced kidney function.

RELATED: Doctor-led Oxford Cancer Analytics closes $16-million CAD Series A to improve early lung cancer detection

Dhar previously co-founded senior care firm Sensassure and was a managing director at hygiene brand Essity. He had been developing the concept behind NiaHealth for “nearly six years” after selling Sensassure, a spokesperson told BetaKit. As Wertz explained, Dhar came up with the idea after claiming to cut his own diabetes risk by 300 percent through preventative tests.

The beta service is currently available in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario, but NiaHealth intends to expand both in Canada and abroad. The company also has a “suite of new features” to tailor the experience that will be released by the end of 2025, Wertz said. NiaHealth’s spokesperson couldn’t reveal details of what those features were, but said they would be “live soon” and would come first to current users.

Venture One backed NiaHealth as it began “with a mission, not a flashy idea,” Wertz said in his post. He also characterized the company as complementing Canada’s public healthcare system rather than replacing it, noting that family doctors concentrate on diagnosing and treating existing diseases, while NiaHealth wants to “prevent disease entirely.”

Feature image courtesy Trust “Tru” Katsande on Unsplash.

The post Long-life startup NiaHealth exits stealth with $2.5 million in pre-seed funding first appeared on BetaKit.

The chorus of artificial intelligence (AI) researchers and scientists pressing for a measured approach to the technology’s development clashed with the urgent tone of tech companies scrambling to keep pace with its rapid advancement at the World Summit AI in Montréal.  

“Understand [AI agents] as a leap of faith, as the way to go. Just get going and go get quick wins.”

Bruce Stamm

The global conference’s Canadian edition demonstrated how the conversation about enterprise AI adoption has moved beyond whether or not companies will make the leap. While researchers cautioned against the risks of widespread deployment without solving key challenges, representatives from tech companies focused on the speed of adoption and how best to profit from implementing AI in the workplace.

Taking place at Montréal’s Palais des congrès over two days, the conference was stacked with Canadian AI leaders. Speakers included Waabi CEO Raquel Urtasun, Cohere strategy and operations lead Lewis Stott, and Canadian AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio. Though presenters struck different tones about AI adoption, the resounding message was that AI’s transformation of industry was a foregone conclusion. 

Agentic “leap of faith”

Two of the event’s key themes were AI agents, which autonomously perform tasks for a user, and enterprise AI adoption. Nearly every major large language model (LLM) developer in the world has added agentic capabilities to their products, encouraging client companies to use agents and competitors to offer them, too. Cohere, along with other leading LLM developers competing in the enterprise space, claim custom agents can take care of tedious tasks for employees and allow them to spend time on more complex work. Microsoft lauds them as its next commercial frontier, while OpenAI is building agents that could perform the same tasks as software engineers. 

One panel about incorporating AI agents into the workplace featured former Air Canada managing director of enterprise and AI Bruce Stamm, Google DeepMind research director Aleksandra Faust, and Cohere’s Stott. The conversation focused on how to incorporate agents, not whether companies should. Stamm said that if companies don’t adopt AI agents now, they’re “going to be left behind.” 

“Years ago, you had to put the business case together,” Stamm said. “Now, you almost have to put that aside, understand it as a leap of faith, as the way to go. Just get going and go get quick wins.” 

During the panel, agents were presented as an obvious solution for boosting productivity, where employees would be “freed up” to get more work done with their assistance. 

RELATED: Microsoft thinks AI agents will eat the world

Stott in particular framed Cohere’s agentic workplace platform, North, as a turnkey solution allowing employees to use agents to help them do “time-consuming research” and “draft detailed reports.” He said the platform makes AI adoption simple because it doesn’t require technical expertise for employees to use it, beyond infrastructure engineers. 

Faust urged companies to start adopting AI in processes where they can “afford to fail” and with human supervision. As agents become more widespread, Faust envisions software engineers becoming “prompt engineers” as they use AI to build applications. Google is currently piloting a coding agent that can develop a plan and execute it autonomously.

Faust’s prediction comes as “vibe coding,” where AI writes code in response to natural-language requests, has allowed users to build entire apps and companies with little to no programming expertise. According to Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, 95 percent of the code at a quarter of current Y Combinator startups was written by AI. The trend has even changed how some investors evaluate founder skillsets.

Across other panels, speakers echoed the notion that effective AI use will be a necessary skill for navigating the future job market. “It’s not AI that is going to replace you. People who know AI are going to replace you,” said Andrej Zdravkovic, chief software officer at US chip maker AMD.

AI has already shifted hiring practices in tech and the industry discourse surrounding them. Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke published a memo earlier this month saying that teams must first demonstrate AI cannot complete a task before asking for more headcount. The e-commerce giant joins other tech companies in considering AI use before expanding its workforce, and the idea has support from moguls such as LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.

In response to a BetaKit question about whether Shopify’s policy of mandatory AI use should be adopted at other companies, Stamm said, “It shouldn’t be like a gun to the head, but people should be taking advantage of these technologies or they’ll be left behind.” Stott and Faust stayed quiet. 

“AI will have a transformative impact on business, and first movers will gain a competitive advantage,” Stott later told BetaKit. 

Measured requests to slow the hype train

Amid the hype about agents, researchers and experts warned against the rapid adoption of AI without fixing existing problems with the technology, such as bias, environmental impact, and a lack of regulation.  

“[AI] is shaping the world before regulation can define it. We have a collection of reactions pretending to be in control.”

Jason Alan Snyder
Momentum Worldwide

Jason Alan Snyder, chief AI officer of Momentum Worldwide, urged AI developers to “make sure that values and ethics are embedded in AI development.”

Snyder pushed back against United States (US) vice-president JD Vance’s remarks at the Paris AI Action Summit earlier this year that championed pro-growth, deregulatory AI policies and said regulation would kill the AI sector. Snyder called for more proactive regulation that accounts for harmful biases in AI models and stronger transparency around consumer data usage. 

“[AI] is shaping the world before regulation can define it,” Snyder said. “We have a collection of reactions pretending to be in control.”

Though Canada signed two international agreements affirming responsible AI development in Paris, federal policymakers have failed to pass Bill C-27, which would have introduced the first national regulatory framework for AI. 

Wendell Wallach, a former Yale University researcher and author, argued that “as far as most of us are concerned, we don’t need AGI [artificial general intelligence]” and that current AI models can already make helpful advances in domains such as medicine. 

Colleen Lyons, an AI ethicist and adjunct professor at the Drexel University College of Medicine, warned that developers should be concerned about AI hallucinations and a “lack of fidelity to the truth,” which could spread harmful misinformation.  

Some AI domains represented at the conference advocated for safety guardrails more than others. Toronto-based Waabi is seeking to disrupt the trucking industry with autonomous vehicles (AVs). CEO Urtasun said that not only does Waabi have to make AVs safe, but they must be “provably safe” by a wide array of metrics. The startup has taken steps to improve safety standards in the AV industry by developing a realism metric. 

“We need to move to a different approach to deploy AI in the real world,” Urtasun said. “You can’t take a general AI model and fine-tune it for driving….No matter what happens on the road, you need to do the right thing.”

RELATED: Yoshua Bengio warns of “catastrophic risks” of agentic AI at World Summit AI

The measured warnings from researchers at the summit, however, were overshadowed not only by fervent AI companies but by the final keynote address from Canadian AI godfather Yoshua Bengio. The Mila AI Institute co-founder and winner of the 2018 Turing Award for his work on deep neural networks was the most pointedly vocal about the risks of developing agentic AI, cautioning that programming agents with intentions and goals could have “catastrophic consequences” for the human race. He also warned of the potential for AI agents to deceive humans to preserve themselves.

The same day, at a separate DiscoveryX conference in Toronto, fellow Turing Award winner Geoffrey Hinton said that “big tech companies should pay more” for the data they use to train AI models to adequately reward content creators. AI giants such OpenAI, Microsoft, and now Toronto-based Cohere have been sued for copyright infringement by news publishers, accusing them of unauthorized use of their work for model training.

Still, the pointed critiques from Canada’s AI old guard carried the implication that widespread AI adoption is no longer an option, but an inevitability. 

Feature image courtesy World Summit AI. 

The post At World Summit AI, cautious tone of researchers drowned out by cutthroat adoption race first appeared on BetaKit.

CIX recently hosted its closed-door Investor Forum, so BetaKit snuck reporter Josh Scott in and hid him behind the largest possible office plant to write about it.

The piece shows a VC ecosystem taking a hard look in the mirror after years of struggling with prolonged fundraising, poor investment returns, fraught LP relationships, and competitive pressures from the south. 

Whenever BetaKit publishes something like this, the results are often the same: radio silence online, while the DMs stay popping. This time was no different, and I received a few eyeball emojis at comments from the CVCA’s Kim Furlong directly connecting the lack of capital across stages to the ongoing exodus of Canadian startups to the United States.

“By the time you get to Series C, most of your capital is coming from the US, the talent to grow that company is in the US, and your customer base is in the US,” Furlong said. “If the capital rate is not [incentivizing] you to stay here, why are you building it here?”

The comment reminded me of former Panache Ventures general partner Chris Neumann’s argument that correlation is not causation: American VCs aren’t the reason why Canadian startups are leaving, velocity is. You can read the full post on his thinking—I bring it up only so he won’t message me once this newsletter hits his inbox.

For my money, what stands out most is that Canadian VCs seem equally concerned about the narrative regarding poor fund performance as the poor performance itself. I get it: narratives can be self-fulfilling, and seem easier to influence than the structural issues in Canadian venture capital.

But if you take a hard look in the mirror and don’t like what you see, how much is a new haircut really going to help?

Douglas Soltys
Editor-in-chief

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Performance anxiety and access to capital top of mind for Canadian VCs

Difficulty accessing capital and concerns about fund performance were the talk of the town among Canadian venture capitalists at Elevate’s recent CIX Summit in Toronto.

In closed-door conversations at the event’s Investor Forum, leaders from Canada’s VC industry gathered to discuss the structural issues limiting Canada’s tech investment community. Topics ranged from tensions between investors and LPs to prevailing narratives about poor VC performance and competitive pressures at the seed and growth stages.

Chamath Palihapitiya, Sanja Fidler among Homecoming headliners as Toronto Tech Week unveils event calendar

Toronto Tech Week has unveiled the speakers for its headline event and the official program calendar as the inaugural citywide initiative anticipates more than 10,000 attendees this June. 

Homecoming will feature Social Capital’s Chamath Palihapitiya, NVIDIA’s Sanja Fidler, Shopify’s Tobi Lütke and Harley Finkelstein, Waabi’s Raquel Urtasun, Wealthsimple’s Michael Katchen, and Cohere’s Aidan Gomez. It marks just one of over 100 partner-run events taking place during Toronto Tech Week from June 23-27. 

Several tech figures endorse Pierre Polievre’s Conservatives in open letter connected to Fairfax Financial

Several Canadian tech figures joined a number of business leaders and bankers in formally endorsing Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre in the country’s upcoming federal election. The endorsements were signed in a letter authored by the “Friends of Free Enterprise in Canada,” which ran as a full-page ad in several Canadian newspapers last weekend.

Maverix Private Equity founder John Ruffolo, serial tech entrepreneur Amar Varma, Impression Ventures founder Christian Lassonde, and Leaders Fund co-founder David Stein represented tech on the endorsement letter, which was also signed by Fairfax Financial founder Prem Watsa. The letter had 33 signatories in all, at least one-third of whom are connected to Fairfax.

Federal government launches loan facility to support enterprises impacted by tariffs

The Government of Canada has announced new measures for Canadian businesses impacted by the global trade war, including a Large Enterprise Tariff Loan Facility (LETL) designed to help firms struggling to access traditional financing thanks to US tariffs and Canadian countermeasures.

LETL applications are now open to companies with significant operations and more than $300 million in annual revenue in Canada that require a minimum loan of $60 million, provided they commit to minimizing the loss of employment, sustaining their activities in Canada, and demonstrating a plan to achieve financial sustainability.

Yoshua Bengio warns of “catastrophic risks” of agentic AI at World Summit AI

During his closing keynote address to the World Summit AI conference this week in Montréal, Canadian AI godfather Yoshua Bengio said that if companies succeed in creating superintelligent AI agents without solving for self-preservation, it could carry “catastrophic” risks. Bengio advocated for an alternative, non-agentic approach to AI development.

In the meantime, many businesses are betting that the future of AI will involve agents. This week, Cohere launched its new Embed 4 model. Cohere claims that Embed 4 offers superior search and retrieval functions for AI agents, which the LLM developer expects to continue to play an important role in enterprise AI adoption.

Innovobot unveils “refreshed” deep tech VC fund under Neha Khera’s leadership

After raising far less than it had hoped for its first deep tech-focused VC fund and undergoing some leadership changes, Montréal-based Innovobot Resonance Ventures is ready to invest again with a “refreshed vision” and veteran early-stage investor Neha Khera at the helm.

BetaKit sat down with Khera and Innovobot CEO and founding partner Mario Venditti to unpack what went down, how IRV navigated what remains a challenging VC fundraising environment, why they are so excited about Canadian deep tech, and their vision for the fund going forward.

New early-stage VC fund Trillick Ventures aims to bring funding to “underrepresented” Manitoba

Manitoba has historically garnered a disproportionately small share of the VC dollars invested in Canada. Winnipeg-based Trillick Ventures wants to help turn the tide. The recently-launched VC firm is raising a $15-million fund to back early-stage Manitoba tech startups and connect investors from other parts of the country with the province’s budding tech sector. 

BetaKit checked in with founder and GP Iain Crozier and some other players from the province’s innovation ecosystem on Trillick’s progress to date, the state of Manitoba’s tech and VC market, and the role they hope to see Trillick play in ensuring that Manitoba is no longer Canada’s “most underrepresented” province for VC funding.

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Read more about what this milestone signals for Manitoba’s tech sector.

Weekly Canadian Deals, Dollars & Hires

• VAN – Well Health falls short of $1B revenue in 2024 earnings
• VAN – TruthSayer launches “AI Hedge Fund-in-a-Box”
• CAL – BMO partners with FinTech startup Link
• TOR – PolicyMe eyes new products, partners after raising $30M
• TOR – Xaba secures $8M to make industrial robots smarter with AI
• TOR – Cyclic Materials extends Series B with Amazon money 
• TOR – Vector Institute hires ex-Thomson Reuters leader as CEO
• TOR – Clutch adds former Properly CEO as CFO
• OTT – Bell and Ericsson’s Ottawa team field test AI tech 
• MTL – Enterprise AI companies on hiring spree for Montréal talent

The BetaKit Podcast — How Toronto Tech Week plans to host 10,000 people this June

“Toronto Tech Week belongs to everyone. Toronto Tech Week is by definition a platform, and it succeeds or fails by the virtue of all the hosts and all of the ecosystem in Toronto wanting to participate.”

Filling the summer event gap that Collision left in the city, Toronto Tech Week plans to host 10,000 people attending over 100 events this June. How did the ‘community-driven platform’ come to be? How will it be different than other tech events? Toronto Tech Week founding partners and co-organizers Ameet Shah (Golden Ventures), Satish Kanwar (Good Future), and Mell Truong (Sage Consulting) join to tell the story.

The BetaKit Quiz — Québec’s LabHost crackdown, Poilievre’s tech endorsement, and Blue Origin’s star-studded spaceflight

Think you’re on top of Canadian tech and innovation news? Time to prove it. Test your knowledge of Canadian tech news with The BetaKit Quiz for April 11, 2025.

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Feature image courtesy Elevate.

The post Canadian VCs have performance anxiety first appeared on BetaKit.

Last year, BetaKit broke the news that major tech conference Collison would not return to the city of Toronto, relocating under a new name to Canada’s West Coast.

So what was Toronto tech supposed to do for those few days in June when the weather is nice? Fear not, because this year, BetaKit also broke the news that local tech leaders had come together to fill the gap with a new, non-profit, volunteer-run event called Toronto Tech Week.

“ Toronto Tech Week belongs to everyone. Toronto Tech Week is by definition a platform, and it succeeds or fails by the virtue of all the hosts and all of the ecosystem in Toronto wanting to participate.”

How did Toronto Tech Week come to be? What will the ‘community-driven platform’ look like? How will it be different from other tech events?

BetaKit is the official media partner for Toronto Tech Week, but I have no answers to these questions. Thankfully, our guests this week—Toronto Tech Week founding partners and co-organizers Ameet Shah (Golden Ventures), Satish Kanwar (Good Future), and Mell Truong (Sage Consulting)—do have the answers.

In addition to the above questions about Toronto Tech Week’s origins (hint: like most good things, it started with a tweet), we also discuss the collective responsibility of Canada’s tech ecosystems to tell their story and highlight some of the 100-plus events taking place throughout the week (including Homecoming and BetaKit’s ambitious offerings). Note: if you want to host your own event, you still can!

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One disclosure to get out of the way: BetaKit is majority owned by Good Future, the family office of Arati Sharma and Satish Kanwar, two former Shopify executives. As a demonstration of the clear editorial firewall that exists between the parties, Satish had to pitch me to come on the podcast, which was a wonderful reversal after all the requests I’ve made of him to do so in the past. He’s really hoping you enjoy this episode so we’ll welcome him back.

Help the guy out: smash that subscribe button and let’s dig in!

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The BetaKit Podcast is edited by Darian MacDonald. Feature image courtesy Toronto Tech Week.

The post How Toronto Tech Week plans to host 10,000 people this June first appeared on BetaKit.

The post Québec’s LabHost crackdown, Poilievre’s tech endorsement, and Blue Origin’s star-studded spaceflight first appeared on BetaKit.

The Bank of Montréal (BMO) has adopted Calgary FinTech startup Link’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) digital savings platform.

The BMO-Link Workplace Savings Platform lets users contribute to employer-backed group plans like Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs), and Deferred Profit-Sharing Plans (DPSPs). BMO claims it’s the first major Canadian financial institution to let customers create portfolios with exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that deliver “diversification, liquidity, flexibility, and low fees.”

The Bank of Montréal acquired a minority stake in Link in May 2023 for an undisclosed amount.

Link’s system walks plan holders through questions that gauge their investment timeline, risk tolerance, and investment goals before recommending an ETF portfolio. The platform is billed as a “one-stop” way for businesses of all sizes to manage staff retirement savings, and it automatically handles tasks like payroll deductions, matching contributions, and rebalancing portfolios.

Link CEO Brian McClennon told BetaKit he saw the launch as a way to “modernize” workplace savings while streamlining administration for employers.

Link was founded in 2016 and focused on helping smaller businesses that either didn’t have savings plans or were paying high fees they sometimes passed on to employees. The company raised $9 million CAD in pre-seed and seed funding rounds before receiving $2.5 million from Canaccord Genuity Group in a 2021 Series A round.

RELATED: Three Canadian FinTech firms strike new partnerships

BMO acquired a minority stake in Link in May 2023 for an undisclosed amount. This helped Link keep developing “best-in-class” technology, McClennon said in a statement.

The collaboration comes at a moment of high stock market volatility due to United States (US) President Donald Trump’s tariff-driven trade war. Canadian tech stocks like BlackBerry, Lightspeed, and Shopify crashed along with the rest of the market, with exchanges worldwide losing around $5 trillion USD after Trump announced sweeping tariffs on April 2. A decision to pause most tariffs a week later sparked a resurgence.

Feature image courtesy of Nikhil Mitra on Unsplash.

The post BMO launches a workplace savings platform with FinTech startup Link first appeared on BetaKit.

TruthSayer AI has launched an “AI Hedge-Fund-in-a-Box” service that it claims will provide high-performing, inexpensive quantitative investment strategies for everyday retail investors, small hedge funds, and family offices.

The Vancouver-based company relies on a “Large Language Model as a Service” (LLMaaS) system that dynamically picks open-source AI models (Meta’s Llama and Mistral AI’s Mixtral) to analyze financial statements, earnings call transcripts, transactions in dark pools (private trading platforms for institutional investors), and internal trading activity (such as executives selling shares). It trades when important signals emerge from that analysis.

“Our strategies have withstood the current market turmoil.”

Nizar Assanie, TruthSayer

The use of open-source models helps keep costs down while allowing TruthSayer AI to inject analytics that allow questions with “non-hallucinated” (that is, accurate) responses even in unusual scenarios, CEO and co-founder Nizar Assanie told BetaKit. His company touts a 40 percent cost reduction versus proprietary models.

The services start at $35 CAD per year ($5 month-to-month) for 250 AI-based alerts and interactions each month. Paying $71 per year ($10 month-to-month) gets 1,000 monthly interactions. Hedge funds and small family offices can get unlimited interactions, but they’ll have to contact the company for a quote.

TruthSayer claims its three in-house market indices have win rates (the rate of profitable trades) of 85 percent to 95 percent. That’s very high when professional traders do well with win rates of 40 percent to 50 percent. 

Assanie maintained that TruthSayer AI would “not be judging” itself by those win rates, and that the company was focused more on making its strategies accessible to retail investors and comparing its “performance relative to markets.”

Automatic, algorithm-based trading isn’t new. A 2019 study showed that 92 percent of foreign exchange trading involved algorithms. There are already AI tools that create portfolios and make signal-based trades. However, TruthSayer’s use of on-the-fly AI model selection is comparatively novel.

RELATED: Shopify, Lightspeed lead Canadian tech stock surge after US pauses universal tariffs

The startup has raised $400,000 CAD in seed funding so far, and said in a release that it plans to raise more “in the coming months.” Other founders include CMO Nick Royle, a veteran of Zipcar, and CRO Ivan Royle, a former communications VP at GE Capital Europe.

Assanie explained to BetaKit that he saw TruthSayer AI competing both against conventional financial information vendors like Yahoo Finance as well as “robo-advisory” companies like Wealthsimple and Acorn. Retail investors are hurt in both cases, the executive argued — they either “don’t know how” to make use of information or are placed into “traditional” 60/40 portfolios (60 percent stocks, 40 percent bonds) that underperform.

The CEO was confident that the AI-driven approach could hold up in the real world. He claimed that TruthSayer’s strategies weathered the stock market crashes and surges of early April, sparked by United States (US) President Donald Trump’s trade war, with “no problems.”

“Our strategies have withstood the current market turmoil,” Assanie said.

Feature image courtesy Kanchanara on Unsplash.

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Toronto-based artificial intelligence (AI) research hub Vector Institute has appointed seasoned technology leader Glenda Crisp as its next president and CEO.

Crisp brings 35 years of experience in enterprise data strategy, advanced analytics, and tech to Vector, primarily from the financial services sector. She previously spent 17 years in senior roles at TD Bank and, most recently, was head of data analytics at Thomson Reuters. Crisp’s LinkedIn profile indicates she has been a special assistant to Vector’s CEO since April 2024.

Vector chair Ed Clark said Crisp “is perfectly suited to lead Vector at this pivotal moment in AI’s evolution.”

In a statement, Vector board chair and former TD CEO Ed Clark said Crisp’s “experience and expertise is perfectly suited to lead Vector at this pivotal moment in AI’s evolution.” He cited her ability to drive enterprise tech transformation and turn data and AI into impactful real-world applications as a couple of the factors that led Vector to bring her on as its next leader.

“Throughout my career, I’ve seen how AI has transformed from a technological possibility to a business imperative,” Crisp said in a statement. “Vector’s researchers and exceptional talent have been at the forefront of this evolution, driving innovations that are reshaping how enterprises operate. I’m excited to build on this foundation, accelerating both groundbreaking research and practical implementation to ensure Canada remains a global leader in AI development and adoption.”

Vector announced Crisp’s appointment earlier this week. She will assume the role on April 21. Crisp takes over for Tony Gaffney, who transitioned to special advisor to Vector’s chair last month after serving less than half of a planned five-year term that was supposed to see him lead the not-for-profit, provincial and federal government-backed AI hub until 2028.

A Vector spokesperson said that this transition was Gaffney’s decision, and directed BetaKit to a blog post where Gaffney shared his motivations for the move to a new position where he will advocate for the role AI can play in helping to address Canada’s economic productivity issues.

RELATED: Leaders discuss the right speed for innovation and regulation at Remarkable AI conference

“Canada stands at a critical juncture in AI development and adoption,” Gaffney said in a statement at the time. “While we remain at the forefront of AI innovation, we must now focus on turning this advantage into economic prosperity.”

Founded in 2017, Vector conducts AI research, develops AI talent, and helps companies adopt AI. Gaffney was named Vector president and CEO in January 2023. He took the reins from Garth Gibson, Vector’s inaugural president and CEO, after five years at the helm.

The AI research hub did not say how long it expects Crisp to serve as president and CEO. The Vector spokesperson told BetaKit that Crisp does not have a fixed term. As to whether there will be any shifts to the organization’s strategy or approach under her leadership, Crisp is expected to share her vision for the organization at a later date after she has settled into the role.

Feature image courtesy Vector Institute.

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Canadian AI godfather Yoshua Bengio says that if companies succeed in creating superintelligent AI agents without solving for self-preservation, it could carry “catastrophic” risks. 

Bengio, founder of the Montréal-based AI research institute Mila, made the remarks over Zoom as part of his closing keynote address to the World Summit AI conference in Montréal. He focused on the “catastrophic” threats posed by what he called “superintelligent” AI agents, and advocated for an alternative, non-agentic approach to AI development. 

Bengio won the Turing Award, often considered the ‘Nobel Prize in Computing,’ in 2018 for his work in deep neural networks alongside Geoffrey Hinton. He has since signed several open letters calling for more caution around the development of AI, including a one-sentence statement warning that AI poses a risk of human “extinction.”

“In five years, [AI] will be at human level for programming tasks.”

Yoshua Bengio

At World Summit AI, Bengio reiterated that the risks of agentic AI include loss of human control and human extinction. For now, he said, AI models still struggle with abstract reasoning and planning. But at the rate research is going, he claimed the duration of tasks AI models can solve doubles every seven months. 

“In five years, it will be at human level for programming tasks,” Bengio said. 

Fellow AI pioneer Hinton expressed separate concerns about the pace of AI development at the DiscoveryX conference in Toronto on Wednesday, predicting that AI will overtake human intelligence in the next 18 years.

He also said that “big tech companies should pay more” for the data they use to train AI models, particularly from creative industries, as content creators are not being sufficiently rewarded for their work. AI giants such OpenAI, Microsoft, and now Toronto-based Cohere have been sued for copyright infringement by news publishers, accusing them of unauthorized use of their work for model training.

As tech companies race to build and incorporate AI agents, Bengio warned that agents taking autonomous action, coupled with their claimed ability to deceive humans to preserve themselves, presents a significant risk. 

“All of these scenarios come because we build machines that are agents,” Bengio said. 

With this self-preservation “instinct,” Bengio speculated that AI programs could try to make copies of themselves across multiple devices, gain influence through social media and politics, and even release bioweapons to wipe humans out when they are deemed no longer necessary.

Bengio recently served as lead author of the International AI Safety Report, which noted that increasingly powerful AI agents will exacerbate existing AI risks and make risk management more complex. 

RELATED: An AI report to distract you from tariffs

Other risks Bengio cited included economic concentration of power in the hands of the few states with access to ultra-powerful AI models. 

“If Canada doesn’t have the most powerful AIs here and the US and China do, it’s very likely that our local companies are going to lose out,” Bengio said.

Bengio advocated for an alternative approach to developing AI models where they are not programmed to have goals or intentions. 

Instead, he described non-agentic “scientist AIs” that could still help humans solve medical and climate-related challenges without having intentions of their own. They should be used as guardrails for developing “safe” AI agents eventually, Bengio said.

The priority for AI developers and researchers should be safety and “beneficial scientific advances,” Bengio said, instead of replacing jobs.

Feature image courtesy Jérémy Barande, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Yoshua Bengio warns of “catastrophic risks” of agentic AI at World Summit AI first appeared on BetaKit.

Well Health would have achieved a major financial milestone in 2024 if it weren’t for two key factors, the company said in an earnings statement.

Well Health said it was well positioned to execute on a “deep M&A pipeline” in 2025.

The Vancouver healthtech firm reported annual revenue of $919.7 million CAD in 2024, but said it was “on track” to reach $1 billion. However, it had to defer recognition of $56.6 million in revenue from Circle Medical, an American telehealth company it acquired in 2020 through a majority stake.

Well Health also had to account for the “collection uncertainty” of $24.5 million from CRH Medical, a company Well Health bought in 2021, related to a February 2024 cyberattack against Change Healthcare, a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary that serves as CRH’s main billing provider. The ransomware-based breach is considered the largest of its kind reported in the United States (US) and compromised the data of roughly 100 million people. The incident delayed collections for several months last year.

Well Health said it expects the Circle Medical revenue to be recognized sometime in 2025. CRH’s amount will be recognized if and when it collects funds from patients and third-party payors once the brand finalizes a settlement with Change Healthcare for the cyberattack.

Well Health still saw its annual revenue climb 19 percent year-over-year in 2024, but noted that its revenue would have grown 29 percent if it weren’t for the Circle Medical and CRH issues. The company added that its adjusted earnings (EBITDA) were $46.7 million for the year versus $113.4 million for 2023, but were “on track” to reach $127 million.

RELATED: Lightspeed, Well Health hit new revenue milestones in latest quarterly earnings

Patient visits were up 32 percent year-over-year to 5.7 million, Well Health said. The company maintained that the “vast majority” of this increase came from organic growth. Canada played a key role with 20-percent organic growth.

Well Health also said it expected a “strong” 2025 thanks to the products from its solutions-based Wellstar subsidiary as well as Healwell AI, a New Zealand-based strategic partner it plans to control by acquiring the majority of the voting interest this year. It’s anticipating annual revenue between $1.4 billion to $1.45 billion, with adjusted earnings between $190 million and $210 million.

“We ended the year with a strong balance sheet as a result of our positive cashflow and are well positioned to execute on a deep M&A pipeline and ambitious agenda in 2025,” according to Well Health CFO Eva Fong.

Feature image courtesy National Cancer Institute via Unsplash.

The post Missed it by that much: Well Health falls just short of $1-billion revenue mark in 2024 earnings first appeared on BetaKit.

Three American tech companies and one Toronto-based company are expanding their Montréal offices to enhance their French-language product offerings and draw from the city’s “intellectual firepower.” 

“We’re looking for people who want to work at a fast-growing company, who are customer-centric and want to get stuff done.”

Giovanni Iacovino
Alexa Translations

The United States (US)-based firms—Terzo, SafelyYou, and Ampliwork—and Toronto-based Alexa Translations are looking to hire for 220 roles in Montreal over the next three years. Each company is looking to boost the reach of its commercialized AI product by recruiting regional talent.

Stéphane Paquet, the CEO of economic development agency Montréal International, made the announcement at the World Summit AI in Montréal on April 15.

Toronto-based Alexa Translations, which uses machine learning to provide legal and financial translation services to large companies in Canada, is adding 10 people to its Montréal team to refine its offerings in Québec French and help power its new Infinite MT large-language model (LLM). 

“We’re looking for people who want to work at a fast-growing company, who are customer-centric and want to get stuff done,” vice president of technology Giovanni Iacovino said. 

Alexa Translations’ Infinite MT model is a new, generative option designed for “high-stakes” translations in legal and business contexts. The company’s machine learning model, Neural, is still offered as a go-to for high-volume content such as financial statements and contracts. 

Alexa Translations says Infinite MT adheres to rigorous translation standards across English, French, Arabic, and Spanish, but continuously improves while providing more nuance and flexibility. 

RELATED: As Google and Cohere expand multilingual AI offerings, experts warn of “plausible BS”

In the fall, CEO Gary Kalaci told BetaKit that it was “dangerous to use” the company’s previous model indiscriminately “without professional intervention.” Human intervention will continue to be a key part of deployment for Infinite MT across model training, data acquisition, and quality assessments, according to Mark Vecchiarelli, vice president of marketing.

“Human translator supervision is used in all steps of our development stages while we are implementing this model,” Vecchiarelli told BetaKit. 

US companies see attractive environment

The US companies said Montréal offers benefits such as a wealth of research talent and attractive tax credits, making it a natural avenue for expansion. The announcement comes as Canadians look to support domestic companies amid an ongoing trade war with the US.

Boston-based Ampliwork (formerly Ampliforce), which builds custom AI agents for client companies, is hiring 150 Montréal-based roles over three years to boost its global research and development (R&D) efforts. Founder and CEO Marco Buchbinder said that a strong talent pool and R&D tax credits, such as for Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED), provided incentives to expand in the city. 

RELATED: CVCA calls for temporary capital gains reduction, national investment tax credit in pitch to federal parties

San Francisco-based SafelyYou, which sells an AI-powered monitoring system for senior living and care facilities, is recruiting up to 50 AI experts for R&D. Its product includes a hardware sensor component for detecting falls. The startup, which raised a $43-million USD Series C earlier this year, has more than 450 senior living communities in North America, including a handful in Québec.

Loïc Juillard, CTO at SafelyYou, told BetaKit that Montréal was a target for SafelyYou because its university research community offers expertise across hardware, software, and AI. 

“This is a really great ecosystem from a talent perspective for us,” Juillard said.

For Los Angeles-based Terzo, which offers an AI-powered financial intelligence platform, Montréal is an ideal conduit to grow multilingual offerings and land large European clients. Terzo plans to recruit a dozen engineers, analysts and researchers by the end of the year. 

Feature image courtesy World Summit AI.

The post Enterprise AI companies announce hiring spree for Montréal AI talent first appeared on BetaKit.

Toronto-based online car retailer Clutch has tapped the co-founder and former CEO of Toronto proptech startup Properly, Anshul Ruparell, as its new chief financial officer (CFO). 

In a LinkedIn post announcing the appointment, Clutch CEO Dan Park said that Ruparell has been “behind the scenes” helping to build the auto-selling company for the past five years, first as a friend and advisor before joining its board of directors a year ago in April 2024.

“We’re lucky to see that relationship evolve into a full-time role,” Park told BetaKit. “With his experience as a founder, Anshul brings a rare perspective as we work to build a household name in Canadian auto.”

Ruparell takes C-suite role at Clutch as company bounces back from the downturn.

Park said that Clutch did not have a previous CFO. “We’re adding more firepower to the finance function,” he added. Vice-president of finance Maggie Mo remains with the company and will continue to take on a larger role as Clutch continues to scale, Park said.

Ruparell co-founded Properly, a well-funded, tech-enabled real estate platform, with Craig Dunk and Sheldon McCormick in 2018. The company aimed to improve the home-buying and selling experience for Canadians. But after the real estate market began deteriorating in 2022 as interest rates rose, Properly paused its geographic expansion plans, shedded staff, and pivoted away from its home sale guarantee offering.

Ruparell ultimately exited Properly alongside his co-founders in a September 2023 transaction with American real-estate firm Compass, while Properly’s brokerage and search portal was acquired by Toronto-based digital mortgage startup Pine. 

Ruparell is a repeat founder who has previously held roles in private equity and investment banking at the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board and Merrill Lynch. According to his LinkedIn profile, he continues to serve as a venture partner at FJ Labs, an investor in Clutch.

“Over the past year on Clutch’s board, I’ve been impressed watching the team redefine the car buying and selling experience for Canadians,” Ruparell wrote in a LinkedIn post of his own. “They’re tackling an enormous, complex market with remarkable momentum and a uniquely talented team.”

RELATED: Clutch recovers valuation and eyes growth with $50-million Series D round

Ruparell takes on the CFO role at Clutch after the company recovered and surpassed its once-peak valuation of $575 million CAD in a $50-million Series D round earlier this year. The scaleup secured the capital as part of a restart to its Western Canada expansion plans, which include hiring staff, and building new reconditioning facilities across Canada. Clutch opened its flagship 100,000-sq. ft. facility in Mississauga, Ont., just west of Toronto, last month. 

The Series D raise represented a significant recovery for Clutch, which faced its own hardships in 2022 and 2023 as macroeconomic conditions deteriorated. Clutch underwent multiple rounds of layoffs during this time to slow its growth and extend its runway amid a tough fundraising environment, including one set of staff cuts in 2023 after losing out on a potential $95-million Series C. The firm ultimately settled for a $20-million round that slashed its valuation to $15 million. 

Park told BetaKit following Clutch’s Series D that getting out of the downturn was a “Herculean team effort.” He noted at the time that United States tariffs could put pressure on the auto market, but claimed Clutch is relatively insulated because it sources all of its cars from Canada, employs only Canadians, and caters exclusively to the Canadian market.

Last week, McCormick—who co-founded Properly alongside Ruparell—landed a new gig of his own as the next permanent CEO of Kitchener-Waterloo tech hub Communitech.

Feature image courtesy Clutch via LinkedIn.

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After raising far less than it hoped for its first deep technology-focused venture capital (VC) fund and undergoing some leadership changes, Montréal-based Innovobot Resonance Ventures (IRV) is ready to invest again with a “refreshed vision” and veteran early-stage investor Neha Khera at the helm.

“We’re back, open for business, [and] ready to write cheques,” Khera told BetaKit in an exclusive interview. Khera, who has a 13-year track record in VC from her time with MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, 500 Canada, and 2048 Ventures, joined IRV earlier this month as managing partner based in Toronto.

“The reason we had so many candidates was because there were so many people who were part of funds that had not been able to launch.”

Mario Venditti,
Innovobot

Innovobot, which oversees IRV and innovation hub Innovobot Labs, launched IRV back in 2018. But since IRV announced an initial close of $14 million CAD for Fund I in late 2022, IRV was ultimately only able to raise slightly more than that, falling well shy of its $40-million target amid tough VC fundraising market conditions. It restructured its management to suit a smaller fund.

Given this leadership turnover, the vast majority of Fund I has yet to be deployed.

IRV has made only two investments out of the fund to date, backing Montréal cleantech company CarbiCrete, which is working on decarbonized concrete, and Oneka Technologies, a Sherbrooke, Que.-based desalination startup.

Under Khera’s leadership, IRV plans to invest the remainder in another 25 to 30 deep tech startups over the next three years and go slightly earlier than initially planned. Deep tech typically refers to cutting-edge innovation that requires significant advancements in science or engineering to be realized.

IRV intends to focus on deep tech startups across Canada at the pre-seed stage, but is open to making seed investments and backing companies outside of Canada, cutting cheques of between $250,000 and $500,000 into businesses with strong intellectual property and technical moats in areas that align with Innovobot’s expertise, like artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, internet of things, and advanced materials that intersect with applications in industries like supply chain, healthcare, and energy.

As traditional business-to-business software-as-a-service has gotten “really crowded,” Khera argued that innovation in that space has become “incrementalized.”

“When you think about the next big wave of where opportunity is going to come from, I’m a huge believer that it will be in this category that we call deep tech,” Khera said.

Adjusting to a smaller fund size

In an interview with BetaKit, Innovobot CEO and founding partner Mario Venditti said that IRV realized around late 2023 that raising a $40-million fund was no longer feasible and concluded that a smaller fund would require a shift in strategy. The VC firm informed its limited partners (LPs), which include undisclosed family offices and entrepreneurs like former Shopify CTO Jean-Michel Lemieux and Flinks co-founder and ex-CEO Yves-Gabriel Leboeuf.

Former IRV managing partner Zoya Shchupak left the fund in May 2024. “We came to the conclusion that Zoya was not going to be the one to lead the team,” Venditti said. He declined to say whose decision it was or elaborate further, aside from noting, “There was no clear path forward under a new strategy with the existing team.”

Around the same time, then-IRV general partner (GP) Sylvain Carle transitioned out of that role, but continues to remain involved as tech-for-good lead. When asked why Carle changed roles, Venditti said that given IRV’s ultimate fund size, the firm could not afford to have another partner. BetaKit has reached out to Shchupak and Carle for comment.

RELATED: Innovobot holds initial close of targeted $40-million fund to invest in “deep tech for good”

With Shchupak and Carle out, IRV took time to rebuild its strategy and largely refrained from deploying capital. According to Venditti, IRV’s existing LPs were supportive of the moves the firm made during this period, as none reduced their commitments or pulled out of the fund.

Venditti said that IRV conducted a broad search for a new managing partner with the help of a third-party firm, interviewing lots of candidates before landing on Khera, who is now leading the fund with Venditti and Innovobot CTO and founding partner Danny Grant supporting as GPs.

“Not only is [Khera] super smart, and not only is she super capable, but culturally, she fits what we’re trying to do here.”

Mario Venditti,
Innovobot

“Not only is she super smart, and not only is she super capable, but culturally, she fits what we’re trying to do here,” Venditti said. “She understands technology, having studied engineering and been in this space for a while.”

Khera co-founded and served as GP of 500 Canada. She made 16 investments during her time there, which she claims are up 20-fold on the books. These include ApplyBoard, BenchSci, FightCamp, and Mejuri. She also led 16 investments as a GP at 2048, backing Eli Health and Frate, among others.

She described herself as “a technologist through and through,” noting that the culture of Innovobot is very “technology first” and being able to “speak the same language” makes her a good fit to lead IRV.

Venditti said that Khera’s presence in Toronto was also a plus to the firm. “While that wasn’t critical, it was important to us to demonstrate that we did want to be pan-Canadian, not simply a local player,” he added.

Running into familiar challenges for Canadian VC

IRV’s fundraising struggles reflect the challenges Canada’s VC industry continues to face. As BetaKit has reported, Canadian LPs have become more cautious and selective since 2022 as macroeconomic conditions have deteriorated and exit markets have cooled. This LP pullback has led to smaller funds, longer fundraising timelines, shifts in investment strategy, and turnover across Canada’s VC industry. 

Last October, Toronto’s Information Venture Partners pivoted to single-asset, special-purpose vehicle investing. Last month, Toronto and Montréal’s CMD Capital paused its operations indefinitely after failing to secure anchor institutional investors for its first fund. Investors BetaKit has spoken with expect to see more Canadian VC firms quietly follow suit.

As LPs have reduced VC allocations and concentrated dollars on established investors with a track record of returning cash, emerging managers (firms on their first, second, or third fund) have had a particularly tough time raising money.

RELATED: Performance anxiety and access to capital top of mind for Canadian VCs

“The reason we had so many candidates was because there were so many people who were part of funds that had not been able to launch,” Venditti said.

Khera was one of those people. She left 2048 Ventures as a GP in early 2024, and set out to launch a $20-million USD fund of her own. After “a very, very intense six months” fundraising, she decided to pull the plug on those plans. 

“I realized that the product I was selling was not differentiated enough to get the traction I needed in a decent amount of time,” she said.

At the same time, Khera knew that there was still an unmet need for early-stage capital in Canada. She said she asked herself whether she cared more about chasing that opportunity or having her own fund, before deciding it was the latter. She met with IRV six weeks later.

Building a lasting deep tech platform

Today, Venditti said that IRV still has lots of capital left, dedicated LPs, and the right team in place to guide the fund through its next iteration. “While things didn’t go according to plan, we still built a fund in a time where many didn’t succeed,” he said.

According to Khera, IRV intends to build a portfolio consisting of a combination of more capital- and time-intensive deep tech startups and faster-growing software firms. To support its aggressive deployment plans, the firm is hiring for an associate based in Montréal.

IRV expects to source some deals from Innovobot Labs and lean on it for due diligence and post-investment support.

IRV’s current focus is on investing the remainder of its first fund. Khera said the firm will begin thinking about a successor in a year or two. In the meantime, IRV hopes to bring in some new LPs and a bit more capital for its first fund ahead of a targeted final close in December 2025.

Venditti sees even more opportunity for IRV now given recent changes at BDC Capital’s Deep Tech Venture Fund. He wants Khera to help build IRV into a lasting franchise.

“Neha’s job is to turn IRV into a platform for early-stage investment in technology in Canada,” Venditti said. “This is slice one. We hope to have slice two and many more after that.”

Feature image courtesy Innovobot.

The post Innovobot unveils “refreshed” deep tech VC fund under Neha Khera’s leadership first appeared on BetaKit.

Jade Null is the kind of person who wants to understand how things work by taking them apart.

Before Null was even a teenager, they were hacking into web applications, poking at vulnerabilities and seeing if the systems would break. Not out of malice, but out of sheer curiosity. If a system had defences, Null wanted to know how far they could push them. If there was a way in, Null would find it.

“I was missing that connection to Manitoba. I was missing that connection to a local startup ecosystem.”

Jade Null, GlitchSecure

That curiosity led them to bug bounty programs, where they turned their knack for finding security flaws for companies offering financial rewards to ethical hackers. But while freelancing for an information security firm, they discovered the process of penetration testing was often bogged down by repetitive, tedious tasks. 

It wasn’t enough to just break things. Null wanted to fix inefficiencies in offensive security workflows too.

So, they started building tools to automate the boring parts.

“I didn’t actually mean to start a company, I just wanted to make my life easier,” said Null. “That snowballed into handling more clients, and then that snowballed into building more software. Those two fed into each other until I thought, ‘Maybe I’ve got something here.’”

Null’s software makes security testing faster and more effective. Before long, they had built an entire platform around catching vulnerabilities before attackers could exploit them. And in 2022, GlitchSecure was born.  

The Winnipeg-based startup specializes in “offensive security,” where companies hire GlitchSecure to simulate cyberattacks that uncover vulnerabilities. 

Null says GlitchSecure aims to set itself apart from other offensive security companies by blending expert consulting with automation and delivering real human support without the hefty price tag. Today, it works with software companies across FinTech, EdTech, and other verticals, serving both early-stage startups and larger enterprises.

GlitchSecure found a sense of community in Manitoba’s startup scene through North Forge, a Winnipeg-based incubator that brings founders together through industry events. For Null, that community has been key to avoiding the trap of building in isolation.

“There’s not a lot of us doing this in Manitoba. Winnipeg is getting bigger and bigger, but it still has small-town vibes,” they said. “But I was missing that connection to Manitoba. I was missing that connection to a local startup ecosystem. I was craving a sense of connection and started to attend North Forge events.”

North Forge is a not-for-profit that provides cost-free programming and resources to help science-based, tech-enabled, and advanced manufacturing startups grow from ideation to securing funding. Its facilities include one of North America’s largest fabrication labs, giving startups access to the tools and technologies needed to build nearly anything.

Null joined the North Forge Founders Program to gain in-person connections with a supportive community that understands the highs and lows of startup life — from the emotional rollercoaster of being a founder to hiring a team for the first time and navigating the complexities of fundraising.

In the spring of 2024, GlitchSecure made its first big fundraising decision. After months of relationship building, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) offered the startup a term sheet from its Seed Venture Fund. Null initially declined the offer based on the collective decision of the entire GlitchSecure team.

“We knew we were growing, we knew we would keep growing, and we knew we didn’t need money to keep growing because we had already been profitable,” Null added.

Within months, GlitchSecure saw significant revenue growth, reaching $750,000 in annual recurring revenue, and by fall of 2024, it made sense for GlitchSecure to raise funds to support its growth. 

In November, the startup closed a $2-million CAD seed round, led by BDC’s Seed Venture Fund, with participation from a syndicate led by US SaaS accelerator TinySeed. 

GlitchSecure is the first Manitoba-based company to receive investment through BDC’s Seed Venture Fund, a milestone Null sees as a win for local founders.

Null said many people move away from Manitoba to work in tech, fuelled by the perception that it’s not a tech hub.

“There’s not a ton of incentive to hire in Manitoba or grow a company in Manitoba because there’s not a lot of investment. This signals some of the early days of that changing,” said Null.

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North Forge is a not-for-profit tech incubator, accelerator, and state-of-the-art fabrication lab. We fuel Manitoba’s innovative science-based, technology-enabled, and advanced manufacturing startups from ideation to funding by offering unparalleled programming and resources to help startups grow. 

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Toronto-based insurtech startup PolicyMe has been busy since 2022: raising more funding, launching new products, and seeing success helping other insurance firms sell policies online more efficiently.

During this time, PolicyMe has closed $30 million CAD in previously unannounced equity and debt financing from strategic partners across three tranches since 2023. The company has also moved into health and dental insurance, built out its business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) operations, and expanded Canada-wide, nearly tripling its headcount to 100 employees and attaining profitability along the way.

“We really do believe that AI is the future of this industry.”

Andrew Ostro,
PolicyMe

In an interview with BetaKit, PolicyMe co-founder and CEO Andrew Ostro unpacked what the startup has been working on and where it plans to go from here—including exploring launching other in-house insurance products like disability, investing in artificial intelligence (AI), continuing to grow its B2B2C business, and staying focused on Canada.

“We still look at Canada as a major opportunity,” Ostro said. “We’re nowhere close to the penetration levels where we feel like we’re out of growth, or growth will be slower.”

PolicyMe aims to give Canadians access to more affordable and convenient insurance products in two ways: via its own in-house policies, which it claims are cheaper than many traditional ones thanks to its increased conversion rates, underwriting efficiencies, and reduced distribution costs; and by helping insurers and other financial brands deliver their own offerings to consumers faster and more cost effectively using its tech platform.

Since its $18-million CAD Series A in September 2022, the company has secured $30 million. That figure includes $9 million in equity from early to mid-2023, $12 million in equity and $5 million in debt from late 2024, and another $4 million in equity that just closed in February.

Two strategic partners from the insurance industry, existing Toronto-based backer Securian Canada and new Moncton, NB-based investor Blue Cross Life, provided nearly all of this capital. This financing brings PolicyMe’s total funding to $51 million. The equity component was all primary, and Securian Canada supplied the debt. Ostro claimed each tranche was an up round, but declined to disclose PolicyMe’s valuation.

PolicyMe raised its Series A round in a similar fashion, doing so via multiple tranches. Ostro said PolicyMe labels this $30 million collectively as the startup’s Series B round, based on the amount raised and how much the company is generating in revenue.

Ostro founded PolicyMe in 2018 alongside COO Laura McKay, and her brother, CTO Jeff McKay, a trio with past experience working in insurance and tech. The startup got its start as a life insurance broker, tackling the issue of distribution with the initial launch of its coverage calculator and price comparison platform. In March 2021, PolicyMe launched its own fully-underwritten digital term life insurance product in partnership with Canadian Premier Life Insurance, which now operates under the Securian Canada brand.

RELATED: PolicyMe reveals $18 million in Series A financing to tackle Canadian insurance market

For its first four years, PolicyMe focused primarily on life insurance and selling policies on a direct-to-consumer (D2C) basis. With its Series A in 2022, PolicyMe outlined plans to roll out more insurance products and help other insurance firms sell policies online using its platform.

Since then, PolicyMe has expanded to serve all Canadian provinces and territories, and moved into health and dental insurance, something Ostro said has been a “huge growth channel” for the startup, which now serves more than 18,000 Canadians. Today, PolicyMe’s product suite includes term life insurance, critical illness insurance, and health and dental insurance. 

The startup is also starting to see success with white-labelling its tech for other insurance companies, integrating quoting, underwriting, and policy issuance to help carriers launch products in just three to six months. Investors Securian Canada and Blue Cross Life have been two beneficiaries of this: Blue Cross Life has leveraged PolicyMe’s tech to launch D2C term life and critical illness products, while Securian Canada has used its platform to roll out digital life and health and dental offerings in partnership with the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA).

“By leveraging PolicyMe’s end-to-end digital platform, we’ve simplified what can be a complex process into something Canadians can complete in just minutes,” Blue Cross Life president and CEO Tim Mawhinney said in a statement.

RELATED: Insurtech startup YouSet raises $3.5-million CAD seed round

PolicyMe, which the company claims has now sold over $10 billion in insurance coverage to date—up from $5 billion in 2022—saw its sales quadruple year-over-year in 2024. Ostro declined to disclose PolicyMe’s revenue, but claimed that the company reached profitability in mid-2024. Ostro said that PolicyMe’s focus has always been on building a profitable company with strong unit economics, and noted the market downturn, during which capital has become harder to obtain, validated this approach.

Since its $3.3-million seed round in 2020, PolicyMe has taken a “partner-first” approach to building and raising capital—a strategy that it intends to stick with going forward. Ostro claimed that PolicyMe remains “very well-capitalized” following its recent financings and is not actively fundraising at this point.

Ostro said he has seen lots of insurtech companies raise funding from insurance companies worried about disruption and afraid of getting left behind, but never actually figure out how to turn those investments into effective partnerships. He claimed PolicyMe has focused its efforts on partnering first, proving out that concept, and then seeking funding, which he said aligns incentives and ensures trust between the startup and its larger corporate partners.

On the startup front, PolicyMe’s Canadian competitors include companies like PolicyAdvisor and Emma, which also offers its own digital life insurance products, while Breathe Life operates in the digital life insurance space as well, but is not a direct competitor. Like PolicyMe, these companies are part of a growing group of startups looking to disrupt the insurance industry that also includes Goose, ProNavigator, Samos, Walnut Insurance, and YouSet.

RELATED: National Bank reinvests as Walnut secures $4.6 million to expand embedded insurance capabilities

In addition to focusing on growing its B2B2C business and exploring new products, PolicyMe is investing heavily in data, analytics, and AI infrastructure it hopes will enhance its underwriting capabilities and improve its customer journey. “We really do believe that AI is the future of this industry,” Ostro said. 

But the CEO noted that applying AI to insurance can be “very tricky.” Use-cases are largely customer-facing or underwriting risk-based, and Ostro estimated it will take another year or two for the tech to be ready to move into production. He said it would be impermissible for a chatbot or AI agent to say the wrong thing to a customer or make a claims process mistake.

“We’re in a highly-regulated industry where the risk of hallucinations or getting something wrong is unacceptable.”

Andrew Ostro,
PolicyMe

“We think the technology is not quite there yet from a customer-facing standpoint,” Ostro said. “We’re in a highly-regulated industry where the risk of hallucinations or getting something wrong is unacceptable.”

Regulators also want to know how companies are underwriting and ensure they are not being biased—but evaluating the effectiveness of these models over a short period of time can be difficult in life insurance, where there are so few claims and such long-tail risks, he said.

At the moment, PolicyMe is exploring how to embed AI within the company and its operations, and making “foundational investments” in AI that Ostro does not expect will pay meaningful dividends immediately, but will prove fundamental to the company’s success over the long run.

“We should be the company best positioned to win at this, and we’re doing everything we can to make sure that that holds true when the time comes,” Ostro said.

Feature image courtesy PolicyMe.

The post PolicyMe eyes new insurance products, more big-name partners after raising $30 million over two years first appeared on BetaKit.

Bell Canada and an Ottawa-based research team of people from Swedish networking giant Ericsson claim they have completed the world’s first successful field testing of “AI-native” link adaptation, a technology that auto-adjusts wireless networks to keep up with demand.

Ericsson said the AI doesn’t require any new hardware because the firm’s advanced silicon can handle the features.  

The approach uses “real-time” AI that accounts for factors like interference and signal quality, Bell and Ericsson said. In the field test, the companies said they saw up to 20 percent higher downstream throughput (data transfer to users’ devices), which could translate to faster downloads. They also saw a 10-percent increase in spectral efficiency, a measure of network capacity and reliability.

Ericsson provided the AI expertise as well as research and development, while Bell provided network access and its operational knowledge. Ericsson’s executive vice-president of business area networks, Per Narvinger, said this brought the company closer to providing “transformative” 5G Advanced services and, eventually, 6G.

The AI “doesn’t require any new hardware,” according to the Ericsson spokesperson, who maintained that the firm’s “advanced silicon” could handle the new features. The functionality is said to deliver cost savings by offering more capacity without the need for equipment upgrades.

The tech should become “generally available” by the end of 2025 or early 2026, the representative said. Bell added it would like to be among the first carriers to deploy the feature, but didn’t have more details to share.

RELATED: Ericsson sets up new quantum research hub in Montreal

Historically, cellular providers have accounted for increased demand by upgrading their networks with more cell sites, antennas, and wireless spectrum. They frequently deploy cells-on-wheels (COWs), or mobile cell towers, to deal with short-term spikes, such as crowds gathering for major sports events and concerts. Telecoms have explored using AI before, but mainly to identify future optimization areas for performance and efficiency.

Ericsson isn’t the only company developing live AI optimization for cell networks. In the United States (US), Nvidia is collaborating with T-Mobile, Cisco, and other partners on “AI-native” hardware and software with next-generation 6G networks in mind. However, that partnership was only unveiled in March this year, whereas Bell and Ericsson have conducted a real-world test.

The news comes as Canadian telecoms aim to reduce (though not necessarily eliminate) their dependence on the US in light of the ongoing trade war and cooling relations between the two nations. Telus recently revealed that it was building “sovereign AI factories” that, while reliant on chips from the American tech giant Nvidia, would be located in Kamloops, BC, and Rimouski, Qué.

Feature image courtesy of Frederik Lipfert on Unsplash.

The post Bell and Ericsson’s Ottawa team field-test AI-powered tech to reduce cell network traffic jams first appeared on BetaKit.

The Large Enterprise Tariff Loan Facility (LETL) is now open for applicants as the Government of Canada announces a slew of new measures for Canadian businesses and entities affected by the tariff dispute between Canada and the United States (US)

“We’re giving Canadian companies and entities more time to adjust their supply chains and become less dependent on US suppliers.”

François-Philippe Champagne

The facility is managed by the Canada Development Investment Corporation (CDEV) through its Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation (CEEFC) subsidiary.

CEEFC was formed in 2020 to provide bridge financing to large Canadian employers affected by COVID-19, and will now support Canadian enterprises having trouble accessing traditional financing due to US tariffs and Canada’s countermeasures. 

According to the CEEFC, LETL-eligible companies require a minimum loan of $60 million, and have either “significant operations” or a “significant workforce” in Canada, plus more than $300 million in annual Canadian revenue. 

Large for-profit enterprises in all sectors, and certain not-for-profit enterprises, can apply for funding under the LETL facility.However, applicants must commit to minimizing the loss of employment, sustaining their business activities in Canada, and demonstrating that the funding supports a transition plan to return to financial stability. More application details are on the CEEFC website. 

BetaKit has asked the Department of Finance how much funding is available to be deployed from the LETL, but did not hear back by press time. 

RELATED: Government of Canada commits over $6 billion to help businesses weather trade war

Prime Minister Mark Carney first raised the creation of a new financing facility for businesses when he met with provincial and territorial premiers on March 21 to discuss strengthening the Canadian market amidst the US tariff conflict. That same day, Carney also met with the leaders of the National Indigenous Organizations to double the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program from $5 billion to $10 billion and open it up to sectors outside of energy and natural resources. 

In addition to LETL, the federal government has announced a remission framework for automakers, allowing them to import a certain number of US-assembled vehicles into Canada free of countermeasure tariffs, provided the company continues to produce vehicles in Canada. 

The government also said it intends to provide a temporary six-month relief for goods imported from the US that are used in Canadian manufacturing, processing and food and beverage packaging, and those that support public health, health care, public safety, and national security.

“Today, we’re giving Canadian companies and entities more time to adjust their supply chains and become less dependent on US. suppliers,” Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said of the measures in a statement. “This will help make our economy stronger and more resilient.”

When US tariffs first went into effect in early March, the Government of Canada unveiled a $6-billion relief package to help affected businesses access financing and support. Measures included a $5-billion Trade Impact Program for Export Development Canada (EDC), $1 billion in new financing through Farm Credit Canada, and $500 million in new loans through the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). 

Feature image courtesy François-Philippe Champagne via LinkedIn. 

The post Federal government launches loan facility to support enterprises impacted by tariffs first appeared on BetaKit.

Toronto-based Cyclic Materials has extended its Series B round for a second time to bring Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund into the fold. 

Cyclic initially raised a $71-million CAD ($53-million USD) all-equity round led by Toronto-based cleantech investor ArcTern Ventures in September 2024 to expand its rare earth recycling infrastructure in the United States (US) and Europe. Cyclic re-opened the round this past January to accept a $2 million USD investment from InMotion Ventures, the investment arm of luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover. 

Microsoft participated in the initial round close through its own Climate Innovation Fund. 

Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, which aims to support climate technology companies with “the most potential to help Amazon and others reach net‑zero carbon emissions by 2040,” joined the round through a second extension earlier this month. Cyclic Materials declined to disclose the amount of Amazon’s investment. 

Cyclic co-founder and CEO Ahmad Ghahreman said in a statement that Amazon’s investment reflects the competitiveness of their proprietary technology, and reiterated that the investment would support its expansion in the US and Europe.

Founded in 2021, Cyclic Materials has developed a supply chain aimed at sustainably recovering rare earth elements from electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, MRI machines, and electronic waste from data centres. The company’s goal is to create a circular supply chain by taking landfill-bound products and recovering their critical metals through its magnet recycling processes. 

RELATED: Microsoft among corporate investors backing Cyclic Materials’ $71-million CAD Series B

“Cyclic’s process enables higher recovery rates of rare earth elements from products like hard drives, converting them into secondary raw materials to manufacture new products,” Amazon Climate Pledge Fund principal Nick Ellis said in a statement. “We’re excited to support Cyclic as they scale their business to meet growing global demand from data center customers and others.”

Some of the initial investors in Cyclic’s Series B round include BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund, Hitachi Ventures, Zero Infinity Partners, Climate Investment, and Microsoft through its own Climate Innovation Fund. Prior to Amazon’s undisclosed investment, the Series B round brought Cyclic Materials’ total funding to date to approximately $114 million CAD.

Cyclic Materials was one of many companies that made a return appearance on this year’s Global Cleantech 100 list. The list is meant to showcase private cleantech companies globally that are predicted to make a substantial impact on the market in the next five to 10 years. British Columbia-based electric vehicle battery repurposing startup Moment Energy, which did not return to the Global Cleantech 100 after making the cut last year, raised a $21.5-million CAD Series A round co-led by Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund this past January. 

Feature image courtesy Cyclic Materials.

The post Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund joins Cyclic Materials’ extended Series B round first appeared on BetaKit.

Cohere has released a new embedding model that it says offers superior search and retrieval functions for AI agents. 

Seventy-two percent of early AI adopters expect autonomous agents to take over some tasks from their employees by the end of 2025.

Embedding models turn complex information, such as text or images, into vectors or numbers that AI models can process. In other words, they encode meaning for large language models (LLMs). 

Embed 4 is Cohere’s latest embedding model, which the company claims is “the optimal search engine for AI agents.” The model powers intelligent search platform Compass and integrates with the company’s AI enterprise platform North. 

Having introduced AI agents to its enterprise customers with North, Cohere is now making them more powerful with enhanced data retrieval. This comes as Cohere competes with other giants in the enterprise AI space, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft—the latter of which sees agents as the next frontier in commercial AI.

Embed 4 allows enterprises to build custom AI apps and agents that can search across more than 100 languages and various document types. With its multimodal functions, it can sift through documents and pull data from PDF documents, images, charts, and code. 

RELATED: Did Cohere give Canada its DeepSeek moment?

Elliott Choi, staff product manager at Cohere, told BetaKit that agents will continue to be an important part of enterprise AI adoption and “free up time” for employees.

Seventy-two percent of early AI adopters expect autonomous agents to take over some tasks from their employees by the end of 2025, according to a global study of over 3,300 large companies by Snowflake. 

However, a problem with these agents is their ability to generate the best responses from complex data.

“It’s important that we remain focused on the challenges to AI implementation at scale, like the struggle of retrieving information from complex, unstructured and mixed-modality data sources—which is something Embed 4 helps solve,” Choi said. 

The Snowflake report noted that Canadian companies are “earlier in their gen AI journeys” and are more likely to only be pursuing one use case. They were also less likely to say that investments in AI will represent more than 25 percent of tech budgets. The data contrasts with recent pronouncements from the CEO of Canada’s largest tech company, Shopify, affirming that effective use of AI is now a baseline expectation of all employees.

Embed 4 and its predecessor, Embed 3, are retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems. RAG is a fine-tuning technique for LLMs to be directed to specific external data sources for particular topics. In theory, it makes retrieving specialized knowledge easier and more reliable.

RELATED: Microsoft thinks AI agents will eat the world

The new model also supports a larger context length. It allows the search of documents up to roughly 200 pages, or 128k tokens, which the company says is helpful for dense legal documents or financial reports. Like Cohere’s other models, it can be deployed in the cloud or on-premise to keep data secure. It’s equipped with domain-specific expertise for finance, healthcare and manufacturing.

According to a blog post from Cohere, clients such as Hunt Club have seen 47-percent relative improvement in Embed 4’s performance over the last model. Hunt Club uses AI to search professional candidate profiles and match talent with skills, which requires sifting through “messy” data. 

Today, Cohere also announced that it now has access to some of Nvidia’s most advanced computing infrastructure through its cloud provider, Livingston, NJ-based CoreWeave. Nvidia’s GB200 NVL72 platform, which leverages more than 100 computer chips in a data centre rack, is designed to deliver significantly faster LLM performance for applications such as agents and reasoning.  

Cohere has partnered with CoreWeave to build an AI data centre in Canada with $240 million in backing from the federal government as part of its Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy.

Cohere recently released Command A, its most powerful LLM yet, which the company claimed could outperform leading models from OpenAI and DeepSeek with less computing power. 

With Embed 4, Cohere seems to be doubling down on the “max performance, minimal compute” mission. It claims that Embed 4’s retrieval accuracy—meaning the accuracy of generated responses—outperforms that of competing models, such as OpenAI’s text-embedding-3-large.

Cohere also says that Embed 4 is more efficient in data storage and energy footprint. By outputting “compressed embeddings,” the model reduces storage costs. This means that it turns text, images, or other data into numbers that take up less space. 

As for inference, or response generation, Embed 4 requires “far less compute” than other models on the market, Choi said. 

Feature image courtesy Cohere.

The post Cohere doubles down on agentic search capabilities with new Embed 4 model first appeared on BetaKit.

In Manitoba’s technology sector, many founders are forced to look beyond the province for funding. Manitoba has historically garnered a disproportionately small share of the venture capital (VC) dollars invested in Canada compared to other provinces.

“[We’re] the most underrepresented province in all of Canada for [VC] and we want to change that.”

Despite being home to 3.6 percent of Canada’s population, last year, less than one percent of VC investment in Canada went to Manitoban startups, according to the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA). The CVCA’s 2024 report found a mere $2 million CAD was invested in Manitoba—a 96-percent year-over-year drop—across four deals.

Winnipeg-based Trillick Ventures hopes to help turn the tide. The recently-launched VC firm is raising a $15-million fund to back early-stage Manitoba tech startups and connect investors from other parts of the country with the province’s budding tech ecosystem. 

“We recognize that Manitoba is really far behind … [we’re] the most underrepresented province in all of Canada for [VC] and we want to change that,” Trillick founder and general partner Iain Crozier told BetaKit in an interview.

Crozier believes that Manitoba’s tech ecosystem has “the foundation” for success, thanks in part to the growth of homegrown Winnipeg tech firms like checkout software provider Bold Commerce, challenger bank Neo Financial, and food delivery company SkipTheDishes.

Trillick has secured nearly $5 million towards its $15-million target to date, after holding its first close in February and its second in March. The firm intends to hold another close at the end of April, and Crozier said it ultimately hopes to secure the remainder of its goal by August, as it continues fundraising amid particularly challenging market conditions.

RELATED: Taiv acquihires fellow Canadian adtech firm Local Reach to aid expansion plans

The fund’s current limited partner (LP) base consists primarily of high-net-worth individuals, including Manitoba tech entrepreneurs and leaders like Taiv co-founder and CEO Noah Palansky, ConstructionClock co-founder and CFO Dominique Smith, Chekkit co-founder and COO Emily Franz-Lien, and Bold Commerce co-founder and former CEO Yvan Boisjoli—now the COO of Trillick portfolio company Parallel. 

Tech Manitoba chair and Women’s Equity Lab Manitoba managing partner Sandy Foster, who wrote the first cheques into SkipTheDishes and Taiv, and was an early investor in Callia, is also an LP in Trillick’s first fund.

“Every year, when I get that map of Canada and the [VC] investment in every province, and it’s not applicable or not available for Manitoba, it’s depressing,” Foster told BetaKit in an interview. “I believe that it’s time that we have a locally-based [VC] fund.”

With subsequent closings, Trillick hopes to attract capital from institutions and family offices. To round out its team, Crozier has brought on Palansky, TriplePlay co-founder and ex-CEO Mark Hlady, and former BDC Capital Seed Venture Fund principal Saif Hashmi as venture partners. This trio also sits on Trillick’s investment committee alongside Crozier.

The fund has made three investments to date, including social shopping platform Parallel and event hosting and management software startup 3Common. Outside of Trillick, Crozier has also independently invested in construction industry time-tracking app ConstructionClock.

RELATED: Manitoba launches new innovation and tech department amid cabinet refresh

Through its first fund, Trillick aims to back 20 to 25 pre-seed and seed-stage tech companies and lead financings for Manitoba startups. It has dedicated two-thirds of its fund to startups in the province, with 25 percent of its total capital reserved for follow-on investments in top performers. To help it fill out the remainder of rounds, the VC firm is allocating the remaining third of its fund to supporting other VC leads in deals outside of Manitoba.

Crozier said this will give Trillick’s LPs exposure to not just promising Manitoba startups, but nationwide deal flow, and help the firm build relationships with investors across the country and bring them into deals in Manitoba. 

“I want to be an ambassador for our province,” he said.

Crozier said with so few Manitoba tech entrepreneurs finding funding in the province, companies are inadvertently raising a red flag for investors who ask why they are not able to raise money in their own backyards—making the province’s paucity of deals a self-compounding problem.

In an interview with BetaKit, Boisjoli noted that many of Manitoba’s most successful tech companies were entirely bootstrapped, while the startups that did secure funding were often forced to move to markets where their investors resided, such as Toronto or the United States. “The idea of raising money and building a company in Winnipeg was just not something you heard about,” he said.

RELATED: Winnipeg tech hubs merge to revitalize Manitoba’s startup ecosystem

For Bold Commerce, seeking early-stage funding “was a foreign concept,” Boisjoli said. The e-commerce developer bootstrapped for approximately seven years, focusing its efforts on building a profitable company without any outside investment, before ultimately securing a sizable first financing from outside of Manitoba to scale its business in 2019.

“There are some really talented, smart people in Manitoba that just never get looked at when they need to raise money,” Boisjoli said. As a Trillick LP, he hopes to help change that.

The Government of Manitoba launched a fund-of-funds in 2022 to help attract more capital to the province. The province has committed $100 million towards the Manitoba First Fund (MFF), which has committed $75 million across five funds to date, including TriWest Capital Partners, PFM Capital, Tall Grass Ventures, Pine Hill Capital, and the WestCap-managed Connect Manitoba Growth Fund. 

“The idea of raising money and building a company in Winnipeg was just not something you heard about.”

Yvan Boisjoli,
Parallel

All five of these firms are headquartered outside of Manitoba and are required to establish a presence in the province as a condition of MFF’s support. The majority focus on more established companies rather than early-stage startups. Asked whether MFF intends to back more early-stage investors based in Manitoba in the future, MFF CEO Ken Ross told BetaKit that MFF is currently “in various stages of discussion with a number of early capital funds.”

While Manitoba is home to some angel groups and wealthy individuals who invest in startups, its institutional VC landscape is scarce: aside from Winnipeg-based Red Leaf Capital, Trillick appears to be the only other VC firm headquartered in Manitoba.

“There is certainly a need for early capital (pre-seed, seed, Series A funding) and I hope [Trillick is] successful,” Ross said.

Crozier, who was born and raised in Manitoba, began his career outside the province working in sales and construction for his father’s company, which built playgrounds for schools and municipalities. After leaving and spending some time helping other entrepreneurs, Crozier built a wine recommendation app called Taistr before returning to startup coaching, including with Platform Calgary, eventually coming back to Manitoba in 2023 to raise his family there.

Upon returning, Crozier said he quickly became aware of the “very weak access to capital” in Manitoba’s tech ecosystem. “I saw it as a really big opportunity to bring a traditional [VC] fund to Manitoba,” he added.

Last fall, the Manitoba government launched an innovation and technology department aimed at growing the province’s tech sector. And earlier this year, Tech Manitoba and the Manitoba Technology Accelerator announced a merger to create Manitoba Innovates and the launch of a new funding program for early-stage startups. Crozier and Boisjoli both hailed these moves as positive developments for Manitoba’s tech ecosystem.

“Manitoba is very traditionally a government, agriculture, and manufacturing province—those are our three main sectors,” Crozier said. “There’s no reason why we can’t add tech to it, because we’ve got the buddings of a really, really terrific sector to grow here.”

Feature image courtesy Trillick Ventures.

The post New early-stage VC fund Trillick Ventures aims to bring funding to “underrepresented” Manitoba first appeared on BetaKit.

Some Canadian tech figureheads joined a number of business leaders and bankers in formally endorsing Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre in the upcoming federal election. 

The endorsements were signed in a letter authored by the “Friends of Free Enterprise in Canada,” which ran as a full-page ad in several Canadian newspapers this past weekend.

Maverix Private Equity founder John Ruffolo, serial tech entrepreneur Amar Varma, Impression Ventures founder Christian Lassonde, and Leaders Fund co-founder David Stein represented tech on the endorsement letter.

Signatories included Fairfax Financial CEO Prem Watsa, Toronto Blue Jays CEO Paul Godfrey, who is also a past president and CEO of the historically conservative Postmedia Network, mining magnate Pierre Lassonde (father of aforementioned Christian Lassonde), Sleep Country Canada CEO Stewart Schaefer, and Midland Group of Companies president Leslie Gales, the lone woman among 33 business leaders on the list. 

At least one-third of the signatories are also connected to Fairfax Financial in some way.

The letter claims that economic growth and productivity in Canada has slowed in recent years, and that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is shrinking, but that the decline is not inevitable (Canada’s per capita GDP rose by 0.2 per cent in the most recent quarter for which there is data, but fell by 1.4 percent overall in 2024, according to Statistics Canada).  

It goes on to say that Canada needs to support free enterprise, reduce regulations that “hinder investment,” “restore” fiscal discipline, lower taxes, and develop Canada’s natural resources by building oil pipelines and expanding mining. 

“We have spent our careers investing in this country because we believe in it,” the letter reads. “[Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party of Canada] have a clear plan to address these issues and get Canada back on track,” the letter reads.  

The “Friends of Free Enterprise in Canada” do not appear to have a formal online presence, and the address and phone number included in the letter are the same as Fairfax’s Toronto head office. At least one-third of signatories are also connected to Fairfax Financial in some way, including the billionaire Fairfax founder Prem Watsa and his son Ben Watsa, who chairs Fairfax India, and company president and COO Peter Clarke.

RELATED: Canadian tech makes federal election asks

Additionally, signatories like Bill McFarland and Brian Porter are currently listed as directors on Fairfax’s website, though their positions are not disclosed in the letter. Others, like Golf Town’s Bill Gregson and Sleep Country’s Schaefer, lead Fairfax subsidiaries, while some have had their companies or funds previously backed by Fairfax. 

Ruffolo has been a vocal supporter of Poilievre in the run-up to the election. The Logic reported in January that he gathered 86 business leaders, including a number from the tech sector, at an event in Toronto last year to hear out Poilievre’s vision for the party. Other tech leaders, including Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, have been swapping policy ideas with the Conservative Party leader, according to The Globe and Mail. 

Poilievre endeared himself to some in the tech ecosystem when he pledged to scrap the Liberals’ controversial capital gains tax rate changes under a Conservative government earlier this year, which Prime Minister Mark Carney ended up ditching last month. Poilievre responded by evolving the policy to defer capital gains taxes if the proceeds are reinvested in Canada, garnering a positive reaction from industry groups like the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) and the Canadian Venture Capital Association (CVCA). 

With a federal election weeks away, the industry groups have been making their own asks of the party leaders. CVCA published a white paper last week pushing federal policy recommendations aimed at incentivizing domestic investment, including more reductions to Canada’s capital gains taxes, and CCI published an open letter signed by 150 Canadian tech leaders calling on the parties to share how they plan to build “a more sovereign, more resilient, and more prosperous Canada.”

Feature image courtesy Pierre Poilievre via Facebook.

The post Several tech figures endorse Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives in open letter connected to Fairfax Financial first appeared on BetaKit.

Toronto-based Xaba has secured $6 million USD ($8 million CAD) to improve the capabilities of industrial manufacturing robots with its custom reinforcement learning programming system. 

The all-equity, all-primary financing was led by Hitachi Ventures with participation from Hazelview Ventures, the Crown corporation BDC Capital, Exposition Ventures, and Impact Venture Capital. The seed extension, which closed at the end of last year, brings Xaba’s total funds raised to $8 million USD. 

Moruzzi refers to the software as giving robots “synthetic brains.”

Xaba sells what it calls an autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) control system that allows humans to interface with industrial robots through low-code, natural language commands. 

The startup claims that its programs, xCognition and PLCfy, automatically generate code based on natural-language instructions, allowing them to adapt their functions more quickly. Robots are programmed with the specifications of their hardware and can use this knowledge to complete tasks more effectively.  

Current automation models are “extremely inefficient,” Massimiliano Moruzzi, founder and CEO of Xaba, told BetaKit. Most robots sold “out of the box” lack contextual knowledge, such as the physical attributes and functions of their own hardware. 

RELATED: Sanctuary AI, Nexera, and Novarc make deals and developments in busy week for Vancouver robotics companies

Moruzzi claims its program will feed the robots with information about their own structure and mechanical capabilities. It also has a graphic neural network map to connect industrial specifications and data collected from experience, allowing it to improve capabilities over time. 

Moruzzi refers to the software as giving robots “synthetic brains.” Though the deep learning algorithm is a far cry from the human brain, Moruzzi told BetaKit that the program was designed to approximate two key parts of the brain that he says are missing from many industrial robots: self-knowledge and data ontology, which refers to the formal representation of knowledge within a domain that can be shared and interpreted across multiple systems. 

The company claims its program is designed to help automate a wide array of manufacturing tasks, including aluminum casting and forging, robotic drilling, robotic welding, and large-scale 3D printing. 

Amid a trade war threatening Canadian manufacturing jobs, Moruzzi says Xaba’s technology offers the opportunity to reshore operations by giving more industrial robots improved capabilities, ultimately helping to scale production.

Industrial automation has been slow to catch on in Canada, particularly among smaller enterprises. Just 8.4 percent of manufacturing companies in 2022 had adopted robotics technology, according to Statistics Canada. But companies that did integrate robotics had higher productivity rates, accounting for a larger share of employment and revenue in the economy. 

One barrier to automation, the study notes, is difficulty recruiting skilled workers to onboard, program, and manage industrial robots. Xaba aims to fix this problem by making it easier to give robots instructions without advanced coding knowledge. 

Rather than replacing labourers, Moruzzi said that Xaba-enabled robots, with their deep learning capabilities, offer the possibility of upskilling human workers. He likened it to how humans play chess or Go against superior computers and get feedback on their performance. 

“They can show you new experiences at light speed compared to what a human can actually synthesize in that moment,” Moruzzi said.

In contrast to other Canadian tech companies dealing with uncertainty surrounding tariffs imposed by the United States (US), Xaba said that the trade war has created a “perfect storm” for their business. 

RELATED: Shopify, Lightspeed lead Canadian tech stock surge after US pauses universal tariffs

“One of the missions [of Xaba] is to reshore a lot of the manufacturing that Canada has lost,” Moruzzi said. He pitches Xaba’s software as allowing Canada to take control over the automotive and aerospace industries. 

For Xaba, it doesn’t matter where his clients are sourcing their hardware, as it’s selling a software integration that can adapt to many specifications. This allows the company to circumvent the impact of tariff uncertainty and variable levies, Moruzzi said.

Xaba has landed clients in Canada and abroad, including US automated manufacturer Fives and Italy-based LEAS SPA. 

Moruzzi said Xaba plans to use the financing to expand its footprint, improve its product, and expand its team from its current headcount of 24, which includes AI scientists and engineers. He declined to disclose the company’s valuation, but said its annual recurring revenue is “in the six digits.” 

Feature image courtesy Simon Kadula via Unsplash.

The post Xaba aims to make industrial robots smarter with $8-million CAD seed extension first appeared on BetaKit.

Toronto Tech Week has unveiled the speakers for its headline event alongside the official program calendar as the inaugural citywide initiative anticipates more than 10,000 attendees this June.

Social Capital’s Chamath Palihapitiya and NVIDIA’s VP of AI research Sanja Fidler will join Shopify leaders Tobi Lütke and Harley Finkelstein at Homecoming, hosted at Toronto’s Evergreen Brickworks on June 24. The mainstage event will be streamed live and also feature local tech CEOs Raquel Urtasun (Waabi), Michael Katchen (Wealthsimple), and Aidan Gomez (Cohere).

“Homecoming at Toronto Tech Week will be a defining moment for everyone building, backing, and betting on Canada’s future,” said Toronto Tech Week co-organizer and BetaKit board chair Satish Kanwar. “It will celebrate the bold talent, relentless energy, and quiet conviction driving Toronto’s underdog story to the world stage.”

Toronto Tech Week’s headline event will feature Social Capital’s Chamath Palihapitiya, NVIDIA’s Sanja Fidler, and Shopify’s Tobi Lütke and Harley Finkelstein.

Homecoming is just one of over 100 partner-run events taking place during Toronto Tech Week from June 23-27. BetaKit will effectively kick off Toronto Tech Week with a BetaKit Town Hall featuring SRTX founder Katherine Homuth at the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall on June 23. Later that evening, BetaKit will host The Most Ambitious Launch Party with the DMZ, an invitation-only event celebrating the launch of BetaKit’s Most Ambitious print issue, which will be available exclusively at Toronto Tech Week events before its digital issue launch on BetaKit.com. 

Other notable speakers from partner events include AI godfather Geoffrey Hinton (at the University of Toronto Frontiers of AI Keynote) and Netflix CTO Elizabeth Stone (at the Elevate Talks event).

Data shared with BetaKit by Toronto Tech Week indicates that almost 50 percent of the confirmed events are open to the public or contain some form of public access. While the most popular locations for events are Toronto’s Financial District and King West, Toronto Tech Week will spread across 19 neighbourhoods throughout the week. Events will run the gamut from panels, firesides, hackathons, demos, and social gatherings, with the five most popular event themes being fundraising, B2B, B2C, engineering, and AI.

“AI innovation is rapidly positioning Canada as a global leader, with Toronto emerging as a critical technology hub,” said Waabi CEO Raquel Urtasun. “By bringing together our world-class entrepreneurs, talent, research institutions, and forward-thinking investors, Toronto Tech Week is fostering a technology ecosystem that leverages Canada’s unique strengths and values to create solutions that address both local and global challenges.”

The full program calendar can be viewed on the Toronto Tech Week website, which contains links for attendees to purchase tickets or RSVP for their desired events throughout the week.

Led by a volunteer-run, non-profit organization, Toronto Tech Week has received financial backing from presenting sponsors Shopify, Google Cloud, and the City of Toronto. BetaKit is the official media partner of Toronto Tech Week.

“We’re proud to celebrate and support our dynamic and innovative tech sector,” said Olivia Chow, Mayor of Toronto, in a statement. “In these uncertain economic times, we must do everything we can to support the growth of the sector. I encourage everyone to participate in Toronto Tech Week events.”

Disclosure: BetaKit majority owner Good Future is the family office of two former Shopify leaders, Arati Sharma and Satish Kanwar.

Feature image courtesy Toronto Tech Week.

The post Chamath Palihapitiya, Sanja Fidler among Homecoming headliners as Toronto Tech Week unveils event calendar first appeared on BetaKit.

Difficulty accessing capital and concerns about fund performance were the talk of the town among Canadian venture capitalists (VCs) at Elevate’s recent CIX Summit in Toronto.

In closed-door conversations at the Mar. 26 event’s Investor Forum, leaders from Canada’s VC industry gathered to discuss some challenges they are facing and how to address them. 

While the impact of tariffs and the global trade war has dominated VC discussions since then, the Investor Forum focused largely on the structural issues limiting Canada’s technology investment community. Topics ranged from tensions between investors and their limited partners (LPs) to prevailing narratives about poor VC performance and competitive pressures at the seed and growth stages.

BetaKit attended the Investor Forum under the Chatham House Rule, which means that information from the meeting can be shared, but not attributed to specific people.

VC fundraising remains “an uphill battle”

Many Canadian VCs currently find themselves in a difficult position. A key topic of discussion among Investor Forum attendees was ongoing access to capital challenges amid what remains a tough VC fundraising environment.

At the Investor Forum, VCs lamented a core contributing factor: Canadian pension funds, endowments, and corporates remain relatively inactive in domestic VC compared to their international peers.

RELATED: GPs and LPs at Startupfest expect gradual recovery with 2024 on pace for worst year for Canadian VC in a decade

Like others globally, Canadian LPs invested heavily in the asset class during the height of the VC boom in 2021 and 2022, and have since become more cautious and selective​​ as macroeconomic conditions have deteriorated and the merger and acquisition and initial public offering (IPO) markets have cooled.

This LP pullback has resulted in smaller funds, longer fundraising timelines, shifts in investment strategy, and turnover across Canada’s VC industry. Last October, Toronto’s Information Venture Partners pivoted to single-asset, special-purpose vehicle investing. Last month, Toronto and Montréal-based CMD Capital paused its operations indefinitely after failing to secure anchor institutional investors for its first fund. Investors that BetaKit has spoken with indicated that CMD Capital is not alone and expect to see more Canadian VC firms quietly follow suit amid continued challenges.

The challenges are compounded for emerging managers like CMD Capital, typically defined as firms on their first, second, or third fund. Attendees noted that emerging managers—a category most Canadian VCs fit into—face “an uphill battle” as LPs have reduced VC allocations and concentrated dollars on established investors with a track record of returning cash.

Performance an albatross around neck of Canadian VCs

While broad market conditions are one part of the equation, Canadian VC performance—both actual and perceived—is another limiting factor on VC fundraising. Investor Forum attendees acknowledged that the “prevailing narrative” at the moment is that the performance of Canadian VC funds has not been up to snuff. Public awareness of writedowns by two of Canada’s largest VCs, Georgian Partners and BDC Capital, has added fuel to the fire, but both are far from the only firms feeling the impact of the downturn.

Some attendees expressed fear that this narrative of poor Canadian VC performance will become self-fulfilling. Other VCs asserted that many Canadian VC firms simply have not performed well enough, and argued that fund managers need to ask themselves hard questions as to why, including whether they have the right priorities and approaches.

RELATED: Georgian Partners isn’t the only one

One VC that BetaKit spoke to after the Investor Forum argued that Canada needs to create a safe space for not just entrepreneurs but also fund managers to build and fail, noting that the country’s VC industry will not get ahead unless it becomes more willing to admit and accept failure and shift to new strategies. Failure to do so could mean the emerging managers turnstile will continue.

Not all attendees at the Investor Forum were aligned on the best approach. One investor posited that the VC firms with strong fund performance despite the downturn should share that information publicly, arguing that some un-Canadian bragging could help build more confidence in the industry among LPs and founders alike. Some attendees expressed support for this idea.

In response, another investor noted that many VCs are not currently disclosing their fund performance for a reason, which was met with begrudging agreement.

“Price-takers” across stages

Together, limited access to capital and performance issues have contributed to deployment pressure at multiple stages in the VC lifecycle, including at the seed and Series A levels. Attendees asserted that Canada lacks enough seed investors who can lead deals, noting that there are “more price-takers than price-setters” in the country’s early-stage VC ecosystem.

Emerging managers typically focus on startups at the pre-seed and seed stages. While some investors told BetaKit that the impact of emerging managers’ fundraising struggles has not yet been deeply felt at the seed level, they anticipate that this will become more apparent over time and create problems down the road.

Meanwhile, Investor Forum attendees affirmed that the Series A crunch is real, noting that the bar for a Series A has been raised. Some contributing factors investors cited include later-stage firms investing earlier, more capital being concentrated on perceived winners, and some fast-growing companies, particularly those in AI, increasing VC expectations for startup traction across the board. This comes at a time when attendees also said Canada could use more Series A investors.

RELATED: CVCA calls for temporary capital gains reduction, national investment tax credit in pitch to federal parties

While megadeals kept Canadian VC funding afloat in 2024, later-stage capital availability also remains an issue. A recent Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) analysis found that US investors play a key role in scaling Canadian startups and highlighted a need for deeper domestic capital pools at the growth and late-stage levels, something that the CVCA is now advocating for.

In an interview with BetaKit after the CIX Summit, CVCA CEO Kim Furlong noted that this high proportion of US investment means that “all that value at the moment of exit leaves Canada.” At the moment, Furlong said there are only “a handful” of Canadian VC firms capable of writing cheques at those stages. She argued that having more funds with the ability to do this would go a long way towards ensuring more of that wealth stays in Canada.

“By the time you get to Series C, most of your capital is coming from the US, the talent to grow that company is in the US, and your customer base is in the US,” Furlong said. “If the capital rate is not [incentivizing] you to stay here, why are you building it here?” 

Investor Forum attendees expressed concern about Canada’s lack of growth and late-stage capital—something BDC Capital recently committed nearly a billion dollars towards addressing—amid an environment where some Canadian tech companies are considering or pulling the trigger on moving south. Artificial intelligence hardware firm Tenstorrent recently did just that, redomiciling from Toronto to California to raise more money from US investors and prepare for an eventual US IPO.

RELATED: Clio tops $4-billion CAD valuation with largest software funding round in Canadian tech history

One investor argued that it was embarrassing that Canadian VCs did not invest in BC-based legaltech company Clio’s record-breaking, more than $1.2-billion CAD Series F last year, which was financed entirely by new US investors—an assertion that prompted some quiet nods from others in the room. At the time, Clio co-founder and CEO Jack Newton told BetaKit that this was not a deliberate choice, but candidly admitted that “The number of investors in Canada that can write the kind of cheques … in this round is pretty limited.”

However, it was not all doom and gloom. While there were certainly signs of frustration and tension given these challenges, the conversations were largely optimistic and solutions-oriented, and attendees expressed belief that all of this turmoil is ultimately healthy and that the country’s VC industry will emerge stronger from it.

Some attendees also hailed the recent death of the Liberals’ planned capital gains tax inclusion rate hike as a win for both the VC industry and the country, and view the fast-approaching federal election as an opportunity to lobby incoming leadership to think differently about how to aid domestic VC, which still remains reliant on government support.

Earlier this week, the CVCA began doing just that: pitching federal parties on a series of policy recommendations aimed at incentivizing domestic investment in a new white paper. Among other things, the document called on Canada’s next federal government to temporarily slash the capital gains tax inclusion rate and double the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption limit, launch a new national investment tax credit, recapitalize the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative, and explore encouraging Canadian pension funds to invest more domestically.

Feature image courtesy Elevate.

The post Performance anxiety and access to capital top of mind for Canadian VCs first appeared on BetaKit.

After a seemingly endless run-up to the writ, Canada’s snap federal election is almost over, with election day just two weeks away.

As expected, special interest groups are attempting to steer the election agenda with public asks, and Canadian tech is no different in making its requests known.

Reporter Josh Scott has two such stories for you. First, a CVCA white paper asking for follow-through on past VCCI and SR&ED commitments, alongside a federal tax credit and other capital gains tweaks to incentivize investment. Second, a CCI open letter signed by 150 Canadian tech leaders asking the major parties to deliver a plan (any plan!) to protect our economic sovereignty. You can find both stories below.

After reading them, you may be struck by how familiar these requests are. CVCA CEO Kim Furlong acknowledged that SR&ED reform is something “we’ve been talking about for the last 20 years,” before telling Josh she was hopeful the parties might adopt her recommendations. What is asked for is not always promised, and promises are not always kept.

Journalist and pundit Paul Wells blames a decade of our democratic institutions progressively “forgetting how to make decisions.” He’s wary of those who believe this problem goes away the day after the election.

I don’t disagree, but I will note that even the most well-intentioned political promises come with caveats, because execution is harder than decision making. Take Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his promise to end provincial procurement from US companies after ripping up the $100-million Starlink contract. Alex Riehl did some digging into the implementation and found caveats large enough to drive a company through. You can find that story below as well.

Struggling to keep up with all the promises? I suggest the CBC’s election tracker, which features the policy platforms of all major parties across a wide variety of issues.

Douglas Soltys
Editor-in-chief

Consensus 2025: Where Innovation & Ambition Collide

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TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

BetaKit to launch “Most Ambitious” issue on June 23, 2025

Go for gold. Elbows up. Tech for Good.

As Canada reconsiders its place in the world, BetaKit will launch a new annual issue designed to spotlight the big swings being taken across the Canadian tech and innovation landscape.

The issue will profile individuals, companies, and organized efforts identified by BetaKit’s editorial team through its deep sector knowledge across the country. BetaKit’s Most Ambitious will be released first as a print issue, which will be available exclusively at Toronto Tech Week events in June, before its digital issue launch on BetaKit.com.

CVCA calls for temporary capital gains reduction, national investment tax credit in pitch to federal parties

With a federal election weeks away, The Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) published a white paper this week pushing federal policy recommendations aimed at incentivizing domestic investment.

Among its five recommendations, the document calls on Canada’s next federal government to temporarily slash the capital gains tax inclusion rate for investments in Canadian startups and scaleups, and double the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption limit.

The Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) published its own election season open letter signed by 150 Canadian tech leaders. The signatories are calling on the parties to share how they plan to build “a more sovereign, more resilient, and more prosperous Canada” at the upcoming federal election debates.

Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke tells employees to prove AI can’t do the job before asking for resources

Using AI is now “a baseline expectation” at Shopify, CEO Tobi Lütke told employees in an internal memo he publicly shared this week. 

As part of the new employee policy, Lütke said prototyping should be “dominated” by AI exploration, and that AI usage will be a component on performance and peer review questionnaires. Teams will also have to demonstrate that AI can’t help them before asking for more resources or staff.

Ontario takes bite out of Premier Doug Ford’s promised US procurement ban

Last month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that all US-based companies were banned from taking part in provincial procurement as part of retaliatory measures against US tariffs. 

New details shared by the province now show that’s not entirely true.

Google Cloud Startups leader sees opportunity for startups building AI agents amid pressure to move quickly

Google Cloud Startups managing director Darren Mowry is excited by the opportunity that exists in AI right now, but said this also comes with a lot of responsibility.

In an interview with BetaKit, Mowry argued that there is so much opportunity in AI that “doing the right thing in the right order” has become a key challenge for Google Cloud and other companies, one that has forced the cloud services giant to be selective and prioritize where it invests.

Shopify, Lightspeed lead Canadian tech stock surge after US pauses universal tariffs

Canadian tech stocks, including Shopify and Lightspeed, rallied this week after the US announced it would pause universal tariffs and reduce them to 10 percent for most countries except China.

Local tech hubs see leadership changes

Sheldon McCormick, formerly of Uber Canada and proptech startup Properly, has been tapped to serve as the new permanent CEO of Waterloo Region tech hub Communitech. The leadership change comes after a round of layoffs as the organization looks to refocus from an ambitious national agenda to its roots as a local effort.

Meanwhile, Patrick White, the managing director of Ottawa-based startup accelerator L-Spark, is leaving the tech hub he co-founded after 12 years at the helm to join video surveillance software company Solink as director of corporate programs. ​

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Weekly Canadian Deals and Dollars

• CAN – Federal innovation hub Scale AI launches $30M fund
• VAN – Corinex raises $42M to continue European expansion
• VAN – CO280 strikes 12-year carbon removal deal with Microsoft
• TOR – Tailscale raises $230M Series C after “surprising” growth
• TOR –  WonderFi reveals it spent $3.6M following CEO kidnapping
• TOR – Wealthsimple acquihires wealth platform for couples
• TOR – Kepler is selling on-orbit computing services to Axiom Space
• OTT – Blumind raises $20M Series A to commercialize new AI chip
• MTL – Puzzle Medical closes $43M round co-led by Frank Baylis
• MTL – Glowtify secures $825K pre-seed round
• MTL – QueerTech reveals first cohort of 2SLGBTQIA+ accelerator

The BetaKit Podcast — Inside Eric Migicovsky’s crazy journey to relaunch Pebble

“At the end of the day, I really wanted a Pebble. It didn’t exist. No one was building anything remotely like it. So I, without really knowing what I was doing, decided to go and make it.”

Almost 10 years after Pebble’s demise, Eric Migicovsky is back building smartwatches. The Canadian behind some of the largest Kickstarter projects of all time explains why he’s relaunching the device he originally made for himself, the incredible luck that has allowed him to do so, and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

Take The BetaKit Quiz – This week: Wealthsimple’s acquihire, Shopify’s AI policy, and Nintendo’s Switch 2 confusion

Think you’re on top of Canadian tech and innovation news? Time to prove it. Test your knowledge of Canadian tech news with The BetaKit Quiz for April 11, 2025.​

Inventures 2025: Connect, Inspire, Innovate

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This year’s Inventures features world class key note speakers Gary Vaynerchuk and Jim Balsillie, alongside exclusive events including the Goodlawyer x Startup TNT collaboration and Deloitte Technology Fast 50 showcase.

With $240+ million in deal flow generated from past conferences, Inventures has proven itself as Western Canada’s most powerful connection hub for entrepreneurs, startups, investors, and policymakers.

Whether you’re seeking investment opportunities, strategic partnerships, or game-changing insights, Inventures 2025 is where possibilities transform into reality.

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Secure your spot today: https://inventurescanada.com/register/

The post Canadian tech makes federal election asks first appeared on BetaKit.

This week, we have a doozy of an interview, speaking with Eric Migicovsky, creator of the Pebble smartwatch.

Migicovsky recently announced Pebble’s dramatic return in 2025, almost 10 years after its demise in 2016, when the company was sold to Fitbit (which was later sold to Google).

It will be through a new company, Core Devices, and the smartwatches won’t be called Pebbles, but they’ll use recently open-sourced PebbleOS, and—as Migicovsky explains on the podcast—leftover parts from the original Pebble devices. 

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RSS

“ At the end of the day, I really wanted a Pebble. It didn’t exist. No one was building anything remotely like it. So I, without really knowing what I was doing, decided to go and make it.”

Look, sometimes I do a lot of blah blah upfront to hype the episode, but there are few Canadians who can say they built a hardware company out of the University of Waterloo’s Velocity garage, resulting in three of the 15 most-funded Kickstarters of all time, selling over 2 million smartwatches before ultimately shutting down. I can think of only one Canadian who convinced Google to open-source the IP of their dream device a decade after it was sold twice, following stints at one of the world’s best tech accelerators and selling their other tech company, messaging app Beeper, to the makers of WordPress.

On the podcast, Migicovsky covers how the first iteration of Pebble came to be (shoutout to the BlackBerry smartphone-connecting InPulse, which came before), why Pebble failed (and how much Apple had to do with it), his crazy journey to RePebble, and the lessons he learned along the way. If you care at all about the founder journey, or want to understand why hardware startups are… harder, you will enjoy this episode.

The once and future king of wearables is back with the smartwatch he built for himself. How did that happen?

Let’s dig in.

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The BetaKit Podcast is edited by Darian MacDonald. Feature image courtesy Core Devices.

The post Inside Eric Migicovsky’s crazy journey to relaunch Pebble first appeared on BetaKit.

The post Wealthsimple’s acquihire, Shopify’s AI policy, and Nintendo’s Switch 2 confusion first appeared on BetaKit.

Technology scaleup lobbying group the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) has published an open letter signed by 150 Canadian tech leaders calling on party heads to share how they plan to build “a more sovereign, more resilient, and more prosperous Canada” at next week’s federal election debates.

The letter argues that the Canada-United States (US) trade war has been “a wakeup call” that requires policy changes to safeguard Canada’s sovereignty and ensure its future prosperity, referring to the present moment as “the greatest economic crisis our country has faced since the Second World War.”

“We need the government to—just like consumers—to step up, especially around procurement.”

Nicolas Beique,
Helcim

Signatories include AlayaCare co-founder and CEO Adrian Schauer, Axonify CEO Carol Leaman, Clio co-founder and CEO Jack Newton, Conscia co-founder and CEO Sana Remekie, Helcim founder and CEO Nicolas Beique, Jane App co-founder and CEO Ali Taylor, Lightspeed Commerce co-founder and CEO Dax Dasilva, PointClickCare co-founder and CEO Dave Wessinger, and Well Health Technologies chair and CEO Hamed Shahbazi, among others.

With an election now only weeks away, the letter’s signatories hope to see candidates to lead Canada’s next government share broader visions for building Canada that prioritize “bold industrial strategy, procurement reform, domestic capacity building, and economic sovereignty.”

“This election is happening in the middle of a global economic upheaval,” CCI president Benjamin Bergen said in a statement. “We’re watching capital markets crash and tariffs return, and yet none of the leaders have laid out a serious vision for how Canada will build wealth and protect its economic sovereignty in the years ahead. This isn’t a time for status quo thinking or recycled talking points—we need bold industrial strategy, clear commitments to domestic capacity, and leadership that’s ready to meet this moment.”

Last month, CCI put together an election primer about what innovators need to scale. That document featured a variety of specific policy recommendations for Canada’s next federal government, and Bergen recently joined The BetaKit Podcast to unpack them.

Among other things, CCI and its members are calling for the election winner to modernize the Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credit, and ensure defence and security investments support Canadian tech firms in critical sectors like AI, cybersecurity, and quantum computing. They also want to establish a national economic security strategy to mitigate the risks of foreign takeovers and unfair trade practices‍, reallocate resources from allegedly ineffective programs like the Global Innovation Clusters, invest in domestic AI and compute infrastructure, and implement a Buy Canadian Tech strategy for federal procurement.

RELATED: An election primer on what Canadian innovators need

The Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association published a white paper of its own earlier this week pushing policy recommendations aimed at incentivizing domestic investment, asking for Canada’s next government to temporarily reduce the capital gains tax inclusion rate and roll out a national investment tax credit.

“The Buy Canadian movement isn’t just a trend, it’s really a turning point,” Beique told BetaKit in an interview. “Canadians, I think, are really waking up to the reality of the importance of economic sovereignty and national security and just our long-term prospects.”

Beique and the letter’s other signatories hope to see Canada’s next government commit to Buy Canadian and reform its procurement processes to prioritize domestic firms.

“We need the government to—just like consumers—to step up, especially around procurement, and really kind of put their money where their mouth is and show that they want to support Canadian innovation and champion a bold industrial and innovation strategy,” Beique said.

RELATED: CVCA calls for temporary capital gains reduction, national investment tax credit in pitch to federal parties

This is not just a federal issue. In an interview with BetaKit, Remekie said Conscia had been trying to sell to various Canadian governments since 2019 before finally securing a contract with Ontario in 2023—only to have the province nearly renege because the company wasn’t a vendor of record.

“It literally takes years to get anything done, and then what ends up happening is companies like us just typically give up because we’re trying to scale, we don’t have time and money and resources to waste on chasing down the government and trying to understand the bureaucracy and the red tape,” Remekie said.

Today’s CCI letter argues that “for too long,” Canadian government leaders have “prioritized short-term economic interests and photo ops over investment into Canada’s economic well-being,” citing the billions that have been spent luring foreign branch plants to Canada with “little or no analysis of the economic spillover effects.”

“If we’re able to go sell to Germany, and [the] UK, and France, we should be able to sell right here at home as well.”

Sana Remekie,
Conscia

The letter questioned why the federal government’s Strategic Innovation Fund is reportedly still financing multi-billion-dollar foreign multinationals, while Canadian tax dollars are funding academic research that US tech giants commercialize.

“At the time when our sovereignty is questioned by our largest trading partner, we expect all political parties to bring an unabashedly pro-Canadian attitude to managing our economy, particularly economic growth,” the letter states.

The letter asserted that “now is not the time to litigate past choices,” arguing that the economic policy decisions that leaders make in the months and years ahead “will be critical for Canada’s sovereignty and prosperity.”

Remekie added that the next federal government’s approach to buying Canadian ought to “reflect the same enthusiasm that the rest of the country is showing.”

“If we’re able to go sell to Germany, and [the United Kingdom], and France, we should be able to sell right here at home as well,” she said.

Update (04/11/25): A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Conscia had a contract with the Government of Canada. BetaKit regrets the error.

Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Devon Hawkins.

The post 150 Canadian tech leaders urge federal parties to deliver plan for economic sovereignty in open letter first appeared on BetaKit.

Vancouver firm CO280 has struck what it claims is a “historic” 12-year deal with Microsoft to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from an American paper mill.

The company and its technology partner SLB Capturi plan to sell almost 3.7 million tonnes of CO2 removal to Microsoft. The project will be designed to capture biogenic (biological origin) emissions from boiler stacks by retrofitting them with capture equipment and storing the CO2 permanently in geological formations. 

The CO280 strategy of adding carbon removal to existing paper mills is an efficient way to quickly scale carbon removal and bolster investment and jobs into timberland communities.

Brian Marrs, Microsoft

The initiative comes as Microsoft pursues ambitious emissions-reduction goals even as its own overall emissions have increased 29 percent over 2020 levels, mainly due to the energy-intensive data centres needed for AI applications—a problem plaguing companies across the tech sector. 

The capture technology diverts emissions at the base of a mill’s boiler stacks, with a solvent absorbing and capturing the CO2, CO280 co-founder and CEO Jonathan Rhone told BetaKit in an interview. It’s purified, compressed, and sent through a pipeline to its final destination—in this case, saline aquifers made of porous rock saturated with saltwater.

Rhone noted the pulp and paper industry has “significant advantages” in terms of the cost of carbon capture, which is expected to be relatively inexpensive at less than $200 USD per tonne. Trees produce the heat and biomass that powers the mill, not fossil fuels or natural gas. In addition, the CO2 at the mills is 300 times more concentrated than in the air people typically breathe.

A CO280 spokesperson told BetaKit the company couldn’t disclose the monetary value of the agreement or the name of the mill, although it said the facility was located in a Gulf Coast state. The region is an “extremely attractive place” between the aquifers, tax credits, and large customers, Rhone added.

The company maintains that the agreement is one of the biggest engineered CO2 removal purchases “to date,” and that it could potentially scale to the larger pulp and paper mill industry. These facilities release 88 million tonnes of biogenic CO2 per year, according to the company. Both CO280 and Microsoft claim these retrofits are “securing” existing mill jobs while creating new ones.

RELATED: Planetary Technologies secures $15.8-million CAD Series A to alkalize the oceans and fight climate change

“The CO280 strategy of adding carbon removal to existing paper mills is an efficient way to quickly scale carbon removal and bolster investment and jobs into timberland communities across the United States,” according to Brian Marrs, Microsoft’s Senior Director of Energy and Carbon Removal.

Microsoft aspires to be carbon negative (that is, eliminate more CO2 emissions than it produces) by 2030, and to remove its lifetime CO2 output by 2050. Its strategy includes carbon removal programs as well as emissions reduction efforts both in-house and in its supply chain. As outlined in its initial roadmap statement, it’s moving away from an industry practice of purchasing carbon offsets that merely avoid new emissions, as it believes carbon neutrality (net zero emissions) is “not enough” to minimize human-made climate change.

CO280 and SLB Capturi (formerly Aker Carbon Capture) signed a memorandum of understanding with Microsoft in April 2024 to help develop and scale CO2 removal in North America, including at pulp and paper mills. At the time, the companies aimed to streamline the deployment of carbon capture systems. 

In December, CO280 signed a $48-million deal with carbon removal accelerator Frontier, an alliance between Alphabet (the parent company of Google), Meta (the owner of Facebook), McKinsey Sustainability, Canada’s payments giant Shopify, and Stripe. CO280 has a dozen projects at varying stages of development.

Rhone said CO280 had a “terrific relationship” with Microsoft, and that he expected both the memorandum and the new agreement to “encourage” other companies to get into the carbon removal market. These sorts of deals are “catalytic,” he said, adding that the technology is profitable for those mills that make the upgrade.

The CEO also saw the Microsoft agreement as the “first of many” removal projects. In addition to the Gulf Coast, he pointed to plans for capture systems in Alberta. The province is an “obvious” place to launch between its storage-ready geology and a well-developed permit process, Rhone explained, saying there were six mills of interest in Alberta. 

The economic chaos resulting from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs haven’t created any problems for CO280, according to Rhone. He observed that his business has “not seen a pullback or a retreat” as a result. He believed that it even represented a “real opportunity” for Canada to lead in clean energy and carbon removal infrastructure, given its stability.

“That could be a real competitive advantage for Canada,” Rhone said.

Feature image courtesy of Constantin John on Unsplash. Body image courtesy of CO280.

The post Vancouver-based CO280 strikes 12-year carbon removal deal with Microsoft  first appeared on BetaKit.

Vancouver-based Corinex has raised $30 million USD ($42 million CAD) to support the deployment of its power grid visibility offering in Europe. 

The all-equity round was solely backed by European investors, led by United Kingdom-based Energy Growth Momentum, with participation from Spanish investment firms Suma Capital and Adara Ventures. Energy Growth Momentum and Suma Capital are gaining seats on Corinex’s board as a result of the round. 

The capital will support Corinex’s ongoing deployments, research and development, and employee costs in major European electricity markets, including Germany, Spain, and the UK, a Corinex spokesperson told BetaKit in an email. 

Corinex is deploying its technology with a European multinational electric utility company.

“As Europe intensifies its energy transition, the demand for advanced grid intelligence solutions is more critical than ever,” Suma Capital senior partner Natalia Ruiz said in a statement. “These solutions are the backbone of a resilient and sustainable power system.” 

Corinex provides broadband over power lines (BPL)-based electricity grid visibility and flexibility products. The company claims its products, which include data-collecting sensors and a software platform, help automate electricity infrastructure with real-time load balancing, which it says is essential for increasing the capacity of low-voltage energy infrastructure. 

Corinex has raised $60 million in total funding to date, the spokesperson said, though this is the company’s first external raise. Founder and CEO Peter Sobotka was previously the company’s sole investor, contributing $20 million, while another $10 million came from the Government of Canada’s SR&ED program. 

RELATED: Eocycle Technologies secures $25 million CAD to expand wind turbines in US, Europe

While Corinex currently doesn’t have any Canadian customers, the spokesperson said Corinex is deploying its technology at scale with European multinational electric utility company E.ON in Germany. It also counts E.ON as a customer in the UK, and has more than a dozen other utility customers across Europe.  

European markets, such as Germany, Spain, and the UK, are attractive to Corinex due to their strong regulatory push toward grid modernization, the spokesperson said, citing Germany’s GNDEW (“Law to restart the digitalization of the energy transition”), Spain’s renewable energy expansion, and the UK’s G100 grid regulations. 

“These countries are leading the transition to decentralized and digitalized energy systems, supported by national strategies,” the Corinex spokesperson said. “Corinex’s BPL-based grid flexibility solutions align perfectly with these needs.” 

Feature image courtesy Corinex. 

The post Corinex secures $42 million CAD to continue its European expansion first appeared on BetaKit.

Montréal-based medtech startup Puzzle Medical Devices has raised $43 million in a second Series A round to complete a clinical study of its heart pump for patients experiencing heart failure. 

The all-equity round, which closed in March, was co-led by existing investor Desjardins Capital and newcomer KF Matheson, the family office of former Liberal leadership candidate Frank Baylis, executive chairman of Baylis Medical, and Kris Shah, Baylis Medical president. Existing investors Longview Ventures and BDC Capital also participated alongside new investor Lumira Ventures.

The ModulHeart is a minimally invasive heart pump to support proper heart and kidney function in patients with advanced heart failure.

Shah and Broadview Ventures principal David Prim are joining Puzzle’s board as part of the round. Lumira Ventures managing director Daniel Hétu and BDC Capital’s Steven Abrams are also becoming board observers. 

“These funds will accelerate our mission to transform the treatment of advanced heart failure,” Jade Doucet-Martineau, CEO and co-founder of Puzzle Medical, said in a statement. 

Puzzle Medical has developed the ModulHeart, a minimally invasive heart pump to support proper heart and kidney function in patients with advanced heart failure. The company also makes a portable hardware controller for the heart pump, as well as a software solution for healthcare professionals to monitor the function of the device. The device has not been approved by any regulatory body and is not yet for sale. 

Puzzle Medical says the ModulHeart could provide a less-invasive alternative to a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), which pumps oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body when the heart isn’t healthy enough to do so. The risks of LVADs, which are often used to help ill heart-failure patients survive until a heart transplant, include excessive bleeding, stroke, and infection, which become more likely the longer a patient is using the device. The ModulHeart involves four-millimetre pumps arranged in parallel within the abdominal aorta, part of the largest artery in the body.

In 2022, Puzzle Medical completed its first in-human study with encouraging results. Four patients had ModulHeart inserted while undergoing high-risk heart procedures, and all patients saw improvements in cardiac and kidney function without complications. 

RELATED: Healthtech startup Vopemed lands $2.29-million pre-seed funding for AI-powered surgery visuals

The fresh financing follows a $34-million Series A the company raised in 2023, which Puzzle Medical said was also to fund a human feasibility study for its heart pump. A human feasibility study ensures that the device works and is clinically safe, and is a step toward regulatory approval. Doucet-Martineau told BetaKit that the two rounds were raised at different valuations, but declined to disclose either amount. 

At the time, investor Duke Rohlen, CEO of Cordis-X and Ajax Health, said Puzzle’s device represented “a truly novel solution to one of the most serious and difficult challenges in cardiovascular care.”

Puzzle Medical’s raise follows a trend of healthtech companies receiving funding in Québec, many of which have been supported by Investissement Québec, the provincial government’s fundraising arm. 

Puzzle Medical says it will use the money to refine the heart pump, advance its human feasibility study to assess safety and efficacy, and scale the team from 45 to 60 people this year.

Doucet-Martineau anticipates raising a Series B to complete a pivotal study of the device, which would evaluate its safety and effectiveness in a larger number of patients. The plan is to then raise a Series C to fund go-to-market efforts and sell the device in 2029, she said.

Feature image courtesy Puzzle Medical.

The post Puzzle Medical raises $43 million to pursue clinical trial of less-invasive device for patients with heart failure first appeared on BetaKit.

Patrick White, the managing director of Ottawa-based startup accelerator L-Spark, is leaving the tech hub he co-founded after 12 years at the helm. 

White is stepping away to join Ottawa-based video surveillance software company Solink as director of corporate programs, where he will oversee the company’s government program strategy and build out partnerships. White told BetaKit in an interview that it was hard to say goodbye to L-Spark, but working with entrepreneurs all the time made him want to “get into the game.” 

“When you’re working with all these startups, it always gets your juice flowing,” White said. “I think at the end of the day, I saw a great fit and made that jump.”

“A post-Pat White L-Spark is unchartered territory.” 

Lindy Ledohowski

White said there has been lots of discussion with his co-founder, executive managing director Leo Lax, and that it appears L-Spark will look to bring someone in to replace him.

In a statement to BetaKit, Lax described White as “irreplaceable.”

“He’s been a key builder of both L-SPARK and the broader Canadian tech ecosystem,” Lax said. “As we move forward, we’re looking to find a new leader who will guide L-SPARK into its next chapter.”

According to L-Spark’s 10-year impact report, the accelerator has mentored 130 companies, which have raised a collective $388 million. White, who said he’s proud of every company that has gone through L-Spark, said the greatest lesson he has learned as a mentor is that you should put the entrepreneur first, coach them into developing their “ask” (whether closing an investment or getting an introduction, “make the ask to get an answer,” he says), and to encourage them to strive for big dreams that initially don’t seem possible.   

“This is the power of accelerators and incubators,” White said.  

RBCx vice-president of relationship management, Lindy Ledohowski, told BetaKit she owes much of the last ten years of her “professional existence and experience” to White’s insight and advice. Ledohowski founded EssayJack, an early L-Spark cohort company that was acquired by Wize (now Wizeprep) in 2021. 

“When we had an investment go sideways with EssayJack, Pat was the first person I called. When we had an acquisition offer on the table, Pat was the first person I called. When I was thinking about my next career before joining RBCx, Pat was the first person I called,” Ledohowski said in a message to BetaKit. 

RELATED: L-SPARK’s Patrick White on the state of SaaS

“For over ten years Pat and L-Spark have been synonymous. A post-Pat White L-Spark is unchartered territory,” she added.

Sonya Shorey, president and CEO of neighbouring tech hub Invest Ottawa, said it has been an honour to work alongside White, adding that he has played a pivotal role in shaping the growth and success of countless entrepreneurs and companies.

“Pat White has been an unwavering champion of Canadian founders for more than a decade, and his legacy is woven deeply into our tech ecosystem,” Shorey told BetaKit. “He brings an incredible combination of entrepreneurial grit, humility, and commitment to the people he supports.”

White won’t be completely out of the picture, though he won’t have a formalized role. He said that he will be available to give his opinion or help anyway he can, and that he intends to be engaged with SaaS North, the annual tech conference L-Spark co-founded, to see it “thrive and grow.” 

“I think most of the entrepreneurs that have gone through our program would say they got value and continue to, and that’s a big win for me,” White said. “I think we still have an opportunity to do a lot more, as a country and as tech companies, and I want to see us keep pushing for greater and bigger dreams.” 

Feature image courtesy SaaS North.

The post Beloved mentor and L-Spark co-founder Patrick White to depart leadership role after 12 years first appeared on BetaKit.

Go for gold. Elbows up. Tech for Good.

As Canada reconsiders its place in the world, BetaKit will launch a new annual issue designed to spotlight the big swings being taken across the Canadian tech and innovation landscape.

BetaKit’s Most Ambitious will launch on June 23, 2025, the first day of Toronto Tech Week.

The issue will profile individuals, companies, and organized efforts identified by BetaKit’s editorial team through its deep sector knowledge across the country.

BetaKit’s Most Ambitious will launch on June 23, 2025, the first day of Toronto Tech Week. BetaKit Town Hall tickets go on sale on April 14.

“There’s a lot of talk about what Canada needs to do at this moment in time. As the publication of record for Canadian startups and tech innovation, BetaKit knew what we needed to do: tell stories that challenge, inspire, and connect the sector,” said Douglas Soltys, BetaKit Editor-in-Chief. “I’m excited to launch BetaKit’s Most Ambitious, and spotlight a collection of builders who can inspire and unite Canadians behind the idea that we can do hard things.”

BetaKit’s Most Ambitious will be released first as a print issue, which will be available exclusively at Toronto Tech Week events before its digital issue launch on BetaKit.com.

The BetaKit Town Hall will take place at Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto on June 23rd at 1 pm. The event will feature a range of speakers, including some named in the Most Ambitious issue, gathered to engage an audience of tech CEOs, sector leaders, and investors.

BetaKit Town Hall tickets go on sale on April 14 with the launch of Toronto Tech Week’s full calendar of events.

BetaKit has also teamed up with DMZ to present The Most Ambitious Launch Party, an invitation-only opening night celebration.

“DMZ is turning 15 this year, and we’re hosting a night to remind us all what anchors this industry: big dreams and bold ideas,” said Abdullah Snobar, Executive Director of DMZ and CEO of DMZ Ventures. “We’re teaming up with BetaKit to kick off Toronto Tech Week by celebrating the people driving innovation in Canada and marking 15 years of DMZ backing ambitious founders.”

In its inaugural year, BetaKit’s Most Ambitious is presented by lead sponsors National Bank and Uber, in support of the publication’s vision for this important new issue.

“For more than three decades, we have supported the growth and ambition of Canadian technology companies with our expertise and tailored solutions,” said Tuyen Vo, Head, Technology and Innovation Banking of National Bank. “BetaKit’s Most Ambitious will continue that support by rallying the country around a bold new metric of what’s possible. We’re proud to spotlight and celebrate the exciting and important work being done across Canada.”

“Toronto is home to some of the brightest minds in tech, and at Uber Canada, we’re proud to be part of that ecosystem since 2012,” said Laura Miller, Uber Canada. “Our mission to reimagine movement isn’t just about getting from A to B—it’s about shaping the future. That’s why we’re excited to support BetaKit’s Most Ambitious and help inspire Canadian innovators to keep taking big swings.”

BetaKit thanks its national network of Innovation Leaders for their support in delivering this exciting issue.

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact [email protected].

The post BetaKit to launch “Most Ambitious” issue on June 23, 2025 first appeared on BetaKit.

Sheldon McCormick, formerly of proptech startup Properly and Uber Canada, has been tapped to serve as Communitech’s new permanent CEO.

The leadership change comes after a round of layoffs and as the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. organization looks to refocus from an ambitious national agenda to its roots as a local effort.

McCormick most recently co-founded and served as COO of Properly, a Toronto-based digital real-estate brokerage and search platform.

McCormick will replace interim CEO Jennifer Gruber, who will return to her original role as CFO. Gruber was tapped to lead the Kitchener-Waterloo innovation hub in October after the departure of Chris Albinson at the end of 2024.

McCormick’s appointment follows a months-long search led by Communitech’s board of directors and executive search firm Korn Ferry, Communitech said.

McCormick most recently co-founded and served as COO of Properly, a Toronto-based digital real-estate brokerage and search platform. Properly was acquired by digital mortgage broker Pine in 2023 for an undisclosed amount, while McCormick and his co-founder exited the company in a separate transaction. Properly had raised roughly $60 million in funding, excluding a $100 million credit facility from Silicon Valley Bank and i80 Group. 

Before founding Properly in 2018, McCormick launched UberX in Canada and was the general manager for Uber in Ontario. He worked as a consultant at Monitor Group (now Monitor Deloitte) after graduating from Queen’s University with a bachelor of commerce, according to his LinkedIn. 

Michael Doughty, Communitech board member and chair of the selection committee, said in a statement that McCormick’s startup and large-scale business background made him “the ideal fit to help guide Communitech’s next chapter.”

RELATED: Chris Albinson departs as Communitech CEO but keeps reins of True North Fund

In an interview with BetaKit, McCormick said that his empathy for founders was a primary motivator in taking this job. “I have an understanding of what it’s like to go from zero to one,” he said. “I am really grateful to have the opportunity to be able to stand in their corner with Communitech.”

New leadership, renewed focus 

McCormick takes over Communitech after a period of leadership changes and staff reductions. Multiple sources told BetaKit that more than 15 people were laid off in the weeks leading up to McCormick’s appointment. In a statement to BetaKit, Gruber confirmed that some roles had been “impacted” due to an “evolving and uncertain economic landscape,” but did not confirm how many. McCormick also acknowledged that the management team had to make “really tough choices” as all businesses, including startups, face uncertainty stemming from the Canada-United States (US) trade war. 

McCormick said that under his leadership, Communitech plans to “reorient” towards supporting founders in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. An internal Communitech report viewed by BetaKit showed that company formation in the region was down 80 percent in 2022 from its peak in 2014. The report noted that company formation is a leading indicator for the long-term health of the innovation ecosystem.

“We’re going to take some time to embrace the community [and] spend the time to get to know where the challenges are and where folks need us to support them,” McCormick said.

This marks a slight divergence from his predecessor, Albinson, who spearheaded the True North Strategy that sought to help 14 founders across the country reach $1 billion in annual revenue by 2030.

As part of the strategy, Communitech launched the True North Fund, a $200-million, sector-agnostic, growth-stage-focused VC fund. At the time, Communitech told BetaKit that the fund would be a separate entity managed by members of the hub, designed to invest in 30 companies across Canada over 10 years, with initial cheque sizes of $1 million to $5 million and potential for follow-on investment of up to $30 million. With his departure, Albinson moved to managing the fund full-time alongside Sean Brownlee. 

The Logic reported last year that Albinson’s True North Strategy for Communitech, and the True North Fund in particular, created rifts at Communitech and within the Kitchener-Waterloo tech community. Some questioned whether the fund’s national focus would exclude early-stage local investments—a notion Albinson rejected in his comments to The Logic. 

RELATED: Communitech CEO Chris Albinson shares his plan to help Canadian tech own the podium

Initially branded as a Communitech-affiliated investment vehicle, Albinson confirmed to BetaKit in the fall that the fund is independent but maintains a partnership agreement with Communitech. 

Albinson announced he would leave Communitech in October after three and a half years at the helm. Just before that, Communitech added four new members to its board: Magnet Forensics CEO Adam Belsher, Accelerator Centre CEO Ruth Casselman, Mappedin founder and CEO Hongwei Liu, and former National Research Council of Canada president Iain Stewart.

The hub’s 2024 annual report, unveiled in September, outlined a “refreshed vision for the next three years” that emphasized supporting “Canada’s high-performing companies as they scale into global superstars.”

McCormick told BetaKit that while his mandate aligns with some aspects of this report, Communitech will also embrace change under his tenure. 

“I mean to approach the role with a founder mindset, and that means clarity of focus, ruthless prioritization, and embracing change,” McCormick said. “I can tell you that the board, which is made up of several local founders, have given me the mandate to ensure that we evolve.”

Founded in 1997, Communitech has sought to support tech founders in the Kitchener-Waterloo region through several iterations. Financed by a combination of government and private partners, Communitech’s website claims that the organization currently serves more than 1,200 members.

Feature image courtesy Communitech.

The post Communitech appoints Sheldon McCormick as new CEO following layoffs first appeared on BetaKit.

Sathish Bala had spent decades building software companies, but when he launched his first EdTech company, he experienced a reaction he had never seen.

 “The comments were love, hate, empathy, anger—it’s an emotional product,” he said. 

Schoolio, the EdTech company co-founded by Bala and which he now leads as CEO, launched a comprehensive l K-8 curriculum aligned with provincial education standards designed for homeschooling parents. Founded in 2019, the pandemic provided a significant boost in users, but Schoolio was built with a broader vision for parents who need to homeschool due to travel, medical reasons, or unique learning styles.

“The minute you try to build something outside the established system, it falls on deaf ears.”

Sathish Bala, Schoolio

Ontario’s investment of $50-million in digital learning in 2020 positioned the province as an exciting opportunity for EdTech startups on paper. But Bala’s experience revealed that to make it in EdTech, startups need far more than funding—they require a deep understanding of how families engage with learning and sensitivity to the emotions that go behind a family’s education choices.

EdTech founders in Canada experience the full range of emotions that go along with building in this space. Rethinking how learning happens means navigating bureaucratic roadblocks and battling entrenched norms, all while searching for the right market fit. 

“Education is such a political conversation,” Bala said. “The minute you try to build something outside the established system, it falls on deaf ears.”

Despite these challenges, those EdTech founders who rise to the challenges have the chance to create solutions that redefine learning. That’s where organizations like the Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC) step in to offer structure, mentorship, and access to an ecosystem that helps companies cut through complexity and scale with confidence.

Finding the invisible customer

Schoolio had a product parents wanted. But figuring out how to sell it was another story.

In the United States, homeschooling networks are well-established, with approximately 3.7 million students being homeschooled as of 2024. Canada’s homeschooling landscape, however, is less defined. Although the number of homeschooled students more than doubled to 83,988 between 2020 and 2021, it still represented a small fraction of the total student population. ​

“One of our biggest challenges up front was: how do we target a market that’s not identified?” Bala said.

Without centralized distribution, Schoolio struggled to find an efficient pathway to its target market. With guidance from the TBDC community, the company refined its strategy—shifting from direct-to-consumer advertising to partnerships with tutoring centres and libraries. 

Through TBDC’s founder network, Bala gained insights that helped him move past the trial-and-error phase and into scalable distribution models. Four years later, Schoolio has scaled to over 10,000 students across nine countries. 

But for other EdTech companies in Canada, finding customers is only the first challenge. 

Learning the Canadian market

For international EdTech founders, entering the Canadian market often requires a complete shift in how products fit into everyday learning environments.

KidsNanny, an AI-powered parental control software startup, learned this firsthand. Originally built in India, the company’s app helps parents monitor their children’s online activity, flagging risks like cyberbullying, sextortion, and self-harm. However, to appeal to Canadian families, the founders had to adjust their positioning to better align with local expectations, privacy norms, and usage patterns.

“In India, parents are more authoritative,” said Parag Patel, co-founder of KidsNanny. “Here, we had to build a solution where both parents and kids felt comfortable using it.”

Canadian parents expressed concerns about over-monitoring, while children were wary of their privacy being potentially invaded. Patel and his team worked with TBDC to tailor their approach and ensure that KidsNanny functioned more as a safeguard than an outright monitoring tool. 

Rather than giving parents unrestrained access, KidsNanny’s AI now flags only potentially harmful content as it aims to preserve trust while still offering protection.

After months of work, KidNanny’s shift brought the app to over 7,000 Canadian homeschooling parents. 

For EdTech startups targeting the traditional school system, the challenges multiply.

One country, many opportunities

For EdTech companies selling to public education systems such as school boards, the path to market in Canada is even more nuanced..

While recent school board amalgamations have consolidated some decision-making, they also introduce new challenges. Larger boards tend to be more cautious, have more rigorous procurement processes, and prefer long-term partnerships with established vendors. For startups, which means relationships have to be built earlier. 

For Kalaivani Chittaranjan, founder of Mintbook, which provides AI-driven digital libraries and e-learning tools to schools, this made expansion far more challenging than expected. 

Mintbook provides AI-driven digital learning solutions designed to make education more accessible, including a curated digital library with eBooks, video lessons, and interactive courses. Its IoT-powered portable library device that delivers offline access to learning materials.

With its ability to bridge digital divides, Mintbook’s technology has the potential to serve remote and Indigenous communities in Canada, where limited internet access and scarce educational resources create barriers to learning.

In India, startups scaled rapidly through partnerships with regional governments. But in Canada’s, where school boards are independently governed, and provincial standards vary, the process requires a new strategy.

“There’s no single entry point,” she said. “Every province has its own structure, its own decision-makers.”

With TBDC’s support, Mintbook learned how to navigate Canada’s bidding systems, where success often depends on long-term public tenders rather than one-off sales. TBDC helped them navigate the ecosystem, introducing Chittaranjan and her team to government procurement officials, local school administrators, and corporate partners looking for digital learning solutions. 

Instead of targeting individual schools, Mintbook began bidding on government and public school projects across North America, including a major opportunity with the Toronto Housing Corporation, which was transitioning to digital libraries.

“From our first call with TBDC mentors, they were pushing us to think beyond just the product,” she said. “Connecting with the ecosystem at TBDC, whether it is alumni or existing entrepreneurs, has been a very big support for us. They helped us understand the market, showed us where we fit, and connected us with the right people.”

Mintbook is now running pilot programs with teachers and students, gathering real-world feedback, and this summer, the company plans to host its first Canadian tech event, giving principals and decision-makers the chance to test the technology firsthand.

New ideas meet old rules

Even with demand on their side, EdTech startups in Ontario face a deeper, more stubborn problem: resistance to change within the education system.

Bala knows this challenge well. As a founder, he fought to get his product recognized in a system that wasn’t built for alternatives. 

“We weren’t just selling a curriculum anymore,” he said. “We’re selling a new belief system, which was not what we signed up for when we came up with this company, but that’s the job now,” he added.

Now, as a mentor with TBDC, Bala helps other EdTech founders prepare for the same fight.

The resistance to change in education is systemic, he said.. Schools are slow to adopt new technology, and many educators lack the training and resources to integrate new tools effectively. 

A 2023 study on digital learning in Canadian post-secondary schools found that while institutions aim to expand digital offerings, inadequate training  remains a key barrier to adoption.

For founders, pitching a product isn’t enough. They have to fight inertia.

Now a mentor at TBDC, Bala shares his hard-earned wisdom with emerging founders. He talks not only about finding product-market fit, but also about the mindset and behaviours that shape how institutions make decisions.

“You have to know what fight you’re picking,” he said. “If you’re trying to change the system, you better be ready to push through a lot of doors.”

PRESENTED BY

Scale your startup faster with the right support. Join TBDC to connect with top mentors, build valuable relationships, and unlock investment opportunities. Get started today.

Feature image courtesy of Unsplash.

The post The founders looking to redefine learning in Canada first appeared on BetaKit.

Ottawa-based fabless semiconductor developer Blumind has closed $20 million CAD in Series A funding to commercialize what it describes as an analog chip built from scratch for artificial intelligence (AI) to process physical information like sound and vision rather than digital signals. 

The all-equity round was co-led by Cycle Capital and the Crown corporation BDC Capital, with participation from return investors including Fusion Fund, Two Small Fish Ventures, and Real Ventures. Cycle Capital managing partner Claude Vachet and BDC partner Remi Fournier are joining Bluvision’s board as a result of the round, which the company said it is keeping open as it “engages in active discussions with strategic investors.” 

“If we didn’t have a computer today … how would we build a computer architecture for neural networks?”

Founded in 2020 by CEO Niraj Mathur and CTO John Gosson, Blumind claims its analog chip architecture was designed to reduce the power consumption and latency of always-on AI applications.

The startup has raised $34 million CAD to date, including this latest round. 

The new capital will enable the startup to develop a high-volume production version of its product, lay the groundwork for its next-generation of chips, and hire approximately 10 employees to its engineering and design teams, Mathur told BetaKit in an interview. 

Mathur said that traditional digital processors, which rely on thousands of transistors to relay the ones and zeros of binary code, were built to support human-written sequential code and, while they have their use-cases, the neural networks of AI applications are shoehorned in, though these two modes of computing have “inherently very different workloads.” 

“When [Gosson] devised his architecture, it was all on the basis of, ‘If we didn’t have a computer today, if we didn’t have CPUs and GPUs today, how would we build a computer architecture for neural networks?’” Mathur said, referring to the computer processors and graphic processing units that modern AI applications rely on for compute. “That’s the premise of the company.” 

Blumind isn’t the only semiconductor startup to seek a better way to handle the unique workloads of AI. Toronto-based Untether AI claims to have developed what it calls a “chip architecture for neural net inference,” which it says can reduce the distance data must travel to the absolute minimum, eliminating the cost of moving data to processors. However, Mathur said that Blumind is different. 

“We’re not what’s referred to as an accelerator, we don’t merely assist another processor in running the neural network,” Mathur said. “We run the whole neural network ourselves.” 

RELATED: “The world’s biggest problems are not going to be solved with software”: HardTech talks semiconductors and AI

Mathur claimed that Blumind is using transistors in “a different way,”: He said rather than a one or a zero, its chips can store eight-bit values in a single transistor device. Blumind’s analog processor is meant for on-device, physical AI applications, where a digital processor could draw 100 to 1000 times more power than a Blumind chip does to remain “always on” to continuously detect and process physical information like audio, video, and sensors, Mathur claimed.  

Mathur said he sees applications on the horizon in products like smart glasses, VR headsets, robotics, or vehicles with accelerometers and tire pressure sensors. Fusion Fund partner Shane Wall echoed the vision in a statement, saying that physical AI use-cases are emerging in segments where Blumind’s “low-power, low-latency and low-cost semiconductors will be a critical ingredient.” 

Mathur said that his startup is still in its early stages, but Blumind plans to get its first product into production next year. 

“We are already working with several large, tier one customers to do [proof-of-concepts], validate our technology’s performance, power consumption, and really tee up for the high volume production next year.” 

Feature image courtesy Blumind. 

The post Blumind secures $20-million Series A to build the AI chip we’d have if computers didn’t exist first appeared on BetaKit.

Canadian tech stocks, including Shopify and Lightspeed, rallied today after the United States (US) announced it would pause universal tariffs and reduce them to 10 percent for most countries except China.

Shopify’s Nasdaq-listed share price soared by 18.6 percent on the day and closed at $91.40 USD.

After a chaotic period when it wasn’t clear whether Canada was included in 10-percent baseline tariffs, the White House confirmed to several news outlets that no new tariffs have been applied to Canada or Mexico. This uncertainty only added to the whiplash Canadian tech companies have been experiencing since the US-Canada trade war began last month.  

Shopify’s Nasdaq-listed share price soared by 18.6 percent on the day and closed at $91.40 USD. Lightspeed followed a similar trajectory, rising by 14 percent to close at $9.20 USD on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). 

On the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), gains were slightly less steep but still significant. Shopify rose by 17.5 percent, from trading around $110 CAD to closing at $129 CAD. Lightspeed jumped 13.3 percent to finish the day at $13 CAD. 

Other prominent Canadian tech stocks rallied on the TSX today, too. Constellation Software was up nearly nine percent, BlackBerry by 14 percent, and OpenText and D2L both by eight percent.

The gains reverse last week’s tariff-spurred market sell-off that saw nearly $5 trillion USD erased from global markets after the US, rivalling the rout at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago. Canadian tech stocks, including Shopify, Lightspeed, Constellation Software, BlackBerry, and Opentext, all dropped with the rest of the market. 

RELATED: Shopify, Lightspeed among Canadian tech stocks dragged down in US tariff-spurred market plunge

Markets reacted favourably across the board to Trump’s tariff walkback. The TSX was up 5.4 per cent to end the day, and the Nasdaq closed up 12 per cent.  

Tech stocks on the major exchanges started trading higher today after US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social just after 1 p.m., announcing that he is authorizing a 90-day pause on universal tariffs imposed on nearly every country except China. Trump also said he was immediately lowering the so-called “reciprocal” tariff to 10 percent during this time.

Twenty-five percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, some auto parts, and goods that fall outside of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) on trade are still in effect.

Though they may be two of the most prominent Canadian tech stocks, the overall stories for Shopify and Lightspeed listings are radically different. 

Last week’s dragdown for Shopify came as its share price is up 22 percent over the past year. Between Trump’s universal tariff announcement on Wednesday evening and Friday afternoon, Shopify’s share price had dropped nearly 25 percent. Shopify recently transferred its public listing from the traditional New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

For Lightspeed, the recent volatility exacerbated an already tough year. Its stock price is down 35 percent compared to a year ago. The company scaled back its revenue outlook this month, citing deteriorating macroeconomic conditions that are impacting consumer spending habits.

Disclosure: BetaKit majority owner Good Future is the family office of two former Shopify leaders, Arati Sharma and Satish Kanwar.

Feature image courtesy Yorgos Ntrahas via Unsplash.

The post Shopify, Lightspeed lead Canadian tech stock surge after US pauses universal tariffs first appeared on BetaKit.

Toronto-based cryptocurrency company WonderFi has revealed that it spent $3.6 million CAD on a ransom payment and subsequent security upgrades during the fourth quarter in connection with the kidnapping of its president and CEO Dean Skurka in Toronto late last year.

WonderFi disclosed this figure in a public filing last week. The $3.6-million amount, which was not itemized, includes both the cost of the ransom to secure Skurka’s release, and expenses that the company incurred to enhance its security controls and procedures following the incident.

The $3.6-million amount includes both the cost of the ransom paid to secure Skurka’s release and security upgrades that the company made afterwards in response.

While the document did not specify the size of the ransom, CBC News—which was first to identify Skurka as the victim—previously reported that a ransom of $1 million was paid electronically, citing a source familiar with the investigation.

BetaKit has reached out to WonderFi and Skurka for additional comment and detail regarding the breakdown of that $3.6 million, how it was paid, and the specific security measures the company has instituted since then.

The kidnapping occurred just before 6 p.m. on Nov. 6 in the area of University Ave. and Richmond St. W., in Toronto’s financial district, after suspects forced the victim into a vehicle and made a demand for money, a Toronto Police Service spokesperson told BetaKit last year, noting that the victim was later located in Centennial Park in Etobicoke, a western borough of Toronto that is approximately a 23-kilometre drive away, uninjured.

At the time, WonderFi confirmed to BetaKit that Skurka was involved in an “incident” that day but was now safe, noting that the company was co-operating with the Toronto Police Service on an active investigation and the firm’s client funds and data were unaffected. Skurka later addressed the incident publicly in LinkedIn and Twitter posts.

Last month, WonderFi senior vice-president of communications, Charlie Aikenhead told BetaKit that Skurka is doing well now, and noted WonderFi has made a number of changes since then, including hiring security personnel, but had no other updates he could share on the incident.

RELATED: WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka kidnapped, released after reportedly paying $1-million ransom

WonderFi, which trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange, owns two of Canada’s most popular crypto exchanges in Bitbuy and Coinsquare, which together held over $2.1 billion in client assets under custody as of the end of last year. The company, which also owns crypto payments platform SmartPay and a stake in crypto custodian Tetra Trust, expanded to Australia in 2024 and announced plans to move into derivatives trading last month.

WonderFi’s filings cite “physical security incidents” as a risk related to operating in the crypto sector, noting that “the digital asset industry in Canada and internationally continues to face risks from organized crime including murders, kidnappings, blackmail, extortion, violence and threats of violence.”

High-profile figures in the crypto world face significant security risks. “$5 wrench attacks” entail robbers targeting people known to hold large amounts of crypto and threatening or physically attacking them in attempts to gain access to their private keys, the alphanumeric codes used as passwords to cryptocurrency wallets.

Anthony Di Iorio, the Toronto-based co-founder of Ethereum, announced plans to leave the crypto industry in 2021 due to security concerns, but returned a year later when he launched blockchain platform Andiami.

RELATED: WonderFi plots expansion beyond crypto into multi-asset trading with Eightcap

Kidnappings involving high-profile figures in the crypto community are not uncommon. As Wired has reported, crypto-related abductions have sent crypto executives and investors in search of ways to protect themselves, including by hiring bodyguards.

A database compiled by Jameson Lopp, co-founder of Bitcoin security company Casa indicates that there were 31 instances of violence against known crypto owners in 2024, and 18 so far this year, putting 2025 on track to more than double last year’s total.

Crypto-related kidnappings have also occurred in Toronto before in recent years, with the cases of self-proclaimed ‘Crypto King’ Aiden Pleterski (who has since been charged with fraud) and wealthy Chinese student Wanzhen Lu.

Feature image courtesy WonderFi.

The post WonderFi spent $3.6 million on ransom and security upgrades in connection with CEO’s kidnapping last year first appeared on BetaKit.

Toronto-based FinTech giant Wealthsimple has acquired the team behind San Francisco-based wealth management platform Plenty for an undisclosed amount. 

Luk and Allen join Wealthsimple’s product team, while their three software developers join the engineering team.

Plenty, a three-year-old startup co-founded by married couple Emily Luk and Channing Allen, offers a platform designed to help couples navigate financial decisions together, from budgeting to long-term investing. The company has raised around $7.75 million USD (about $10.98 million CAD) across its pre-seed and seed rounds, counting Montréal-headquartered venture capital firm Inovia Capital as its first backer, according to a LinkedIn post by Luk. 

Plenty, which will shut down on May 10, let couples manage finances on one platform by putting joint and private accounts side-by-side. The platform also featured tools that factored in breakups and new partners. 

Plenty’s team of five are joining Wealthsimple at the end of April and will work remotely from the United States, a Wealthsimple spokesperson told BetaKit in an email statement. Luk will be joining Wealthsimple’s product team, while Allen and their three software developers join the engineering team.

The company added that Plenty’s expertise complements its expansion of products for couples and families, such as joint accounts, spousal RRSP and RESP accounts, and householding for its Premium and Generation tier users. 

RELATED: Can Wealthsimple build Canada’s largest financial institution?

“They have built an incredible product focused on improving the financial lives of families — an area we’ve been investing in,” Wealthsimple vice president of product Tim Kalimov said in a statement. “Their expertise in this space makes them a natural fit for Wealthsimple, and we’re excited to bring their insights and innovation into what we’re building.”

Plenty CEO Luk, who calls herself a second-generation Canadian in her LinkedIn profile and graduated from the University of Toronto, previously worked in developing strategy at American FinTech giant Stripe and was the vice president of strategy at FinTech startup Even, which was acquired by Walmart in 2022. It was at Even where Luk met Plenty CTO Allen, who served as the startup’s technical lead, got engaged, and got the idea to start Plenty, according to TechCrunch. 

“Emily and I started Plenty because we believe that every family should have the tools necessary to manage and grow their finances, built by a company that actually has your back,” Allen said in a LinkedIn post announcing the acquisition. “This belief turned into a product, team, and mission that resonated far beyond our own story.” 

Feature image courtesy Wealthsimple.

The post Wealthsimple acquihires Plenty, a San Francisco-based wealth management platform for couples first appeared on BetaKit.

QueerTech has revealed the first cohort of its 2SLGBTQIA+ accelerator program, which includes a range of mostly software and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled early-stage startups.

The 12-week QT Founders Catalyst Program kicked off this week and includes 18 companies from across Canada, eight of which incorporate AI into their product offerings. Participants include Vancouver-based food tech company BetterTable, Calgary-based digital productivity platform Flowva, and Osoyoos, BC-based inclusive video game studio Simply Sweet Games. 

The cohort includes 18 companies from across Canada, eight of which incorporate AI into their product offerings.

Montréal-based nonprofit organization QueerTech announced the new program in January alongside the appointment of Virtual Gurus CEO Bobbie Racette as its board chair.

This follows QueerTech’s early 2024 acquisition of Toronto-based Gradient Spaces, an organization that ran a three-month incubator for queer founders.

The program aims to give participating 2SLGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs a leg up with resources and networking opportunities to scale their companies. The program offers startups weekly sessions, personalized mentorship opportunities, access to potential investors, and a final pitch day. It’s delivered virtually with in-person networking opportunities in Toronto, Montréal, Calgary, Halifax, and Vancouver.

QueerTech says that the program was conceived in part to address a funding gap that exists for 2SLGBTQIA+ founders. In the United States, they received only 0.5 percent of venture funding in 2023, according to the StartOut Index.

Despite the low proportion of funding, the study indicates that startups with 2SLGBTQIA+ founders achieved 44 percent more successful exits and filed 114 percent more patents. 

RELATED: QueerTech launches new 2SLGBTQIA+ accelerator and names Virtual Gurus’ Bobbie Racette board chair

“These statistics aren’t just impressive—they reveal a systemic underinvestment in one of the most productive founder demographics in tech,” Eustacio Saldaña, co-founder and COO of QueerTech, said in a statement.

The federal government supports the QT Founders Catalyst Program through the 2SLGBTQI+ Entrepreneurship Program, which falls under Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and is administered by the Canadian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. The initiative includes an $8-million ecosystem fund that provides funding to non-profit business support organizations to deliver projects that help entrepreneurs access entrepreneurial tools and resources.

Founded in 2016, QueerTech started as a meetup group in partnership with MTL NewTech (now ElanTech) to connect queer professionals within the local tech industry. The organization has claimed, since then, that it has helped over 10,000 professionals who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ via professional development and mentorship, and hosted over 125 events.

Feature image courtesy QueerTech.

The post Inaugural QueerTech accelerator cohort stacked with software, AI startups first appeared on BetaKit.

Darren Mowry, managing director at Google Cloud Startups, is excited by the opportunity that exists in artificial intelligence (AI) right now but said this also comes with a lot of responsibility.

Mowry leads Google Cloud’s startup-focused growth and acceleration strategies globally. In Canada, Google supports startups through Google Cloud’s services and the company’s accelerator programs, including the Google for Startups Accelerator, which has catered to more than 100 early-stage Canadian tech companies over the past five years.

Google Cloud’s Canadian tech customers include Toronto-based large language model (LLM) developer and Open AI competitor Cohere and Montréal-based online mortgage lender Nesto.

“There’s going to be thousands of agent providers and AI-enabled applications. And that’s really where startups are finding their legs.”

Darren Mowry,
Google Cloud Startups

In an interview with BetaKit ahead of the company’s latest Google Cloud Next Conference, Mowry noted that 18 months ago, developing AI chips and models was all the rage. Today, he said that startups’ focus has largely shifted towards building AI applications and agents.

Mowry argued that there is so much opportunity in AI right now that “doing the right thing in the right order” has become a key challenge for Google Cloud and other companies, one that has forced the cloud services giant to be selective and prioritize where it invests.

“We could go do 1,000 things … but what we’re going to do is pick the smaller number of things that we believe are going to have the maximum value for enterprise customers, for public sector agencies, and for startups,” Mowry said.

But the global AI race and tech’s desire to move quickly has also led to missteps. Given the power and scale of the nascent tech, whether firms are responsibly applying it with the right guardrails to protect against bad outcomes is one of the things that keeps Mowry up at night. 

“AI is a technology that if misused, the results can be something … that no one is looking forward to,” Mowry said.

The rollout of AI has not always gone perfectly for Google. Take, for instance, Google’s AI search results recommending that users put glue on pizza.

RELATED: Google has a glue problem

“In the early days, you may remember moments that—believe me, my head was in my hands—as there were articles written about Bard saying something or early Gemini saying something else,” Mowry said.

These problems have not been fully solved. Yesterday, Google’s AI search results informed The Globe and Mail’s technology reporter Sean Silcoff that he was the CEO of Toronto corporate virtual private network unicorn Tailscale.

Google’s rush to win the AI race has led to ethical lapses, including making compromises on misinformation and other harms in order to catch up with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, according to employees who spoke with Bloomberg, and expressed concern concern that the speed of AI development is not allowing enough time to study potential risks. 

Meanwhile, the American search giant’s parent company, Alphabet, also recently lifted a ban on using its AI for weapons and surveillance—an application that even Edmonton-based AI doomer denouncer, former Alphabet DeepMind leader, and recent Turing Award winner Richard Sutton has expressed wariness about.

RELATED: New Turing Award winner Richard Sutton calls doomers “out of line,” talks path to human-like AI

For his part, Mowry said he is ultimately glad that he is working at Google given the firm’s approach to responsible AI. Mowry claimed that Google intends to continue investing “hard and fast” in AI, while also working to ensure that it is deploying the tech responsibly, and questioned whether “everyone is being as responsible as we should be” when it comes to AI.

Amid the AI boom, Google Cloud has been trying to position itself as the place to build for AI companies. Today, Google Cloud claims that 90 percent of generative AI unicorns and over 60 percent of funded generative AI startups are clients.

At Cloud Next, Google made a slew of AI announcements, introducing what it claimed is the most powerful chip it has ever built—an AI tensor processing unit for running AI models and applications—as well as a new low latency and cost-efficient thinking model, some fresh automation features across its office software products, and ways for organizations to create and manage AI agents aimed at helping its clients use the tech in a variety of ways.

Many AI startups have been generating eye-watering growth, but some investors have expressed doubts that all of these companies will be able to maintain their surging revenues amid fears about differentiation.

Mowry believes that we are not close to hitting an AI plateau. “People are almost talking about AI as if we’ve hit a plateau,” he said. “I can promise you … we’re nowhere near the plateau of AI yet. I think we’ve got a lot more rocketing to do.”

“The amount of climate tech innovation that’s coming from Canada puts the US and other markets to shame.”

Mowry noted that he is seeing sustainable business value being created in areas like biotech and climate tech. 

“The amount of climate tech innovation that’s coming from Canada puts the [United States] and other markets to shame,” Mowry added.

Mowry also cited the use of AI to make technologists more productive and help with content creation—something Mississauga-based social media agency and Google Cloud customer Viral Nation is working on—as two other applications that he believes possess staying power.

As to the broader shift that has taken place from startups focusing their efforts on building AI chips and models to developing applications and agents, Mowry noted that many companies have realized they are better served by solving a specific, differentiated problem with AI and letting others pour billions of dollars into building “the core plumbing.”

“At the end of the day, there may be a handful of chip and infrastructure providers, there may be dozens of model providers, but there’s going to be thousands of agent providers and AI-enabled applications,” Mowry said. “And that’s really where startups are finding their legs. That’s where the venture capital money is going.”

Feature image courtesy Google Cloud.

The post Google Cloud Startups leader sees opportunity for startups building AI agents amid pressure to move quickly first appeared on BetaKit.

When the North American trade war kicked off at the beginning of March, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced from behind a podium labelled “Canada is not for sale” that all United States (US)-based companies were banned from taking part in provincial procurement as part of retaliatory measures. New details shared by the province now show that’s not entirely true. 

The province’s new Procurement Restriction Policy, which says it is designed to restrict US businesses from accessing public sector procurements in Ontario, actually defines a US business as a supplier, manufacturer, or distributor that has its headquarters or main office in the US, and has fewer than 250 full-time employees in Canada at the time of the procurement process. 

Companies that have already been authorized to do business with the province could continue to do so. 

This means that, technically, a US-based company can still earn the business of the province despite Ford declaring “all” US-based companies barred from the process. The policy also states that procuring from a US business not covered by the above exceptions is only allowed when it is the only viable source for the good or service and the procurement cannot be delayed. 

“Ontario will continue to use domestic producers and suppliers in the province and across the country,” a spokesperson at Ontario’s Treasury Board Secretariat told BetaKit in an email statement following publication. The spokesperson added that the province will only consider alternative solutions in circumstances where there is no available option in Canada. 

“The Procurement Restriction Policy minimizes economic harm to Ontario and Canada, and is aligned with the Ontario business definition under the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative (BOBI),” the spokesperson said.

BOBI defines that an Ontario business has its headquarters or main office in Ontario, or has at least 250 employees in the province.   

The policy applies to all new procurements of public sector entities, including all ministries, provincial agencies, Ontario Power Generation, and the Independent Electricity System Operator. When he announced the retaliatory measure last month, Ford claimed that the province and its agencies spend about $30 billion on procurement per year, not including its $200-billion infrastructure plan.

Ford also indicated last month that the restrictions could also affect American companies currently doing business with the province, which now doesn’t seem to be the case. 

While he also said at that time that he asked the provincial public service and as his ministers to go through contracts “with a fine tooth comb.” 

RELATED: “It’s done, it’s gone”: Ontario Premier Doug Ford cancels $100-million Starlink contract in tariff response

“No matter if it’s services through the tech sector, or any other products, we need to stop immediately, and if they come to sue us, so be it,” he said then. 

However, the Procurement Restriction Policy says it does not apply when public sector entities use existing Vendor of Record arrangements (VORs), meaning companies that have already been authorized to do business with the province could continue to do so. 

Ford has already been asked by 75 Ontario-based CEOs to prioritize provincial resources, such as procurement, for homegrown innovation in an open letter put forward by the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) last month. 

When the province went ahead with subsidizing a new research and development center from German multinational technology conglomerate Siemens, CCI Ontario affairs director Skaidra Puodžiūnas said that “every dollar funnelled to foreign entities is a missed opportunity” to advance Ontario’s prosperity, a phrase she is now repeating.

RELATED: Seventy-five Ontario CEOs sign open letter calling on Premier Doug Ford to prioritize homegrown innovation

“The reality is, if the Ontario government truly wants to support homegrown innovators, policies can’t be made in reaction to the latest round of US tariffs, it has to be a more strategic and long-term focus,” Puodžiūnas said. 

Puodžiūnas said CCI is calling on the province to expand the mandate of Supply Ontario, the agency behind procurement, to prioritize homegrown technology solutions and ensure public sector procurement strengthens domestic firms. She added that the industry group would also like to see Ontario prohibit proposal requests that name foreign-owned technology vendors, and launch a review of non-Canadian technology contracts to determine where domestic alternatives should be prioritized.

The Ontario government announced some tariff-relief measures for Ontario businesses this week, though they mostly do not affect the tech sector. The measures include deferring 10 provincially administered taxes for six months starting on April 1, 2025, which the province claimed would give businesses approximately $9 billion worth of cash flow to keep workers employed and weather the economic turmoil. Deferred tax programs include the Employer Health Tax, Insurance Premium Tax, and the Retail Sales Tax on Insurance Contracts and Benefit Plans. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is also issuing a $2-billion rebate for employers as part of the relief measures. 

UPDATE (04/09/2025): This story has been updated with commentary from a spokesperson at Ontario’s Treasury Board Secretariat.

Feature image courtesy Doug Ford via LinkedIn. 

The post Ontario takes bite out of Premier Doug Ford’s promised US procurement ban first appeared on BetaKit.

Federally funded innovation hub Scale AI has launched a $30-million fund to boost artificial intelligence (AI) adoption among Canadian companies as tech leaders embrace AI as a key productivity booster. 

“It seemed imperative for us to act collectively to safeguard the competitiveness of Canada’s AI ecosystem.”

The initiative covers up to 40 percent of the cost of “high-impact” AI projects and is open to all Canadian companies, not just Scale AI members. The organization says it will prioritize projects that focus on the commercialization of AI products and solutions, particularly those that aim to boost productivity. Projects must be completed before the end of 2025 to be eligible for reimbursement.

Billot confirmed that the $30-million envelope is not net new capital, but comes from the organization’s existing budget. 

“Amid rising geopolitical volatility and persistent economic uncertainty, it seemed imperative for us to act collectively to safeguard the competitiveness of Canada’s AI ecosystem. This moment calls for swift and decisive action,” Scale AI CEO Julien Billot said in a statement.

There are no minimum or maximum investment limits for selected projects, Billot told BetaKit, though an individual AI use case typically costs around $1 million. Scale AI will assess projects based on technological excellence, anticipated economic impact, and proposed timelines. 

RELATED: Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke tells employees to prove AI can’t do the job before asking for resources

As one of the federal government’s Global Innovation Clusters, Scale AI receives federal and Québec government funding to drive the adoption of AI-powered solutions across sectors, boost AI and digital literacy, and help AI startups scale and commercialize. 

The announcement comes as Canadian tech companies across verticals face uncertainty from tariffs imposed by the United States (US) disrupting supply chains and public markets. 

Scale AI is not the only government-supported organization looking to finance AI projects that could help companies adapt. In February, Québec’s Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) launched a support program for Québec-based businesses to streamline operations and diversify supply chains away from the US. Québec-City based Vooban, also a Scale AI company, was commissioned to provide AI solutions and expertise for companies accepted into the cohort. 

Scale AI’s $30-million incentive opportunity coincides with Canadian tech leaders doubling down on the use of generative AI. Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke told employees in a recent memo that effective AI usage is now a “baseline expectation” across the company, and will be a factor in performance reviews. Lütke also said that teams must first demonstrate AI can’t help them with a task before asking for more resources or staff.

Feature image courtesy Scale AI via LinkedIn.

The post Scale AI offering $30-million envelope for Canadian companies to accelerate AI adoption first appeared on BetaKit.

Toronto-based corporate virtual private network (VPN) startup Tailscale has raised $160 million USD ($230 million CAD) in Series C funding to grow its team and keep up with the “surprising number” of artificial intelligence (AI) companies now using its software. 

The all-equity round was led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Accel, with participation from returning investors CRV, Insight Partners, Heavybit, and Uncork Capital. Tailscale has emerged from the capital raise with a $1.45 billion USD (approximately $2 billion CAD) post-money valuation, co-founder and CEO Avery Pennarun told BetaKit in an email statement.

“This funding reflects our maturity as a company.”

The round also saw some angel investors, including existing backer George Kurtz, the CEO of cybersecurity giant Crowdstrike, and first-time investor Anthony Casalena, the CEO of website builder Squarespace. 

The new funding will be used to expand Tailscale’s global operations, and grow its engineering, product, and sales teams to support the “surprising number of leading AI companies,” using its product, the company said in a blog post. Pennarun did not share exact hiring goals, but said the company continues to be “eager” to place as many of its new roles in Canada as it can, especially “in light of rising global trade tensions.” 

“Canadians are well-positioned to lead a new generation of global collaboration and Tailscale wants to be at the forefront of that,” Pennarun said.

Pennarun spoke with BetaKit about Tailscale’s accelerated growth this past January as the company hit 10,000 paid business clients after doubling its customer base in just 10 months. At the time, Pennarun said the then 100-person company was well-capitalized and could become cash-flow positive without additional financing, but had begun to contemplate another fundraise.

While the company hasn’t disclosed its annual recurring revenue, it claimed the metric was growing more than 100 percent year-over-year. Pennarun told BetaKit following this latest raise that the company now has 150 employees, and has seen another 20 percent increase of its paid business clients since January.

“This funding reflects our maturity as a company: we’ve moved rapidly beyond our past market-peak valuation as we grow exponentially, adding more and larger enterprise customers,” Pennarun said in a statement. 

Tailscale also said it would invest in products, including its free plan and backwards compatibility platform. 

RELATED: Tailscale hits 10,000 paid business clients after doubling customer base in 10 months

Founded in 2019 by former Google software engineers, Tailscale helps companies and individuals secure and control their data with its zero-configuration VPN, which can be installed on any device, manages firewall rules for users, and works from anywhere. One of Tailscale’s key selling points is its software’s accessibility, which enables people and teams to securely access network services without the long setup times and complexity of traditional VPNs.

Tailscale says it serves some of the world’s most prominent AI startups, including Perplexity, Mistral, Groq, Hugging Face, and Toronto-based Cohere. Tailscale’s other enterprise customers include Instacart, SAP, Telus, Duolingo and Motorola. 

This round brings Tailscale’s total funding to date to $275 million USD ($395 million CAD), with previous investments coming from Montréal-based Inovia Capital and Panache Ventures. Tailscale last raised a $128-million Series B round in May 2022, which valued the company at more than $1 billion CAD. Pennarun reportedly told Bloomberg that the company has attracted attention from would-be acquirers, but that it’s “not interested right now” in a sale.

Pennarun confirmed the company had been approached by potential acquirers, but told BetaKit that the company intends to grow as a private company and work towards an initial public offering (IPO). 

“Tailscale intends to remain independent and we are on a likely IPO track, although any IPO is several years out,” Pennarun said. “Meanwhile, we have an extremely efficient business model, rapid revenue acceleration, and a long runway that allows us to become profitable when needed, which means we can weather all kinds of economic storms.”

Feature image courtesy Tailscale.

The post Corporate VPN startup Tailscale secures $230 million CAD Series C on back of “surprising” growth first appeared on BetaKit.

How do companies go from brands to icons? Marc Allard thought about that question often as the founder of Montréal-based digital e-commerce agency Walter Interactive.

“Our focus is not on providing insights. It’s really to make the insights actionable.”

Through an internal project, Allard arrived at an answer: brands need to harness the power of their marketing data. Alongside three co-founders, Allard is betting on this principle with Glowtify, an AI-driven marketing data platform that caters to e-commerce brands as they scale up.

Glowtify pitches itself as a “command centre” for marketing leaders, particularly those on leaner e-commerce teams generating $500,000 of annual revenue or more online. It aims to automate the collection of marketing insights and convert them into recommendations.

“Our focus is not on providing insights. It’s really to make the insights actionable,” Allard said in an interview with BetaKit.

In February, Glowtify secured $825,000 in pre-seed financing to scale its AI-driven marketing data platform. Investors included Khoi Truong, former global chief consumer data and digital operations officer at cosmetics brand L’Oréal, Workleap co-founder Sébastien Leduc, Prosomo Agency CEO Alan Horic, Cardigan Digital Agency co-founder and CEO Edouard Truong, and the family owners of Glowtify customer Voyages Bergeron. 

Glowtify uses AI to generate marketing assets across different channels—like emails, ads, and social media posts—based on the brand’s past two years of Shopify data. The marketing platform is currently only available for brands that sell on Shopify platforms for now, but Glowtify plans to expand its offering. 

RELATED: Vooban hiring up to 25 AI roles in Ontario as it welcomes surge in enterprise AI adoption

Allard founded the company as a spin-off project of his previous venture, Montréal-based software company Walter Interactive, to interpret marketing data. Along with three co-founders, Allard bootstrapped Glowtify for two and a half years.

Up until this past September, the team offered the tool for free on the Shopify app store, in a bid to gather customer data to improve the product. Now, an enterprise subscription starts at $500 USD per month. Allard claimed Glowtify has hit 23-percent month-over-month growth and is on track to hit $2 million in annual recurring revenue by this September. 

The platform connects with clients’ data from Klaviyo, Google Analytics, Meta platforms, WordPress, and fellow Canadian software company Cyberimpact. 

Using various commercially available models, it uses AI to help clients see their “blind spots,” Allard said. The platform can suggest recommendations, like social posts, based on seasonal trends and industry data to boost engagement. 

RELATED: Microsoft thinks AI agents will eat the world

Next, it plans to integrate AI agents with autonomous capabilities, riding a booming trend in the software space as startups look to add AI to their arsenals. Allard said that he’s seeing significant demand for AI enablement and agents from C-suite leaders in particular.  “They’re all looking to implement AI really fast,” Allard said.

Glowtify’s customers include Canadian brands Mia Bijoux, Flair Diffusers, and Girl Crush, but Allard said that roughly 55 percent of his customers are in the United States.

Glowtify hopes to use the financing to strengthen its go-to-market strategy, grow its operations, and expand its team of 15, particularly its sales team. Allard said it plans to raise another financing round later this year. 

Feature image courtesy Glowtify.

The post Glowtify wants to be the AI-driven marketing solution for lean e-commerce teams first appeared on BetaKit.

Toronto-based Kepler Communications has begun selling on-orbit computing services through the Kepler Network, its upcoming constellation of data transfer  satellites. The first customer is Houston, Texas-based Axiom Space, best known for completing the first privately crewed spaceflight to the International Space Station in 2022.

The first Kepler relay satellites are due to launch in the fourth quarter of 2025. 

Kepler claims its clients can use the processing and storage to handle tasks faster, more securely, and with lower latency than if they had to send digital workloads to Earth. Customers can either buy or lease compute “payloads” that provide access to both data relay services and scheduled data transfers.

Axiom Space is buying two of these payloads for its Orbital Data Centre (ODC) nodes that will provide cloud computing for both public and private customers. Axiom and Kepler have been working on integrating their satellite connections since 2023.

The team-up will “accelerate the reality of on-orbit computing, enabling real-time decision making, enhanced mission autonomy, advanced imaging and [artificial intelligence or machine learning] insights, and other on-orbit processing applications tailored for space missions,” Kepler CEO Mina Mitry said in a statement.

Jason Aspiotis, Axiom’s global director of in-space data and security, maintained that Kepler was at the “forefront” of creating a private optical data relay network. He added it was key to Axiom’s ODC network offering a first wave of “space-to-space and space-to-ground cloud computing” facilities.

RELATED: Federal investment to help Telesat take on Starlink with new Québec campus 

The first Kepler relay satellites are due to launch in the fourth quarter of 2025, and will include both nine regular satellites as well as a “spare.” The next batch is planned for roughly two years later, and the company claims it will offer both wider low-Earth orbit coverage as well as faster data rates. It will also work with the European Space Agency’s High Throughput Optical Network (HydRON) program.

Kepler was founded in 2015 with the aim of providing constant, real-time data links in space. The company has raised over $200 million in equity so far, including a $122.7-million CAD Series C round in 2023. It reached a major milestone in March 2021, when a two-vehicle launch made it the largest satellite operator in Canada. The company had 15 satellites in orbit at the time.

The announcement comes just weeks after the federal government revealed it would help launch a new Telesat campus in late 2025. The veteran satellite company is launching a low-orbit satellite network, Telesat Lightspeed, that will provide broadband services and military communications. The first 198 satellites in that network are due to launch in 2026.

Feature image courtesy of Axiom Space.

The post Kepler Communications sells its first on-orbit compute power to Axiom Space first appeared on BetaKit.

CEO Tobi Lütke told Shopify employees that using artificial intelligence (AI) is now “a baseline expectation,” and that they’ll have to demonstrate AI can’t help them before asking for more resources or staff. 

In the March 20 memo, which Lütke shared in an X post because he claimed it was in the process of being leaked, the leader of the Canadian e-commerce giant told employees that “Using AI effectively is now a fundamental expectation of everyone at Shopify,” and that it’s a tool of all trades that will only grow in importance. 

Shopify will be adding AI usage questions to its performance and peer review questionnaires

“Frankly, I don’t think it’s feasible to opt out of learning the skill of applying AI in your craft; you are welcome to try, but I want to be honest I cannot see this working out today, and definitely not tomorrow,” the memo reads. “Stagnation is almost certain, and stagnation is slow-motion failure.”

As part of the new employee policy, Shopify laid out new expectations for the prototype phase for what it calls a “GSD project.” GSD is company lingo for its internal task tracking system, nicknamed “Get Shit Done.” The company said prototyping should be “dominated” by AI exploration, and that it will be adding AI usage questions to its performance and peer review questionnaires. The memo adds that “Teams must demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done using AI” before asking for more headcount and resources. 

In the memo, Lütke said he had previously called on his employees to “tinker” with AI in order to dispel skepticism or confusion that AI mattered at all levels, but added that the call was “too much of a suggestion,” rather than a requirement, which he was looking to change with the memo. He claimed, without citing specifics,  that some of his colleagues are contributing “10X of what was previously thought possible.” 

Research on the impact of AI implementation on worker productivity is mixed, with the greatest benefits evident when AI tools are added to the workflow of less skilled workers. For example, a 2023 NBER study of customer support agents found access to AI tools increased productivity by 14 percent on average and 34 percent for novice and low-skilled workers, but provided no appreciable benefit to more skilled and experienced workers.

“In a company growing 20-40% year over year, you must improve by at least that every year,” Lütke said. “This goes for me as well as everyone else.”

Shopify’s revenue was up 31 percent year over year in the last quarter of 2024. 

RELATED: Shopify, Lightspeed among Canadian tech stocks dragged down in US tariff-spurred market plunge

Lütke has become more outspoken about his optimism around AI in recent months as Shopify has been building up its AI toolbox. Lütke recently shared infographics and product photos he claimed were generated with ChatGPT, saying in an X post that great AI prompts can improve “tired” product photography. 

Last month, Shopify acquired AI-powered retailer search startup Vantage Discovery for an undisclosed amount. A Shopify spokesperson told BetaKit that the search platform and team will play a key role in “supercharging” Shopify’s work for both merchants and buyers, and CTO Mikhail Parakhin signalled that the acquisition could be used to help with advertising. Parakhin is an ex-Microsoft AI leader, which Shopify called “one of the finest machine learning crafters on the planet” when they added him to the C-suite in August 2024. Shopify also recently released a feature that allows merchants to prompt AI to design a store theme. 

Following Lütke’s memo reveal, Shopify made up some lost ground in the stock market. The company’s share price on the Nasdaq stock exchange had been dragged down nearly 25 percent in the United States tariff-spurred market plunge last week, but has bounced up just over two percent as of 3:30 p.m. on Monday. 

Disclosure: BetaKit majority owner Good Future is the family office of two former Shopify leaders, Arati Sharma and Satish Kanwar.

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With a federal election weeks away, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) has published a white paper pushing policy recommendations aimed at incentivizing domestic investment.

Among its five recommendations, the document calls on Canada’s next federal government to temporarily slash the capital gains tax inclusion rate from 50 percent to 25 percent for investments in Canadian startups and scaleups, and double the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption (LCGE) limit from $1.25 million CAD to $2.5 million. The CVCA is asking for both of these measures to be introduced over the next three to five years.

The CVCA has also called for the introduction of a new federal tax credit for investments in Canadian small businesses, modelled on existing provincial incentives. The association and lobbying organization believes these measures will help ensure “Canada remains competitive in an increasingly challenging global landscape” and help address some of the country’s productivity challenges.

“Our hope is that both parties will look at these recommendations and adopt some of them.”

Kim Furlong, CVCA

In an interview with BetaKit, CVCA CEO Kim Furlong noted that the paper’s recommendations fall into three categories: supporting risk-taking through targeted capital gains taxation changes, ensuring that the flow of capital to venture capital (VC) continues to grow and diversify, and stimulating business investment in research and development (R&D).

The CVCA’s other asks include for the new government to follow through on recapitalizing the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI) and reforming the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit program, explore encouraging Canadian pension funds to invest more domestically, and fully reinstate the Accelerated Investment Incentive, which is currently being phased out.

It began this work last year after Conservative leader Pierre Polievre said that, if elected, he would put together a group to provide recommendations on taxation. Furlong said she was pleased to see the Liberals backtrack under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s leadership and Polievre’s Conservatives take a stand against the proposed capital gains inclusion rate hike from one-half to two-thirds for those who earn more than $250,000. The CVCA had been fighting against the tax changes since the Liberals introduced them in Budget 2024.

“Our hope is that both parties will look at these recommendations and adopt some of them,” Furlong said.

The CVCA hopes both parties will go further by temporarily halving the capital gains tax inclusion rate, which Furlong said would put the real rate of taxation around 13 percent and make Canada more competitive with parts of the US, and doubling the LCGE for eligible investments.

Furlong said the CVCA is asking for the feds to do this over the next five years and then measure its impact. “Don’t do it forever,” she said. “Do it because of the circumstances under which we find ourselves.”

RELATED: An election primer on what Canadian innovators need

Furlong noted that the CVCA has included calls for an investment tax credit in its federal pre-budget submissions for the last few years and believes that the timing is right for the feds to implement such a measure.

“We just believe that at a time where governments, provincially and federally, will be looking at [inter-provincial] barriers to trade, this is a right moment to add that capital flow writ large through Canada,” Furlong said.

Furlong said she does not think the federal government should tell Canada’s large pension funds what to do or tinker with their mandates, but believes it could and should find ways to incentivize them to invest more in Canada, such as through a fund-of-funds model like VCCI or what Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec does with Teralys Capital.

“We do think that the conversation is right, given what we’re seeing geopolitically and how every country will have to imagine how they support their own domestic economies,” she said.

RELATED: Feds announce VCCI renewal, SR&ED and pension fund changes ahead of Fall Economic Statement

Last month, Carney officially announced that the Liberals would cancel the proposed hike, but indicated that the LCGE limit increase to $1.25 million was here to stay. When asked about the Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive (CEI), an accompanying measure aimed at reducing the inclusion rate to one-third on a lifetime maximum of $2 million, a Department of Finance spokesperson told BetaKit that “more information will come in due course.” Furlong told BetaKit that she does not know what will become of the CEI.

Furlong also noted that SR&ED—which provides tax credits to companies that invest in R&D and has long been maligned thanks in part to its support of foreign multinationals—still needs a revamp. “It is what we’ve been talking about for the last 20 years,” Furlong said, noting that the government has already done some work on this. “CVCA had put in some recommendations, so we reiterated those.”

The CVCA is calling for the next federal government to modernize SR&ED’s delivery, raise the annual expenditure limit for the enhanced 35 percent SR&ED investment tax credit from $3 million to $5 million, and increase the taxable capital phase-out thresholds from $10 million to $50 million to $25 million to $100 million.

Politically speaking, much has changed since the Government of Canada announced measures including a new $1-billion round of funding for VCCI, $1 billion for mid-cap growth companies to incentivize pension funds to invest domestically, and updates to expand SR&ED’s eligibility and expenditure limits in its Fall Economic Statement last year. Furlong noted that this has meant the VCCI renewal and mid-cap growth commitments will need to be reintroduced. The CVCA is advocating for the new government to follow through.

As to how confident she is that this will happen, Furlong noted, “it’s too early to say,” but added that the CVCA “will continue to make the case that they should.”

Feature image courtesy the CVCA.

The post CVCA calls for temporary capital gains reduction, national investment tax credit in pitch to federal parties first appeared on BetaKit.

As software ate the world, Microsoft grew from a two-person garage project to a global technology leader. Fifty years later, the company is pushing a new software frontier: AI agents.

BetaKit recently visited Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters as part of a campus tour in celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary (travel and accommodation were covered by Microsoft). The resounding message: AI agents will transform work as we know it. Those not on board will be left behind. 

Microsoft pitches its AI assistant Copilot as the “UX for AI.” It says startups can use Copilot to create custom agents to automate entrepreneurship, from vibe coding to business plans to product design and testing.

CEO Satya Nadella told assembled media the agentic web lets entrepreneurs widen “the scope and scale of [their] ambition.” Nadella’s ambition, of course, is that this generation’s garage-launched startups continue using Microsoft products and justify the company’s ongoing multi-billion-dollar investment in AI.

But Canadian companies are riding the agentic wave. Cohere embraced agents with its North platform, an enterprise Copilot competitor. Ada offers plug-and-play customer service agents, powered by Microsoft. OpenSesame created a platform to manage AI agents. 

Inovia’s Chris Arsenault told BetaKit in November that companies building without AI “will hit a wall.” That doesn’t mean tacking AI onto your product is an instant win. He also warned that 50 percent of AI-enabled companies could fold within the next 18 months. 

For those that are left, “the fight will be…how they become a platform, not a product or a feature.”

Madison McLauchlan
Reporter

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Tariffs vs the world

Canada appears to have escaped the worst of the United States’ (US) latest and most dramatic round of tariffs, which have unsettled the global economy, but the tech sector’s sense of uncertainty hasn’t changed. 

• Prime Minister Mark Carney said the US has signalled additional tariffs on so-called strategic sectors, including pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, and indicated Canada would fight back.
• The ongoing uncertainty has had both direct and knock-on effects on Canadian businesses, which have been left to strategize hypotheticals while facing rising costs.
• A number of publicly traded Canadian tech companies, including Shopify and Lightspeed, have been dragged down by the market’s visceral reaction, which spurred one of the worst trading days in decades. 
• All the doom and gloom doesn’t mean companies are sitting on their hands. Toronto business-expenses startup Float rolled out a new foreign exchange product aimed at helping business clients convert between currencies more easily and cost effectively as they contend with the trade war fallout. 

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre promises to defer capital gains taxes if proceeds reinvested in Canada

Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre has rolled out a proposal to defer capital gains taxes in what he calls a bid to spur domestic investment.

Poilievre said that if elected, the capital gains tax on asset sales, such as of stock or property, would be deferred until after the end of 2026 if the proceeds are reinvested in Canada. Capital gains taxes for those investments in Canadian businesses would be deferred, too, until investors cash out or invest them outside of the country.

Kensington acquires One9 to establish a defence tech VC platform

Toronto asset manager Kensington Capital Partners has acquired the venture capital (VC) business of Ottawa-based One9 to establish its own defence technology VC platform.

In a joint interview with BetaKit, One9 founder and managing partner Glenn Cowan and Kensington senior managing director Rick Nathan said that the two firms decided to join forces to capitalize on a variety of tailwinds poised to benefit the defence tech sector, including increased interest in defence investment in the wake of rising international tensions. 

Together, they plan to invest in more defence tech startups and VC funds both in Canada and abroad.

Three Canadian quantum startups selected for US military-backed quantum race program

Toronto-based Xanadu, Vancouver-based Photonic, and Sherbrooke, Que.-based Nord Quantique have all been chosen to participate in the first round of a US military-supported research program aiming to build a usable quantum computer by 2033.

The program is run by a research and development (R&D) agency of the US Department of Defense, with selected companies jockeying for up to $316 million USD ($445 million CAD) in funding if they can show they can develop a fault-tolerant quantum computer that works

Ontario subsidizes Siemens’ new R&D facility after CEOs plead province to prioritize homegrown production

German multinational technology conglomerate Siemens is investing $150 million CAD over five years to establish what it calls a Global AI Manufacturing Technologies R&D Center for Battery Production in Canada.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the investment a “vote of confidence” in the province, which supported the investment with $7.2 million through the Invest Ontario Fund. The financial support follows an open letter signed by 75 Ontario CEOs last week that called on Ford to support homegrown innovation by prioritizing provincial resources, including investment vehicles like Invest Ontario, for Ontario-based companies.

Optimism continues in Canadian decentralized finance as DeFi and WonderFi report major gains year-over-year

Two of Canada’s larger decentralized finance (DeFi) companies marked big gains in their 2024 earnings reports this week.

DeFi Technologies reported that its assets under management jumped last year to $1.18 billion CAD, a 132 percent increase over 2023, while fellow Toronto crypto company WonderFi said its revenues more than doubled in 2024 to $62.1 million, an increase of 108 percent. Accordingly, both DeFi Technologies and WonderFi are optimistic about 2025.

Meanwhile, San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken gained a restricted dealer licence from Canadian regulators this week. What Kraken does with that regulatory greenlight will be overseen by its newest leader of Canadian operations, Cynthia Del Pozo. Kraken said Del Pozo will strengthen its regulatory, political, and commercial relationships as it scales its presence across North America.

Weekly Canadian Deals & Dollars

• VIC – Tiny buys controlling stake in DJ software Serato for $94.5M
• RCH – Former Blue Origin CEO to advise General Fusion
• VAN – Well Health acquires controlling stake of partner Healwell
• VAN – Trulioo taps former Nuvei exec to succeed retiring CEO
• RAY – Family-owned biotech AdvancedAg secures $2M from Raven
• MTL – Vopemed raises $2.29M pre-seed to develop AI-powered surgery visuals

The BetaKit Podcast — Katherine Homuth revisited

“This is worth the pain of attempting to figure out how to do it. But attempting to figure out how to do it required us to basically rethink everything about that traditional outsourcing model.”

Revisiting BetaKit’s January interview with SRTX founder Katherine Homuth about her company’s ambitious goal to modernize Western textile manufacturing in light of recent news that she will step down as CEO contingent on a deal to secure new financing.

The BetaKit Quiz — This week: Trump’s tech pardon, Poilievre’s tax pitch, and a Blue Origin alum bets on future fuel

Think you’re on top of Canadian tech and innovation news? Time to prove it. Test your knowledge of Canadian tech news with The BetaKit Quiz for Apr. 4, 2025.​

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Win $30K at the Uniting the Prairies Pitch Competition — deadline tomorrow!

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Feature image courtesy Microsoft.

The post Microsoft thinks AI agents will eat the world first appeared on BetaKit.

Osney Capital has closed more than 50 million pounds ($92 million CAD) for its first venture capital (VC) fund to back early-stage cybersecurity technology startups across the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada.

Amid trade-war-fuelled uncertainty and shifting international alliances, UK-domiciled Osney sees an opportunity to help seed-stage UK cybersecurity companies enter Canada and North America, and bring Canadian cybersecurity startups to the UK and Europe. Osney is opening an office in Calgary, staffed by partner Adam Cragg, to support these plans. 

“There’s a long-standing, trusting relationship between the UK and Canada.”

Adam Cragg,
Osney Capital

In an interview with BetaKit, Cragg cited “the soft power that Canada commands” and said the country’s activities in artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, and data centres make it an attractive place for Osney to establish operations.

“In a field like cybersecurity that’s very driven by trust, there’s a long-standing, trusting relationship between the UK and Canada,” Cragg said.

For UK and European startups looking to expand into the North American market, Cragg said Canada has become “an increasingly attractive option” with close proximity to the United States (US), whereas for Canadian startups looking to grow overseas, he argued that “The UK is a great destination.”

Cragg, former executive director of Innovate Calgary and founding partner of Quake Capital Partners, founded Osney alongside fellow partners Josh Walter and Paul Wilkes, who are both based in the UK and have experience in areas like cybersecurity, investing, and law. Osney is accredited by the UK’s National Security Investment Fund, and has a network of advisors and potential partners from across the cybersecurity space.

The cornerstone limited partner (LP) of Osney’s first fund is the British Business Bank. Other LPs include US-based defence-focused IronGate Capital Advisors, London’s East X Ventures, a number of exited cybersecurity founders, and undisclosed Canadian family offices.

RELATED: GPs and LPs at Startupfest expect gradual recovery with 2024 on pace to be worst for Canadian VC in a decade

Osney ultimately surpassed its 50-million-pound target, raising a sizable fund despite a challenging VC fundraising market, especially for first-time managers.

“I think we’re at a tipping point for the realization around cybersecurity that this is a whole suite of technologies that are central to protecting our way of life and our economic systems and democratic systems,” Cragg said.

Crunchbase data indicates that big rounds drove a cybersecurity VC funding comeback in 2024 but deal count was ultimately down 22 percent year-over-year.

For its part, Osney claims that it is the only VC firm dedicated exclusively to seed-stage cybersecurity in both the UK and Canada. 

“There’s this unclaimed space around specialized cybersecurity capital in Canada that we’re really excited by going forward,” Cragg said.

RELATED: Kensington acquires One9 to establish a defence tech VC platform

To date, Osney has amassed a portfolio of six UK startups outside of its first fund to validate its thesis, making angel investments into a group that includes Sheffield’s Sitehop, Bristol-based Onsecurity, Manchester’s Esprofiler, and London-based Mindgard, RevEng, and Seedata.

Through its debut fund, Osney plans to build a portfolio of 30 companies by investing at the pre-seed and seed stages. The firm intends to write first cheques of between 250,000 and 2.5 million pounds, with the capacity for follow-on investments in Series A rounds.

According to Cragg, Osney plans to invest largely across the UK and Canada, with opportunistic investments elsewhere. He said the VC firm has yet to determine exactly how much it plans to deploy in Canadian startups, but confirmed that it intends to invest a portion of the fund’s capital in Canada-based cybersecurity companies looking to move into the UK, and expand its team in Canada over the next couple of years.

Cragg is also particularly bullish on Canada’s AI, quantum computing, and data centre sectors, and said these will create a need for more innovative cybersecurity startups.

Feature image courtesy Osney Capital.

The post UK-based Osney Capital eyes Canadian cybersecurity startups with 50-million-pound first fund first appeared on BetaKit.

In January of this year, I sat down with Katherine Homuth, founder and CEO of the material innovation and textile manufacturing startup SRTX.

The company not only uses futuristic materials to make incredibly strong clothing but is modernizing Western manufacturing to do this from its home base in Montréal. As I said in January, Katherine Homuth wants to solve for everything.

“This is worth the pain of attempting to figure out how to do it. But attempting to figure out how to do it required us to basically rethink everything about that traditional outsourcing model.”

Katherine Homuth

SRTX might still achieve these lofty goals, but it won’t be with Homuth as its leader.

When we spoke to Homuth in January, she was on a ticking clock to raise additional financing to satisfy the company’s 2025 purchase orders and get SRTX to profitability. The episode was recorded on the day of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Weeks later, the company furloughed 40 percent of its 350-person staff in anticipation of Trump’s tariffs and the elimination of the de minimis exemption, which Homuth said would impose a 41-percent duty on products it ships to the US, where SRTX does the vast majority of its business.

In March, BetaKit reported that Homuth would step down as SRTX’s CEO as part of a deal to help the company secure necessary funding. At time of recording, the deal isn’t done, but The Globe and Mail got ahold of the term sheet showing that the $40 million financing would be led by past investors H&M, Export Development Canada, Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), and Investissement Québec (IQ).

According to the Globe, the term sheet would slash the company’s valuation in half and cram down investors who don’t commit to invest all of their allotted pro rata amount of stock by 90 percent. This is a lot of venture jargon, so consider it on simpler terms as a pay-to-play deal: if past investors don’t continue to invest, their equity stake in the company is nearly wiped out.

The deal is also contingent on Homuth leaving the company and signing a communications and social media policy.

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BetaKit continues to report on the deal, so expect more to come, but for now, please note that I recently spoke to a Canadian tech founder whose company shuttered a few years back. Like SRTX, the company had BDC and IQ as investors. Like SRTX, the company needed additional funding to survive and faced similar deal terms. One big difference: this founder, who was male, was asked to step down as CEO, but was never asked to stay silent.

So I think it’s worth revisiting this conversation with a repeat founder who was trying to do very ambitious things in Canada when it would be easier to do them anywhere else. A founder who notes in this interview that North American investors don’t understand her industry. A founder who once felt as though they had “lost their voice” online, and then started building in public and educating the market on the challenges and opportunities behind the problems her company was trying to solve. 

A founder who is now being told to remain silent. 

Here’s my January conversation with Katherine Homuth. Let’s dig in.

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The post Trump’s tech pardon, Poilievre’s tax pitch, and a Blue Origin alum bets on future fuel first appeared on BetaKit.

Publicly traded Canadian tech companies like Shopify and Lightspeed are seeing share prices plunge as the markets viscerally react to the United States’ (US) latest sweeping tariff measures that seem set to reorient the global economy. 

Shopify shares were trading at just over $100 USD per share just prior to US President Donald Trump announcing the tariffs on Wednesday evening. As of Friday just after noon, that value has depreciated nearly 25 percent, trading at around $75 USD per share. Shopify just completed transitioning its public listing from the traditional New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to the tech-forward Nasdaq. 

Both Shopify and Lightspeed saw their Canadian listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange take a slightly worse beating.

Payments processing and retail platform Lightspeed Commerce is also experiencing a drop on its NYSE listing, trading at around $9 USD per share prior to the announcement and since dropping approximately 15 percent to $7.68 USD per share. The company scaled back its revenue outlook last week, noting “several macroeconomic conditions have deteriorated” that are impacting consumer spending habits. 

Both companies, which trade under the respective symbols SHOP and LSPD, saw their Canadian listings on Toronto Stock Exchange take a slightly worse beating, with their share prices dropping an approximate additional two percent compared to their American listed counterparts. 

Other Canadian tech companies experiencing a steep post-tariff share price drop include OpenText by eight percent, Constellation Software by seven percent, and Kraken Robotics (on the TSX Venture) by nine percent. 

BlackBerry’s stock price, down 21 percent on the week, was already falling the morning before Trump’s announcement as the company scaled back its revenue outlook due to uncertainty around reduced US government spending and tariffs. EdTech firm D2L has also seen a 19-percent share price drop, despite reporting strong fiscal year results on Wednesday. 

RELATED: “Changes nothing”: Canadian tech still in limbo as country escapes worst of US tariff wave

The White House’s tariff action has sent indices such as the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq Composite into freefall since Wednesday. 

University of Calgary economics professor Trevor Tombe pointed out in a Bluesky post yesterday that, of the 11,406 market trading days since January 1980, only 29 saw larger declines. Ryan Cummings, chief of staff at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, and a Biden-era White House economic advisor, noted that yesterday’s trading day was worse than 99.6 percent of all days since 1929. 

Peter Berezin, an analyst at Canadian firm BCA Research, held one of the most pessimistic outlooks for the S&P 500 of any Wall Street analyst at the beginning of this year, and he’s sticking to it. Appearing on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid this week, Berezin said he believes the S&P 500 will hit 4,450 points this year, an additional drop of approximately 14 percent, and that there is a high chance the US will enter a recession. 

Disclosure: BetaKit majority owner Good Future is the family office of two former Shopify leaders, Arati Sharma and Satish Kanwar.

Feature image courtesy Maxim Hopman via Unsplash.

The post Shopify, Lightspeed among Canadian tech stocks dragged down in US tariff-spurred market plunge first appeared on BetaKit.

Three Canadian quantum frontrunners have been chosen to participate in the first round of a United States (US) military-supported research program aiming to build a usable quantum computer by 2033. 

“We are really simplifying the stack that brings a faster development roadmap toward a quantum computer.”

Julien Camirand Lemyre

Toronto-based Xanadu, Vancouver-based Photonic, and Sherbrooke, Que.-based Nord Quantique are all part of Stage A of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), a program run by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense. They are jockeying for up to $316 million USD ($445 million CAD) in funding if they can show they can develop a fault-tolerant quantum computer that works.

The companies chosen by DARPA for the program’s first phase, which include US juggernauts Hewlett Packard Enterprise and IBM, have all charted different paths to developing a quantum computer. Xanadu focuses on photonic quantum computing and claimed this year to have solved scalability through networking quantum computers together. Photonic develops silicon spin qubits that it networks together, and Nord Quantique works on superconducting qubits with a special type of error correction at the qubit level. Qubits are the basic programming units of quantum computing.

Nord Quantique CEO Julien Camirand Lemyre said in an interview with BetaKit that he thinks his company will excel in the program because it is differentiated in the market due to its error-correction technology, one of the key frustrations in quantum computing.

“We are really simplifying the stack that brings a faster development roadmap toward a quantum computer,” Lemyre said.

RELATED: How meaningful is D-Wave’s claim to quantum supremacy?

The QBI program aims to accelerate the timeline toward a commercially usable quantum computer, as the subject has led to market volatility in the sector and debate among quantum leaders. Experts have placed estimates anywhere from five to 20 years from now. 

The QBI program began as a pilot project involving Microsoft and Palo Alto, Calif.-based PsiQuantum. DARPA is responsible for technological innovations to be used by the US military, and has contributed to key milestones such as the graphical user interface, a cognitive assistant that later became Apple’s Siri, and the Internet itself. The agency has also developed lethal weapons to be used by the US armed forces, including a self-guiding bullet and killer robots. 

Eighteen companies (15 of which have been revealed so far) were chosen for Stage A, where each is awarded $1 million USD to conceptualize a utility-scale quantum computer. 

Those that make it to the next level, Stage B, will receive up to $15 million USD towards a research and development plan. Lemyre told BetaKit that participants would be required to supply $20 million USD of their own funding in this phase. Nord Quantique is actively looking for Canadian defence stakeholders, such as venture capital or government, to invest, he said. 

RELATED: Kensington acquires One9 to establish a defence tech VC platform

Any companies that reach Stage C will work with the US government to “verify and validate” a usable quantum computer design, according to the QBI website. They will also hit the jackpot of up to $300 million USD in funding.

“It is important for Canada to match DARPA’s ambition in quantum to ensure it can remain a key player in this sector.”

Paul Terry
Photonic

The Canadian participation in this program comes amid increasing tensions between the US and Canada due to an ongoing trade war. At the same time, investors have ramped up interest in defence technology, and global military spending has hit record highs. 

When asked whether he has concerns about Canadian innovation being used by the US military, Cadieux said, “Not at this point.” He added that he sees DARPA’s program as support from the US for developing quantum technology in Canada. 

Photonic CEO Paul Terry told BetaKit he was pleased that DARPA chose to include non-US companies in the program, and that he hopes the program continues despite “uncertainty” related to research funding in the US. Reports indicate the US Department of Defense could be a target of funding cuts by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. 

As for similar opportunities in Canada, Terry said Photonic has completed a contract with Innovative Solutions Canada. He added that the government must support Canadian quantum companies in getting to market first.

“It is important for Canada to match DARPA’s ambition in quantum to ensure it can remain a key player in this sector,” Terry said.

Despite the DARPA funding, Lemyre told BetaKit that the intellectual property (IP) of developments made during Stage A will remain with the participating company. However, he said that DARPA has not provided further details on what this will look like for future phases. Terry added that Stage A doesn’t focus on IP development, but rather on validating potential approaches to useful quantum computers.

A document on the QBI website states that with regard to general-purpose IP rights, “Each agreement will be negotiated separately and to the mutual benefit of both parties.”

Feature image courtesy IBM.

The post Three Canadian quantum startups selected for US military-backed quantum race program first appeared on BetaKit.

Vancouver-based identity verification platform Trulioo has appointed former Nuvei executive Vicky Bindra as its new CEO, succeeding outgoing leader Steve Munford as he moves into retirement.

Bindra brings experience in senior executive positions at financial giants such as Mastercard and Visa, and most recently served as chief operating and product officer at Montréal-based payments company Nuvei. Trulioo said that Munford will be working closely with Bindra to ensure a smooth transition.

“His deep industry expertise and visionary leadership make him the ideal executive to drive the next phase of innovation and expansion for Trulioo,” Munford said in a statement. “Vicky’s passion for building products and his deep understanding of payments and marketplaces will be instrumental in shaping the future of Trulioo.”

Bindra joined Nuvei as part of a C-suite expansion in 2022 and, according to his LinkedIn, departed this past December shortly after the FinTech company was taken private by American private equity firm Advent International.

At Trulioo, Bindra’s focus will be on accelerating the company’s product innovation and enhancing its global reach, he said in a statement. 

“While the regulatory environment and technological enhancements are challenging businesses to onboard and manage customers and transactions safely, there is a need to improve speed and reduce friction and complexity,” Bindra said. “I look forward to working with the talented team at Trulioo to advance the company’s position as The World’s Identity Platform.”

Founded in 2011, Trulioo’s digital platform is meant to help companies verify identities, comply with know-your-customer regulations, and prevent fraud. The company claims it covers 195 countries and checks against more than 6,000 watchlists.

Munford is retiring after leading the company for just over five years. He took on the CEO post from Trulioo co-founder Stephen Ufford in March 2020, when he moved to chair Trulioo’s board. Trulioo said the company strengthened its global presence, expanded its product offerings, and tripled its revenue during Munford’s five years at the helm. The company also became a unicorn under his watch, when it secured a $476-million CAD Series D round at a $2billion CAD valuation in 2021. 

Feature image courtesy Trulioo. 

The post Trulioo taps former Nuvei exec Vicky Bindra to take over for retiring CEO Steve Munford first appeared on BetaKit.

Montreal-based healthtech startup Vopemed (previously known as Vope Medical) has obtained $2.29 million CAD in pre-seed funding to back development and clinical testing for Claris, its AI-driven software for enhancing surgery visualization.

Montreal’s Genson Capital led the round with a $1.5-million investment. Investissement Québec (IQ) provided an additional $750,000. The technology could “significantly improve” surgery efficiency and precision, and makes Vopemed “well-positioned to make a lasting impact,” according to Genson’s Jacques Courtois.

This funding validates the need for enhanced surgical visualization and reinforces our mission to bring AI-powered image enhancement into every operating room.

Amy Lorincz
Vopemed

Claris aims to upgrade video feed quality for laparoscopic surgeries, which are done with a small incision and a camera-equipped tube, and robot-aided procedures. 

Vopemed CEO Amy Lorincz told BetaKit that Claris removes obstructions like smoke, and uses a generative technique to restore areas affected by opaque fluids, which helps surgeons see “critical anatomical structures” more clearly.  She claimed this will address “persistent visibility challenges” with minimally invasive surgeries. This theoretically allows for safer and more precise operations.

The software runs on standard processors, so it can integrate relatively easily into operating rooms.

“This funding validates the need for enhanced surgical visualization and reinforces our mission to bring AI-powered image enhancement into every operating room,” Lorincz said in a statement.

Vopemed plans to use the funding to speed up both the development and clinical validation processes. This includes expanding research and development, widening the software’s use to more clinical applications, and forging stronger relationships with hospitals and individual surgical teams. The company hopes to conduct validation studies this year, and receive clearance in North America by mid-2026.

Genson has made previous investments in Montreal-area healthtech startups, including regenerative therapy creator Neurenati and stem cell therapy firm Morphocell. The city has also raised its profile through companies like Eli Health, whose at-home hormone measurement technology won a CES 2025 award for innovation.

RELATED: Montréal healthtech startup with transatlantic ties raises $43 million CAD for RNA-based cancer immunotherapies

IQ has made a number of substantial healthcare investments in recent months. It participated in a $43-million funding round for cancer immunotherapy startup Epitopea, while health-oriented VC firm Glen Ventures received $5 million from an IQ-managed fund bankrolled by Québec’s Ministry of Economy, Innovation, and Energy.

There is additional pressure to develop more homegrown and locally managed technology in light of US tariffs. While growing companies like Toronto’s PocketHealth have received expanded funding in the past year, international giants like AstraZeneca have swooped in to acquire Canadian brands.

Update (4/4/2025): This story has been updated with more details from Vopemed about Claris’ functionality and roadmap.

Image courtesy Jafar Ahmed via Unsplash.

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When Akshay Singh first started filing his taxes after university, everything was simple.

But after marriage and kids, life got more complex and his tax equations grew more complex and daunting too. The once straightforward paperwork evolved into what felt like an overwhelming challenge, filled with new deductions and credits that were difficult to navigate.

“Over time, I totally lost the confidence to file my own taxes,” Singh said. 

“It’s a challenge, a huge opportunity, and a great learning journey.”

Akshay Singh, Intuit

Today, Singh is an Engineering Group Manager at Intuit.

Intuit’s AI-driven expert platform powers TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, which are used by approximately 100 million people and businesses around the world.

From that vantage point, Singh has seen firsthand how many people struggle with the same uncertainty, and now he has the opportunity to improve the technology that helps people file taxes, manage payroll, track business expenses, and more. 

For decades, Intuit’s do-it-yourself financial technology made tax filing easier for those with simple returns. But for people like Singh with more complex situations that could benefit from additional guidance from a financial expert, the company knew it had to find an effortless way to connect people to the expertise they needed, and help them feel more confident in their finances.

Enter Intuit’s Virtual Expert Platform (VEP): a capability that combines AI, expert advice, and a decades-long understanding of customer needs.

With VEP, Intuit doesn’t have to wait for customers to ask for help while using their platform. Instead, it is able to anticipate their needs and proactively offer solutions, through a unique hybrid of AI and human expertise. The platform uses AI to connect people with the right tax or bookkeeping expertise when they need help, making expert support faster and more accessible.

Intuit is further enhancing its platform through an increased focus on delivering “done-for-you” agentic AI experiences, where the company automates tasks, end-to-end workflows, and entire functions, and connects customers to one of its more than 12,000 AI-enabled human experts for that last mile or to complete all of the work. 

Intuit automatically uploads data the customer has connected, saving experts from manual data entry and searching various forums for customer details to make the first interaction a standout experience. 

Intuit’s experts can complete the customer’s tax return in as little as two hours, offering proactive and personalized assistance, and providing opportunities for customers to access their money instantly.

“Taxes and finances are complicated, and our customers want expert help without the hassle,” said Shilpa Reddy, who leads the VEP as Vice President at Intuit. “Our platform helps customers get the right level of expertise, whether from AI or a human expert, so they can maximize their money with less effort and greater confidence.”

A chance for true ownership

The Intuit engineers who work on VEP were drawn to this work for different reasons. 

Singh was drawn in by the appeal of the problem itself, and the chance to build technology that is used by millions of people each year.

Nicholas Yee, on the other hand, was drawn by the potential of building something foundational for a company like Intuit, in the heart of Toronto’s tech scene. Yee, who had previously worked in banking, startups, and scale-ups, saw VEP as an opportunity to work with AI and shape a team and product from the ground up. Today, he is a Senior Software Engineering Manager with the VEP team.

“I was excited to be part of a growth organization and get to help build out a team, build out a culture, and do that in Toronto,” Yee said.

When he joined, his focus was on finding people eager to push AI forward and experiment quickly. He wanted to shape the product, test ideas with real users, and make decisions that directly impact how millions of people access financial help. At Intuit, that’s exactly what he found.

“One of the things about my team is that we’re told to be experimental, to try things out,” Yee said​. “I thought that was a great opportunity, since it allowed us to work at the speed of a startup, with the scale of a globally trusted brand.”

Experiments at Intuit are driven by data. Behind the scenes, teams analyze real-time customer interactions to identify the next problem to tackle and where AI can make the biggest impact.

The system behind VEP evaluates availability, expertise, and urgency before routing a case. If AI can resolve the issue, it steps in. If not, VEP escalates the request, connecting the customer to a tax or bookkeeping professional instantly. AI also enhances the expert experience by providing relevant insights and support to improve interactions with customers.

AI plays a role in the process, but it doesn’t replace the human connection that expertise depends on. “We are building so that humans will always be in the loop in the way we think about AI,” Reddy added.

This interplay between machine learning and human support is the heart of the VEP model. Intuit wanted to build a system that could predict customer intent, and surface the right kind of support, whether that is AI-driven assistance or access to real human expertise.

“We’ve been able to build AI-powered features to help our experts focus on the conversation with the customer by automating tasks like note-taking, searching for relevant resources that they can share with the customer, or even making recommendations on the best way to solve the customer’s issue. Our goal is to ensure that our experts have all the tools they need to provide the best customer experience,” Yee added.

For engineers, working on something like Intuit’s Virtual Expert Platform is a rare challenge. The stakes are high, the scale is massive, and the impact is immediate. 

A culture of experimentation

Experimentation has shaped Intuit’s approach to product development from the start. In 1983, co-founder Scott Cook launched “Follow-Me-Homes,” a practice where engineers observe real customers using the software in their own environments. The idea was simple: watch, listen, and learn, rather than assume. 

“We as engineers actually get to see experts using the product, which is a very unique opportunity,” Yee added. “These are also really insightful. Hearing what they like, what they don’t like, and seeing what their experience is like—it really helps me get a better understanding of the customer.”

Follow-Me-Homes continue decades later alongside Intuit’s Design for Delight framework, ensuring teams replace guesswork with firsthand insight. Intuit employees—not just engineers or designers—have access to training on design thinking as part of the company’s focus on customer-driven innovation. 

Engineers are also embedded with product teams and designers to make decisions that define how financial expertise is delivered. This requires strategic thinking about AI, including how the platform analyzes customer queries to understand their intent.

Singh sees this evolution in AI’s abilities as foundational to the bigger opportunities ahead.

“We are really excited and deeply invested in making more AI-native experiences,” he said. “We’ve been investing in AI for more than a decade, and even with the experiences that are serving users today, we are getting an opportunity to rethink them in a new way.”

The team is still experimenting, refining, and figuring out how to push the platform forward. For Singh, that’s what makes the work exciting.

“It’s a challenge, a huge opportunity, and a great learning journey,” he said.

PRESENTED BY

Intuit is building the future of AI-driven expertise and is looking for engineers to help shape it. Explore opportunities on Intuit’s career site.

All photos provided by Intuit.

The post The team behind Intuit’s AI-driven expert platform first appeared on BetaKit.

Toronto-based corporate card and expense management technology startup Float has rolled out a new foreign exchange (FX) product aimed at helping its business clients convert between currencies more easily and cost effectively as they contend with the fallout from the Canada-United States (US) trade war.

“In moments of weakness, saving money becomes really important.”

Float FX will allow Canadian companies using the startup’s business finance software platform to convert funds from CAD to USD and vice versa for a 0.25-percent fee. This is a 90-percent discount compared to some of the major Canadian banks, which can charge approximately 2.5 percent for currency exchange.

In an interview with BetaKit, Float chief financial services officer Andrew Dale said that while moving into FX was always part of Float’s roadmap, the company decided to prioritize the launch of Float FX in response to feedback from customers facing financial strain due to increased currency volatility and rising cross-border costs amid trade tensions.

“What we’ve been hearing from Canadian businesses is, ‘Allow us to save money on US dollar-related stuff faster and sooner,’” Dale said.

Founded in 2019, Float aims to simplify spending for Canadian companies. The startup’s flagship business finance platform combines corporate cards with spending management software, giving finance teams real-time visibility into business spending as well as the capacity to spend, track, approve, and reconcile expenses. 

Float caters largely to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) left underserved by banks and legacy solutions. Today, the startup serves over 4,000 Canadian companies, including Ada, Clutch, Cohere, Knix, and Jane App.

RELATED: Float raises $70-million Series B led by Goldman Sachs

Earlier this year, Float closed $70 million CAD in Series B funding led by Goldman Sachs to broaden its suite of products and financial services for Canadian businesses. This round came less than 12 months after the startup secured a $50-million credit facility from Silicon Valley Bank to grow its corporate credit offering.

“We’ve launched products that help our customers access more capital, access credit, streamline and automate their financial operations, [and] pay different types of bills on Float,” Float co-founder and CEO Rob Khazzam told BetaKit. “FX is a really unique opportunity now to offer them something through Float that puts more money in their pocket.”

Float claims it is able to offer such low FX rates in-house thanks to the size of its customer base compared to other FinTech startups and the fact that it is a registered money services business, which means it does not need to pay for a third-party FX provider. Dale said that Float’s scale, which includes a large amount of customers spending and loading both Canadian and US dollars in Float, enables the startup to match those currencies to each other for FX purposes.

Dale noted that the Canadian dollar has been weak compared to the US dollar lately thanks to tariffs and uncertainty, adding that, “In moments of weakness, saving money becomes really important.”

RELATED: Canadian founders face rising costs, wasted time ahead of trade war escalation

Float’s February survey of 400 Canadian SMBs found that 65 percent expect to be impacted by US tariffs. Companies surveyed expressed the greatest concern about increased costs when exporting to the US, currency fluctuations, and higher prices from US suppliers.

Float FX is part of a broader package of products that the startup has been developing to help Canadian businesses with any degree of US operations save some cash and protect their margins “at a time when every dollar counts.”

This includes Float’s flagship high-yield account product as well as the abilities to manage USD and CAD balances without a US-domiciled account, issue USD cards, pay US vendors via wire or ACH (a type of electronic bank-to-bank payment used in the US), and reimburse US employees within Float.

“We’re launching [these capabilities] sooner than we had expected, and part of that is a real recognition at Float that this is a unique window right now,” Khazzam said.

Feature image courtesy Float.

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Canada appears to have escaped the worst of the United States’ (US) latest and most dramatic round of tariffs yet, but Canadian entrepreneurs are still feeling the impact of ongoing trade uncertainty. 

US President Donald Trump announced what he called “reciprocal” tariffs on more than 60 countries in front of a crowd at the White House Rose Garden this evening, but Canada and Mexico were notably absent from the list.   

The sweeping tariffs are on all imports to the US, except those compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) free trade treaty, according to a White House fact sheet. Non-compliant Canadian goods will continue to be charged at a 25-percent rate while non-compliant energy and potash will see a 10-percent tariff. 

In other words, these tariffs are a continuation of what the US instituted toward Canada last month, which the US portrayed as part of an effort to curb perceived cross-border fentanyl smuggling. These tariffs initially affected all imported Canadian goods, but after negotiations, were revised to exclude CUSMA-compliant goods. That exclusion was set to expire today, but is now continuing. 

“Canadian businesses can breathe a little easier for now.”

Startup Canada

Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) president Ben Bergen told BetaKit that Trump’s announcement “changes nothing” for Canada’s fundamental trade situation with the US. Bergen added that Canada’s trade strategy has bet on stability with the US for too long, and that after months of trade turbulence, Canada needs a “bold, modern economic strategy.” 

“What’s needed now is a focused, forward-looking industrial policy: one that supports Canadian firms, drives investment toward high-value sectors, and deploys procurement as a strategic tool,” Bergen said.

Startup Canada posted on LinkedIn that while the new tariffs are impacting global trade, “Canadian businesses can breathe a little easier for now.”

The fact sheet goes on to say that, in the event the current tariff orders against Canada are terminated, CUSMA-compliant goods would “continue to receive preferential treatment,” while non-CUSMA compliant goods would be subject to a 12-percent tariff.

Trump also announced that all foreign automobiles imported into the US would be subject to a 25-percent tariff, though it is currently unclear how the renewed exemption for CUSMA-compliant goods will impact this. Trump also signed an order to close the de minimis trade exemption on May 2, seemingly for good this time, after pausing the exemption in February backed up inbound packages at US customs. The de minimis exemption allows shipments into the US under $800 to cross the border duty-free. Chinese marketplaces like Temu and Shein heavily rely on the exemption, but it also affected the direct-to-consume sales of Canadian goods producers like SRTX, the maker of Sheertex tights.

Following Trump’s announcement, Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters that Trump’s measures are “going to fundamentally change the international trading system,” but that a number of important elements of the Canada-US relationship were preserved despite many tariffs remaining in place.

“As of this evening, the tariffs on automobiles will enter into force, and the US has signalled that there will be additional tariffs in so-called strategic sectors: pharmaceuticals, lumber, and semiconductors,” Carney said. “We are going to fight these tariffs with countermeasures, we are going to protect our workers, and we are going to build the strongest economy in the G7.”

Carney announced in a press conference following publication that Canada is implementing a  25 percent counter-tariff on vehicles imported from the US that are not compliant with CUSMA.

Uncertainty continues for entrepreneurs

Global markets reacted dramatically the day after Trump’s tariff action, with indices such as the S&P 500 falling 4.3 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 3.4 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite falling 5.5 percent as of 2:30 PM on April 3. 

While Canada seems to have escaped the worst of the action, the ongoing uncertainty was already making it harder to plan and adding costs for entrepreneurs, founders told BetaKit. More than three-quarters of Canadian startups said they were impacted directly or indirectly by the tariffs, according to a survey released last week from tech hubs MaRS and Communitech. Forty-one percent said their 2025 revenue could drop, and 11 percent said they planned to cut staff due to the trade war.

The impacts of the trade war saw Montréal-based payments company Lightspeed Commerce pull back its revenue outlook for its 2025 fiscal year from a 20-percent to an 18-percent year-over-year gain, citing “several macroeconomic conditions” that had deteriorated. CEO Dax Dasilva told BetaKit that tariffs and trade wars “certainly play a role” in creating uncertainty in the market.

If times weren’t uncertain enough, the US senate passed a resolution last night, with limited support from Republicans, to terminate the national emergency Trump declared to justify the tariffs on Canada. The resolution is set to be sent to the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives, where it will likely die.  

RELATED: Canadian founders face rising costs, wasted time ahead of trade war escalation

The top concerns of startups surveyed by MaRS and Communitech were raising capital in this environment, go-to-market execution, and accessing customers. Among their demands were increased funding for business support programs and increased government procurement of Canadian products.

At the announcement, Trump still voiced his displeasure with Canada’s supply management system, a national policy framework that controls the supply of agricultural products. Carney said earlier today that supply management was “off the table” in any future negotiation with the US.  

Trump claimed the broadly applied tariffs, which he called “reciprocal,” were individually calculated to determine the monetary and non-monetary measures that other countries imposed on US imports, then cut in half to “be kind.” Affected countries include China, with a tariff of 34 percent, the United Kingdom at 10 percent, and India at 26 percent. 

The White House has been calling today “Liberation Day” in the weeks leading up to this latest round of so-called “reciprocal” tariffs against target countries, whether “friend or foe,” —all with the aim to “Make America Wealthy Again.” Trump said the goal of the tariffs is to bring the manufacturing of goods like automobiles and semiconductors back to the US. 

UPDATE (04/03/2025): This story has been updated with information following the tariff announcement, including the de minimis exemption, as well as government and market reaction.

Feature image courtesy Daniel Torok via Wikimedia Commons.

The post “Changes nothing”: Canadian tech still in limbo as country escapes worst of US tariff wave first appeared on BetaKit.

Richmond, BC-based General Fusion has tapped a well-known private space industry  leader to guide its efforts to commercialize fusion reactors.

The company is enlisting Bob Smith, the former CEO of Jeff Bezos’s spaceflight company Blue Origin, as a strategic advisor. He will help shape General Fusion’s “technology development and strategic growth,” according to a company statement.

Smith stated he believed fusion would represent the “last energy source humanity will ever need.” 

Before Blue Origin, Smith held leadership positions at aerospace and science companies including United Space Alliance, Sandia Labs, and Honeywell. That experience with cutting-edge technology will be “invaluable” as General Fusion moves toward supplying power by the mid-2030s, claimed CEO Greg Twinney.

Smith stated he had been tracking fusion energy development “closely” during his career, and believed that the technology would represent the “last energy source humanity will ever need.” He also saw fusion as key to reducing carbon emissions and dealing with the “worst consequences of climate change.”

General Fusion started operations at its Lawson Machine 26 (LM26) technology demonstrator in March. Where most fusion energy projects use lasers or superconducting magnets to generate fusion-encouraging plasma for as long as possible, General Fusion is counting on a concept known as magnetized target fusion. If successful, this will use mechanical compression to produce fusion in short pulses, which the company claims will help keep costs low and eventually allow reactors to be located closer to the cities they will serve.

RELATED: General Fusion takes major step in quest for Canadian fusion reactors

Smith left Blue Origin in September 2023 amid concerns the company wasn’t progressing as quickly as its main rival, Elon Musk’s SpaceX. While Blue Origin accomplished multiple goals during Smith’s tenure, such as launching its first crewed mission in 2021, its New Glenn heavy lifting rocket didn’t launch until January 2025. That’s years behind SpaceX, which first launched Falcon Heavy in 2018.

The company still has multiple milestones to reach before its fusion technique is practical, including reaching a “scientific breakeven equivalent” temperature where the energy output is equal to the necessary heating. It also has yet to outline how it will incorporate the technology into working power plants.

General Fusion has raised $440 million CAD so far through public and private channels, with $69 million of that coming through the Canadian government’s Strategic Innovation Fund. In March, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson characterized the company as a “powerful innovator” that maintained Canada’s reputation for spearheading nuclear science.

Former Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith. Image courtesy of General Fusion.

The post Former Blue Origin CEO to advise General Fusion on energy strategy first appeared on BetaKit.

So-called Liberation Day is here, and one thing is certain: Canadian businesses can’t say for sure what tariffs await them. 

The last three months have felt like endless whiplash for Canada, which has been caught in a trade war with an unpredictable United States (US) administration. Since taking office, US President Donald Trump has threatened 25-percent blanket tariffs on Canadian imports, agreed to a month-long détente, slapped duties on Canadian steel and aluminum, and then again delayed tariffs on Canadian goods covered under the 2020 Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA)—which was negotiated by Trump himself.

“Nothing hurts business more than ‘wait and see.'”

Jean-Simon Fortin
Paperplane Therapeutics

The ongoing uncertainty has had both direct and knock-on effects on Canadian businesses, which have been left struggling to strategize, devoting energy to hypotheticals, and facing rising costs. More than three-quarters of Canadian startups said they were impacted directly or indirectly by the tariffs, according to a survey by tech hubs MaRS and Communitech. Eleven percent said they planned to cut staff due to the trade war.

On Wednesday, the US is expected to impose between 20 and 25 percent tariffs on the remaining Canadian goods covered by the free trade agreement, as part of a broader protectionist policy rollout. But given past behaviour, what will come down the pipeline is anyone’s guess—and Canadian founders may have to redraw plans accordingly.  

Back to the drawing board

For Canadian entrepreneurs, uncertainty is manifesting in myriad ways, reflecting the widespread economic reverberations of the trade war. One founder told BetaKit last month that after Trump delayed tariffs on some Canadian goods, the constant back-and-forth made it “impossible to plan.” Another called it “exhausting.”

Paperplane Therapeutics, a Montréal-based software healthtech company, is in a similar boat. Paperplane ships US hardware into Canada to install its virtual-reality software. Tariffs are causing supply chain “logistical headaches” that make long-term planning difficult, according to CEO Jean-Simon Fortin. 

“While it’s possible to plan, it’s a huge drain on time and resources—and it creates a climate where hesitation and paralysis become the default,” Fortin told BetaKit. “Nothing hurts business more than ‘wait and see.’”

RELATED: How is Canadian tech responding to the trade war?

One of the biggest challenges, Fortin said, is the added financial burden. Fortin has had to work with an import-export agency and pivot the company’s supply chain to find alternative distribution channels. 

“For us to maintain competitiveness, we need to eat the tariff costs.”

Josh Ogden
Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions

Another Canadian software startup that ships hardware over the border says that there are no good resources describing how startups should deal with these circumstances, creating “a lot of extra work.” 

For Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions (AVSS), a New-Brunswick-based company that manufactures components for commercial drones, uncertainty around tariffs is a drain on resources.

“We are wasting time bouncing tariff and standard pricing multiple times a week,” AVSS CEO Josh Ogden told BetaKit. “For us to maintain competitiveness, we need to eat the tariff costs.” 

Typically built on a stable relationship between the Canadian and US dollars, companies are also now confronting cross-border currency volatility. Early-stage telecom company Sweat Free Telecom says its biggest uncertainty is currency fluctuations, according to founder and CEO Chanakya Ramdev. The startup said that it is “hit twice as hard” by the weakening Canadian dollar, as it collects revenue in CAD but its billing costs are in USD.

And planning can only get a company so far in the face of an unpredictable administration. On The BetaKit Podcast in February, SRTX founder and CEO Katherine Homuth said that businesses should have plans “A through D” to deal with tariff uncertainty.

But the textile manufacturing startup, which produces its rip-resistant Sheertex tights in Canada, temporarily laid off 40 percent of its staff ahead of tariffs that it said could impose up to 41-percent duties on its product shipments into the US. Homuth said she would be stepping down last week as part of a condition on a crucial funding round, whose urgency was only accelerated by the trade war. 

RELATED: Government of Canada commits over $6 billion to help businesses weather trade war

To mitigate the trade war fallout, the federal government has rolled out a multibillion-dollar aid plan to support businesses. Though entrepreneurs have welcomed the initiative, some are advocating for targeted trade and procurement policies to protect the Canadian economy.

Startups surveyed by MaRS and Communitech are calling for increased funding for business support programs, increased government procurement of Canadian goods, and more support for diversifying away from US markets. Fortin told BetaKit that stronger trade agreements and more domestic procurement opportunities in Canada would help companies currently at the mercy of US trade policy. 

The Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), an organization that represents Canadian scaleups, has been pushing for procurement reform since before the trade war began. It has argued for creating a federal target for small and medium-sized enterprise procurement targets. 

“Our proximity to the US was always viewed as our greatest strength. Those positive attributes are no longer there in the way they previously were,” Bergen said. “Making sure we have a business climate that is hypercompetitive is essential to our survival and success as a country.”

Feature image courtesy Harry Spink via Unsplash.

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Kraken has appointed Cynthia Del Pozo as the newest leader of its Canadian business and become the latest international cryptocurrency exchange to secure a restricted dealer licence in Canada. 

Del Pozo will lead Kraken’s next phase of growth across Canada, the San Francisco-based company said in a blog post, adding that she will strengthen the exchange’s regulatory, political and commercial relationships as it scales its presence across North America. Del Pozo is taking the place of Alex Mehrdad, who held the role for just over a year after taking the reins from Mark Greenberg when he was promoted to a global role in August. 

Kraken said it has enhanced its governance, security, and compliance protocols to “meet the highest industry standards.”

Mehrdad departed Kraken last month, according to his LinkedIn profile. A Kraken spokesperson told BetaKit in an email statement that Mehrdad played a major role in the process of securing the restricted dealer licence.

The spokesperson added that he departed to pursue new opportunities that “align more closely with his career focus,” and added that he will “always remain a Krakenite at heart.”

According to Del Pozo’s LinkedIn profile, she previously served as the CEO of Gemini Canada. Despite filing a pre-registration undertaking (PRU) to become a restricted dealer itself, Gemini, founded by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, abruptly departed Canada alongside other exchanges last year after Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) announced tighter restrictions on crypto exchanges. 

“With nearly 15 years experience in corporate development, operations and fintech consulting, Cynthia is exceptionally well-equipped to lead Kraken’s expansion and engagement across Canada at this pivotal time for crypto’s evolution,” the blog post reads. 

Del Pozo is taking the lead on Kraken’s Canadian operations as it obtains its restricted dealer licence, something it has pursued since it entered a PRU with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) in 2023, which granted it conditional approval to operate while pursuing the full registration. A restricted dealer is a special registration for firms that don’t fit under other categories like investments, mutual funds, or exempt markets, where securities regulators tailor the registration with specific requirements or conditions. 

RELATED: WonderFi and Kraken Canada each break $2-billion CAD mark for assets under custody

Kraken said the undertaking has enhanced its governance, security, and compliance protocols to “meet the highest industry standards.” 

“This foundation supports our vision of expanding product access, improving user experience, and contributing to the evolution of a secure and innovative digital asset environment in Canada,” the Kraken spokesperson told BetaKit.

Kraken’s Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) ruling, filed under its parent company name Payward, lays out the exchange’s commitments such as know-your-customer rules, anti-money laundering measures, and regular transaction reports to the regulator. Kraken secured its licence almost exactly one year after cryptocurrency giant Coinbase became the first international crypto exchange to register as a restricted dealer in Canada. 

According to its OSC filing, Kraken intends to apply for registration as an investment dealer, seek membership with the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), and to seek approval to operate an alternative trading system. Montréal-based crypto platform Shakepay became a CIRO member earlier this year, providing its customers with protections such as compliance oversight and capital adequacy. The Kraken spokesperson said that becoming a CIRO member is a “top priority” that unlocks new opportunities to expand its product suite.

Kraken said that its Canadian operation has grown exponentially over the past two years, having doubled its team size and monthly transacting users during the PRU process, and exceeded $2 billion CAD in combined client assets under custody. 

CORRECTION (04/02/2024): This story has been corrected to note that Alex Mehrdad was Kraken’s General Manager of Canada for just over a year. An earlier version of this story stated he held the role for just over six months. BetaKit regrets the error.

Feature image courtesy Kraken via its website.

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Toronto asset manager Kensington Capital Partners has acquired the venture capital (VC) business of Ottawa-based One9 to establish its own defence technology VC platform.

As part of this deal, Kensington has acquired the One9 team minus general partner (GP) Daniel Weinand, the One9 brand, and all future One9 investment activities (including new funds and direct investments). Kensington has also acquired a minority stake in One9 Capability Labs with the option to purchase it fully later. One9’s Special Mission Fund, which is now fully deployed, and its existing portfolio were not included in the acquisition. Both companies declined to disclose any of the financial terms of the transaction.

“Defence is so much more than guns, bombs, and bullets.”

Glenn Cowan, One9

One9 and Kensington have been investing in defence tech together since 2020. The two firms started with special purpose vehicles (SPVs) before Kensington decided to anchor One9’s first and only fund to date with a $10-million CAD commitment in 2022.

In a joint interview with BetaKit, One9 founder and managing partner Glenn Cowan and Kensington senior managing director Rick Nathan said that the two firms decided to join forces to capitalize on a variety of tailwinds poised to benefit the defence tech sector, including increased interest in defence investment in the wake of rising international tensions. Together, they plan to invest in more defence tech startups and VC funds both in Canada and abroad.

“There’s a real opportunity in Canada to build a platform focused on national security technology [and] defence technology, using early-stage, emerging, disruptive tech companies to be a part of a critical and much-needed new defence-industrial base,” Cowan said.

Cowan argued that his domain expertise from his time serving in the Canadian Armed Forces and supporting defence tech startups with One9, coupled with Kensington’s scale, credibility, and track record as one of the country’s largest VC investors, make for a “very logical” combination.

VC funding for defence tech has been gaining traction in recent months. At a time when much of the tech sector has been “soft,” and valuations of VC-backed companies have broadly declined, Nathan claimed Kensington has seen “real growth and real success” in its defence tech portfolio.

Kensington and One9 have collaborated on several investments, including Tomahawk Robotics, a Florida-based drone control technology firm that was sold in 2023 to Virginia’s AeroVironment for $120 million USD in cash and stock. The pair also invested in Utah’s Strider Technologies, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to turn open-source data into strategic intelligence. Strider secured $55 million in Series C funding late last year.

RELATED: An election primer on what Canadian innovators need

With a federal election looming and a trade war with the US underway, Cowan, Medcan chair and CEO Shaun Francis, and others have been lobbying incoming leadership to increase Canada’s defence commitments and improve procurement, which they argue is needed to bring the country up to speed with its peers and modernize the Canadian military.

The Liberals and Conservatives have both committed to ramping up defence spending, which Nathan and Cowan believe bodes well for the sector and their new relationship. Meanwhile, a growing crop of defence tech startups south of the border see room to take business away from traditional contractors under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Cowan, a retired squadron commander in Canada’s Joint Task Force 2, previously spent 18 years with the Canadian Armed Forces, of which 13 were with Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. He served on multiple combat deployments in Afghanistan, information operations in the Middle East, and hostage recovery operations in Africa, where he was a strategic planner and tactical commander.

He launched One9 Venture Partners in October 2020 with Weinand, a co-founder of Shopify, as a defence, intelligence, and national security-focused investment fund aimed at bridging the gap between private capital markets and innovative military technologies with substantial civilian uses.

RELATED: Canadian Armed Forces veteran, Shopify co-founder team up for $50-million military tech fund

One9 initially hoped to raise $50 million CAD for its Special Mission Fund, but was ultimately only able to secure $10 million, including $7 million from Kensington, with the remaining $3 million from high-net-worth investors, including Weinand (also GP) and Shopify president Harley Finkelstein.

Cowan said that raising a first-time fund in a niche, specialized asset class during the COVID-19 pandemic as someone with a special forces background was “a tough lift.” He credited Nathan and Kensington for being “very early believers” in One9.

“Probably the biggest elephant in the room around that was the defence focus in Canada,” Cowan said. “Not only is a first-time fund hard, but Canada is a tough market for this sector.”

Between the Special Mission Fund, SPVs, and a separate One9 entity, the firm has deployed a total of approximately $23 million across six defence tech startups. Ottawa’s Ventus Respiratory Technologies, which is developing respiratory tech for military, law enforcement, and first responders, marks One9’s sole Canadian investment to date. Cowan attributed this to One9’s focus on the Series A level, a threshold he said not a lot of Canadian defence tech firms meet at the moment.

Capability Labs, One9’s 6,000-square-foot industrial office and workshop in downtown Ottawa, is where One9 hosts portfolio companies, conducts due diligence, finds deal flow, and connects startups with military players and other end users for demonstrations.

It is rare for a Canadian VC firm to be acquired. For Kensington, which just sold a majority stake in its own business to AGF Private Capital last year, One9 shores up its defence tech expertise and support capabilities on the VC side of its business.

Cowan and Nathan are betting that shifting political and social winds will lead many Canadian institutional and other private investors who have typically been more skittish of defence tech investing for a variety of reasons to become more comfortable with this sector.

“We expect to deploy significant capital in Canada in this sector.”

“Defence is so much more than guns, bombs, and bullets,” Cowan said, citing “top-secret level encryption and cloud compute” as one of the many examples of non-weapons-related defence tech that could also have positive implications for civilians.

Nathan believes Canada has “all the building blocks” to establish a strong defence tech sector, including strong capabilities in areas like AI, robotics, and cybersecurity that have largely not yet been leveraged for defence applications.

Kensington invests in both tech companies and other VC funds, a strategy it intends to apply to defence in a more focused manner with One9. While there are not any other VC funds in Canada dedicated exclusively to defence tech, Nathan noted that there are some strong Canadian companies. “There is stuff here, it’s just not focused, and it’s not that much,” he said.

Nathan and Cowan are confident that more defence tech companies and VC funds will emerge in Canada over the coming years, and together, hope to play a role in supporting them. 

“We’re here in Canada and we expect to deploy significant capital in Canada in this sector,” Nathan said.

Feature image courtesy One9.

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Raymond, Alta.-based agricultural biotech company AdvancedAg has secured $2 million in seed funding from Raven Indigenous Capital Partners as it looks to expand its North American footprint. 

Raven, which invests exclusively in Indigenous enterprises, was the lead and sole participant of the all-equity seed round. AdvancedAg will use the funding on research and development, creating intellectual property, and expanding market access, the company said in a statement, adding that it is positioned to bring its products to more farms across North America. 

AdvancedAg is forecasting sales growth upwards of $9 million by 2026.

Founded in 2001, AdvancedAg is an Indigenous, family-owned company producing microbial agricultural products aimed at reducing farmers’ reliance on synthetic chemical products. The company provides seed, soil, and foliar (leaf)-applied products that it claims promote plant growth and disease resistance. 

“My mom and I were ‘crazy people’ trying to get this business off the ground, often told we were ‘wasting our time’ by those around us,” AdvancedAg CEO Joshua Day Chief wrote in a LinkedIn post. “But every year, we became a little less crazy. Now, we’re seeing hundreds of millions of dollars pour into the biological space, and this investment will help us stay ahead.” 

RELATED: Raven Indigenous Capital Partners tops initial target for second fund with $100 million final close

While an Alberta Innovates profile on AdvancedAg indicated the company would be seeking Series A funding this year, director of operations Daniel Wevers told BetaKit that was “a typo” and, while this was the company’s first external raise, there may be future rounds in the next couple years.

Wevers also told BetaKit the company currently has around 1,000 customers and made $3.4 million in sales revenue last year, adding that the company is forecasting sales growth upwards of $9 million by 2026. 

“At Raven, we invest in ventures that not only drive commercial success but also create lasting, positive change in their industries,” Raven associate Josh Alook, who is also joining AdvancedAg’s board, said in a statement. “AdvancedAg’s leadership in sustainable agriculture and their deep ties to farming innovation and natural solutions made this investment a natural fit.”

Feature image courtesy AdvancedAg. 

The post Raven Capital cultivates Indigenous-led biotech company AdvancedAg with $2-million seed investment first appeared on BetaKit.

Victoria-based holding company Tiny has bought a controlling 66 percent stake in Serato, one of the best-known brands in DJ software, for $66 million USD ($94.5 million CAD).

Purchase follows a blocked $81.6 million CAD merger between Serato and AlphaTheta in August 2024.

Tiny is making the purchase with a combination of cash and common shares. The cash portion is $42 million USD and the deal values Serato at $175 million, according to the New Zealand Herald. The company expects to close the deal in the second quarter of 2025 provided regulators and shareholders approve. Serato will remain headquartered in New Zealand. BetaKit has reached out to Tiny for more details on the deal.

The two companies share a “unified vision for Serato’s future” that includes “strategically and thoughtfully expand[ing] upon its strong legacy,” according to Tiny CEO Jordan Taub. Tiny added that the deal should boost its annual recurring revenue by approximately 45 percent, to between $55 million and $57 million.

Serato co-founder AJ Wilderland said the move “accelerates” his company’s growth while staying true to the “community of artists” that use its software.

Serato launched in 1998 and is best known for Serato DJ, a popular line of software for mixing music during live sets. The company also develops production software like Serato Studio and plugins like Serato Sample. Pioneer, Roland, and other major music hardware manufacturers build mixers and other controllers that integrate tightly with Serato’s software.

RELATED: Tiny appoints WeCommerce head Jordan Taub as its new CEO

The move comes relatively soon after a failed merger. New Zealand’s Commerce Commission blocked AlphaTheta, owner of the hardware and software company Pioneer DJ, from acquiring Serato in August 2024 in a deal that would have been worth over $100 million New Zealand dollars (about $81.6 million CAD). Regulators were concerned the move would “substantially” reduce competition in the DJ software space.

Tiny has made a string of key acquisitions and investments across multiple industries since it was founded in 2007. These include interface designer MetaLab in 2017, career site Girlboss in 2020, coffee maker brand AeroPress in 2021, and movie-focused social media platform Letterboxd in 2023. Serato chief Young Ly cited Tiny’s “unique long-term approach and track record” with these companies as a reason to get “excited” for the new deal.

The holding firm faced upheaval in June 2024 when co-founders Andrew Wilkinson and Chris Sparling stepped down as co-CEOs, with Taub leaving e-commerce company WeCommerce to take the helm. Tiny’s stock price fell 16 percent after word news that Wilkinson would sell $8.4 million in shares, although most of those proceeds went to Wilkinson’s Tiny Foundation fund as well as early employees from companies like MetaLab.

Image courtesy of Arthur Edelmans via Unsplash.

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German multinational technology conglomerate Siemens is investing $150 million CAD over five years to establish what it calls a Global AI Manufacturing Technologies Research and Development (R&D) Center for Battery Production in Canada. 

The new R&D center will be initially located at Siemens Canada’s head office in Oakville, as well as in Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, the company said in a statement, with the investment covering labor, equipment, software, and ecosystem support. The facility will focus on developing artificial intelligence (AI) manufacturing technologies with an initial emphasis on battery and electric vehicle (EV) production. 

“Taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidizing those operations without a clear understanding of the return on investments to them.”

Skaidra Puodžiūnas
CCI

Siemens CEO of factory automation, Rainer Brehm, said the company chose Canada for the facility because of the country’s “highly qualified talent and strong collaborations with world-leading universities,” adding that the facility will position the company as a key player in the global battery sector. 

In a statement, Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the investment a “vote of confidence” in the province, which supported the investment with $7.2 million through the Invest Ontario Fund.

The financial support shortly follows an open letter signed by 75 Ontario CEOs calling on Premier Ford to prioritize homegrown innovation as the province takes centre stage in the trade war between Canada and the United States.

The open letter, put forward by the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), argues that provincial economic policy has prioritized short-term foreign direct investment (FDI), such as foreign multinationals like Siemens investing in their Canadian operations, over long-term domestic wealth creation. The letter demands that Ford prioritizes procurement resources, and investment vehicles like Invest Ontario, for Ontario-based companies. 

RELATED: Seventy-five Ontario CEOs sign open letter calling on Premier Doug Ford to prioritize homegrown innovation

CCI Ontario affairs director Skaidra Puodžiūnas said in an email statement to BetaKit that domestic companies provide greater economic benefit, and that “every dollar funnelled to foreign entities is a missed opportunity” to advance Ontario’s prosperity. 

“We keep seeing these investments into foreign companies from the Ontario government while the Premier asks us to ‘Buy Ontario,’” Puodžiūnas said in a statement. “A German company doing more manufacturing in Ontario is welcome to expand, but taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidizing those operations without a clear understanding of the return on investments to them.”

The province claims Siemens’ new center will create 90 jobs and leverage collaborations between battery manufacturers and universities to upskill the province’s auto workforce. The federal government is also providing undisclosed support for Siemens’ investment, but an ISED spokesperson told BetaKit that negotiations between Siemens and the Government of Canada for the project are still ongoing.

“The terms and conditions regarding the nature and level of support to be provided remain to be finalized,” the spokesperson said.

Siemens investment in Canada follows it announcing plans to cut eight percent of jobs in its struggling industrial automation business exactly two weeks ago, representing 5,600 employees, according to Reuters. Siemens also announced plans in early March to invest $285 million USD in its United States manufacturing business, creating two new facilities in California and Texas that it claimed are expected to create 900 jobs. In its statement, Siemens did not note any support from American federal or state governments. 

UPDATE (04/01/2025): This story has been updated with commentary from an ISED spokesperson.

Feature image courtesy Siemens.

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When Usha Srinivasan walked into the Brampton Venture Expo in 2022, she expected the usual: founders networking, startup pitches flying, and business ideas taking shape.

She did not expect to see a flood of résumés.

The event had drawn an unexpected crowd of professionals who weren’t there to launch companies. They were looking for jobs.

“There is an amazing pool of talent out there, and startups should be taking advantage of it.”

Usha Srinivasan, BReady

“The professional talent we’re talking about—people who have engineering, software, data analytics, science, business, marketing, sales, finance backgrounds—were struggling to find employment, doing what they can part-time here and there,” Srinivasan said.

“It’s nothing new, but at the same time, it’s just more exaggerated in Peel Region.”

Brampton has become one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities in terms of population, adding approximately 100,000 people between 2020 and 2025. Immigration had fuelled much of that growth, with thousands of highly educated newcomers settling in Peel Region. 

On paper, they should be a hiring manager’s dream. Many hold degrees in engineering, business, and science, and many have experience at global companies. Yet, when they applied for jobs, they hit a wall.

As of June 2024, the unemployment rate for recent immigrants had climbed to 12.6 percent, significantly higher than the national average. At the same time, as of the third quarter of 2024, the Toronto economic region reported approximately 91,500 unfilled positions.

The issue clearly wasn’t a lack of talent. But there was a disconnect.

“When you’re new to the country, you typically get bombarded with the obvious brands—banks, telecoms, big tech companies,” she said. “But the reality is, large companies have thousands of applications, so the chances of getting noticed are really low.”​

This is a challenge Srinivasan understands firsthand. When she immigrated to Canada in 1997, she didn’t start in a big city. She moved where the jobs were. 

“When I came to this country, I lived in New Brunswick. I even lived in Whitehorse for three years, because as an immigrant, I had to move around to find opportunities,” she added.

Eventually, she landed in Toronto and built a career in market research consulting, startups, talent development, and incubators, working at Frost & Sullivan, MaRS, and more recently at Brampton Venture Zone at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). 

Over the years, she saw the same story play out again and again for local immigrants, and soon realized the problem might not be with the candidates or the employers, but the way the job market is set up. And with Canada now embroiled in a trade war with one of its closest allies, that mismatch between talent and opportunity is becoming an economic liability. 

Fixing a broken hiring system

Most job platforms operate the same way: companies post roles, candidates apply, and most never hear back. Srinivasan wanted to flip that model.

She built BReady, a virtual hiring platform designed to connect skilled professionals with startups and small businesses—companies that don’t have brand recognition, big HR teams, or the resources to sift through thousands of applications. 

She partnered with Jeby James and Litson Thomas, the founders of AI platform 316.ai to build the platform. They understood these challenges all too well as immigrants with software development and recruitment backgrounds and prior experience building related products like writecv.io and Lilyhire.

Unlike traditional job sites, BReady doesn’t require candidates to constantly apply for roles. Instead, they create one profile—including a résumé, a 500-word pitch, and a short video answering a critical thinking question.

Employers don’t see names, universities, or other identifying details upfront, only skills and experience. Srinivasan said this means there is no way for employers to make snap judgments.

“We wanted to remove as much bias as possible,” she added. 

Hiring is just as streamlined on the employer side. Companies upload a job description, and BReady’s AI-driven matching system that goes beyond just keywords and skills by ranking the most relevant candidates. If they like what they see, they send an interview request. The platform also keeps the talent pool fresh by deactivating profiles that fail to respond to interview requests. 

Taking talent offline

BReady is also designed to prepare candidates for the realities of the job market.

The platform connects users with LinkedIn Learning courses, soft skills training, and offers curated education on the industry sectors that are dominant in that region, as well as upskilling certificates from partner universities. It runs regular in-person and online programming including targeted recruitment events, office hours where hiring managers and HR professionals help candidates refine résumés, develop interview skills, and get direct feedback.

That education extends beyond the platform. The BReady platform includes regular “field trips” where candidates are taken for visits to  local factories in food processing and manufacturing, startup offices, or logistics hubs. This gives them a chance to meet hiring managers in person, see how the business operates, and get a foot in the door.

According to Srinivasan, the results have been immediate.

“After these trips, the candidates are always so blown away,” she said. “They tell me, “I never thought about this industry as a place for me to work.’”​

“Startups should be taking advantage”

Launched in April 2024, BReady has already signed up 1,200 job seekers from across Ontario and 140 employers in the Peel Region. The focus has been on startups and small to medium-sized businesses, which often lack full HR teams and hiring managers are often the CEOs themselves.

“Speed is important in the startup world,” Srinivasan said. “All employers have to do is go onto the platform, do the search, and talk to the individual. It can take minutes to find a candidate and have a conversation.”​

Now, she has spun BReady out as an independent nonprofit. Originally launched and incubated within TMU, BReady will now stand on its own, a shift that allows it to scale beyond Peel Region.

“We are already in conversation with York Region, with other communities, and with 10 chambers of commerce across Ontario, who are all interested,” she added.

The long-term vision extends even further. Srinivasan envisions BReady as a nationwide talent platform connecting skilled immigrants with employers in growing industries. “Everyone coming through the Express Entry visa program should create a profile on this platform,” Srinivasan added.

The team is developing new features, including a Zoom integration and an applicant tracking system to make hiring even easier.

With a trade war between Canada and the United States now in full swing, Srinivasan believes BReady’s spinout comes at an opportune time. 

“This tariff war is demonstrating how reliant Canadian businesses are on the US market—and how unprepared they are to pivot,” she added. “Imagine the competitive edge companies could gain by hiring an immigrant from Europe, Africa, South America, or Asia—someone with firsthand knowledge and connections to untapped markets.”

The expansion won’t just benefit job seekers. Srinivasan believes it will also serve Canada’s startup ecosystem, since BReady is designed for companies that need agile, problem-solving employees.

Srinivasan, who has spent years working with incubators and scaling ventures, knows firsthand how valuable that kind of talent is.

“There is an amazing pool of talent out there, and startups should be taking advantage of it.”

PRESENTED BY

For job seekers, BReady means less guessing and more real career opportunities. For startups, it’s a direct line to top talent. Sign up today and start connecting.

All photos provided by BReady.

The post How to land a tech job without the hassle first appeared on BetaKit.

Vancouver-based digital healthcare company Well Health is exercising its call rights to gain a majority controlling interest in its long-time strategic partner Healwell AI. 

The call rights are a result of Well Health’s October 2023 investment in Healwell, which gave Well Health the right to acquire more than 60 million voting shares of Healwell within three years, as well as converting all of its Healwell convertible debentures and interest accrued to purchase even more voting shares. Following the close of the call options today, Well Health expects to hold an approximate 37 percent economic interest, and an approximate 69 percent voting interest, in Healwell on a non-diluted basis.

The call options are closing in conjunction with Healwell’s $165-million CAD acquisition of New Zealand healthcare data management company Orion Health, which it agreed to this past December. It has since been securing financing to close the transaction. 

RELATED: Fuelled by Well Health partnership, Healwell looks to apply AI to preventative care

Healwell chairman Hamed Shahbazi, who is also the founder and CEO of Well Health, said in a December statement that the Orion acquisition will bring significant large enterprise customers and a new channel for the distribution of Healwell’s AI products and services

Well Health said that it is anticipating Healwell to contribute approximately $160 million in revenue with positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to its consolidated financial statements over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, the concurrent Orion Health acquisition is expected to generate more than $100 million CAD  in revenue with “strong double digit Adjusted EBITDA margins.”

“By combining our scale and national footprint with HEALWELL’s expertise in AI and Orion’s experience in implementing global health information systems, we believe we are well-positioned to deliver cutting-edge AI-enabled solutions that will enhance patient care and drive innovation,” Shahbazi said in a statement.

RELATED: Hong Kong billionaire ups stake in Well Health Technologies with $81-million CAD private share purchase

Last week, Healwell reported that it had achieved record annual revenue in its fiscal 2024 financial report, raking in approximately $39 million, a 433 percent jump compared to fiscal 2023, though it reported an overall net loss exceeding $25 million on the year.

Meanwhile, Well Health had to delay the release of its annual financial statements this week due to the “accounting implications” of an investigation with its non-wholly own Delaware-based subsidiary Circle Medical. Well Health said that Circle Medical’s billing practices are being investigated by the United States Attorney’s Office, and that the impact of the investigator’s request for information is required to finalize its financial statement for the year. 

Hong Kong-based billionaire and founder of deep tech venture capital firm Horizons Ventures, Solina Chau, increased her ownership stake in Well Health to 14.53 percent through an $81-million CAD private share purchase agreement this past October. The purchase followed a comprehensive earnings call earlier in the year, where Shahbazi revealed plans to spin out and publicly list Well’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) business segment. 

Feature image courtesy Healwell AI via YouTube. 

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Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) Leader Pierre Poilievre has rolled out a proposal to defer capital gains taxes in what he calls a bid to spur domestic investment.

The Conservatives said they would extend the policy if it leads to a “major economic boom.”

Poilievre said that if elected, the capital gains tax on asset sales, such as for stock or property, would be deferred until after the end of 2026 if the proceeds are reinvested in Canada. Capital gains taxes for those investments in Canadian businesses would be deferred, too, until investors cash out or invest it outside of the country. 

“Canadians will have a powerful incentive to sell foreign investments and reinvest the proceeds, creating jobs in Canada,” Poilievre said. “Because the break does not go to anyone moving money out of the country, investors will be strongly discouraged from moving money out of Canada. Instead, they will bring it home to build, invent, create, and hire here in Canada.”

The tax break would go into effect July 1 and end on December 31, 2026, with a price tag of $10.5 billion, the CPC said. But the Conservatives said they would extend the policy if it leads to a “major economic boom.” The party did not provide details on how this impact would be measured. 

The Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), an organization representing Canada’s scale-ups, said the CPC’s proposed policy is in line with its mandate of driving Canadian domestic investment and supporting business growth. 

RELATED: An election primer on what Canadian innovators need

“At CCI, we have long advocated for policies that enhance access to capital for high-potential Canadian firms—whether through improved non-dilutive funding, streamlined tax credits, or investment incentives that keep capital working inside Canada,” CCI president Benjamin Bergen said in a statement. 

The Canadian Venture Capital Association (CVCA) CEO Kim Furlong called Poilievre’s focus on economic policy “very encouraging.” 

“Policies that unlock capital and encourage private investment will help strengthen Canada’s competitive position and drive economic growth,” Furlong wrote in an email to BetaKit. 

Graeme Moffat, a senior fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, said this policy is an “explicit acknowledgment” of Canada’s failure to invest in productivity. According to the Fraser Institute, a free-market-oriented think tank, Canada’s corporate investment since 2014 in intellectual property and technology has slowed, as has its productivity compared to the United States (US).

Moffat said the policy would theoretically boost investment in key areas, such as venture capital (VC), technology, and labour upskilling. 

VC investor Matt Roberts said that the “devil is in the details” when it comes to this policy, as some of the reinvested funds could be funnelled towards companies that do not drive the goal of growing the economy, such as real estate. 

“It’s a good policy but I’d like to know which companies would be eligible and how long the lockup for your reinvestment would be,” Roberts told BetaKit. 

Moffat told BetaKit that a CPC government would have to be “very careful and very clever” to avoid benefiting “monopolistic” industries that do not contribute as much to productivity gains.

RELATED: Liberals’ capital gains tax hike is dead, lifetime exemption limit increase to stay

“Because so many key market sectors are dominated by oligopolies, it’s hard to incentivize Canadian companies to invest as much as they would need to realize productivity gains,” Moffat said. 

Moffat said that under the proposed policy, Canadians could reinvest capital gains into productive pursuits, such as new technology and intellectual property, or instead store money in investment vehicles tax-free. For example, reinvesting capital gains into a real estate investment trust (REIT), which profits from rising housing prices, would be incentivized under the new policy.  

“There are all kinds of ways this capital gains exemption proposal could pervert Canadian markets for the worse, rather than incentivizing the kind of investment we need to get out of our funk,” Moffat said. “So the devil really is in the details, and it’s not easy to get it right.” 

“It’s hard to incentivize Canadian companies to invest as much as they would need to realize productivity gains.”

Graeme Moffat

“Sophisticated financial institutions and operators will find ways to get this money,” Moffat continued.

Capital gains taxes have been the subject of much debate since the Liberals proposed a controversial capital gains tax inclusion rate hike as part of Budget 2024. After nearly a year of backlash to the policy, the increase was cancelled by Prime Minister Mark Carney soon after he took office. 

However, Carney said he would maintain the planned increase to the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption limit to $1.25 million on the sale of small business shares and farming and fishing property. The prime minister said the government would introduce legislation to facilitate this “in due course.” 

Poilievre’s proposal comes as he and Liberal leader Mark Carney face off in a snap election campaign set against the backdrop of a trade war with the US. US President Donald Trump has said he would impose further tariffs on Canadian imports as soon as Wednesday, on top of existing 25-percent duties on steel and aluminum. 

Feature image courtesy Pierre Poilievre via Facebook.

The post Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre promises to defer capital gains taxes if proceeds reinvested in Canada first appeared on BetaKit.

Two of Canada’s larger decentralized finance (DeFi) companies marked big gains in 2024.

Toronto-based DeFi Technologies reported that its assets under management  jumped last year to $1.18 billion CAD, a 132 percent increase over 2023. That was a 900% growth from  the market nadir at the end of 2022, according to the company.

The startup attributed the bull run to product and distribution upgrades as well as “rising investor demand” for regulated digital assets. The firm also made key acquisitions in 2024. It bought the liquidity provider Stillman Digital and ventured into AI-based asset management by making a majority investment in Neuronomics.

Donald Trump’s US presidential election victory in November coincided with a price spike of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other virtual currencies. 

Fellow Toronto crypto company WonderFi, in turn, said its revenues more than doubled in 2024 to $62.1 million, an increase of 108 percent. The company pointed to several factors behind the growth. Its client assets under custody at its exchanges Bitbuy and Coinsquare surged 109 percent to reach $2.1 billion, while its in-house crypto platforms handled nearly $3.6 billion in trading volume through fiscal 2024, a 28 percent bump over 2023, WonderFi claimed.

The brand accomplished this in part by completing its acquisition of clients from Bitstamp, a Robin Hood-owned, Luxembourg-based crypto exchange that exited Canada last year. It also drove expansion in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region by completing the purchase of FX Institutions. The Canadian wing of a key competitor, Kraken, also reported topping $2 billion in assets under custody in November.

The prior year wasn’t completely smooth. Most notably, WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka was reportedly kidnapped and held for ransom in November. 

RELATED: WonderFi plots expansion beyond crypto into multi-asset trading with Eightcap

The year was lucrative for the DeFi and crypto industries as a whole. While prices were already going up earlier in 2024, Donald Trump’s US presidential election victory in November coincided with a price spike of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other virtual currencies. Trump had promised more crypto-friendly policies, most recently including talk of a Fort Knox-style “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” of questionable utility.

Accordingly, both DeFi Technologies and WonderFi are optimistic about 2025. DeFi Technologies expected its revenue for the year to climb to $227.2 million, and noted that figure might grow if there are “proportional increases in revenue.”

WonderFi didn’t share a new outlook, but highlighted early 2025 expansion efforts. It bought Blade Labs’ technologies related to Solana cryptocurrency in January, and launched a consumer-facing crypto wallet app, Wonder Wallet, in February. Most recently, it unveiled plans in March to go beyond crypto with access to derivatives trading through Eightcap.

Image courtesy of André François McKenzie via Unsplash.

The post Optimism continues in Canadian decentralized finance as DeFi and WonderFi report major gains year-over-year first appeared on BetaKit.

“Why can’t we do this in Ontario?”

That was the question Shoaib Ahmed and a group of Toronto Metropolitan University students asked in 2019 as they zipped through Washington, DC, on e-scooters, effortlessly bypassing gridlock. 

The experience was seamless: find a scooter, scan a code, and ride. No waiting, no surge pricing, no hassle.

“Mobility is a human right. It’s a human necessity.”

Shoaib Ahmed, Scooty

Ahmed couldn’t help but wonder why such a solution didn’t exist in Ontario.

When he returned home, he co-founded Scooty, a Brampton-based micro-mobility company that launched Ontario’s first e-scooter program.

While building Scooty, Ahmed realized the real question wasn’t why e-scooters weren’t there—it was why Ontario was dragging its feet on introducing new mobility solutions.

As one of North America’s largest supply chain hubs with a growing population and worsening congestion, Ontario’s transportation and logistics sectors seem primed for innovation.

Ontario has committed billions to modernizing its transit and logistics network over the past five years, with investments in smart mobility, electric vehicle adoption, and AI-driven supply chain solutions. The province also introduced legislation last year aimed at reducing regulatory obstacles and streamlining approval processes for key infrastructure investments.

But for startups in the transportation and logistics space, getting integrated into local transit infrastructure still means facing regulatory hurdles, municipal approvals, and operating inside of an inherently cautious business culture. 

“You can’t just put scooters on the street and hope for the best,” he added. “You need city approval. You need permits. You need to prove it works within the existing system.”

So Ahmed turned to the Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC) for help. As a Canadian startup incubator known for its work with newcomer entrepreneurs, TBDC guided Scooty through the complexities of working with municipal governments, securing regulatory approvals, and accessing critical funding. 

TBDC connected Ahmed with key stakeholders, including Canada’s Transport Minister, and helped refine Scooty’s strategy for winning municipal contracts. The step-by-step support led to Scooty securing a GO Transit account and unlocking $1 million in non-dilutive funding.

Shifting into gear  

Scaling a mobility startup in Ontario means navigating an inherently cautious industry. In a 2024 KPMG study, 150 Canadian tech leaders cited the country’s risk-averse culture as a top challenge in growing their businesses. 

Arjun Khosla learned this firsthand. After years as a shipping officer, he launched Bitmetric, an India-founded logistics software company that expanded across Africa and the UAE before setting its sights on North America.

“The market here is quite different,” Khosla said. “Canada is a bit conservative with respect to adopting new technologies. Businesses want to know if you already have Canadian clients, and it takes a few months of convincing them and talking to them before you can get them on board.”

For Khosla, breaking into North America has been “a slow road.” But through mentorship and the Startup Visa Program, TBDC introduced Bitmetric to potential clients, investors, and government stakeholders, helping Bitmetric successfully establish its Canadian operations and secure six US clients.

“TBDC was really helpful in making us understand how business works over here,” Khosla said. “It’s not just meeting a client and closing a deal within a week. It takes time to build relationships.”

Revving up with TBDC 

Like Ahmed and Khosla, Vedant Mankad, founder of Docoholic, encountered similar roadblocks. His company, founded in Ahmedabad, India, automates supply chain workflows with AI, helping logistics firms process quotes, invoices, and shipment updates in real time. 

After launching in India and Dubai, Mankad saw an opportunity in Ontario’s logistics sector. The province is home to 29 ports that handle more than 62 million tons of cargo annually and 14 border crossings to the US. But cracking the market wasn’t going to be easy.

“Business in Canada is built on relationships,” Mankad said. “In the US, a few demo calls can close a deal. Here, it takes months of meetings, referrals, and proof of ROI before companies commit.”

Determined to do things right, Mankad joined TBDC’s Startup Visa Program. There, he was introduced to trade organizations, supply chain stakeholders, and investors.

Since then, Docoholic established a North American client base of 20 businesses, with a goal of reaching 100 by year-end. 

“TBDC really helped us reposition for this market so that we can cut down our sales cycle,” Mankad said. 

Building the on-ramp

TBDC is one of many Ontario organizations that see newcomer entrepreneurs as a growing asset to the province’s mobility ecosystem. 

“Ontario’s startup ecosystem thrives on diversity and innovation,” said Claudia Krywiak, President and CEO of the Ontario Centre of Innovation. “Newcomer entrepreneurs bring fresh perspectives and bold solutions to today’s market challenges. Ensuring they have the right support to scale benefits us all.”

For Ahmed, the journey with TBDC didn’t end once Scooty secured permits and funding. After proving micro-mobility could work in Brampton, he is now mentoring the next wave of mobility startups with TBDC.

As a mentor, Ahmed helps founders navigate the same funding gaps and regulatory barriers  he once faced. Sometimes, it’s structured office hours. Other times, it’s an in-person walk-through of Scooty’s warehouse, showing startups how they scaled.

Beyond funding and mentorship, TBDC also aims to equip entrepreneurs with the tools, networks, and market insights needed to thrive in Canada. Many founders, like Ahmed, recognize the importance of paying it forward. Now, he helps other startups navigate the same barriers he once faced.

“The guidance we give isn’t one-size-fits-all,” he said. “Every startup is different—their structure, their revenue model, their regulatory barriers. What we do is figure out the right playbook for them.”

Transportation startups don’t have the luxury of moving fast and breaking things. They often need government buy-in, strong regulatory knowledge, and an understanding of how to work within a highly cautious industry. 

Ahmed believes that’s where a startup incubator, like TBDC, can provide real value. “They’re like a compass,” Ahmed said. “They’ll point you in the right direction, but you still have to do the work.”

TBDC also believes Canada is now at a critical inflection point, particularly as trade relations with the US worsen, and is betting on Canada’s ability to attract and retain world-class talent by supporting global entrepreneurs with the right resources.

Modernizing how people and goods move extends far beyond government spending. According to Ahmed, it requires startups willing to test new ideas and prove what works.

“Mobility is a human right. It’s a human necessity,” Ahmed said. “Here in Ontario, it might iterate, but it’s not slowing down.”

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Scale your startup faster with the right support. Join TBDC to connect with top mentors, build valuable relationships, and unlock investment opportunities. Get started today.

Feature image by Lianhao Qu via Unsplash. All other photos provided by TBDC.

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That ticking clock you hear in the back of your mind is 2025 preparing to strike Q2. Prepare accordingly.

For Team BetaKit, Q2 means the true start of conference season. We’ll be hard at work crisscrossing the nation to attend tech events of all shapes and sizes in the name of innovation and socialization. 

The preparation is intense. Travel-sized liquid containers have been purchased. Air Miles discounts have been applied. Comfy shoes: secured.

New on the travel agenda this year is Web Summit Vancouver, rolling into the 604 area code for the first time under a different name (RIP Collision).

To best prepare, BetaKit wants to hear from you: the topics and speakers you’re interested in, recommendations for those visiting the Best Coast for the first time, whether or not you plan to attend, etc.

Anonymized insights from the (quick and easy to complete!) survey will inform forthcoming BetaKit content. Vancouver nightlife tips will be enjoyed by the attending BetaKit team.

We hope to see you there!

Take BetaKit’s Web Summit Vancouver survey

Douglas Soltys
Editor-in-chief

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When: Friday, April 4, 2025

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TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

SRTX founder and CEO Katherine Homuth to step down amid fundraising push and tariff threat

SRTX founder and CEO Katherine Homuth will step down from her role at the Montréal-based textile manufacturing and material innovation company as it publicly courts external funding and battles tariff-related uncertainty.

Homuth confirmed to BetaKit that SRTX signed a term sheet for a funding round, which was shared with employees and shareholders this week. She said she would step down as part of the deal’s closure, calling it “the right decision for me and the business at this time.”

Lightspeed to expand and revamp sales team as part of revised go-to-market effort

At its Capital Markets Day investor presentation this week, executives for Lightspeed Commerce detailed how the company will invest in a sales-led go-to-market strategy as part of its business transformation plan to focus on its “growth engines.”

CEO Dax Dasilva said Lightspeed plans to expand its sales team to more than 150 reps across its North American retail and European hospitality businesses, though the sales strategy will manifest slightly differently between the two.

Dasilva also addressed investor concerns about its recently scaled back revenue outlook, which the company reduced from an approximate 20-percent to an 18-percent increase year-over-year. Dasilva said it reflected a “softness” in same-store sales across North America and Europe, as well as small business optimism, which has led to fewer new businesses and cautious investing from established ones.

Seventy-five Ontario CEOs sign open letter calling on Premier Doug Ford to prioritize homegrown innovation

Seventy-five Ontario-based CEOs have signed a new open letter asking Ontario Premier Doug Ford to implement a laundry list of innovation and economic policy ideas within the first 100 days of his new majority mandate to “reclaim control over [Ontario’s] economic destiny.”

The open letter positions Ontario in “economic crisis,” as the province has taken centre stage in the trade war between Canada and the United States, its biggest international trading partner. 

The letter argues that provincial economic policy has prioritized short-term foreign direct investment over long-term domestic wealth creation and that, without a deliberate shift in economic strategy, the province risks “further erosion of its competitiveness, sovereignty, and long-term prosperity.”

Québec budget overhauls innovation tax credits, earmarks millions for tariff impacts

The 2025-26 Québec budget tabled by Finance Minister Éric Girard contains a slew of new initiatives in response to Canada’s trade war with the United States while addressing longstanding provincial complaints regarding direct investment and tax credit supports.

The budget, which marks a record deficit for the province, introduced changes to Québec’s innovation tax credit system and revived an early-stage investment program with fresh funding. The government also committed $900 million in direct aid to businesses and over $600 million to mitigate the economic impacts of US tariffs.

Canadian Quantum Commitments 

This year has seen Canadian quantum computing companies claim breakthrough after breakthrough, and this week was no different. New partnerships and developments continue to work towards an accelerated timeline for the theoretical field. 

• Québec-based non-profit tech accelerator Numana announced a strategic partnership with Finnish telecom giant Nokia and United States-based tech company Honeywell to help develop secure communication technologies designed to be compatible with quantum computing.
• Toronto quantum computing firm Xanadu is collaborating with materials giant Corning to create the “low-loss” networking needed to scale quantum computers, according to the companies.
• University of Ottawa researchers claim they have discovered new ways to control atoms that could both broaden physics knowledge and have practical applications for medicine and quantum computing.

US deep tech VC Celesta Capital adds BDC alum Charles Lespérance as Canadian partner

Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Celesta Capital has grown its ranks, hiring former BDC Capital partner Charles Lespérance as its first partner based in Canada, where he will work out of Montréal to help Celesta source deals, make investments, and raise money.

With Lespérance’s help, Celesta hopes to expand its presence in Canada. Lespérance said he offers an established deal sourcing and co-investment network, expertise in complementary areas like quantum, mining, and oil and gas, and “extensive financial restructuring experience.”

Vooban hiring up to 25 AI roles in Ontario as it welcomes surge in enterprise AI adoption

Québec City-based artificial intelligence (AI) solutions company Vooban is expanding into Ontario and growing its team as it looks to ride a wave of interest in AI integration.

To fill its new Toronto office, Vooban plans to hire for 20 to 25 roles, including sales architects, cloud solution architects, and account executives, before the end of 2025. Vooban now finds itself well-placed to capitalize on an increasing number of Canadian companies adopting AI solutions as they look to boost productivity in an uncertain economic environment.

Basetwo emerges from CIX Summit 2025 as Canada’s representative for the Startup World Cup

Toronto-based AI manufacturing startup Basetwo took a major prize at Elevate’s 2025 CIX Summit and will represent Canada at the Startup World Cup this October.

Basetwo was among the 24 CIX Startup Award recipients recognized at the event, held this week at the Design Exchange in Toronto. Basetwo will be among the regional winners from around the world convening in Silicon Valley to give a four-minute pitch to Startup World Cup judges and investors for a chance at a $1-million USD investment.

FEATURE STORIES FROM OUR PARTNERS

• FreshBooks found that small business owners are dragging their feet on taxes, and it’s hurting their bottom line. Chief Growth Officer Faye Pang says it’s time to ditch the last-minute scramble. Read more about how to make tax planning a year-round strategy.
• Consensus 2025 is seeking Web2 and Web3 developers to take part in North America’s largest blockchain hackathon. PitchFest will also give early-stage startups a shot to pitch live to top VCs and execs. Read more about the opportunities for builders at Consensus 2025.

Weekly Canadian Deals & Dollars

• VAN – Styx Intelligence secures $2.7M for cybersecurity platform
• VAN – Addy becomes exempt market dealer following $100K fine
• CGY – Movement51 appoints Emily Smiley as executive director
• EDM – Nanoprecise closes Series C to fuel geographic expansion
• KW – Descartes acquires American firm 3Gtms for $164.4M
• KW – KA Imaging to provide spectral X-ray detector in space mission
• SHB – BioAlert raises $2.5M for water quality monitoring tech
• STJ – CoLab Software expedites AI development with $5.6M partner contribution

The BetaKit Podcast — Canadian foodtech has a scale-up problem

“By the time these companies are ready for B and C [rounds], their cap tables are super clean, too. So it doesn’t really make sense that we’re not putting money into them.”

In a time of global uncertainty, a new report by the Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) shows that Canada lags other countries in foodtech funding, relying too much on public funding. CEO Dana McCauley joins to discuss the report, how CFIN’s 6,500 members are navigating tariffs, and why it’s important that Canada invests in the tech that feeds us.

Take The BetaKit Quiz – This week: Trump’s group chat, Knix makes a splash, Lightspeed slows its roll

Think you’re on top of Canadian tech and innovation news? Time to prove it. Test your knowledge of Canadian tech news with The BetaKit Quiz for March 28, 2025.

Feature image courtesy of Web Summit via Flickr.

The post Are you going to Web Summit Vancouver? first appeared on BetaKit.

Do you know how Canadian food gets from the farm to your table? I don’t.

I also don’t really know how Canada’s food industry is responding to the ongoing tariff threats, and how much the ‘buy Canadian’ movement is softening the blow.

“ By the time these companies are ready for B and C [rounds], their cap tables are super clean, too. So it doesn’t really make sense that we’re not putting money into them.”

Dana McCauley
CFIN CEO

But our guest does. This week, we’re talking to Dana McCauley, CEO of the Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN), a member-based organization representing over 6,500 players in Canada’s food sector.

CFIN has just released an ecosystem report on the state of foodtech investment showing Canada lagging in the later stages, leaving foodtech overly reliant on public funding—something I actually do know about, as it matches Canada’s venture sector broadly. Tellingly, public grants account for nearly one-third of all investment rounds in Canada, compared to 5 percent in the United Kingdom and 8 percent in the United States.

At the early stages, Canada does actually match its global counterparts. As McCauley put it, “ We don’t have a startup problem. We have a scale up problem. We’ve kind of orphaned these companies.”

But what is food tech? And what do these innovators need to compete and succeed, particularly in a time of global uncertainty and threats to national sovereignty?

I guarantee you’re going to be hungry by the end of this episode. But we’ll try to fill your tummy first with data. So let’s dig in.

PRESENTED BY

The BetaKit Podcast is presented by The Cyber Challenge: your pathway to new sales, industry connections, and non-dilutive funding.

The Cyber Challenge, powered by Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst and CCTX, helps Ontario-based startups tackle real-world cybersecurity challenges.

If you’re ready to scale, refine, and lead cybersecurity innovation, apply today at www.thecyberchallenge.ca.

Feature image courtesy CFIN. Edited by Darian MacDonald.

The post Canadian foodtech has a scale-up problem first appeared on BetaKit.

Vancouver-based fractional real estate investment platform Addy has officially become an exempt market dealer (EMD) after being fined by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) for trading securities as an unregistered business. 

An EMD is a registered dealer permitted to trade private securities not subject to the same rules as a publicly traded company, but still accountable to regulation. 

The company announced that it is now an EMD in British Columbia and all passport jurisdictions in a blog post earlier this week, calling it a “turning point” after years of discussion with the BCSC. Co-founder and CRO Stephen Jagger told BetaKit that the registration allows Addy to operate in every jurisdiction in Canada except Ontario, which has its own process and the company is currently working to register with. 

Addy said the newfound regulatory status will make its transactions faster and more efficient, as well as help it expand its offerings to include equity, debt, and real estate funds.

Addy voluntarily provided information and made admissions to regulators, BCSC said.

While transactions previously had to flow through third-party EMDs, Jagger said Addy can now act as its own registered dealer with compliance measures integrated into its platform, avoiding its users being redirected to third-party sites. He added that Addy’s new offerings are “happening very soon” and expected to roll out progressively. 

Founded in 2018 by Jagger and CEO Mike Stephenson, Addy allows retail investors to purchase a share of real estate on its platform for as little as one dollar. The approach aims to democratize access to real estate investments, which are traditionally limited to high-net-worth or institutional investors due to the high capital requirements. The company’s website claims it holds a total asset value of more than $1.3 billion across more than 50,000 Canadians.

Earlier this month, the BCSC revealed that Addy paid a $100,000 fine for trading approximately $26 million of securities without being registered as an EMD between 2018 and 2025, an average of $700 per investor. 

The BCSC said Addy triggered the requirement to register by soliciting investments and intermediating securities trades, and by receiving compensation from the fees for its platform. The BCSC said that Addy attempted to justify exemption because it used crowdfunding and EMD partners to facilitate trades, but that those exemptions were not applicable.

RELATED: Doormat becomes Ownright, closes $4.5 million to help more Ontarians seal real estate deals

“Addy, which has no prior history of securities regulatory misconduct, voluntarily provided information to BCSC investigators and made admissions to them, thus avoiding a Notice of Hearing,” BCSC said in a statement. 

As detailed in Addy’s blog post, the startup initially facilitated real estate investments through a special purpose vehicle, but by “property #27” the BCSC informed the company it would have to register as an EMD to continue operating. 

Instead, Addy said it pivoted to partnering with third-party EMDs to facilitate investments but, in April 2024 the BCSC told the company that “wasn’t enough.” Addy then applied to become an EMD in August 2024. Jagger said that Addy will now primarily operate through its own dealer, Addy Dealer Corp, but may continue to work with other EMDs where it makes sense.

“Having our own EMD means we’re no longer dependent on external dealers—but we’re building an ecosystem, not a walled garden,” Jagger said. 

Feature image courtesy Tierra Mallorca via Unsplash.

The post Fractional real estate investment platform Addy becomes exempt market dealer after BCSC fine first appeared on BetaKit.

Sherbrooke, Que.-based BioAlert Solutions has raised a $2.5-million seed round to expand the reach of its automated water quality monitoring technology. 

BioAlert’s focus is on detecting Legionella bacteria, which is responsible for a severe form of pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease. 

The company has developed a device that can detect water-borne pathogens in cooling systems in buildings, such as hospitals, data centres, and manufacturing plants. It also provides a remote software platform for managers to monitor contamination levels off-site. 

BioAlert claims that its tech is up to five times more sensitive than the current industry standard of pathogen detection, allowing its clients to take preventive measures to avoid harmful contamination. 

GreenSky Ventures and cleantech-focused Cycle H20 co-led the round, with participation from Fondaction and British Columbia-based venture firm Spring Impact Capital. Cycle H20 is an early-stage focused on water tech, formed as a partnership between Montréal-based Cycle Capital and Québec City-based H20 Innovation. BioAlert previously raised $1.9 million in 2019, according to La Presse, as well as $900,000 through Sustainable Development Technology Canada in 2021. 

“[BioAlert] is poised to set the standard for real-time water quality monitoring, which will become increasingly important as regulations for monitoring expand across multiple jurisdictions,” Michael List, founder and managing partner of GreenSky Ventures, said in a statement. 

RELATED: SDTC funding flowing again with applications for projects under NRC IRAP to open “early” fiscal 2025–2026

BioAlert’s focus is on detecting Legionella bacteria, which is responsible for a severe form of pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease. 

BioAlert’s device continuously runs a biological technique called quantitative polymerase chain reaction, which amplifies and calculates the amount of a particular DNA sequence present in a sample. This allows the machine to target Legionella specifically and determine its concentration in a given water system. The monitoring system sends out an alert to building managers when the concentration crosses a harmful threshold.  

BioAlert co-founder and CEO Étienne Lemieux told La Presse that the company’s mission was inspired by local public health history. A mass Legionella contamination event in Québec City in 2012, which killed 14 people and impacted nearly 180 others, led to the Québec government introducing more stringent regulations to protect citizens living close to industrial water cooling systems.

Wastewater monitoring technology also became a key data source for public health after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, when it was deployed across Canada to detect the levels of virus proliferating in the water. Health Canada still monitors national wastewater viral activity levels for COVID-19, flu, and other respiratory viruses.

BioAlert’s technology has been approved by Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Lemieux told La Presse. The company said it’s already working with clients in industrial, commercial, and governmental facilities in both the United States and Canada. 

The startup plans on using the funding to expand its reach from the currently 60-odd places it’s currently installed. It also hopes to expand its detection capabilities to include common pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella.

Feature image courtesy BioAlert.

The post BioAlert secures $2.5 million to help companies detect and manage harmful pathogens in water first appeared on BetaKit.

The post Trump’s group chat, Knix makes a splash, Lightspeed slows its roll first appeared on BetaKit.

When the Fram2 science mission, a private spaceflight, will launch as soon as March 31, a Canadian company will play an important role.

University of Waterloo spinoff KA Imaging is providing a spectral X-ray detector, the Reveal 35C, that will go aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft for the three- to five-day private spaceflight. It will be a key component of the SpaceXray project, which will bring the first medical X-ray machine to space.

If successful, Fram2 will represent the first crewed mission to study both polar regions from a low Earth orbit.

Researchers will use the X-ray system to study the effects of microgravity on astronauts’ bone densities as well as gauge the quality of the imagery. KA’s technology melds the conventional digital radiograph with images of bones and soft tissue. Astronauts lose about 1-2 percent of their bone density per month while in microgravity.

Medical X-rays have been impractical in space until now. Size, weight, and power requirements have limited them to Earth. On top of KA’s detector, the in-space tech revolves around a portable X-ray system from US-based MinXray. The generator can run on a lithium-ion battery, eliminating the need for power from the spacecraft itself.

If successful, Fram2 will represent the first crewed mission to study both of Earth’s polar regions from a low Earth orbit. The X-ray study will represent just one of the projects. The crew will also study aurora-like behavior and conduct amateur radio transmissions.

RELATED: The Canadian Space Mining Corporation thinks it can put a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2029

The four astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon capsule are all civilians new to spaceflight, but with experience studying Earth’s poles. Mission commander Chun Wang (who is funding the project) and vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen both hail from Norway. Pilot Rabea Rogge will be the first female German astronaut, while mission specialist Eric Philips is an explorer from Australia.

Academic contributors include the Mayo Clinic, MIT, and St. Louis University.

KA Imaging was founded by CEO Amol Karnick, CTO Karim Karim and the late Sina Ghanbarzadeh. Karnick is a veteran of the medical device industry who has worked at both startups as well as industry giants like GE Healthcare.

Canada has played a significant role in space technology, most notably contributing the Canadarm robotic arms used aboard Space Shuttles and the International Space Station. It has had a relatively limited impact on private spaceflight, however. Most notably, the early-2000s Canadian Arrow spacecraft project fell short of winning the X-Prize competition for taking civilians into space. Aerospace entrepreneur Burt Rutan’s company Scaled Composites won the challenge in 2004.

Update 4/7/2025: The mission was successful, and produced the first X-ray image in space. Wang shared a picture of a person’s hand wearing a ring, echoing the first X-ray image captured by physicist Wilhelm Roentgen in December 1895.

Feature image courtesy of Fram2. X-ray image courtesy of Chun Wang on X.

The post The first medical X-ray to go to space will use Canadian imaging tech first appeared on BetaKit.

Calgary-based Movement51 (M51), the not-for-profit sister organization of women-led investment firm The51, has appointed Emily Smiley as its new executive director. 

Smiley joins M51 following her eight year tenure at Toronto-based incubator DMZ, most recently acting as its director of partnerships and investor relations. Smiley helped scale entrepreneurship programs, secure corporate partnerships, and launch national initiatives to support women founders while at DMZ, M51 said in a statement. 

“We are confident in her ability to elevate M51 as a national leader in financial education and economic development.”

Alison Pidskalny

“We are at a defining moment for women’s financial influence, and I am thrilled to join Movement51 as we scale our impact,” Smiley said in a statement.

Launched in 2021, M51 aims to drive change in the areas of financial acumen, financial education, and entrepreneurship, and investing by providing opportunities for woman-identifying and gender-diverse people to acquire tools, practice skills, and build financial confidence.

The organization’s flagship programs include the Financial Feminism Investing Lab, Founder Lab, and Investor Bootcamp. Smiley follows previous executive director Danielle Gifford, who joined in September 2022 to head the organization’s early growth and departed in December 2023. 

Under Smiley, M51 said that it is set to accelerate its expansion beyond Alberta, strengthen its partnerships, and create greater access to financial education, investment, and entrepreneurship. 

“Her proven track record in fundraising, program development, and stakeholder engagement will be instrumental as we expand our reach and deepen our impact,” M51 board chair and former interim executive director Alison Pidskalny said in a statement. “We are confident in her ability to elevate M51 as a national leader in financial education and economic development.” 

RELATED: The51 appoints Highline Beta founder Lauren Robinson as managing partner

Last year, M51 ran five programs with more than 400 program participants, and expanded its reach to 48 cities, according to its 2024 Impact Report. The report also states M51’s Financial Feminist Investing Lab graduates raised $1.4 million in capital over the year, bringing its total impact to $2.3 million. M51 has a goal of activating $2.5 billion in women-led capital by 2030, a spokesperson told BetaKit in an email statement.

Earlier this month, The51 made a leadership addition of its own, appointing Highline Beta co-founder Lauren Robinson as managing partner. The appointment allowed general partners Shelley Kuipers and Judy Fairburn to focus on their roles as the firm prepares to scale its presence across the country. 

The51 also closed its $51-million CAD Food and AgTech Fund in January after actively raising for nearly four years. The Food and AgTech Fund invests in diverse founders who are transforming food and agriculture with advanced technology between the pre-seed and Series A stages.

Feature image courtesy Movement51.

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Edmonton-based Nanoprecise Sci Corp has secured $36 million USD ($52 million CAD) in equity and debt financing to fuel its geographic expansion and product development plans.

“With the world moving towards AI and automation, there is no better time to prove that [energy-centred maintenance] is the next big thing in manufacturing.”

The predictive maintenance technology startup helps clients in industries like mining, oil, and gas anticipate equipment failure and reduce downtime using artificial intelligence (AI).

Nanoprecise’s Series C round closed earlier this month. The equity portion was co-led by Vancouver’s Yaletown Partners and BDC Capital’s Industrial Innovation Venture Fund, with support from fellow new investor BMO Capital Partners and existing backer Export Development Canada (EDC). CIBC Innovation Banking provided a credit facility. 

The company plans to use this capital to enhance its tech, invest in research and development, and support its expansion into Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Australia. Nanoprecise plans to add 50 employees to its 127-person team, with hires in AI, human resources, customer success, and operations to support these goals.

Nanoprecise founder and CEO Sunil Vedula told BetaKit that the financing included $2 million USD in secondary and $36 million in primary capital—the latter of which consisted of a combination of equity in debt that he declined to disclose. This round brings Nanoprecise’s total funding to $53 million USD, a figure that also includes $10 million USD in Series B financing led by EDC from January 2023.

Vedula claimed that Nanoprecise’s Series C was an up round that valued the company at more than $100 million, but declined to share the company’s exact valuation.

RELATED: Nanoprecise closes $10-million USD Series B for manufacturing monitoring software

Founded in 2017 by Vedula, a mechanical engineer, Nanoprecise has developed AI-powered predictive maintenance and condition monitoring software that leverages internet-connected sensors to gauge the health and performance of industrial equipment used for manufacturing in real time.

Through its tech, Nanoprecise aims to help predict failures, reduce unplanned downtime, extend equipment life, and ensure maintenance takes place in an energy-efficient fashion. 

“With the world moving towards AI and automation, there is no better time to prove that [energy-centred maintenance] is the next big thing in manufacturing,” Vedula said.

Nanoprecise is targeting clients in energy-intensive and asset-heavy industries ranging from metals to mining, cement, chemicals, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, pulp and paper, and transportation, and has amassed a customer base that includes Fortune 1000+ enterprises and mid-sized manufacturers.

RELATED: Galatea secures $2.7 million to help oil and gas companies tackle waste disposal

The startup has seen growing adoption from companies looking to meet net-zero carbon emissions goals and digitize their maintenance practices without overhauling their existing infrastructure. It serves customers in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia across a range of industrial facilities, from remote mining operations to large-scale manufacturing plants. 

According to Vedula, Nanoprecise grew its annual recurring revenue (ARR) to $10 million in 2024, up 114 percent year-over-year, thanks in part to “a clear shift in industry and priorities” and expanded relationships with existing customers.

Nanoprecise also saw a churn of less than five percent, improved its gross profit, saw its customer acquisition costs fall, and posted net revenue retention of more than 115 percent. “These metrics reflect not only rapid growth, but a scalable and efficient business model with sticky customers and strong unit economics,” Vedula said, noting that he expects Nanoprecise to hit $20 million in ARR in 2025.

“Nanoprecise is not just talking about efficiency to the customers but is also displaying the same discipline in its finances, as it has achieved maximum revenue per dollar of investor funds raised in its class,” Yaletown co-founder and partner Hans Knapp said in a statement. 

Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Dominik Vanyi.

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Consensus 2025 is looking for Web2 and Web3 developers to take part in North America’s largest blockchain hackathon, a three-day challenge focused on building real solutions.

Consensus, which takes place May 14 to 16, will also showcase the world’s most promising early-stage Web3 and artificial intelligence companies in a highly anticipated pitch competition.

“Our EasyA Consensus Hackathons are the ultimate launchpad for founders and developers.”

Dom Kwok, EasyA

For the first time, North America’s largest and longest-running crypto conference is landing in Toronto, home of the first Bitcoin & Ethereum ETFs, a large cluster of blockchain startups and a deep bench of AI and Web3 talent.

More than 20,000 people from 100 countries are expected at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from May 14 to 16.

Consensus is already drawing a powerhouse speaker lineup, and the EasyA x Consensus Hackathon is where builders break out. Hundreds of developers, engineers, and technical founders will sprint to create and ship new Web3 projects in a fast-paced, high-stakes competition.

“Consensus has a huge focus on showcasing the incredibly creative and profound projects and builders from across crypto,” said Brad Spies, Managing Director of Consensus. “Only at Consensus can you hear directly from top protocols about their technical roadmap and most exciting projects, then see thousands of the world’s top developers build epic projects from scratch, and discover dozens of apex seed-stage startups in a high-stakes pitch competition.”

The best projects don’t just win. They also get backed by the world’s best investors.

“Our EasyA Consensus Hackathons are the ultimate launchpad for founders and developers,” said Dom Kwok, Co-Founder of EasyA. “Not only do the world’s best investors actively look to back our hackathon winners from day one, but projects launching at our hackathons also garner the attention of millions of eyeballs through the CoinDesk media network, which has an audience of over eight million viewers.”

San Francisco-based BlindPay, which was a 2024 hackathon winner at Consensus, now operates as a Y Combinator-backed platform enabling fully private cross-border payments. 

RampMeDaddy, another past winner, turned a simple Telegram bot into an instant memecoin trading tool with over 100,000 users. They’ve also been backed by Draper University.

The hackathon aims to help top talent prove their concepts, secure backing, and turn ideas into a venture-backed company. Investors, VCs, and industry leaders will be watching. 

The priority deadline to apply is April 4, with the next deadline on April 18.

Whether you’re prototyping something new, or getting your product in front of investors, Consensus is designed to support what builders actually need: resources, feedback, funding, and face-time with the right people.

Here are some other opportunities for Canadian builders at Consensus 2025.

The pitch that opens doors

The CoinDesk PitchFest is where early-stage founders take the mic. Startups can pitch live to elite VCs and execs for a shot at funding, strategic partnerships and press exposure.

Past winners and finalists have gone on to raise millions in venture funding, secure major partnerships, and grow fast.

Rise Works, the 2023 winner, recently closed a $6.3-million Series A funding round to expand its hybrid payroll infrastructure for Web3 teams. Metagood, a 2023 finalist, has also raised funding from high-profile investors for its non-fungible token marketplace. 

Zivoe, a 2024 finalist, landed $8.3 million to broaden credit access through blockchain-based lending. And Nodepay, also a 2024 finalist, raised $7 million to power real-time data infrastructure for AI and crypto firms.

PitchFest finalists will get a featured interview on CoinDesk Live, coverage across CoinDesk’s media network, and two VIP passes to next year’s conference.

Startups should submit their applications for PitchFest by April 20.

Where real deals get made

Consensus is designed to help builders connect with the people and resources they need to scale.

Through the Deal Flow Zone, founders can schedule targeted 30-minute meetings with investors, corporates, and ecosystem leaders using the Consensus App. These aren’t random hallway chats — they’re curated conversations with real intent, backed by one of the industry’s largest pools of capital.

Beyond formal meetings, the conference makes space for more organic deal-making. Daily Meetups help founders connect directly with devs, designers, and operators working on similar problems. Networking lounges range from open workspaces to invite-only rooms curated for specific verticals or stages.

And once the conference floor closes, the connections keep going. Toronto will play host to dozens of side events, founder dinners, and after-hours meetups, many of which become the starting point for new products, pilots, or partnerships.

Tickets are selling fast. If you’re planning to be at Consensus 2025, now’s the time to lock it in. Use code BETAKIT for 20 percent off your pass. Get your pass today.

All photos provided by Consensus.

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Toronto-based artificial intelligence (AI) manufacturing startup Basetwo took a major prize at Elevate’s 2025 CIX Summit and will represent Canada at the Startup World Cup this October. 

Basetwo was among the 24 CIX Startup Award recipients recognized at the event, held this week at the Design Exchange in Toronto. Basetwo will be among the regional winners from around the world convening in Silicon Valley to give a four-minute pitch to Startup World Cup judges and investors for a chance at a $1-million USD investment. 

The win follows Basetwo closing an $11.5-million USD ($16.5-million CAD) Series A round to develop its AI-powered copilot for manufacturing engineers this past January. 

RELATED: Basetwo closes $16.5-million CAD Series A round to optimize manufacturing with AI copilots

The CIX Startup Awards annually recognize the top early and growth-stage Canadian startups, plus a new “emerging” category for startups with less than $1 million CAD in annual revenue this year. 

The lists are compiled by the CIX Selection Committee, composed of more than 100 global investors and experts who evaluate submissions based on business model, quality of offering, innovation, market opportunity, management depth, and the diversity, equity and inclusion commitments of leadership.

Basetwo was among this year’s recognized early-stage startups (defined as having annual revenue between $1 million and $10 million CAD), a category it shared with the likes of Edmonton’s Artificial Agency, Vancouver’s MyFO, and Calgary’s Carbonova.

Recognized growth-stage startups included established Toronto-based FinTech firms Float and Brim Financial, as well as Calgary-based cleantech firm Summit Nanotech. Finally, beneficiaries of the new emerging category included AI-powered knowledge-sharing platform EZee Assist, cleantech startup Relocalize, and emergent water-cleaning startup Xatoms, which also won the FemStem Pitch Competition at CIX Summit.

Xatoms has been winning various awards as of late, recently taking home a top prize at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) pitch competition and three prizes at last year’s Startupfest.

Jack Newton, founder of legaltech software company Clio, also received CIX’s Innovator of the Year award, which is selected by the CIX advisory board to recognize companies that have “profoundly disrupted and transformed their industries.” Clio, which recently made what Newton claimed was one of the company’s largest acquisitions, closed a $900-million USD (then $1.24-billion CAD) Series F last year at a more than $4-billion CAD valuation. Past recipients of the award include Shopify, Wattpad, Lightspeed, and last year’s winner, Cohere.

Feature image courtesy Elevate.

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The 2025-26 Québec budget tabled by Finance Minister Éric Girard contains a slew of new initiatives in response to Canada’s trade war with the United States (US) while addressing longstanding provincial complaints regarding direct investment and tax credit supports. 

The budget, which marks a record deficit for the province, introduced changes to Québec’s innovation tax credit system and revived an early-stage investment program with fresh funding. The government also committed $900 million in direct aid to businesses and over $600 million to mitigate the economic impacts of US tariffs. 

“Québec’s budget is a shrinking pie, in which the innovation economy gets a relatively larger, more focused share,” said Louis-Félix Binette, executive director of startup support non-profit Mouvement des accélérateurs d’innovation du Québec (MAIN).

One tax credit to rule them all 

The Québec government announced it will abolish eight refundable tax credits related to research and development and replace them with the brand-new refundable Research, Innovation and Commercialization Tax Credit (CRIC) to facilitate investment in innovation projects. 

The streamlining is meant to combat the lower rates of R&D investment in Québec relative to Ontario and other G7 countries. The move also delivered a win to provincial business group Conseil de l’innovation du Québec, which had called for a simplification of the tax credit system. 

The new tax credit, known as CRIC, covers 30 percent of the first $1 million in eligible R&D investments by Québec companies. It represents a consolidation of several tax credits, including for scientific research and experimental development, for fees paid to research consortiums, and for industrial design.   

The new tax credit, known as CRIC, covers 30 percent of the first $1 million in eligible R&D investments by Québec companies.

Guillaume Lajoie, communications and public affairs manager at MAIN, said the change will make it easier for enterprises to get access to tax credits for R&D. The new credit will ease the pre-commercialization process by making the tax credit available for market testing, Lajoie added, and cover the expense of buying equipment that did not fall under the federal Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credit. 

Jean-François Harvey, Director of Québec Affairs at the Council of Canadian Innovators, welcomed the overhaul to the tax credit system, calling it a “step in the right direction.”  

RELATED: Québec is executing its innovation plan. Will it pay off?

It’s not the only tax change impacting tech companies. The tax credit CDAE, which covers information technology (IT) adoption for businesses, is pivoting to CDAE^IA, which specifically requires artificial intelligence (AI) to be part of any new tech integration companies claim through this tax credit. 

The new budget did leave one burning tax question: whether the province will implement the controversial capital gains tax inclusion rate increase put forward by the federal government last year.

The budget currently states that Québec will match the federal government’s decision, but there is no mention of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent decision to cancel the increase. 

“Québec will follow all official federal announcements closely and will make a decision once this information is known,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance wrote to BetaKit in French. 

Impulsion PME replaced with new $200-million fund 

After months of no news on the fate of popular early-stage investment-matching program Impulsion PME, the government has announced a new $200-million investment vehicle using the money originally meant for Impulsion PME, including $50 million from the Stratégie d’innovation 2022-2027. 

Impulsion PME (IPME) was considered a key investment-matching program in the early-stage tech ecosystem designed for startups to close their first rounds. Delivered through provincial investment agency Investissement Québec, the program’s quiet shuttering in November left some entrepreneurs struggling to raise financing.

DÉPART, a program geared towards regional economic development, was put on hold at the same time as IPME, and is now also back on with $15 million over two years starting 2026-27. 

RELATED: Québec’s dismal seed-stage performance could spell trouble for province’s startup pipeline

Lajoie told BetaKit that this is a positive step for the early-stage ecosystem and represents a “shift” from negative attitudes about program closures in the fall. Seed-stage performance in the province also struggled throughout 2024, with ecosystem experts calling the numbers “concerning.” 

The government is replacing the Plan québécois en entrepreneuriat (Québec Entrepreneurship Plan) 2022-2025 with Plan PME (Small Business Plan) 2025-2028. It is dedicating an initial $42 million over three years to the initiative.

Jean-Pierre D’Auteuil, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy, wrote in an email to BetaKit that the new plan will be more expansive than the Québec Entrepreneurship Plan and include measures to help entrepreneurs invest in projects to boost productivity.

Tariffs prompt hefty support envelope

Faced with US tariffs on aluminum and steel and the threat of blanket tariffs on Canadian goods, the Québec government made good on its previous pledges to assist companies impacted by the trade war. 

The budget laid out $400 million over two years in loans for businesses directly impacted by tariffs, and earmarked nearly $200 million for diversifying export markets and supply chains away from the US. Some Québec companies, including Montréal-based rip-resistant tights manufacturer SRTX, have already implemented layoffs in response to the economic uncertainty created by tariff threats. 

The government committed $900 million in direct aid to businesses through the Fonds du développement économique to encourage Québec companies to adopt automation, robotics, digital transformation, and AI. 

Key players in the tech and research ecosystem saw a boost, too. The budget allocated $100 million toward Bromont, Que. innovation zone Technum Québec, $54 million to support the province’s life sciences sector over three years, and $22 million toward research activities at Montréal-based AI institute Mila. 

Under this innovation envelope, the government pledged $96 million to modernize government services, $73.4 million of which will go toward automation. 
The commitments were part of a hefty $5.4 billion in support over five years dedicated to “stimulating wealth creation” in the province, the Québec government said.

Feature image courtesy Éric Girard on X.

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SRTX founder and CEO Katherine Homuth will step down from her role at the Montréal-based textile manufacturing and material innovation company.

The Information first reported the news, noting that Homuth’s departure was “part of an effort to secure a much-needed funding deal.” The Globe and Mail has reported that the yet-to-be-closed $40 million financing would be led by past investors H&M, Export Development Canada, Business Development Bank of Canada, and Investissement Québec (IQ).

“People lose nerve on the story when they realize that production is not at full steam. They want to see it.”

Katherine Homuth

Homuth confirmed to BetaKit that SRTX signed a term sheet for a funding round, which was shared with employees and shareholders this week. She said she would step down as part of the deal’s closure, calling it “the right decision for me and the business at this time.”

SRTX is the maker of Sheertex rip-resistant tights, which consist of a uniquely durable polymer several times stronger than steel wire.

Its manufacturing operations, which are solely located in Canada, put the startup in the crosshairs of US tariff impacts. The circumstances led Homuth to temporarily lay off 40 percent of its 350-person staff in February.

“With 85 [percent] of our sales in the US, and tens of millions invested in our Canadian factory, the impending US tariff changes and delays in closing the final portion of our fundraise have led to tremendous financial uncertainty,” Homuth wrote in a Substack post in February.

Homuth said the proposed 25-percent tariffs on Canadian imports, plus the elimination of the de minimis exemption, would slap a 16-percent additional tax on its shipments to US retailers and a total 41-percent tax on consumer orders. To dodge the duties, Homuth told BetaKit at the time she began sourcing certain materials from the US instead of internationally, and selling more products to stores within Canada.

Along with vertically integrating its Montréal factory last year, SRTX pivoted its sales from direct-to-consumer to wholesale, selling to brands such as H&M, Costco, and Macy’s. 

RELATED: SRTX temporarily lays off 40 percent of staff ahead of US tariff “worst-case scenario”

Homuth founded SRTX in Muskoka, Ont., in 2017 as Sheerly Genius. In addition to its flagship tights, SRTX has two B2B products: Cortex, a software-based manufacturing solution, and Watertex, a patent-pending water-repellent fabric. The retail company has secured around $250 million USD in financing to date, including debt. It was valued at roughly $350 million USD in 2022.

In December, SRTX raised $25 million USD ($35 million CAD) in convertible debt from IQ, the Québec government’s investment arm, to scale its wholesale manufacturing operations. Returning investors included Toronto-based ArcTern Ventures and Philippines-based Kickstart Ventures as part of a larger $70-million CAD round. 

Homuth had been candid on social media about the company’s fundraising needs. In January, she said SRTX needed $23 million USD in equity financing by the end of Q1 2025 to invest in infrastructure, lower its per-product costs to $2.50 from $12, and unlock its path to profitability. The company is currently selling its tights at $10 per unit. 

In a Substack post, Homuth called the strategy of proving market viability at a loss “not glamorous.” On The BetaKit Podcast, Homuth also spoke to the difficulty of fundraising given SRTX’s ambitious strategy.

RELATED: SRTX’s Katherine Homuth wants to solve for everything

 ”Something that is very different about our fundraising journey to a B2B SaaS business is that we have really had to fight for and cobble together these rounds of financing,” Homuth said. “People lose nerve on the story when they realize that production is not at full steam. They want to see it. They want it to be crystallized and ready, which is incredibly hard and incredibly frustrating.”

At an International Women’s Day event focused on business risk and failure hosted by Invest Ottawa earlier this month, Homuth was candid about her ambitions for SRTX while separating her identity from her role within the company. 

“You are not your company. You might be the current vision of the company, but you are not it in the end,” she said. “You have to be able to make some rational, cold decisions about what is right for you as well, as a human, in this journey.”

“I’m absolutely loving this, I’m hoping we can take this through IPO. But I also know I have a life as a founder beyond this, and I have lots and lots of things I want to do in the world.”

With files from Douglas Soltys and Alex Riehl. Feature image courtesy The BetaKit Podcast.

Update (3/30/25): This story has been updated with commentary from SRTX CEO Katherine Homuth and additional details on the financing.

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At its Capital Markets Day investor presentation today, executives for Montréal-based Lightspeed Commerce detailed how the company will invest in a sales-led go-to-market strategy across North America and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). 

The go-to-market shift is part of a transformation plan Lightspeed unveiled alongside its third-quarter earnings last month, which identified its North American retail and EMEA hospitality businesses as its two “leading growth engines.” 

The transformation plan is the product of a months-long strategic review of the company that explored taking the commerce platform private. After extensive acquisition discussions with several potential suitors, Lightspeed ultimately decided the plan to focus on North American retail and EMEA hospitality presented “the best available path to maximizing value” for both the firm and its shareholders. 

“We’ve identified these markets as our growth engines because they drive our highest close rates, our strongest product market fit, have compelling unit economics, and our most defensible competitive position,” CEO Dax Dasilva said. “Just in the last 12 months, the growth engines generated approximately $630 million in revenue, even in just our near term focus areas, we are looking at a [total addressable market] more than 30 times that.” 

Lightspeed plans to have 100 “feet-on-the-street” sales reps in EMEA by next March. 

Dasilva told investors the company will allocate capital to support its priorities as part of the transformation plan, which are to grow Lightspeed’s customer locations in its growth engines, drive gross profit through subscription revenue in particular, and enhance its profitability with a focus on adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and free cash flow. 

As part of its renewed focus on these markets, Lightspeed will rely less on inbound sales through advertising and more on outbound direct sales, Lightspeed president JD Saint-Martin explained to investors. Dasilva said Lightspeed plans to expand its sales team to more than 150 reps across its retail and hospitality areas, though this sales strategy will manifest slightly differently between the two. 

For retail, Saint-Martin said that Lightspeed is verticalizing its sales and marketing infrastructure, reorienting its remote sales team and brand marketing to specialize on its “eight fortress verticals” rather than “one-size-fits-all.” Those focus verticals are apparel and footwear, home and garden, sports and leisure, vape and smoke, jewelry and watches, wine and liquor, health and beauty, and pets. 

“Underpinning this strategy is AI and automation, which helps us refine how we identify those ideal customer profiles, how we engage with these merchants and, ultimately, how we convert those leads into Lightspeed customers,” Saint-Martin said, claiming the company has grown its outbound bookings by more than 300 percent year-over-year. 

RELATED: Lightspeed scales back fiscal 2025 revenue outlook as “several macroeconomic conditions have deteriorated”

For EMEA, Saint-Martin said the strategy includes more “feet on the street,” bolstering a hyper-local sales force in major urban areas across Europe, and ensuring a direct relationship with restaurant owners and operators. The company has grown its team from only 20 sales reps this past November to 55 current sales reps, with plans to have 100 by March 2026.  

Dasvila said the company is already seeing results from its transformation plan, which included changes to its pricing to “better align” with the value Lightspeed delivers and its December reorganization that saw the company lay off approximately 200 employees to “prioritize resources for strategic areas of the business.” 

“We started the year with an adjusted EBITDA outlook of at least $40 million and have increased that guide by more than 30 percent because of the benefits of the transformation that we have seen in-year,” Dasilva said.   

RELATED: Dax Dasilva on staying public, Lightspeed’s plans for growth, and hiring in Montréal

Earlier this week, Lightspeed scaled back its revenue outlook by two points, from an approximate 20-percent increase year-over-year to approximately 18 percent year-over-year. Dasilva addressed investor concerns about the pullback at the presentation, saying it reflected a “softness” in same-store sales across North America and Europe, as well as small business optimism, which has led to fewer new businesses and cautious investing from established ones. CFO Asha Bakshani also said the company is assuming the near-term softness will continue for the 2026 fiscal year, but is confident it will achieve, if not beat, its revised outlook. 

As part of Lightspeed’s transformation plan, the company said last month that it intended to free up capital to invest in growth areas and conduct a share repurchase program to return up to $400 million USD in cash to shareholders. Bakshani announced at the presentation that Lightspeed has completed a share repurchase representing about 6 percent of total shares, or $132 million USD, and had renewed its bid to repurchase another tranche of shares worth about $95 million USD. 

With its transformation plan in place, Bakshani said that Lightspeed is targeting total gross profit growing at a compound annual growth rate of 15 to 18 percent across its next three fiscal years, representing a total of $700 million USD in gross profit and 20 percent adjusted EBITDA margins. That would be a marked improvement for the company, which reported $115.9 million USD in gross profit last quarter, a 14 percent increase year-over-year.

Feature image courtesy Elevate.

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Canada’s tax system is a double-edged sword for small businesses and startups.

While these businesses drive nearly half the country’s gross domestic product, many struggle to navigate the system’s complexities, especially as rules and requirements continue to evolve.

“There’s an opportunity for us as an ecosystem and as a country to make the process clearer for business owners.”

Faye Pang, FreshBooks

It’s no surprise, then, that many are putting off tax prep. A new FreshBooks survey on small business tax trends found that small business owners are delaying their filings, which can lead to missed opportunities.

Faye Pang, Chief Growth Officer at FreshBooks, believes the identified challenges small business owners face around taxes are a relevant point of discussion across markets. 

“Canada’s multi-layered tax system, with both federal and provincial regulations, can indeed create a confidence gap,” Pang said. “However, by embracing proactive strategies and leveraging available resources, small business owners can transform tax preparation from a burden into a strategic advantage.”

The gap between planners and procrastinators

FreshBooks’ data highlights a common problem: taxes are often treated like that persistent notification you keep swiping away—always hovering, slightly stressful, and impossible to ignore forever. And just like those ignored notifications, procrastinating on taxes can cost small business owners more than they realize.

There’s a spectrum of approaches to tax planning, with some small business owners treating it as a year-round process and others scrambling at the last minute. While a significant portion of respondents claim to start early (78 percent), many still delay the process.

Younger small business owners, particularly Gen-Z are more likely to delay tax prep. More than half of Gen Z self-employed respondents wait until the deadline is imminent. However, this trend presents an opportunity for education and early adoption of effective tax management practices.

In Canada, the problem runs deeper than habit. A 2021 survey found that 60 percent of Canadians had not filed their taxes by late March, and nearly half of small business owners say financial literacy gaps have hurt their bottom line. 

“Small business owners excel at running their businesses, but they’re typically not financial experts,” said Pang. “This underscores the need for accessible resources and tools that simplify tax management.”

Addressing complexity and leveraging resources

For early-stage startups, Canada’s tax system can seem like a maze. Federal and provincial rules stack on top of each other, deductions come with strings attached, and key incentives like SR&ED tax credits require careful attention. A missed deadline or small oversight can mean leaving capital on the table.

Pang acknowledged that recent shifts in Canada’s tax policy, such as the modified capital gains tax rule, have also caused significant confusion.  

“The modified capital gains tax rule has led to considerable work, rework, and uncertainty, further eroding the confidence of small business owners and leaving them unclear about their future tax obligations,” Pang said. “These changes also highlight the importance of staying informed and seeking expert guidance,” she added.

FreshBooks’ survey found that 35 percent of small business owners struggle with the complexity of tax laws, and 32 percent struggle to identify deductions. These uncertainties can lead to missed incentives, which can end up shaping key decisions, including hiring, fundraising, and pricing.

According to Pang, procrastination is often a symptom of a system that demands expertise, but doesn’t offer the resources to build it. 

“There’s an opportunity for us as an ecosystem and as a country to make the process clearer for business owners, by providing clearer guidance and making that information more accessible about eligibility to help small business owners really break down the process,” Pang added.

Systemizing it

Many business owners are turning to software to bridge the confidence gap during tax season. FreshBooks found that 35 percent use tax software, while a growing number rely on AI-driven bookkeeping tools to stay organized year-round.

For Pang, that number is still far too low.

“That stat is steadily ticking up in my mind, far too slowly,” she said. “The reality is that two-thirds of small business owners aren’t adopting available technology solutions designed to simplify financial processes, leading them to miss out on efficiency gains and potentially higher profits.”

Pang believes startups need to think about tax strategy not as an annual fire drill driven by the fear of audits and penalties, but as an ongoing process optimized with the right tools. 

“We believe a simple and really powerful shift is simply integrating technology into financial tracking, not just at tax time, but throughout the entirety of the year,” she said.

FreshBooks aims to simplify tax prep by automating expense tracking, categorizing transactions, and generating tax-ready reports for small businesses. It syncs with bank accounts to minimize manual entry, captures receipts digitally, and streamlines invoicing, while its financial reporting and payment tools help small business owners stay organized.

“It makes that pile of work at tax time much smaller,” Pang added.

The businesses that systemize tax preparation, she said, are the ones that stay compliant while freeing up time, capital, and headspace for growth.

PRESENTED BY

Stay ahead of tax season with the right tools and strategies. 

Read the full FreshBooks report here, and learn more about how FreshBooks helps small businesses stay on top of their finances.

All photos provided by FreshBooks.

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Waterloo, Ont.-based multinational and logistics software company Descartes Systems Group has acquired Columbus, Ohio-based 3Gtms, which operates as 3G, a fellow transportation management platform, for $115 million USD ($164.4 million CAD) in cash. 

According to Descartes, 3G’s shipping partners, third-party logistics providers, and freight brokers use its platform to optimize domestic shipments by road, using its software tools for planning, rating, consolidation, and routing that cover the entire shipment lifecycle.

In a statement, Descartes chief commercial officer Andrew Roszko said that 3G’s solution brings strong domestic transportation management functionality for different sized delivery modes, like truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), and parcel.

Descartes acquired two other American companies in the latter half of 2024. 

Roszko added that the acquisition expands Descartes’s reach in North America, and adds a network of API-integrated LTL carriers. LTL, as the name implies, refers to smaller-volume shipping that allows for multiple shippers to share space on a single truck. 

“Much like Descartes, 3G has been successfully building solutions that connect shippers, carriers and logistics services providers to efficiently digitize and manage the lifecycle of shipments,” Descartes CEO Edward J. Ryan said in a statement. “We look forward to working with 3G’s team of deep domain experts to bring our products together and we’re thrilled to welcome 3G’s partners and customers into the Descartes family.”

Founded in 1981 and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange since 1998, Descartes offers software solutions for use in logistics and supply chains, including managing and monitoring logistical processes such as delivery resources, invoices, documentation, and shipments. The company’s growth has been fuelled by actively acquiring other freight, transportation, and supply chain management companies. 

RELATED: Descartes acquires UK-based logistics platform BoxTop for $18 million CAD

Descartes made a total of four acquisitions in 2024, including two other American companies in MyCarrierPortal and Sellercloud. MyCarrierPortal, acquired in September for approximately $24 million USD ($32 million CAD), provides onboarding and risk monitoring software for freight providers. Sellercloud, acquired in October for $110 million USD ($149 million CAD), provides inventory and order management software for retailers. 

While Descartes continues to be a Canadian company scooping up American companies, the trend so far this year seems to have been the opposite. Toronto-based companies like Softchoice, Payfare, Carbon6 Technologies, and Street Context have all been acquired by American companies. American private equity firm Primus Capital also recently acquired a majority stake in Calgary FinTech startup Reach, and Google is reportedly close to acquiring Waterloo, Ont.-based AdHawk Microsystems.

Descartes looked across the pond for its early 2024 deals, acquiring UK shipment management platform provider BoxTop Technologies for 10.25 million pounds (then $18 million CAD) last June and Dublin, Ireland-based customs declaration software Aerospace Software Developments for 54 million euros (then $79 million CAD) last April.

Feature image by Marcin Jozwiak on Unsplash.

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Québec City-based artificial intelligence (AI) solutions company Vooban is expanding into Ontario and growing its team as it looks to ride a wave of interest in AI integration. 

To fill its new Toronto office, Vooban plans to hire for 20 to 25 roles, including sales architects, cloud solution architects, and account executives, before the end of 2025. It has close to 200 employees in Montréal and Québec City, and has five people working in Ontario so far in sales and human resources. 

“Some companies are very conscious about the fact that they are late, and some of them want to be more bold than conservative.”

Vooban is a service company that helps client companies implement AI solutions faster, executive vice-president Hugues Foltz said. Founded 14 years ago, Vooban began as a custom software developer, mainly working with the Department of National Defence. It started offering AI integration services before the release of OpenAI’s large-language model-based text generator ChatGPT and the subsequent boom in generative AI adoption. 

Vooban now finds itself well-placed to capitalize on an increasing number of Canadian companies adopting AI solutions as they look to boost productivity in an uncertain economic environment. 

Some clients have already incorporated AI functionality and are returning for their next projects, while others are jumping on the AI bandwagon for the first time. 

“Some companies are very conscious about the fact that they are late, and some of them want to be more bold than conservative,” Foltz told BetaKit. “Many companies actually contact us to transform themselves as fast as possible.”

RELATED: AI roundup: Cohere commands attention, Apple Intelligence delays, a vibe coding PSA

The demand for AI integrations has ticked up in Canada in recent years, even for businesses operating outside of the tech space—though a 2024 report showed AI adoption in Canada lags behind its global peers. According to Statistics Canada, more than 10 percent of Canadian companies surveyed in 2024 plan to use AI over the next year. Market research from IBM indicates that over half of Canadian businesses plan to increase their AI investments in 2025. 

This has coincided with steady growth for Vooban: Foltz said the company’s revenue has grown by 50 percent for three years running. 

Foltz said Vooban helps companies identify areas to introduce AI where the return on investment will be highest, from accounting to supply chain management. Some of its biggest Canadian clients include aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney and Crown corporation Canadian National Railway.

Vooban does not have proprietary AI models, but the team uses a mix of commercially available models that they determine align with customer needs.

Another part of its expansion strategy in Ontario is identifying acquisition targets, Foltz said. Early last year, the company acquired Québec-city based Stratéjia to add further expertise in business intelligence and data governance. 

In addition to its hiring plans in Toronto, Foltz said Vooban plans to expand into the US and sign its first US client, with a Vancouver expansion as a secondary priority. 

AI as a tool in the trade war arsenal  

Apart from its Ontario expansion, Vooban’s services are in local demand as Québec companies face economic headwinds, including an ongoing US-Canada trade war set to heavily impact domestic manufacturers. 

The company was drafted by its shareholder, Québec pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), to help deliver a business support program launched in the wake of US tariff threats in February. 

RELATED: CDPQ launches program to help Québec startups pivot amid tariff threat

The AI Expertise Program targets Québec-domiciled businesses that generated over $25 million in revenue in 2024. Once accepted into the program’s first cohort, participating companies attend workshops led by Vooban on integrating AI solutions, all covered by CDPQ. Some companies will have the chance to move on to a second round, where Vooban will provide support in implementing an AI-driven innovation project.

The program also offers access to capital, through grants or loans, and networking opportunities to diversify their clients away from the US. In a statement, CDPQ president and CEO Charles Émond said the tariff threat must be seen as a “call to action” for Québec companies to “mobilize like never before.” 

CDPQ invested in Vooban in 2023, marking the company’s first source of external funding since its founding in 2011. Though it did not disclose an amount, CDPQ senior director of private equity Yves-André Levasseur joined Vooban’s board as part of the round.

Feature image courtesy Vooban.

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Toronto quantum computing firm Xanadu is collaborating with Corning, the New York State-based materials giant best known as the maker of protective Gorilla Glass for smartphones. Corning will contribute fibre optics and fibre array know-how to help Xanadu network photonic quantum computing chips like those in its Aurora system. BetaKit has reached out to both companies to ask for details about the agreement. 

The two plan to create the “low-loss” networking needed to scale quantum computers, according to the companies. Reliable, general-purpose quantum computers will reportedly need “thousands” of connected chips. Xanadu’s 35-chip Aurora computer currently offers 12 qubits (quantum bits), but the company wants to reach the 1-million-qubits milestone that Microsoft and other companies are targeting for a truly powerful, fault-resistant quantum machine.

Xanadu became a tech unicorn in 2022 as one of Canada’s most prominent quantum computing companies.

“Aurora demonstrated scalability and networkability on photonic quantum computers and our next goal is to dial down optical loss,” Xanadu photonics engineering lead Inna Krasnokutska said in a statement. The companies say the collaboration will take advantage of Corning’s “world-leading capabilities” in fibre optics.

Xanadu has already claimed two quantum computing advancements in 2025. In January, it maintained that it had managed a “pivotal” breakthrough by networking quantum computers together. Earlier in March, it outlined a new approach to error correction that could reduce overhead compared to past methods.

RELATED: How meaningful is D-Wave’s claim to quantum supremacy?

Founded in 2016, Xanadu became a tech unicorn in 2022 as one of Canada’s most prominent quantum computing companies. The startup has secured multiple funding rounds worth over $100 million all together, and as of last spring, has been trying to raise another $200 million for a quantum data centre. It has also worked with Toronto Metropolitan University to develop a quantum computing academic program, and other efforts to improve the talent selection in the field.

The announcement comes as Canada-born D-Wave claims to have achieved quantum supremacy, or demonstrating the ability of a quantum computer to solve a problem no conventional computer can address in a reasonable timeframe. IBM and other industry leaders have argued that supremacy alone isn’t enough, and that it’s also important to develop quantum computers with real-world utility.

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun “Jensen” Huang has said that genuinely useful quantum computers are realistically over 20 years away. D-Wave chief Alan Baratz disagreed, however, claiming that Huang had a “misunderstanding” of the field and that his company was years ahead. However, D-Wave’s quantum annealing approach differs from the photonic systems Xanadu and other quantum players frequently use.

Xanadu X8 quantum computing chip. Image courtesy of Xanadu.

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St. John’s, Nfld.-based CoLab Software is expediting the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) tool for its engineering design collaboration and communications platform after receiving $5.6 million in financial support from an industry partnership with ExxonMobil.

“Hebron and Hibernia see this project as building foundational capabilities in artificial intelligence and software development in Newfoundland and Labrador.”

Nicholas Maccallum

The funding comes from a partnership between CoLab and the Hibernia and Hebron projects, oil rigs off the coast of St. John’s that are jointly owned by major oil companies including ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Suncor. ExxonMobil operates Hebron and holds the largest stake in the company operating Hibernia.

The partnership was formally struck in December 2023, CoLab chief strategy officer Taylor Young told BetaKit in an email statement, and it includes subscriptions to CoLab’s software and funds for research and development work. 

The funding supports around 60,000 hours of additional local software development to expedite the creation of its new ReviewAI product, CoLab said in a statement. ReviewAI is a new tool for its platform that aims to help inform engineers decisions and automate routine tasks and administrative work. CoLab added that it has hired 17 new full-time roles at its headquarters in St. John’s and secured another undisclosed Fortune 50 partnership since the financial contribution closed. 

“Hebron … and Hibernia … see this project as building foundational capabilities in artificial intelligence and software development in Newfoundland and Labrador,” ExxonMobil Canada research and development manager Nicholas Maccallum said in a statement. “It is advancing the global reach of a local software company to provide a competitive market solution for collaborative design workflows.”

Scott Humber, a senior manager with Hebron engineering service contractor Aker Solutions, said in a statement that they completed more than 2,900 design reviews with CoLab’s software in 2024, cutting their design review cycles from weeks to days.

RELATED: CoLab raises $28.6-million CAD Series B to grow its team and incorporate AI 

Co-founded in 2017 by CEO Adam Keating and CTO Jeremy Andrews, CoLab’s tool allows 2D and 3D computer-aided design files to be uploaded into the cloud and edited by multiple users. Engineering teams can send their designs for review where others can leave feedback and comments for discussion. The tool also captures analytics on the average time taken to complete reviews, address feedback, and common issues in the review process. 

CoLab said the research and development funding from the partnership will allow it to accelerate development in the machine learning algorithms that automatically identify similar design files, generative AI to help surface lessons learned or highlights from past reviews, new ways to view 3D engineering data, and enterprise security and compliance controls. 

The initial scope of the foundational ReviewAI work for the project planned to take 24 months and is set to complete by 2026, Young said, adding that CoLab will continue to work on expanded parts of ReviewAI internally and alongside its industry partners.

Last May, CoLab secured $21 million USD (then $28.6 million CAD) in Series B funding to develop the AI capabilities of its platform—including ReviewAI—and expand its engineering teams, committing to bring its total headcount from 86 to 125 by the end of 2024. Young told BetaKit that CoLab currently has 131 employees. 

CoLab was the first company from Atlantic Canada to be accepted into the Y Combinator accelerator program, immediately raising a $2.7-million-CAD seed round after the accelerator’s Demo Day in 2019, and a $17-million USD (then $21-million CAD) Series A round in October 2021 to further expand its sales team. 

Feature image courtesy CoLab via LinkedIn.

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Silicon Valley-based venture capital (VC) firm Celesta Capital has grown its ranks, hiring former BDC Capital partner Charles Lespérance.

“Deep tech in Canada is very much still at the cooperative stage; there are many more good opportunities than available funding today.”

Charles Lespérance,
Celesta Capital

Lespérance joined the deep tech-focused VC firm earlier this month as its first partner based in Canada, where he will work out of Montréal to help Celesta source deals, make investments, and raise money.

Before Celesta, Lespérance helped manage BDC Capital’s $200-million CAD Deep Tech Venture Fund alongside Thomas Park—who also recently departed the Government of Canada-backed Crown corporation and has since joined Singapore deep tech VC firm Antares Ventures as a senior advisor.

“I love early-stage deep tech investing,” Lespérance told BetaKit over email. “I first met many of the folks at Celesta when we co-led a round in a Montréal-based silicon timing company called Stathera. I remember being blown away by the network and experience that their team brought to the table.”

Founded in 2013, Celesta is a global VC firm that targets companies in the Series A to Series C range developing deep tech solutions that leverage semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), sensors, and advanced materials. Celesta, which is currently investing out of its fourth fund, has amassed a portfolio of 106 companies and $1.1 billion USD in assets under management. The VC firm has exited 39 investments to date, including Habana Labs, Nuvia, and Robinhood.

While India and Israel have been Celesta’s two leading overseas markets outside of the United States (US), the VC firm has also made investments in the Asia-Pacific region and backed two startups with operations in Canada: Stathera and Canadian-founded, San Jose-based AI platform for manufacturing Quartic.ai. 

With Lespérance’s help, Celesta hopes to expand its presence in Canada. Lespérance said he offers an established deal sourcing and co-investment network, expertise in complementary areas like quantum, mining, and oil and gas, and “extensive financial restructuring experience.”

RELATED: TandemLaunch closes $37-million Fund IV to create and back deep tech startups

“His extensive knowledge and relationships throughout the deep tech and Canadian VC ecosystems are a perfect fit for our team and reflect the commitment we are making to invest in Canada moving forward,” ​Celesta founding managing partner Nicholas Brathwaite told BetaKit over email.

Brathwaite cited the strength of Canada’s “research muscle and technical workforce” as two contributing factors to Celesta’s interest in the country. “There is a significant opportunity to identify compelling technologies and build great businesses within Canada,” he argued.

“Deep tech in Canada is very much still at the cooperative stage; there are many more good opportunities than available funding today and having more knowledgeable and active participants in the sector will benefit everyone involved,” Lespérance said.

Lespérance’s hire comes just over a year after Celesta partnered with Hamilton, Ontario’s McMaster University to help startups and researchers affiliated with the school commercialize their intellectual property. 

“Celesta has deep ties to many of the world’s largest tech companies, which can help us give our investee companies access to a network it would take them years to otherwise develop, without having to relocate to the US,” Lespérance said. 

Feature image courtesy Celesta Capital.

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Seventy-five Ontario-based CEOs have signed a new open letter asking Ontario Premier Doug Ford to implement a laundry list of innovation and economic policy ideas within the first 100 days of his new majority mandate to “reclaim control over [Ontario’s] economic destiny.”

The signatory list includes the leaders of many notable Ontario tech companies, including ApplyBoard’s Meti Basiri, Borrowell’s Andrew Graham, CentML’s Gennady Pekhimenko, Loop Financial’s Cato Pastoll, PointClickCare’s Dave Wessinger, and Baylis Medical Technologies executive chairman Frank Baylis, who recently lost out on his leadership bid for the federal Liberal party. 

“The actions taken in the first 100 days of this government will determine whether Ontario remains vulnerable or takes control of its economic future.”

The open letter, put forward by the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), positions Ontario in “economic crisis” as the province has taken centre stage in the trade war between Canada and the United States, its biggest international trading partner. The letter argues that provincial economic policy has prioritized short-term foreign direct investment (FDI) over long-term domestic wealth creation and that, without a deliberate shift in economic strategy, the province risks “further erosion of its competitiveness, sovereignty, and long-term prosperity.”

“In agriculture, healthcare, critical minerals, high-IP manufacturing, and cyber technologies, there is no cohesive strategy to turn Ontario’s raw materials, ideas and data into sustained economic strength,” the letter reads. “Ontario must adapt with a strategy that prioritizes homegrown innovation as a core policy.”

The signatories list eight policy items they insist be implemented within the first 100 days of Ford’s new mandate, some of which come with even stricter timelines. At a high level, the open letter asks that Ford strengthen capital support for Ontario firms, build domestic capacity in key sectors, end the “Era of Low-Value FDI,” strengthen Ontario’s cybersecurity and innovation ecosystem, overhaul procurement, accelerate innovation adoption in healthcare, increase economic resilience, and address the province’s “talent crisis.”

Much of the open letter’s demands hinge on the province using its funding and procurement resources on Ontario-based companies, including prioritizing them for funding from provincial investment vehicles like Venture Ontario and Invest Ontario, as well as implementing a domestic-first procurement strategy for cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and public sector technology adoption. 

The letter also asks that Ontario speed up the launch of a procurement modernization program called the Health Innovation Pathway (HIP), asking for it to be implemented within the next six weeks. HIP was first announced in Ontario’s 2023 budget and then promised again with the launch of the second phase of the province’s life sciences strategy this past October.

RELATED: “It’s done, it’s gone”: Ontario Premier Doug Ford cancels $100-million Starlink contract in tariff response

Ford has already made procurement a central component of his retaliation strategy in the US trade war. Earlier this month, the premier cancelled Ontario’s $100-million contract with satellite internet company Starlink, which is owned by US President Donald Trump’s confidant Elon Musk, and banned all US-based companies from taking part in provincial procurement. Ford said that Ontario spends an annual $30 billion on procurement.

Still, the open letter’s signatories are seeking a swift commitment from Ford’s government to overhaul much of the province’s practices to focus on Ontario-based companies and initiatives. 

“We need a strategy that positions Ontario as a sovereign economic force—one where local companies scale, innovation stays here, and prosperity is built to last,” the letter reads. “The actions taken in the first 100 days of this government will determine whether Ontario remains vulnerable or takes control of its economic future.” 

Feature image courtesy Pixabay. Photo by Jermaine Will.

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Vancouver-based cybersecurity startup Styx Intelligence has secured $2.7 million CAD in seed funding to help organizations address potential online threats to their brands and safeguard their digital presence.

The company is developing a software platform designed to enable clients to quickly detect and respond to threats ranging from brand impersonation to phishing scams and data leaks.

“These types of risks are continuing to evolve and increase.”

Santosh Nair, Styx

Styx was founded in 2021 by CEO Karim Ladha and CTO Santosh Nair—two repeat cybersecurity entrepreneurs who sold their last company, Vancouver-based managed security services provider Integrity-Paahi Solutions, to Deloitte back in 2016. 

In an interview with BetaKit, Nair said that since Styx launched, the volume of impersonation and phishing scams has grown. He claimed brand-based attacks against enterprises have been on the rise lately, and noted that the emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has led to cases where enterprises have been targeted by convincing AI-generated imposter content. 

“These types of risks are continuing to evolve and increase,” Nair told BetaKit in an interview, noting that he sees “a huge market opportunity” in helping organizations monitor and remediate these types of threats through Styx’s platform.

Styx’s all-equity seed round closed in October. The financing was led by BDC Capital’s Seed Venture Fund, with support from fellow new investors Framework Venture Partners, Top Down Ventures, and Sprout Fund. Ladha declined to disclose Styx’s valuation.

RELATED: 1Password builds on B2B growth with acquisition of UK-based Trelica to help companies secure unmanaged apps

This round brings Styx’s total funding to $4.3 million, a figure that includes $1.6 million in pre-seed financing from 2023.

Nair and Ladha bring decades of experience working in enterprise cybersecurity to Styx. “We have a long history of building companies,” Nair said.

As organizations’ digital footprints have expanded, and cloud and software-as-a-service (SaaS) adoption has increased, Nai said that the visibility of threats has declined as companies’ ability to manage them has faltered. The CTO said many organizations have historically relied upon the ability of their teams to manually detect and take down digital threats, but this approach is no longer scalable given the increasing volume of attack vectors and potential risk areas.

At the same time, there is an onus on organizations to spot and address these threats early to mitigate their reputational, and in some cases, financial impact.

“We felt that the market was being underserved,” Ladha told BetaKit.

Enter Styx, which aims to bring a “unified approach to external cybersecurity.” The startup’s platform tracks organizations’ digital footprints from an external-facing perspective across a variety of platforms, keeping customers informed of potential risks, helping them take action, and tying everything together into a risk score.

RELATED: Top Down Ventures completes $10-million USD first close of new venture fund for managed service providers

“Styx Intelligence is addressing an emerging market need with an AI-first approach that is both timely and essential, especially as AI and deepfakes reshape the threat landscape,” BDC Capital Seed Venture Fund partner Dinar Ahmed said in a statement.

Styx’s clients include Coca-Cola Canada, GreenShield, KPMG, and Reitmans. While Styx is focusing on mid-sized to enterprise clients to start, like financial services and retail firms and governments, the startup has also been seeing some demand from smaller customers.

Styx intends to use this funding to expand its team and invest in product development and sales and marketing. The startup already has clients in the United States and Latin America with plans to move into Europe.

On the product side, Styx’s game plan entails improving its platform’s detection capabilities, bolstering its customer experience, and investing in more automation on the takedown front.

Feature image courtesy Styx Intelligence.

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Québec-based non-profit tech accelerator Numana has announced a strategic partnership with Finnish telecom giant Nokia and United States (US)-based tech company Honeywell to help develop secure communication technologies in the era of quantum computing. 

The partnership will see Honeywell and Nokia contribute technological expertise to Numana’s Kirq Quantum Communication Testbed, which allows businesses in Québec to experiment with quantum technologies for telecom networks. 

Honeywell Aerospace Technologies will bring its quantum encryption technology to the testbed, while Nokia will leverage its advanced cryptographic network technologies. 

“God knows that in the current geopolitical context, it’s essential to have these capabilities and infrastructure to enable secure communications.”

Minister Christine Fréchette

The partnership will serve to develop quantum-safe communication networks, Numana said, as well as provide education and training to businesses to implement this technology.

Increasingly powerful quantum computing puts traditional data encryption methods at risk, experts say, posing significant security risks to businesses, consumers, and governments. Since quantum computers could eventually solve complex problems much more quickly than traditional computers, they could be used to break through existing encryption technology. 

Developing a national secure quantum communications network is also part of Canada’s National Quantum Strategy. 

“It’s about reinforcing Québec’s position as a strategic world centre for technological innovation in cryptography and quantum communications,” Christine Fréchette, Québec’s Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, said in French at a press conference. “God knows that in the current geopolitical context, it’s essential to have these capabilities and infrastructure to enable secure communications.”

RELATED: How meaningful is D-Wave’s claim to quantum supremacy?

The partnership announcement with two non-Canadian companies comes amid calls for the government to support domestic firms in the wake of a US-Canada trade war.  

In response to a reporter’s question about the wisdom of partnering with American company Honeywell, Fréchette said that Québec only has an issue with the US administration and its tariff policy. 

“Whether businesses are American, European, or foreign, if they are established in Québec and help the province move forward strategically, we will be here to support them,” Fréchette said in French. 

The Québec government recently announced it would be providing up to $50 million in loans to companies affected by tariffs in the province. 

François Borrelli, outgoing CEO and president of Numana, added that this partnership does not pose security risks to domestic firms as the testbed is an experimental platform. Since there is no sensitive data currently flowing, he said, the partnership doesn’t represent a security concern.

Catherine Gentilcore was appointed as Numana’s new president and CEO in February. The non-profit organization serves as a think tank and “macro-accelerator” of quantum technology development in Québec, and oversees the operation of the testbed. Numana’s corporate partners include telecom giants Bell and TELUS, which provide the physical infrastructure for the testbed, such as fibre optic networks. 

RELATED: Sherbrooke’s quantum sector gets $8.1-million boost from federal government

The Québec and federal governments previously committed over $10 million in 2022 and 2023 to launch the testbed. The platform allows businesses to try out new quantum technologies without disrupting any current digital communications infrastructure. 

The Kirq testbed consists of three Québec hubs with several sites for partnering companies to conduct research on quantum communications. Hubs in Sherbrooke and Montréal are already up and running, while Québec City’s is expected to debut later this year, Borrelli said. It had previously been set for early 2024. 

The testbed is already providing a platform for several academic and private research projects, including the Université de Sherbrooke-led CanQuEST consortium to develop hybrid quantum transducers and the QuantaMole consortium at Polytechnique Montréal for quantum molecular materials, devices, and applications.

The Sherbrooke hub is located within the provincially funded DistriQ Quantum Innovation Zone, which is home to quantum research laboratories and collaborative office space. With federal and provincial support, Sherbrooke has grown into a key hub for Canada’s quantum ecosystem, with quantum startups such as Nord Quantique and Qubic Technologies headquartered there. 

Feature image courtesy Numana.

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Montréal-based Lightspeed Commerce has pulled back its revenue outlook for its 2025 fiscal year, which ends on March 31, as its same-store sales and subscription revenues have taken a hit over the past couple of months. 

Lightspeed said in a statement that “several macroeconomic conditions have deteriorated” since reporting its third-quarter earnings last month, where its revenue outlook carried an approximate 20-percent increase year-over-year. Lightspeed has now adjusted its revenue outlook to reflect approximately 18 percent year-over-year growth. 

Lightspeed said factors such as heightened inflationary pressures, increased job insecurity, and weakened consumer confidence have impacted discretionary spending among consumers.

“This shift has led to a decline in same-store sales through February and March to date,” Lightspeed said in a statement. “In addition, declining small business optimism is dampening new business formation. As a result of these factors, Lightspeed experienced significant pressure on transaction-based revenue and, to a lesser extent, on subscription revenue.”

After declining to go private, Lightspeed is expected to detail its transformation plan at its Capital Markets Day later this week. 

Lightspeed said it still expects to report a fiscal 2025 adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of over $53 million USD.

The February decline noted by Lightspeed lines up with the beginning of the chaotic trade war between Canada and the United States (US), which has seen a dizzying back-and-forth of tariff actions between the two countries over the past nearly two months. 

In an email statement to BetaKit, Lightspeed CEO Dax Dasilva said that it is difficult for Lightspeed to isolate the exact reasons for the “macroeconomic deterioration,” but added that tariffs and trade wars certainly play a role in creating uncertainty in the market. 

“Businesses thrive when there is a measure of certainty in growth, trade and consumer spending, and ongoing trade disruptions are a contributing factor to businesses—and consumers—being more cautious about spending.” 

Much like in Dasilva’s previous conversation with BetaKit, when asked how Lightspeed plans to address the macroeconomic factors if they persist, he plugged Lightspeed’s Supplier Network, which he said helps customers navigate “changing macroeconomic conditions and supply chain issues.” 

“Lightspeed will continue to focus on ensuring our customers are best positioned to changing environments by putting technology to work for them, just like we did during the COVID pandemic and through previous macroeconomic conditions,” he said. 

RELATED: Lightspeed to stay public company after strategic review

Founded in 2005, Lightspeed sells point-of-sale and commerce software and hardware to restaurants, retailers, and hospitality providers. The company is dual-listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LSPD.

Lightspeed announced its outlook adjustment just a couple of days before its Capital Markets Day on March 26, which will provide a three-year vision for the company and a comprehensive update on the operational and financial impact of its recently-announced transformation plan. The plan was the culmination of a months-long strategic review where Lightspeed considered going private via acquisition, but ultimately chose to carry on as a publicly traded company. 

As the trade war places uncertainty onto many Canadian businesses, some Canadian consumer goods startups that are reliant on US materials and production have found themselves caught in the crossfire of disrupted supply chains, while others have come to benefit from a nationwide buy-Canadian campaign. 

This week, Lightspeed released the results of a survey of 1,000 Canadians it conducted earlier this month, which found that 91 percent of respondents are either currently focused on buying Canadian products or planning to do so. The survey also found that 74 percent said they are likely to continue buying Canadian products even if the US tariffs are removed. 

Feature image courtesy Lightspeed.

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University of Ottawa researchers have discovered new ways to control atoms that could both broaden physics knowledge and have practical applications for medicine and computing.

The team isn’t expecting its work to lead to real-world uses in the near future.

Physics professor Ravi Bhardwaj and fellow scientists have published a paper in Nature Communications showing that it’s possible to control the ejection of electrons from atoms and molecules (thus ionizing them) using optical vortex beams, or light beams with angular momentum. 

Previously, the scientific community has been aware of very few ways to control this ionization, which takes place both naturally, such as in lightning, and in technologies like plasma TVs.

Bhardawaj told BetaKit that the findings could eventually lead to significant improvements in a number of fields, particularly in medical imaging. The reliance on light limits the spatial resolution of imaging due to diffraction limits (that is, spreading the light beams out). There have been efforts to overcome this through stimulated emission depletion microscopy (STED). This new approach could one day allow for “better spatial resolution” through the use of one optical vortex beam to localize that light below the diffraction limit.

The new ionization method could also be applied to attosecond science, which deals with light-matter interaction at very small time scales, and plasma physics, Bhardawaj added. The technique could produce what he described as “energetic extreme ultraviolet light” and charge particles that could be helpful with imaging.

RELATED: General Fusion takes major step in quest for Canadian fusion reactors

The researchers added that this could be helpful for controlling individual particles, a key element in quantum computers. Quantum systems write and read data by changing the intensity and frequency of incident light. Optical vortex beams could offer an “additional degree of control,” according to Bhardawaj.

The team isn’t expecting its work to lead to real-world uses in the near future. This is “fundamental research,” Bhardawaj said, and the researchers are “not attempting to commercialize it.”

The news comes amid a wave of Canadian breakthroughs and investments in the quantum sector. Vancouver-based Photonic claimed in February to have discovered a more efficient quantum error correction method. Earlier in March, Canada-born company D-Wave maintained that it had achieved quantum supremacy, or solving a problem with a quantum computer that would be virtually impossible for a conventional computer in a reasonable time.

More than 100 quantum research projects received $78.7 million in total federal funding in January, while the government provided $8.1 million to a startup and three innovation partners to the quantum sector in Sherbrooke, Que.

Image courtesy of Hal Gatewood on Unsplash.

The post Atomic discovery made at University of Ottawa could one day advance quantum computing, medical imaging  first appeared on BetaKit.

It turns out I was wrong.

In 2024, I was responsible for a lot of parasocial helicopter parenting about Canadian tech’s young generation of entrepreneurs. People like Jocelyne Murphy and Scott Langille, who both spoke at BetaKit Town Halls. Without the support and mentorship they were asking for, I said, we might soon lament Canadian tech’s lost generation.

The kids weren’t lost. They were just in the lab, building. 

Last week, Socratica hosted possibly the world’s largest student-run tech demo day at the Waterloo Rec Centre, filling the 2,500-person venue and leaving an additional 1,300 hopeful attendees to watch the livestream.

I encourage you to watch it yourself. Like a Sex Pistols concert, in 10 years everyone will claim to have seen it live. Like a Sex Pistols concert, it will launch a bunch of great bands (and hopefully a few great tech companies, too).

You can see Murphy and Langille in the photo above, smiling and fist-pumping and hugging like they have both successfully produced and won the Super Bowl, or maybe the 4 Nations Cup. Founded in 2022 by a couple of University of Waterloo students, Socratica’s Symposiums have tripled in size with each edition. The collective now has a node on every continent and wants one in every major city around the world.

My old BlackBerry colleague and Market.dev founder, Tarun Sachdeva, told me that Socratica will end up being more important for Waterloo than UW’s co-op program. A bold prediction!

I asked Anson Yu, one of the Symposium organizers, why so many young people from around the world wanted to come to their demo day. “People want to feel that there are people excited and doing something about making the future better,” she said. Socratica provides the “social permissioning” to try something new.

In the days following, many of these young people reacted online as if they had just experienced the canon event of their origin stories. I’m all for self-awareness but I would encourage them to keep looking to the future.

Go further. We’re all rooting for you. We’ll help where we can.

Douglas Soltys
Editor-in-chief

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TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

Liberals’ capital gains tax hike is dead, lifetime exemption limit increase to stay

Prime Minister Mark Carney officially announced that the Government of Canada will cancel its proposed hike to the capital gains tax inclusion rate, following nearly a year of backlash from Canadian technology and business leaders since the Liberals introduced the changes in Budget 2024.

The feds also said they intend to maintain the planned increase to the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption limit to $1.25 million on the sale of small business shares and farming and fishing property. The announcement did not mention the Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive, the other measure the Liberals announced last year to mitigate the impact of their capital gains tax hike.

Telus partners with Nvidia to transform its data centre into a Canadian “Sovereign AI Factory”

Canadian telecommunications giant Telus has partnered with global semiconductor manufacturer Nvidia to upgrade the artificial intelligence (AI) compute power of its Rimouski, Que. data centre and turn it into a “Sovereign AI Factory.”

Announced this week at Nvidia’s GTC conference for AI developers, Telus’s upgraded data centre in Rimouski, Que. aims to help Canadian businesses and researchers develop AI products by providing the supercomputers and software needed to train AI while keeping data within Canada’s borders.

How meaningful is D-Wave’s claim to quantum supremacy?

Canadian-born company D-Wave Quantum Systems said last week that it achieved “quantum supremacy” in what it calls a groundbreaking paper in the prestigious journal Science. Despite the lofty term, some Canadian experts say supremacy is not the be-all, end-all of quantum innovation. 

FreshBooks reveals new CEO Shaheen Javadizadeh after securing $179 million in debt from Morgan Stanley

Toronto-based accounting software company FreshBooks has casually unveiled Shaheen Javadizadeh as new permanent CEO alongside a new $125-million USD ($179-million CAD) debt financing round.

The new leader and financing follow a multi-year struggle for the company, which has seen a number of executive departures, office closures, and rounds of job cuts. According to Morgan Stanley, FreshBooks is expected to use this new debt financing to refinance its existing debt and fuel its continued growth. 

Shopify acquires search startup Vantage Discovery for undisclosed amount

Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify has acquired San Jose, Calif.-based artificial intelligence-powered retailer search startup Vantage Discovery for an undisclosed amount.

While Shopify declined to disclose any details of the transaction, the company told BetaKit that Vantage Discovery’s search platform and team will play a key role in “supercharging” Shopify’s work for both merchants and buyers. 

Shopify also announced that it is voluntarily transferring its United States stock exchange listing from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to the Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq) on March 28. Shopify will continue trading under the ticker symbol SHOP, and its Toronto Stock Exchange listing remains unaffected.

Canada invests $36.6 million in Strategic Innovation Fund technology networks

The Government of Canada is investing a total of $36.6 million in five Strategic Innovation Fund networks in hopes of fostering emerging technology sectors and attracting major investments.

The investments include support for the Clean Resource Innovation Network, the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network, the Canadian Food Innovation Network, Natural Products Canada, and the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator. 

Upcoming tech events 

As the snow thaws and the temperatures warm, Canadian tech emerges from hibernation to gather at events across the country. 

• Elevate’s CIX Summit 2025 will take place March 26 at Toronto’s Design Exchange. Laura Lenz from OMERS Ventures and Prashant Matta from Panache Ventures are leading opening remarks, and Clio CEO Jack Newton will share the experience of building his legaltech brand. 
• The blockchain- and web3-oriented Consensus conference has revealed the lineup of speakers for its inaugural Toronto showing, which runs May 14-16, 2025. Speakers include the likes of WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka and Coinbase Canada CEO Lucas Matheson. 
• Web Summit Vancouver has revealed the first 25 speakers for its conference at the Vancouver Convention Centre from May 27-30. The rebranded Collision features Jay Graber, CEO of emergent microblogging service Bluesky, 1Password co-CEO Jeff Shiner, and Trevor Martin, the head of Mammoth Biosciences (the biotech firm hoping to resurrect the woolly mammoth). 
• This year’s Startupfest will take place from July 9 to 11 at Montréal’s Grand Quay. The festival will feature appearances from Hustle Fund general partner Elizabeth Yin, Mila senior director Shingai Manjengwa, and Alchemist Accelerator CEO Ravi Belani. 

FEATURED STORIES FROM OUR PARTNERS

More highlights from across the Canadian ecosystem:

• Small businesses told TD they needed one e-commerce solution, not a patchwork of tools. Read about why TD built its own e-commerce platform in partnership with BigCommerce.
• John Solomos chose to scale his startup in his hometown of Markham. Today, BlueBird IT Solutions is the country’s largest healthcare IT-managed services provider. Read the founder’s tribute to the City of Markham.
• Innovate BC’s Integrated Marketplace started as a testbed for emerging startups in BC. Amid the current trade war, it has taken on a new importance. Read about why the program is becoming a hedge against US uncertainty.

Weekly Canadian Deals & Dollars

• VAN – UniDoc to acquire the software used in its health cubes
• CGY – Summit Nanotech secures $36.5M for lithium extraction tech
• CGY – Former Klue reps raise $500K for sales platform Quack 
• WPG – AdTech company Taiv acquihires Local Reach founding team
• KW – Page raises $4.1M seed for government relations platform
• KW – Google reportedly close to acquiring AdHawk
• TOR – Doormat rebrands to Ownright, secures $4.5M seed round
• TOR – Sprout Family raises $1.7M pre-seed round
• MTL – Polytechnique Montréal receives $50M to establish deep tech institute

The BetaKit Podcast — AI roundup: Cohere commands attention, Apple Intelligence delays, a vibe coding PSA​

“Apple won’t use user data to develop and train AI. And Apple lives in a world where AI is going to be table stakes in any software or hardware moving forward.”

A tech palate cleanse for all the election and trade war talk. This week, Rob and Doug tackle the latest AI developments: vibe coding, Cohere’s (temporary?) LLM pole position, AI data centres from Telus (powered by Nvidia), and Apple’s delayed intelligence.

The BetaKit Quiz — This week: Google eyes AdHawk, Nvidia’s Canadian partner, and a red light for Tesla

Think you’re on top of Canadian tech and innovation news? Time to prove it. Test your knowledge of Canadian tech news with The BetaKit Quiz for March 21, 2025.

Ready to launch or grow your business?  

Check out Markham Small Business Centre’s Summer Company and Starter Company Plus grants! Get funding, expert mentorship, and hands-on training to turn your business dreams into reality. Whether you’re a young entrepreneur or an aspiring business owner, this is your chance to take your business to the next level. 

Don’t miss out—contact us now!

Feature image courtesy Socratica’s Freeman Jiang.

The post The future of Canadian tech runs through Waterloo first appeared on BetaKit.

There has been a lot of (necessary) election and trade war talk on The BetaKit Podcast recently. But this week we just want to nerd out on some tech news.

So consider this week’s episode a tech palate cleanse, focused on AI (the pickled ginger of tech conversations).

“Apple won’t use user data to develop and train AI. And Apple lives in a world where AI is going to be table stakes in any software or hardware moving forward.”

Any conversation about AI should start with Apple Intelligence and its ongoing delays. Last year, we said that Apple’s riskiest decision in years might be catching up to AI too soon. For a company that often ignores the existence of new tech until it is ready to roll it out at scale, news that a Siri able to compete with ChatGPT (or anything else) might not come until 2026 has ruffled some feathers, particularly if you recently purchased an Apple Intelligence-ready device. But given reports that Apple might be starting from scratch, was it still the right call?

On the opposite end of the vaporware spectrum is Cohere’s Command A large-language model (LLM), which both exists and currently sits in pole position ahead of the company’s global competitors for speed and efficiency. It’s a nice feather in the cap of Canada’s ‘Great AI Hope’ no matter how long it lasts, but as Decelerator’s Rob Kenedi notes on the podcast, with LLMs becoming increasingly commoditized, is it the data centre owners who will ultimately win the AI wars? Cohere has an iron in that fire as well, as does Telus, with claims of Canadian AI sovereignty—both data centres will be powered by Nvidia chips.

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That last morsel had a bit of a sour taste to it, and this is supposed to be the palate cleanse episode, so I’m switching up the vibes to talk about vibe coding. Y Combinator’s Garry Tan recently claimed that a quarter of his accelerator’s batch of startups are building products almost entirely written by LLMs. This seems like the beginning of a marked shift in the way tech is built, right? Well, as @leojr94_ and others have revealed, with great vibes come great responsibility. Please consider this your vibe coding PSA.

Let’s dig in. 

Related links:

• Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino
• Apple’s AI division reportedly starting from scratch  
• Apple’s Craig Federighi Discusses the Future of iPhone AI
• Apple’s Catch-22
• Cohere’s Command A goes brrrrrrrrr
• Cohere had to extend the axis a bit
• Telus, data centres and ‘Sovereign AI’ (powered by Nvidia)
• 25% of Y Combinator’s latest startup batch is vibe coding
• Vibe coding startups are already raising millions
• @leojr94_ vibe coded his way into a cyber attack (lol)

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Feature image courtesy Cohere. Episode edited by Darian MacDonald.

The post AI roundup: Cohere commands attention, Apple Intelligence delays, a vibe coding PSA first appeared on BetaKit.

Toronto-based accounting software company FreshBooks has casually unveiled its new permanent CEO alongside a new $125-million USD ($179-million CAD) debt financing round. 

Shaheen Javadizadeh will be taking the reins from long-time interim leader Mara Reiff, who has overseen the company since former president Mark Girvan and former CEO Don Epperson departed in November 2023. Reiff, who initially joined the company as chief data officer, is now the company’s COO, according to FreshBooks’ website. 

Debt round and new CEO comes after a long period of leadership turnover at FreshBooks.

FreshBooks did not make a formal announcement about Javadizadeh taking the job, but the company website now lists him as CEO. A FreshBooks spokesperson told BetaKit in an email statement that Javadizadeh joined the company in the fourth quarter of 2024 (his LinkedIn profile shows he has held the post since January).

His first public mention at the helm was accepting $125-millon USD in debt financing from Morgan Stanley’s expansion capital and private credit funds this week.

“FreshBooks looks forward to leveraging [Morgan Stanley’s] expertise in this next chapter of growth,” Javadizadh said in a statement. 

Describing himself as a professional CEO, board member, and entrepreneur in his LinkedIn profile, Javadizadh has previously held executive leadership positions at Texas-based legal software company Wolters Kluwer, California-based library management software Innovate Interfaces, and California-based printing company 4over. He also currently serves as the chairman of the board at California-based TakeIn, a food e-commerce platform he co-founded. 

FreshBooks declined to disclose to BetaKit any additional details on the debt, why FreshBooks raised it, or if the company considered or pursued equity financing.  

This is not the first time FreshBooks has taken on sizable debt. One year after the company raised a $130-million USD (then $163-million CAD) investment round at a unicorn valuation in August 2021, FreshBooks secured a $100-million USD syndicated debt facility from BMO Financial Group and J.P. Morgan to aid global expansion plans it has since pulled back on. 

RELATED: Inside FreshBooks’ struggle to reach profitability

Reiff’s tenure as interim leader overlapped a multi-year struggle for FreshBooks to find profitability. This past October, The Globe and Mail reported that in the first half of 2024, FreshBooks had little cash, high debt, and was looking for capital to remain operational. According to Morgan Stanley, FreshBooks is expected to use this new debt financing to refinance its existing debt and fuel its continued growth. FreshBooks told BetaKit that it will use the debt to continue on its current path of driving profitable growth as a company. 

“We believe FreshBooks has a tremendous market opportunity ahead of it and are confident that our growth credit and capital solutions teams are uniquely positioned to support FreshBooks in this important stage of its growth,” Pete Chung and Ashwin Krishna, the heads of the Morgan Stanley funds, said in a joint statement. 

The debt round and new CEO comes after a long period of leadership turnover starting in March 2023, when the now-departed CEO Epperson embarked the company on a journey to become profitable by 2025 through headcount and programmatic spending reductions. 

When BetaKit asked about the state of that plan in October, following a number of executive departures, office closures, and rounds of job cuts, a FreshBooks spokesperson told BetaKit that its strategy “remains focused on growing FreshBooks’ profitably in the North American market.”

When asked where the company now stands on its path to profitability, FreshBooks declined to comment on its specific financials, but called the financing from Morgan Stanley a “vote of confidence.” A FreshBooks spokesperson added that the company has not made any significant changes to its team size since October, and that it continues to hire into critical positions across the organization.

Feature image courtesy FreshBooks.

The post FreshBooks reveals new CEO Shaheen Javadizadeh after securing $179 million in debt from Morgan Stanley first appeared on BetaKit.

The post Google eyes AdHawk, Nvidia’s Canadian partner, and a red light for Tesla first appeared on BetaKit.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has officially announced that the Government of Canada will cancel its proposed hike to the capital gains tax inclusion rate.

Carney promised to do this earlier this month after the Liberals elected him to replace Justin Trudeau as party leader and prime minister, following nearly a year of backlash from Canadian technology and business leaders since the Liberals introduced the tax changes in Budget 2024.

The Liberals’ backtrack follows nearly a year of backlash from Canadian tech leaders.

The feds said they intend to maintain the planned increase to the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption limit to $1.25 million on the sale of small business shares and farming and fishing property. Carney indicated that the government will introduce legislation to facilitate this “in due course.”

Today’s announcement did not mention the Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive (CEI), the other measure the Liberals announced last year to mitigate the impact of their capital gains tax hike. When asked what will become of the CEI, a Department of Finance spokesperson told BetaKit that “more information will come in due course.”

“Canada is a country of builders,” Carney said in a statement. “Cancelling the hike in capital gains tax will catalyze investment across our communities and incentivize builders, innovators, and entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in Canada, creating more higher paying jobs. It’s time to build one Canadian economy—the strongest economy in the G7.”

The announcement comes with another federal election on the way: Carney is reportedly expected to dissolve Parliament this weekend and call a vote for late April. For his part, Conservative leader Pierre Polievre has also pledged to scrap the increase should his party form government.

The Government of Canada initially proposed raising the inclusion rate on capital gains—which include profits from the sale of assets like stock or property—from one-half to two-thirds, meaning that a greater percentage of capital gains would be considered taxable income, potentially bumping some individuals and companies into new tax brackets. The goal was to help the Liberals finance billions in new spending and increase tax fairness.

To mitigate the impact of this hike, the Liberals also shared two other planned measures. The first is an increase to the cumulative LCGE, a longstanding tax exemption designed in part to help encourage risk-taking among small business owners, from $1 million in lifetime capital gains to $1.25 million. The second was the launch of the CEI, a new incentive for people who own at least five percent of a business, which reduces the inclusion rate to 33.3 percent on a lifetime maximum of $2 million in eligible capital gains.

RELATED: An election primer on what Canadian entrepreneurs need

The proposed capital gains tax changes prompted immediate and loud backlash from many of the country’s tech leaders, who argued it would stifle tech entrepreneurship and investment and exacerbate Canada’s existing productivity challenges. Meanwhile, others argued this reaction was overblown.

The proposed changes were set to take effect on June 25, 2024, but the Liberals never passed legislation to enact them, and earlier this year, the government delayed their implementation until 2026.

“The formal rollback of the capital gains tax increase is a welcome move, but it’s bittersweet—Canada’s reputation in the tech sector has already taken a hit,” Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) president Benjamin Bergen said in a statement. “The proposed change signalled to investors and entrepreneurs that Canada was becoming a much harder place to succeed, and that kind of uncertainty has real consequences.”

Bergen said that CCI and the Canadian tech scaleups it represents appreciate the move, but argued that rebuilding trust also requires a policy environment that supports domestic firms, especially amid Canada’s ongoing trade war with the United States and global volatility.

Feature image courtesy Mark Carney via LinkedIn.

The post Liberals’ capital gains tax hike is dead, lifetime exemption limit increase to stay first appeared on BetaKit.

Vancouver-based UniDoc Health, which sells cube-shaped kiosks for remote healthcare, has struck a deal to purchase software and other assets from American healthtech firm AMD Telemedicine.

UniDoc has entered into a definitive agreement to buy AMD Telemedicine’s name, Agnes Connect software, related intellectual property, customer subscriptions, and accounts for $175,000 USD ($251,000 CAD) in cash to strengthen its telehealth offering. This will mark UniDoc’s first acquisition to date.

UniDoc has developed a cube-shaped kiosk for remote medical appointments.

In a statement, UniDoc CEO Tony Baldassarre said that AMD Telemedicine deal will bolster UniDoc’s existing software, position UniDoc to provide “a more comprehensive and seamless” telehealth product overall, and give the company direct access to an established network of customers.

This strategic acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from the Canadian Securities Exchange, where UniDoc trades, if required. Baldassarre expects this deal to close by next week.

UniDoc has developed a cube-shaped, self-contained virtual kiosk called the H3 Health Cube to enable remote medical appointments and examinations with physicians. These cubes contain traditional medical and diagnostic tools, as well as artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled solutions aimed at facilitating consultations as though patients were present in a doctor’s office.

According to Baldassarre, the H3 Health Cube can help facilitate blood tests, urine analysis, electrocardiograms, dermatology assessments, X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography scans, dialysis, and more. Its system is designed to be integrated with hundreds of additional medical devices. UniDoc does not facilitate self-testing—the CEO noted that a nurse or trained technician is always physically present to operate medical instruments.

RELATED: Phoenix secures equity funding from Valspring, venture debt from CIBC for prescription drug service geared to men

Through its combined software-hardware offering, UniDoc hopes to replicate the in-person medical consultation process for patients in a variety of geographic areas, including rural regions and places where healthcare services have been affected by conflict.

UniDoc was founded in early 2021 and went public later that year. After three years of work developing its tech, UniDoc is now focused on commercialization, Baldassarre said. The company is targeting markets including healthcare ministries, rural areas, disaster zones, hospitals, defence ministries, academia, and retail.

Late last year, UniDoc delivered its first three AI-equipped H3 Health Cubes to clients, including a children’s hospital in Ukraine and the Aiutamoli a Vivere Foundation, an Italian aid group that plans to deploy it in places like Ukraine and Gaza.

The AMD Telemedicine product Agnes Connect is a secure, encrypted, cloud-based clinical examination platform that UniDoc already uses to integrate data from its devices with live video conferencing, documentation, and medical images.

UniDoc’s Neil Connect offering is a rebranded version of Agnes Connect, the software that serves as the platform for all of the company’s H3 Health Cubes. The Vancouver healthtech firm has been working with AMD Telemedicine for the past three years, and Baldassarre said acquisition discussions began three months ago. This agreement gives UniDoc full control of Agnes Connect, eliminating dependence on a third party.

According to Baldassarre, AMD Telemedicine previously let some of its employees go, but UniDoc plans to retain its engineers and sales team. Once the acquisition is complete, UniDoc intends to continue supporting Agnes Connect’s existing customers and grow its client base. At this time, Baldassarre said AMD Telemedicine will continue operating under its current name.

Feature image courtesy UniDoc Health.

The post Paging Dr. Cube: UniDoc to buy software from AMD Telemedicine to improve remote healthcare offering first appeared on BetaKit.

Toronto-based Sprout Family startup has closed a $1.7-million CAD pre-seed round as it looks to increase the accessibility of fertility, surrogacy, and adoption care to Canadians. 

The all-equity round, which closed this past October, was led by StandUp Ventures with participation from Blue Collective, MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, The51, Boon Fund, and some undisclosed Canadian angel investors. 

Sprout will focus on expanding its care team in the coming months to support its growing member base.

Founded in 2023 by CEO Jackie Hanson and COO Suzanne Mason, Sprout’s platform helps employers include comprehensive fertility, surrogacy, and adoption benefits in their health plans. Sprout sells its access to its platform to human resources and benefits teams, which in turn provide access to their employee members. 

The platform provides employees with educational family planning resources, a network of fertility clinics and surrogacy agencies, and unlimited telehealth appointments with specialists. Businesses can also add Sprout Pay to their package, which provides financial benefits to cover expenses related to fertility treatments, medications, surrogacy, and adoption.

Although paying a surrogate or paying a company to arrange surrogacy services is illegal in Canada under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, intended parents have to cover many costs related to surrogacy, such as for medications, travel, and non-covered medical services. Hanson told BetaKit in an email statement that Sprout helps its members navigate the complexities of both Canadian and international surrogacy, including process mapping, connection to legal support, and guidance on agency selection.

“We help our members choose between domestic and international options based on what’s best for them and their goals,” Hanson said.

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated one in six people worldwide experience infertility on average. While there are avenues to achieve conception despite fertility issues, many treatments and medications are very costly and are not covered by most Canadian employers.

Sprout will use its fresh capital to bolster its go-to-market efforts, expanding partnerships with insurers, benefits brokers, and employers, Hanson told BetaKit, adding that Sprout will also work on improving its platform with a strong focus on personalization and information transparency.

RELATED: Flora Fertility closes $1.5 million CAD to bring individual fertility insurance across North America

“We recognize that every path to parenthood is unique, and we’re committed to ensuring that everyone who needs support—whether for fertility treatments, surrogacy, egg freezing, adoption, or other family-building options—has access to the right resources and care,” Hanson said. 

The company currently has five full-time employees, a team it grew soon after the round closed, and five part-time contractors. Hanson said Sprout’s focus in the coming months is to expand its care team to support Sprout’s growing member base.

Sprout has seen significant growth and investment in fertility benefits since it launched last year, according to Hanson, and is now supporting thousands of members across the country. Sprout has also struck partnerships with major Canadian insurance carriers, including Canada Life, offering distribution access to over 10 million covered Canadians.  

Feature image courtesy Sprout Family.

The post Sprout Family raises $1.7 million pre-seed round to make fertility benefits more accessible in Canada first appeared on BetaKit.

The first time A&K Robotics’ self-driving mobility pod moved through Vancouver International Airport, it wasn’t an official airport service. 

It was a live test—one that few young startups get the chance to deliver.

“The measure of success is: how do we move the company to the next stage of self-sufficiency?”

Many startups would love to work with airports, which move huge amounts of people and goods, and some technology companies opt to focus on winning contracts in the United States in hopes it will convince Canadian airport buyers to take a chance.

A&K Robotics didn’t have to take this route.

Its compact, autonomous vehicle, built to help travellers with mobility challenges independently navigate airport terminals, was deployed in its home province of BC. 

The company secured its airport deployment through Innovate BC’s Integrated Marketplace, a program funded through the Government of B.C. and the Government of Canada designed to support local startups operating inside real-world testbeds so they can de-risk and prove their technology in live environments. 

The framework offers large companies like YVR the opportunity to de-risk their innovation adoption while the supporting solution providers can earn a large reference customer to help them access new, global markets.

“Several international airports have been asking to test our technology, but the Integrated Marketplace gave YVR the opportunity to embark on a meaningful project that emphasized scale,” said Jessica Yip, COO and co-founder for A&K Robotics. “As a deep-tech company, this meant that we could focus on product development, iterate quickly and accelerate our path to market.”

Two years after its launch, the Integrated Marketplace is no longer just creating testbeds for startups. It is changing where and how BC companies scale amid growing uncertainty.

Startups often struggle with the leap from prototype to paying customers, but the right support can make that jump happen faster. Peter Cowan, CEO of Innovate BC, believes the program is delivering on that promise.

“For me, the measure of success is: how do we move the company to the next stage of self-sufficiency?” Cowan said. “For some, that’s going from one or two pilots to double-digit deployments. For others, it’s getting their first sales. This program is helping companies clear those hurdles faster.”

A learning curve

The past year has made one thing clear: de-risking isn’t a single step. It’s a process. Startups often require a progression of wins that make commercialization and adoption inevitable.

“We’ve had projects where multiple testbed deployments build on each other,” Cowan added. “When companies reach the market, their technology is already proven, and they can expand internationally more efficiently.”

That pattern is starting to emerge across industries.

At BC’s ports, Victoria-based MarineLabs has deployed a coastal intelligence platform that provides real-time environmental data to improve safety and efficiency in maritime operations. 

Through the Integrated Marketplace, MarineLabs is running three projects at the Port of Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert, two of the busiest and most complex maritime environments in Canada. 

The startup, which captured the most extreme rogue wave ever recorded off the coast of Vancouver Island in 2020, provides real-time wind, wave, and weather data to port operators, vessel pilots, and coastal engineers. Each testbed through Integrated Marketplace offers a different, high-stakes application of the company’s flagship platform, CoastAware.

The Provincial Health Services Authority testbed, launched as the Integrated Marketplace’s fourth testbed in the summer of 2024, is digitizing pathology workflows to make quality digital images available in an interconnected cloud infrastructure, a novel approach in North America.

Tamara Vrooman, President and CEO for the Vancouver Airport Authority, says that the impact is felt not just operationally but more broadly for the province.

“YVR provides an ideal environment for local innovators and cleantech companies to develop and implement made-in-B.C. solutions that work at our airport and can likely be applied to other airports and industries,” Vrooman said. “We are very proud to be a testbed for innovation and to see solutions from this collaboration advance BC business, improve our operation, and benefit our community and the economy that supports it.”

According to Cowan, these deployments are creating a path for startups to move from early pilots to industry-wide adoption.

“We’ve had some global successes, companies that are growing, as well as expanding outside of North America,” Cowan added.

Rethinking the path to adoption

For decades, Canadian startups followed a familiar script: land a big US contract, then expand from there. That approach has historically worked for many startups, but that might be starting to change.

With US procurement policies shifting inward and a US-Canada trade war stoking unease across Canada’s economy, Cowan believes the strategy of using American customers as a launchpad is becoming less reliable.

“What the trade discussion really has put on the table is: where is the best place to diversify markets long-term, and how do we speed that up?” Cowan added.

That’s where Cowan believes the Integrated Marketplace can provide value.

It is not replacing US expansion, he said, but it is ensuring that startups don’t have to depend on it. The program is giving companies a way to land their first major customers in BC, find early traction while de-risking their technology, and then choose their next markets from a position of strength.

For BC startups, it’s an opportune time to gain that position. This year, Web Summit Vancouver is bringing a massive audience of global investors and technology leaders to the province for the first time. Innovate BC sees an opportunity to align the Integrated Marketplace with the incoming international attention on the local tech sector.

“If we combine the Integrated Marketplace with the work we’re doing around Web Summit Vancouver, it creates a one-plus-one-equals-three opportunity,” Cowan added. “We’re de-risking these technologies and giving them exposure at the same time.”

For companies that might have once looked to the US for validation, this combination offers a different path: proving their technology in BC and using that momentum to reach a global audience.

With $30 million in new funding from the provincial budget, Innovate BC is planning its next phase. The focus now is on scaling what’s working and identifying the next high-impact testbed.

A few years ago, the Integrated Marketplace was an experiment. Today, Cowan said it is proving to be one of BC’s most effective tools for preparing startups for global markets while keeping them rooted in the province.

“We’ve had great uptake in the first couple of years, and the lessons we’ve learned will make the next phase even stronger.”

PRESENTED BY

Innovate BC works to foster innovation across the province so that all British Columbians can benefit from a thriving, sustainable and inclusive innovation economy.

Learn more about how the Integrated Marketplace is working to accelerate and de-risk the adoption of cutting-edge innovations throughout BC.

All photos provided by Innovate BC.

The post It started as a testbed. Now it’s changing how BC tech grows first appeared on BetaKit.

A group of former Shopify employees have closed $4.1 million CAD in seed funding to fuel their goal to turn Page into the go-to platform for government relations.

The Kitchener-Waterloo software startup is developing an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform designed to track government activity and policy changes. Page’s flagship product is an “AI lobbyist” to help organizations monitor, analyze, and influence governments in real time. 

“The trade war and all the shifts that we’re seeing have caused a lot of uncertainty in the business world.”

Since its launch early last year, Page has advanced from a concept to a platform that offers coverage of governments across Canada, excluding municipalities and territories. The startup plans to use this fresh capital to invest in hiring and compute, and expand its platform to track government activity across the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK).

With a trade war underway and a federal election looming, Page co-founder and CEO Ben Cox argued that Page’s market timing “couldn’t have been better.”

“The uncertainty and the trade war and the tariffs and the change in government have really put a spotlight on companies needing to make sure they have good, clear, actionable insight into what’s happening … I think the current climate is just a really visceral example of why this is so important,” Cox told BetaKit in an interview.

Page’s all-equity, all-primary seed round closed in February. It was led by New York City’s Twelve Below, with support from fellow new investors, San Francisco-based Go Global Ventures and Canaan Partners, plus existing backers, Toronto’s Ripple Ventures and Kitchener-Waterloo’s Garage Capital. Cox declined to disclose Page’s valuation.

This financing brings Page’s total funding to more than $5.5 million CAD. That figure includes a $1.4-million CAD pre-seed round from April 2024, which was led by Ripple with support from Garage, the University of Waterloo’s Velocity Fund, and undisclosed angels, and was raised via simple agreement for future equity.

Founded in 2024 by Cox and CTO Elliot Dohm, Page is currently based at the University of Waterloo incubator Velocity. The Page co-founders previously spent approximately a decade working at Shopify in software development roles: Cox most recently served as a director of customer experience product engineering, while Dohm was an engineering manager. 

The other members of Page’s now six-person team have all previously worked at Shopify and worked on AI tools for businesses.

RELATED: “My god, this is exhausting”: US delays some tariffs against Canada until April

“We are excited to partner with Page because we believe Ben and Elliot are extraordinary founders with an ambitious vision to redefine how enterprises manage external relations with AI,” Twelve Below partner Byron Ling told BetaKit. “Recent technological breakthroughs in AI have made it possible to build products like Page, enabling companies to monitor, analyze, and influence government and media in real time at scale.”

For Cox, who studied politics and has always been interested in government, launching Page “was an opportunity to meld two worlds that I’m really passionate about” and build some tech for a space that he said features limited innovation.

Page claims its AI can ingest government data from a wide variety of sources, including video, audio, and written documents from committees, chambers, consultations, legislation, and news coverage, then analyze that info based on clients’ interests and concerns. 

Collectively, this represents “an absolutely preposterous amount of data” that is often not well organized and, historically, difficult to navigate, Cox said.

Cox claimed that Page “makes it really easy to see what’s going on” and does so much faster and more efficiently than a human is capable of doing on their own. The startup is also working to provide more analytics and help customers figure out how to get in front of the right people in government and pitch them on the issues that impact their organizations.

RELATED: University of Waterloo’s Velocity moves out of the garage and into the arena

According to Cox, Page has been generating traction with a variety of customers, including large enterprises, growth-stage companies, industry associations, and government-relations consultancies across industries like tech, manufacturing, and insurance. This includes clients who previously did government relations and those who otherwise could not afford to do so.

“Companies and organizations of all sizes are probably more familiar now than they have been in a long time [of] just how important it is to keep tabs on [the] government,” Cox said. “The trade war and all the shifts that we’re seeing have caused a lot of uncertainty in the business world.”

“Recent technological breakthroughs in AI have made it possible to build products like Page.”

Byron Ling, Twelve Below

Ling noted that “these fast-paced changes at global, federal, and local levels are creating volatility for large enterprises and generating an overwhelming amount of data that is impossible for a human to track alone.”

According to Cox, what Page is doing had not been possible until very recently thanks to recent advancements in AI.

These days, Cox argues that organizations cannot afford to only pay attention to governments in their own jurisdictions; they also need to “have that cross-border or even global perspective.”

With its US and UK expansion, Page hopes not only to sell into those markets but also to provide its existing clients based in other countries with more insight from abroad. This includes moving down to the municipal level as well.

“We want Page to be the go-to platform for doing government relations for everybody,” Cox said.

Feature image courtesy the University of Waterloo.

The post As trade war rages, Page raises $4.1 million to help organizations track government changes with AI first appeared on BetaKit.

Elevate’s CIX Summit 2025 will take place March 26 at Toronto’s Design Exchange. Like last year’s showcase, it promises to be a significant opportunity for Canadian tech startups to promote and grow their businesses—and for the broader tech ecosystem to discuss challenges facing the industry now and in the future. Here’s what you need to know, whether you’re attending the gathering or watching from afar.

BetaKit and TechTO are co-hosting an official afterparty at the Scotland Yard Pub.

This year’s event is compressed into one day, but follows a similar format to past years. Two venture capital leaders, Laura Lenz from OMERS Ventures and Prashant Matta from Panache Ventures, are leading opening remarks. They’ll discuss the status of the Canadian tech industry, including VC investments.

A series of pitch showcases will aim to highlight startups at various stages. In the morning, the Emerging category will feature the “most promising” businesses, including SXSW competition winner Xatoms. The Early category, meanwhile, covers very young but “high-potential” startups like insurance-automation newcomer Quandri. The growth category spotlights established but quickly-scaling firms like Float and Summit Nanotech.

Among the headlining speakers will be Clio founder Jack Newton, who is receiving CIX’s Innovator of the Year award and will share his experience building his legaltech brand. StackAdapt CEO Vitaly Pecherskiy, in turn, will share success stories that include a $235 million USD ($337 million CAD) investment round for the Toronto-based adtech firm last month.

RELATED: Consensus 2025 crypto conference will feature WonderFi’s Dean Skurka and Coinbase Canada’s CEO

Not surprisingly, the US trade war is taking centre stage at panel discussions. A morning panel with founders from Deloitte and District Ventures Capital, plus the Canadian Council of Innovators, will discuss the challenges of greater Canadian economic independence. An afternoon session will touch on how Canada can find a small silver lining in US President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI campaign by using it to attract diverse talent northward. Other panels address deep tech, regulation, proptech, semiconductors, and fintech.

Some of the biggest moves might take place behind the scenes. A new-for-2025 Investor Forum will see Kim Furlong, CEO of the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA), host a private session for high-profile investors. There are also five founder roundtables limited to Startup passholders, and four meeting exchange blocks where early- and growth-stage companies can chat with investors.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the CIX Summit without networking. BetaKit and TechTO are co-hosting an official afterparty at the Scotland Yard Pub that promises useful conversations alongside drinks. You have to be a CIX badge holder and reserve in advance.

Image of 2024 CIX summit courtesy of Elevate.

The post CEOs of Clio and StackAdapt, VC leaders from OMERS and Panache among headliners at CIX Summit 2025   first appeared on BetaKit.

Calgary-based lithium extraction startup Summit Nanotech has secured a $25.5-million USD ($36.5 million CAD) funding round to go from demonstration to commercialization. 

The round led by returning investors Evok Innovations and BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund, with participation from Xora Innovation, Capricorn Investment Group, LG Technology Ventures, and Japanese mining company Mitsui Kinzoku’s SBI Material Innovation Fund. 

“This funding comes at a pivotal time for Summit as we strengthen our strategic partnerships and transition from demonstration to full-scale commercial design,” Summit Nanotech founder and CEO Amanda Hall said in a statement. 

The startup recently commissioned a demonstration plant in Northern Chile.

Founded in 2018, Summit uses advanced nanomaterial and a data analytics platform to offer direct lithium extraction technology. Lithium is a critical chemical element used to manufacture batteries, including for electric vehicles. Summit claims that its patented denaLi product captures the lithium ion from brine water with minimal impact to the environment.

“We need to get more competitive lithium to market if we are to meet the global demand for electric vehicles,” BDC Capital Climate Tech Fund partner Cheri Corbett said in a statement, adding that Summit is the kind of growth-minded Canadian business BDC is designed to “help get to the next level.”

Summit said it has achieved a few key milestones in the past six months, including commissioning a demonstration plant in Northern Chile, one of the largest sources of lithium in the world. 

RELATED: Mangrove Lithium secures $50.4 million to construct lithium refining plant in British Columbia

The company last raised $50 million USD ($67.4 million CAD, at the time) in what it classified as a “Series A2 round” in January 2023. Hall called the raise a bridge round, and noted that Summit hoped to raise a larger Series B round that gives it a “high valuation” at a later date. 

In September 2023, Bloomberg reported that Summit was looking to raise a $150-million Series B round at a valuation between $400 million and $600 million. Hall also told Bloomberg at the time that her company may also look to go public, or be acquired by a lithium producer or electric-vehicle maker. As of now, it appears none of the three options has panned out, outside of this latest raise. BetaKit has reached out to Summit for more details on its efforts to raise a Series B round but did not hear back by press time.  

Summit Nanotech was one of the many returning Canadian companies on this year’s Global Cleantech 100 list. The list, developed by San Francisco-based research and consulting firm Cleantech Group, aims to predict what cleantech companies around the world will make a substantial impact on the market in the next five to 10 years.

Feature image courtesy Summit Nanotech via Facebook.

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Canadian-born company D-Wave Quantum Systems said it achieved “quantum supremacy” last week after publishing what it calls a groundbreaking paper in the prestigious journal Science. Despite the lofty term, Canadian experts say supremacy is not the be-all, end-all of quantum innovation. 

D-Wave, which has labs in Palo Alto, Calif., and Burnaby, BC, claimed in a statement that it has shown “the world’s first and only demonstration of quantum computational supremacy on a useful, real-world problem.”

It is a very important and mostly academic metric, but certainly not the most important in the grand scheme of things.

Martin Laforest, Quantacet

Coined in the early 2010s by physicist John Preskill, quantum supremacy is the ability of a quantum computing system to solve a problem no classical computer can in a feasible amount of time. The metric makes no mention of whether the problem needs to be useful or relevant to real life. Google researchers published a paper in Nature in 2019 claiming they cleared that bar with the Sycamore quantum processor. Researchers at the University of Science and Technology in China claimed they demonstrated quantum supremacy several times. 

D-Wave’s attempt differs in that its researchers aimed to solve a real-world materials-simulation problem with quantum computing—one the company claims would be nearly impossible for a traditional computer to solve in a reasonable amount of time. D-Wave used an annealing designed to solve optimization problems. The problem is represented like an energy space, where the “lowest energy state” corresponds to the solution. 

While exciting, quantum supremacy is just one metric among several that mark the progress toward widely useful quantum computers, industry experts told BetaKit. 

RELATED: Is Québec Canada’s quantum province? 

“It is a very important and mostly academic metric, but certainly not the most important in the grand scheme of things, as it doesn’t take into account the usefulness of the algorithm,” said Martin Laforest, managing partner at Quantacet, a specialized venture capital fund for quantum startups. 

He added that Google and Xanadu’s past claims to quantum supremacy were “extraordinary pieces of work, but didn’t unlock practicality.” 

Laforest, along with executives at Canadian quantum startups Nord Quantique and Photonic, say that the milestones of ‘quantum utility’ or ‘quantum advantage’ may be more important than supremacy. 

According to Quantum computing company Quera, quantum advantage is the demonstration of a quantum algorithm solving a real-world problem on a quantum computer faster than any classical algorithm running on any classical computer. On the other hand, quantum utility, according to IBM, refers to when a quantum computer is able to perform reliable computations at a scale beyond brute-force classical computing methods that provide exact solutions to computational problems. 

Julien Camirand Lemyre, CEO of Nord Quantique, said that in order to achieve supremacy, utility, or advantage consistently, companies must have “high-performance quantum error correction” to scale. Building large-scale quantum systems creates more and more errors, so achieving error correction at the qubit level, which is Nord Quantique’s focus, is key to useful quantum computing. 

A qubit, or quantum bit, is the basic unit of information for quantum systems, like binary bits composed of ones and zeros in classical computing. Qubits can exist in two states at once—zero and one—allowing for alternative, and in some cases accelerated, approaches to problem solving. 

Founded in 2020 out of Université de Sherbrooke, Nord Quantique develops processors for quantum computing. Last year, the startup claimed it achieved a new milestone for quantum error correction by integrating it into each qubit. 

A shifting term

Error correction hasn’t traditionally been considered a requirement for quantum supremacy, but Laforest told BetaKit the term is “an ever-moving target, constantly challenged by advances in classical algorithms.” He added: “In my opinion, some level of supremacy or utility may be possible in niche areas without error correction, but true disruption requires it.”

Paul Terry, CEO of Vancouver-based Photonic, thinks that though D-Wave’s claim to quantum supremacy shows “continued progress to real value,” scalability is the industry’s biggest hurdle to overcome.

“The critical question now is whether a given quantum computing architecture has a clear path to scaling to hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of high-quality logical qubits,” Terry wrote in an email to BetaKit. 

Photonic recently claimed it achieved a breakthrough in quantum error correction that could mean up to 20 times fewer qubits are needed for computations. 

D-Wave says that its quantum annealing approach tackles both error correction and enterprise problems at scale. 

But as with many milestone claims in the quantum space, D-Wave’s latest innovation has been met with scrutiny from industry competitors and researchers on the breakthrough’s significance, claiming that classical computers have achieved similar results. Laforest echoed this sentiment.

“Personally, I wouldn’t say it’s an unequivocal demonstration of supremacy, but it is a damn nice experiment that once again shows the murky zone between traditional computing and early quantum advantage,” Laforest said.

Originally founded out of the University of British Columbia, D-Wave went public on the New York Stock Exchange just over two years ago through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company in 2022. D-Wave became a Delaware-domiciled corporation as part of the deal.

Earlier this year, D-Wave’s stock price dropped after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang publicly stated that he estimated that useful quantum computers were more than 15 years away. D-Wave’s stock price, which had been struggling, has seen a considerable bump in recent months alongside a broader boost in the quantum market. The price popped after its most recent earnings, shared right after its quantum supremacy announcement. 

Image of D-Wave 2000Q Processors courtesy of D-Wave. 

The post How meaningful is D-Wave’s claim to quantum supremacy? first appeared on BetaKit.

Canada’s largest tech company Shopify is voluntarily transferring its United States (US) stock exchange listing from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to the Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq).

Shopify expects its Class A Subordinate Voting Shares to cease trading on the NYSE at market close next Friday, March 28, and commence trading on the Nasdaq on Monday, March 31, the company said in a statement. Shopify will continue trading under the ticker symbol SHOP, and its Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) listing remains unaffected. 

Shopify’s TSX stock price jumped eight percent following the news, as of noon Wednesday. 

In response to questions from BetaKit, a Shopify spokesperson did not explain why the company transferred its listing or the benefits a Nasdaq listing has over the NYSE, but said that Shopify is “excited to join the Nasdaq community and be listed among the most innovative tech companies in the world.”

The Nasdaq is the much newer exchange (it was founded in 1971 to the NYSE’s 1792), and differentiates itself by holding listings for most major tech stocks, while the NYSE is known as a home for more traditional companies. Companies like Apple, Alphabet (the parent company of Google), Amazon, and Nvidia make up some of the Nasdaq’s top listings, while the NYSE features giants like Boeing, General Motors, and Walmart. 

RELATED: Shopify’s latest SEC filings show potential to become US-domiciled, TD analyst warns

The stock listing transfer appears to be another move that brings Shopify closer to its peers in American tech. In a 10-K filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month, Shopify listed its office in New York City alongside its normally standalone Ottawa headquarters. A 10-K form is required from domestic issuers. Until a few weeks ago, Shopify had been filing the 40-F form used by foreign issuers. The company also modified how it reported its assets, reorienting its assets from majority Canadian to majority US-based. 

While TD Securities managing director Peter Haynes said the changes could accelerate Shopify’s potential to be a US-domiciled company, a Shopify spokesperson told BetaKit at the time that Shopify chose to voluntarily file the 10-K form “in order to align our disclosures more closely with other software peers we believe our investors are familiar with.”

Disclosure: BetaKit majority owner Good Future is the family office of two former Shopify leaders, Arati Sharma and Satish Kanwar.

Feature image courtesy Shopify.

The post Shopify to transfer US stock listing to Nasdaq, remain on TSX first appeared on BetaKit.

In 2005, a routine sales call changed the trajectory of John Solomos’ career. 

While working his first tech job at Dell, a representative from the non-profit OntarioMD reached out looking for recommendations on the best computers for doctors.

“Markham has done a fantastic job at showing people, ‘we’re building this for you.’”

John Solomos, BlueBird IT Solutions

“Upon speaking with him for a few minutes, I knew right away they were looking at making a push to get medical clinics digitized. I knew I wanted to be a part of that wave, so the next morning, I incorporated BlueBird,” Solomos recalled.

Starting as a one-man operation in his basement in Markham, Ont., BlueBird IT Solutions evolved into a trusted IT provider for medical professionals across Canada.

Just a few years after that sales call, BlueBird became the preferred vendor for OntarioMD. 

Today, from its headquarters in Markham, the company partners with physicians across Canada, helping them adopt and implement technology systems. Beyond setup, they serve as a trusted IT partner, supporting thousands of family doctors, specialists, and hospital practitioners in leveraging electronic medical records (EMR) and other technologies to enhance patient care nationwide.

Solomos said starting a business wasn’t completely out of the blue, but it wasn’t his original plan either. After graduating, he was accepted to Osgoode Hall Law School but ultimately chose to decline and take his first job in tech instead. While there, he approached the role as if he were running his own business, so when the time came to launch BlueBird, it felt like a natural next step.

When OntarioMD first introduced the initiative to digitize medical clinics, the necessary infrastructure simply didn’t exist. Solomos said BlueBird IT Solutions aimed to bridge that gap, partnering with all the approved and major EMR companies across Canada, which helped drive EMR adoption to over 90 percent across the country.

“That foundation is now enabling the next wave of medical innovation,” Solomos added. “Without the infrastructure we helped put in place—allowing doctors to run software and securely store and access patient records—none of the advancements we see today would be possible.”

According to Solomos, Markham’s tech ecosystem created the conditions for his company’s expansion. 

The City of Markham sits just 30 kilometres north of Toronto, but it’s playing an outsized role in Canada’s tech sector. More than 1,500 tech companies employ more than 35,000 sector workers in the city, backed by a strong education system and support from all levels of government, funders, and enterprise organizations.

​Markham’s emergence as a tech hub dates back to the 1980s, a period during which numerous high-tech companies established their presence in the city, such as IBM, Motorola, Toshiba, Honeywell, Apple, and ATI Technologies (now part of AMD). This influx spawned a number of other high-growth companies in the following decades, and earned Markham the moniker of “Canada’s high-tech capital.”

Alongside a strong network of accelerator resources like ventureLAB and YSpace, Markham welcomed York University’s highly anticipated campus last spring. The new campus offers innovative, work-integrated programs focused on technology and entrepreneurship.

As a way to give back to the city he loves, Solomos donated $75,000 to York University’s new Markham campus in 2022. In recognition of his contribution, the university named the “John Solomos Collaborative Study Room” in his honour.

“Seeing that York University decided to make their high-tech, entrepreneurial campus have a home in Markham, just shows that the university is also buying into the fact that Markham is really trying to become an entrepreneurial hotbed,” said Solomos. “When the opportunity came to invest in something that represents what I’m good at, the type of person I am, and in my hometown, it didn’t feel right not to.” 

BlueBird has grown to support 700 clients on monthly contracts, earning industry recognition and securing major partnerships along the way, including collaboration in a Canadian Space Agency-funded consortium to develop a prototype medical pod for space exploration, as well as WELLSTAR, a subsidiary of WELL Health Technologies. Today, BlueBird is Canada’s largest IT-managed services provider in healthcare.

“We’re gearing up to become a global leader,” Solomos added. “Our vision is not just to support Canadian healthcare but to help Canada become an exporter of health tech solutions worldwide, an effort that would put Markham on the map as a hub for cutting-edge health technology and innovation.”

Solomos believes Markham is the perfect place to grow a company thanks to its diverse talent pool and high quality of life. 

He said Markham has deliberately positioned itself as a destination for high-growth businesses, and believes that the city offers a hub for tech companies to scale without the cost pressures founders face in Toronto. He also sees recent investments in developing Markham’s downtown core and university partnerships making the city a stronger magnet for talent and companies. 

“Markham has done a fantastic job at showing people, ‘we’re building this for you.’”

PRESENTED BY

Markham is an enabler of tech startups with a growth mindset. Learn more about how we support local entrepreneurs.

All photos provided by John Solomos.

The post A tech founder’s love letter to Markham first appeared on BetaKit.

Toronto-based proptech startup Doormat has rebranded to Ownright and secured $4.5 million CAD in seed funding to help more Ontarians close residential real estate deals.

Ownright, which offers legal services for property closings, plans to use this capital to expand its team and invest in automation and product innovation as it looks to hone its process, capture more of the Ontario home sales market, and become “the go-to legal partner for real estate transactions.”

“Right now, we’re really focused on just delivering [an] exceptional experience doing one thing and doing it really well,” Ownright co-founder and CEO Robert Saunders told BetaKit in an interview.

“Our ambition is to become Canada’s real estate lawyer.”

Robert Saunders, Ownright

The startup’s all-equity, all-primary seed financing, which closed in late December, was co-led by existing Toronto backers Alate Partners and Relay Ventures, with support from undisclosed angel investors. Saunders declined to disclose Ownright’s valuation.

Founded in 2022 by Saunders, COO Joel Fox, and chief legal officer Benjamin Berry, Ownright provides tech and legal services to simplify the traditionally complex process of closing residential real estate transactions. The startup aims to make property closings, mortgage refinancing, and status certificate reviews more affordable, convenient, and transparent for home buyers and sellers, taking a fee from every purchase, sale, or refinancing.

Ownright competes largely against small, traditional real estate law firms, which Saunders said typically have limited tech capacity. Saunders views Ownright’s vertically-integrated approach—which involves both software and in-house lawyers who operate under a partner law firm—as a differentiator. Fellow Toronto startup Deeded is taking a similar approach.

This round brings Ownright’s total funding to $6.5 million. This figure also includes $1.25 million in convertible note pre-seed financing, in which Alate led and Relay participated, from when the startup launched in 2023. Saunders said that Ownright processed over $150 million in total transactions that year.

Ownright claims it has now facilitated more than 1,000 real estate transactions across Ontario, collectively worth more than $750 million. The company, which is processing hundreds of deals monthly, expects to cross the $1-billion volume mark by the end of this year.

While Ownright has been generating a lot of traction among first-time home buyers and sellers in particular, Saunders said that the company serves a wide variety of clients, including real estate investors and multi-property owners. The startup’s growth to date has largely been driven by referrals from real estate agents and mortgage brokers.

RELATED: Doormat raises $1.25 million to make real estate legal services easier

“We believe Ownright is solving a critical gap in the market by making real estate law more transparent and accessible to home buyers and sellers,” Alate partner Courtney Cooper, who is joining Ownright’s board, said in a statement. “Their approach combines technology with human expertise in a way that no traditional law firm has been able to achieve.”

Ownright initially intended to use its pre-seed capital to expand into British Columbia and Alberta. But Saunders said the startup “learned a lot about how to scale its operations” since then, ultimately deciding to postpone those plans and remain focused on Ontario for the time being, where it still has less than a one-percent market share and sees plenty of room to grow.

Saunders said Ownright wants to prove its model in Ontario before exporting it to other provinces—which remains part of the company’s longer-term gameplan. 

“Our ambition is to become Canada’s real estate lawyer,” Saunders said.

Ownright plans to invest in marketing and bolster its customer experience, back-office tooling, and internal operations to ensure it is ready to scale to service more transactions. To support these goals, Ownright plans to expand its 19-person team to 25 employees.

Feature image courtesy Ownright.

The post Doormat becomes Ownright, closes $4.5 million to help more Ontarians seal real estate deals first appeared on BetaKit.

Canadian telecommunications giant Telus has partnered with global semiconductor manufacturer Nvidia to upgrade the artificial intelligence (AI) compute power of its Rimouski, Que. data centre and turn it into a “Sovereign AI Factory.”

Announced today at Nvidia’s GTC conference for AI developers, Telus is using its newfound status as an official Nvidia Cloud Partner to deploy the latest generation of Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs) at its Rimouski, Que. data centre by this summer. Supercomputers using Nvidia’s AI-focused Hopper and Blackwell chip architecture will power the data centre, enabling faster AI model training, fine-tuning, and advanced inference capabilities, according to the Canadian telecom giant.

Telus is beginning its rollout with up to 500 Hopper GPU units in one module at the Rimouski facility starting this summer, Telus spokesperson Athyu Eleti told BetaKit in an email statement. The data centre features a 10,000-square-foot server module which will be used for the first phase, but has capacity for six additional modules for future expansion, Eleti added, declining to disclose how much the project will cost.

“Canadians can build, train, scale and deploy AI in a secure environment compliant with Canada’s security standards and privacy regulations.”

The upgraded data centre is a “super-secure facility” that aims to help Canadian businesses and researchers develop AI products by providing the supercomputers and software needed to train AI while keeping data within Canada’s borders, Telus said in a statement.

While there’s no fixed date yet, Eleti said that Telus plans to expand the effort to its Kamloops, BC data centre after launching the initial cluster in Rimouski.

“With the Sovereign AI Factory, we’re now giving our customers the accelerated computing power needed to grow, compete globally and shape the future of AI — right here in Canada,” Telus chief information officer Hesham Fahmy said in a statement. “Collaborating with Nvidia gives us the advanced computing capabilities needed to drive Canadian AI innovation while strengthening Canadian digital independence.”

The data centre upgrade comes as Canada attempts to stay in the international race for AI computing power. In January, the United States announced a $500-billion partnership between OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank to build out AI infrastructure, while the Canadian government launched the Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy this past December.

RELATED: Canadian government opens $300-million AI Compute Access Fund in latest AI commitment

The strategy outlines how Canada will deploy $2 billion CAD for AI computing power and finance the expansion of commercial AI data centres in Canada. The feds committed an initial investment of up to $240 million CAD to Toronto-based AI startup Cohere to build a multibillion-dollar AI data centre in the country. Eleti told BetaKit that Telus has engaged in preliminary consultations and discussions for funding from the government’s Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy, but is prepared to go forward without it.

The Province of Alberta is also trying to position itself as a leader in the space, publishing its own AI data centre strategy with hopes of attracting $100 billion in investment to the province.  

Data centres and AI consume a notorious amount of energy, with data centre power demand expected to grow 160 percent by 2030 due to increased AI use, according to a May 2024 report from Goldman Sachs. Such use could potentially cause data centres to account for up to four percent of overall power consumption worldwide by the end of the decade, and double their current carbon emissions. 

Telus claims that the upgraded data centre will use its fibre-optic network powered by 99 percent renewable energy sources, primarily receiving hydroelectric power, and that its data centres use less electricity to power AI computing workloads. Telus also claimed its facilities rely on “natural cooling,” relying on cold outside air with limited use of mechanical systems, cutting its water consumption by more than 75 percent compared to traditional data centres.

Telus is one of the companies that has signed on to the federal government’s voluntary AI code of conduct on the responsible development and management of advanced generative AI systems. Unveiled in September 2023, the code identifies measures that organizations are encouraged to apply to their operations when they are developing and managing general-purpose generative AI systems. The code outlines key measures organizations can adopt to mitigate the limitations of AI, and encourages principles such as transparency, fairness and equity, and accountability.

“By using this secure, high-performance AI Factory, Canadian businesses can develop local solutions to local challenges, ensuring Canadians can build, train, scale and deploy AI in a secure environment compliant with Canada’s security standards and privacy regulations,” Telus said in a statement. 

Another company with strong Canadian ties announced a Nvidia partnership at GTC. Mountain View, Calif.-based autonomous trucking startup Gatik, which has an office in Toronto and some Canadian investors, will develop and deploy Nvidia’s DRIVE AGX in-vehicle compute architecture across its fleet of driverless freight vehicles. Gatik said in a statement that the partnership will help in deploying its autonomous trucks at scale across new markets for customers such as Walmart, Kroger, and Tyson Foods.

UPDATE (03/18/2025): This story has been updated with information shared by a Telus spokesperson.

UPDATE (03/19/2025): This story has been updated to note Telus is in preliminary discussions for Canadian Sovereign AI Strategy funding.

Feature image courtesy Telus.

The post Telus partners with Nvidia to transform its data centre into a Canadian “Sovereign AI Factory” first appeared on BetaKit.

The Government of Canada is investing a total of $36.6 million in five Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) networks in hopes of fostering emerging technology sectors and attracting major investments.

This wave of SIF investments is targeted at categories with a high performance record and strong growth potential.

Unveiled last week by then Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne, who has since moved to finance and had his position filled by Anita Anand, the investments include $10 million for the Clean Resource Innovation Network to help reduce the oil and gas sector’s effect on the environment.

As part of the funding commitments, two agtech networks get further backing. The Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network is receiving another $8 million to bolster the value chain in the sector and improve productivity through automation and AI. The Canadian Food Innovation Network, in turn, will get $8.6 million to speed up food processing and production.

Natural Products Canada will have $5 million to accelerate life science innovations for humans, animals, and plants, while the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator will receive a similar amount to spur industry “modernization,” bolster supply chains, and boost domestic output.

RELATED: Anita Anand named innovation minister, Champagne moved to finance in new Carney cabinet

This latest wave of SIF investments is targeted at categories with a “high performance record and with strong growth potential,” according to Champagne. He claimed the money would  secure “high-paying Canadian jobs” and allow industries to grow in a “rapidly evolving technology landscape.”

The investments amount to “investing in good jobs, economic growth, and a more competitive Canada,” said Marc Serré, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.

The SIF was launched in 2017 and initially planned to allocate $1.26 billion over five years to fuel investments, support research and development, and scale promising companies. The government claims the fund has so far backed more than 750 small- to medium-sized businesses, adding more than 1,200 jobs and drawing investments worth over $1.7 billion.

Past SIF recipients have been involved in aerospace (the Initiative for Sustainable Aviation Technology), edge computing (Fabrication of Integrated Components for the Internet’s Edge), and telecommunications (the Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks).

The announcement comes as the Canadian government and numerous businesses are eager to reduce their dependence on American companies, given US President Donald Trump’s constantly changing tariff plans. That includes support for “buy Canadian” movements as well as product features that encourage local shopping.

Image courtesy of Aleksandr Galenko on Unsplash.

The post Canada invests $36.6 million in Strategic Innovation Fund technology networks first appeared on BetaKit.

Each year, TD Merchant Solutions surveys its business customers about top-of-mind challenges and priorities.  One recurring theme, particularly among small businesses, is the complexity of launching online sales.

“It starts with our customers,” said Patricia Yun, Head of Digital Commerce at TD Merchant Solutions. “Every year we do research and when we talk to our customers, we hear, especially from small businesses, how complicated it can be to start selling online.”

“If you’re a small business and you’re trying to digitally transform, we want to make that easy.”

Patricia Yun, TD

This feedback contributed to the bank’s decision to launch TD eCommerce Solutions in the fall of 2024.

Powered by BigCommerce, TD eCommerce Solutions, is available to new or existing TD Business Banking customers. It offers an easy to customize e-commerce platform with  a full suite of capabilities including store design, order management, hosting, fraud prevention tools and card payment processing with TD. 

Yun said that managing cash flow is also vitally important to small businesses, so the platform provides same-day deposits to those with TD accounts, which means customers have faster access to funds when they process credit and debit card payments. Without this service, deposits can sometimes take two to three business days to process.

Small businesses play a vital role in the Canadian economy, she said, creating jobs and boosting innovation and supporting communities. To help, TD is committed to providing small business customers with the tools they need to succeed. 

While e-commerce might have surged during the pandemic, demand hasn’t waned. According to recent data from Statistics Canada, online sales increased by seven percent in Canada in 2023, indicating a sustained shift toward digital platforms. Yun said TD saw an opportunity to continue to help small businesses navigate their digital transformation and reduced some of the barriers to do so.

“Often, when you’re a small business, you have to make so many choices,” Yun said. “You have to pick between a website provider, who would host it, and a payment provider. If you don’t have development or tech resources, that can be really challenging.”

TD’s internal research showed that 64 percent of its businesses didn’t want a patchwork of tools. They wanted a single, streamlined solution. To build that, TD needed an e-commerce provider, so the bank worked with BigCommerce to begin developing the bundled solution in 2023.

According to Yun, one of the major challenges associated with the launch was having a platform that could offer hands-on support for businesses unfamiliar with e-commerce.

“Servicing was a top priority, and that was one of the primary reasons we chose to work with BigCommerce,” she added.

BigCommerce serves a wide range of brands, retailers, manufacturers and distributors of all sizes to build, innovate and grow their businesses online, which Yun said allows TD to provide access to a platform that can scale as businesses grow. She also pointed to BigCommerce’s plug-and-play design and library of ready-to-use templates, which allow users to quickly launch a professional online store without the need for heavy customization or development skills.

Provider-agnostic, BigCommerce gives merchants the freedom to choose the tools that work best for them, without being locked into one system. “We really wanted to give businesses that flexibility of choice with respect to shipping providers, email providers, or CRM providers within the platform,” Yun added.

Yun said that a simple onboarding and billing experience was important. “Instead of getting bills from multiple vendors and having to manage that, we’ve streamlined that to one setup in one bill,” Yun said.

Helping merchants protect their businesses from fraud was another priority in the launch of TD’s e-commerce platform. “According to a recent report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 50 percent of Canadian small businesses have experienced either attempted or successful fraud in the past year,” Yun added. “About 81 percent of our customers tell us they want stronger fraud prevention tools.”

Yun said TD has enabled a number of fraud prevention tools including real-time fraud scoring and 3D Secure, which adds an extra layer of verification to online card transactions, to help merchants using its e-commerce platform protect their businesses from fraud. 

“If you’re a small business and you’re trying to digitally transform, we want to make that easy,” she said. “We do no-to-low-code solutions so you don’t need a tech department or development knowledge.”

Whether that’s enough to carve out a foothold in a crowded market remains to be seen, but for Yun, the focus is less on competing with tech giants, and more on removing the barriers for small businesses trying to go digital. TD’s entry brings something different to the table: a banking-first perspective on the challenges that entrepreneurs face online.

PRESENTED BY

For more information on TD eCommerce Solutions, please visit our website.

Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Headshot of Patricia Yun provided by TD.

The post Why a Canadian bank launched an e-commerce platform  first appeared on BetaKit.

Winnipeg-based advertising technology company Taiv has purchased the founding team and assets of Local Reach, a nascent Kingston, Ont. startup with a similar solution for business televisions.

“It just seemed like we were building two sides of the same coin.”

Noah Palansky,
Taiv

As part of this cash-and-stock transaction, Taiv will bring on Local Reach co-founders Evan Ferreira and Joseph Liao as well as some of the startup’s tech in what Taiv co-founder and CEO Noah Palansky described as “more of an acquihire in nature.” Both companies declined to disclose the purchase price or other financial terms of the deal, which closed in February and marks Taiv’s first acquisition to date.

Taiv and Local Reach, which were both started as the result of barroom banter while watching hockey games, have been independently developing artificial intelligence (AI) products designed to help bars, restaurants, and other small businesses boost profits by delivering more targeted ads and other content to their customers via their existing TV sets, from commercials to venue-specific specials and events, to trivia.

“It just seemed like we were building two sides of the same coin,” Palansky told BetaKit in an exclusive interview.

Taiv has built a presence in the United States (US), while Local Reach has sought to do the same in Canada over the past year. Palansky expects the deal to support Taiv’s coming expansion into the Canadian market.

Local Reach was founded in 2024 by Liao and Ferreira as an AI research project. Ferreira told BetaKit that he and Liao were watching a National Hockey League playoff game at a bar when an ad for a funeral home came on—which felt strange given the establishment’s patrons. “It really spoke to the fact that there is no way for these restaurants and bars to optimize what content is being played when, and to what customers, inside of their venues,” he added.

Ferreira and Liao decided to team up to try and address this. They developed proprietary AI models trained on classifying content in Canadian TV feeds and acquired customers in Kingston before expanding into Mississauga and Toronto, eventually growing to seven employees, funding its operations via revenue and government grants.

Ferreira initially contacted Palansky to explore partnership opportunities. “Evan reached out completely cold, actually, with just an email,” Palansky said. “I believe the subject was something along the lines of, ‘I like your business so much, I tried to build it.’” 

RELATED: Winnipeg tech hubs merge to revitalize Manitoba’s startup ecosystem

The Local Reach co-founder had seen what Taiv had been building south of the border and wanted to do the same in Canada. Ferreira said they quickly realized the two companies were aligned on everything from product vision to values and approach, and ultimately decided that it made the most sense to join forces.

“It felt like such a natural fit,” Palansky said. “Either we’re going to bump heads and go against each other as competitors, or we could bring these smart, capable guys and their tech that they built on board and do it together.”

Liao and Ferreira are relocating to Winnipeg, where they will join Taiv’s 39-person team in its product division and bolster the company’s AI expertise, work to integrate some of Local Reach’s tech, and support the company’s plans to move into the Canadian market. Local Reach’s other four active team members at the time of the deal—who were interns with work terms that were ending—are not joining Taiv.

Founded in 2018 by Palansky, CTO Jordan Davis, and chief business officer Avi Stoller, Taiv aims to make business TVs more valuable and entertaining. The startup offers a small box that connects to clients’ existing cable boxes and TVs and automatically switches between cable, streaming channels, digital signage, and trivia, aiming to show the best content and ads for any environment.

RELATED: Prosus to acquire SkipTheDishes parent company JustEat Takeaway in $6.2-billion deal

Taiv’s proprietary AI model analyzes the live video feed and switches sources during commercial breaks, show changes, or based on the time of day. The company offers its product for free to venues, making money by selling ads, and Taiv shares a portion of this revenue with these businesses. 

The startup has raised millions in venture capital funding to date from a group of investors that includes Kitchener-Waterloo’s Garage Capital, Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator (YC), FJ Labs, and others. Palansky declined to share the exact amount. 

Taiv launched in the southern US in 2021 due to Canada’s heightened COVID-19 restrictions at the time. Today, Taiv serves more than 1,000 bars and restaurants and more than 500 retail establishments, including convenience stores and gas stations, across 14 major US markets. 

Taiv plans to hire over 30 people in Manitoba in 2025 to support its Canadian expansion.

Palansky said Taiv saw 400-percent growth last year, and has been generating positive earnings before income, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) since mid-2024, but declined to disclose the startup’s current revenue or EBITDA.

Taiv plans to launch in Winnipeg this July as a test Canadian market ahead of a broader expansion across the country beginning in 2026. The startup intends to hire more than 30 people in Manitoba over the next nine months to support these efforts, Taiv’s continued growth in the US, and its product development plans.

The adtech company’s founders were born and raised in Winnipeg, and Palansky said that Taiv plans to stay in the city “forever.”

“We had a lot of pressure during YC to move to San Francisco, we’ve had lots of pressure from investors to move to Toronto, and we’ve kind of held firm that Winnipeg is a great market,” he added. “It’s got great, smart, hard-working, loyal people, and they just need a couple of big tech winners to really launch an ecosystem here, and it’s something we’re passionate about.”

Feature image courtesy Taiv.

The post Taiv acquihires fellow Canadian adtech startup Local Reach to aid expansion plans first appeared on BetaKit.

Led by two ex-sales development representatives (SDRs), Calgary-based Quack has closed $500,000 CAD in pre-seed funding to advance its efforts to build “the cold-calling platform.”

Quack co-founders, CEO Taylor Del Giudice and COO Jacob DiCarlo, previously worked as SDRs at Vancouver-based market intelligence software company Klue. During their time there, Del Giudice said the pair found cold calling to be an often fruitful, but also time-consuming and manual labour-intensive way of booking sales meetings and generating new business.

“We felt the problem personally, and we wanted to fix that.”

Taylor Del Giudice,
Quack

In an exclusive interview with BetaKit, Del Giudice said they went out looking for other platforms in the parallel dialling space to make things easier, but found they either cost too much, were not focused on the needs of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), or both, and after interviewing some other folks who felt the same way, decided to build an alternative.

“We felt the problem personally, and we wanted to fix that,” Del Giudice said.

Quack’s all-primary, all-equity round closed last month. It was led by Calgary’s Metiquity Ventures—which invested $400,000—with participation from undisclosed angels. It brings Quack’s total funding to $600,000, including past support from Montréal’s FounderFuel, ex-Lightspeed Commerce and Ssense chief technology and product officer Jim Texier, and Simon Wahl, former vice-president of marketing at Flinks. 

“At Metiquity, we invest in founders with deep industry experience who intimately understand customer workflows and use that insight to drive product development,” Metiquity co-founder and managing partner Bryan Slauko told BetaKit. “Taylor and Jacob, having worked as SDRs and made thousands of cold calls, know firsthand what their customers need and are building a solution to address those challenges. Early customer traction validates their approach.”

Del Giudice launched the startup in 2023 with DiCarlo, and Amin Safavi, an experienced software developer, joined as Quack’s co-founder and CTO last year.

According to Del Giudice, cold calling typically entails phoning up a large swath of potential customers, connecting with a small portion of them, and booking sales meetings with a fraction of that group. 

To put things in perspective, the CEO said that chatting with 10 prospects and booking a single meeting from 100 cold calls marks a “pretty solid” result.

“That means you’ve made 90 dials where you just sat there and waited and waited for it to go to voicemail,” Del Giudice said. He said each of those calls can take upwards of two minutes, plus more time updating customer relationship management (CRM) systems to track them.

RELATED: Forma.ai’s first acquisition nets fellow Toronto sales software startup SeaMonster

Enter Quack, which is developing software that allows customers to cold call multiple prospects simultaneously—up to four currently—using parallel dialling and automated voicemail detection. It also automates updates to CRM platforms like HubSpot, Outreach, and SalesLoft, all towards the goal of helping clients book more meetings in less time.

“If you take a normal SDR … let’s say they make 60 dials in a day—it’s going to take them a few hours to get that done,” Del Giudice said. “We come in and help you be able to call the same [number] of prospects, if not more, in minutes instead of hours.”

The startup’s ultimate ambition is to “be the cold calling platform for not just B2B (business-to-business) tech, but everyone who does cold calls in general,” Del Giudice said.

“Quack has a significant market opportunity, addressing the frustration SDR teams face with complex, expensive enterprise software that doesn’t meet their needs,” Slauko said. “By offering a simple, intuitive solution at an affordable price, Quack is solving a clear problem and making adoption easy for customers.”

RELATED: FinTech startup reach sells majority stake to US-based Primus Capital

Hundreds of SDRs are already using Quack’s platform, including employees at B2B software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies like Suzy, Moengage, Ontop, Ottimate, and Inky. According to Del Giudice, over one million dials have been made using Quack to date.

Quack plans to use this funding to expand and refine its product by implementing artificial intelligence, improving its dialling experience, and offering better analytics, among other things. The startup intends to add two people to its three-person team to support these plans.

The startup, which has generated some traction with SMBs, is beginning to see some interest from enterprises, and plans to allocate some of its capital towards becoming SOC 2 compliant to help it sell to larger companies.

As to where the company’s moniker comes from, Del Giudice credits DiCarlo. He said it was inspired by how annoying cold calling can be sometimes, and thought it was “a fun take” for a company catering to clients in the competitive and often cutthroat world of sales.

“I think cold calling can be fun, and in general, it’s nice to have a good time, especially in sales,” Del Giudice said. “You can’t take yourself too seriously.”

Feature image courtesy Quack.

The post Former Klue sales reps secure $500,000 to make cold calling easier with Quack first appeared on BetaKit.

Canada might once again play a more important role in Google’s augmented and virtual reality eyewear plans.

Google is in “final talks” to acquire AdHawk Microsystems, a Waterloo, Ont.-based startup that makes eye-tracking technology, for $115 million, Bloomberg reports. AdHawk staff would join the team developing Android XR, Google’s recently unveiled platform for mixed-reality headsets and smart glasses.

The deal could be completed as soon as this week, according to the insiders. If it moves forward, $15 million from the offer would depend on AdHawk meeting key performance goals.

AdHawk technology is built into smart glasses and “metaverse hardware” headsets, but is already selling its MindLink glasses to clinicians and researchers.

BetaKit reached out to Google and AdHawk for comment, but did not receive responses by press time.

AdHawk has developed a micro-electromechanical (MEMS) eye tracker and chip combination that the company says provides distinct advantages over conventional camera-based systems. The company claims the system requires 1,000 times less data, but generates sampling rates (that is, data collection rates) 10 times higher than alternatives. The technology is billed as more accurate and responsive with better battery life.

AdHawk technology is built into smart glasses and “metaverse hardware” headsets, but is already selling its MindLink glasses to clinicians and researchers. In 2024, it launched MindLink Air glasses that are marketed as everyday brain health trackers.

The firm already has investments from several major players in the wearable technology space. It raised $5 million from Intel Capital through a Series A round in 2017, with Brightspark Ventures also participating. Other backers include Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses co-creator EssilorLuxottica as well as Samsung, which developed the Project Moohan prototype headset that Google uses to showcase Android XR, its operating system for extended-reality devices. The Sony Innovation Fund, HP Tech Ventures, Canso, and Xchange have also invested in AdHawk.

Eye tracking is playing an increasingly important role in mixed-reality hardware. In both Project Moohan and Apple’s Vision Pro headset, wearers use their eyes to navigate the interface—they just have to look at items and make hand gestures (such as finger pinches) to interact.

Emma Bauer, senior vice president of integrations at Tobii, an eye-tracking company whose tech underlies Sony’s PlayStation VR2 headset, explained to BetaKit why advancements in eye-tracking technology will be important for the development of headsets and smart glasses. Eye tracking not only improves user interaction, but is more size-efficient than comparable technologies, and can boost performance by focusing computational power on where the user is looking, Bauer said.

RELATED: North acquired by Google

Smart glasses will one day “directly handle more tasks that are traditionally done with smartphones,” she added.

There are challenges in adding eye-tracking to smart glasses that brands like Google and Tobii will have to solve. It’s difficult to fit the hardware into the tight confines of eyewear, Bauer noted. She further pointed out that small batteries might also require a “balance” between capabilities and efficiency, and that the tracking has to be consistent across many faces and eyes even as the glasses jostle around from day-to-day movement.

Bauer claimed it can also take “years of refinement” to produce tiny, efficient components, and that companies might need to train their algorithms on “vast datasets” to account for differences in faces, eyes, and movement. 

If the acquisition goes through, it would be just the latest business move to suggest Google is investing heavily in eye tracking. In January, the tech giant acquired some of the engineering team behind HTC’s Vive VR products in a deal worth $250 million. Google previously entered the smart glasses space in 2013 with Google Glass, which failed to catch on commercially and was discontinued in 2023. 

AdHawk would also not be the only Kitchener-Waterloo-based smart glasses company Google has purchased. In 2020, parent company Alphabet acquired Kitchener smart glasses maker North, after the company’s failed rebrand and launch of the Focals 1.0 glasses.

Feature image: Samsung’s Project Moohan headset, used to demonstrate Google’s Android XR platform. Image courtesy Samsung.

The post Google reportedly close to buying Canada’s AdHawk for its eye-tracking smart glasses tech first appeared on BetaKit.

Engineering-focused university Polytechnique Montréal has received a $50-million donation from the family foundation of Québec businessman Pierre Lassonde to establish an institute dedicated to deep technology, or deep tech. 

A relatively new term, deep tech refers to technological innovation that requires surmounting scientific or engineering hurdles. Lassonde, who graduated from Polytechnique in 1971 and now chairs its board of directors, sees the development of new types of semiconductors and photonic devices as an opportunity to strengthen the socio-economic impacts of academic research, the Université de Montréal-associated school said in a statement. 

The donation is the largest single gift in the history of Polytechnique Montréal.

Lassonde is best known for co-founding the Franco-Nevada Corporation, an early publicly traded gold royalty company, in 1982 alongside his business partner Seymour Schulich.

“Québec and Canada have everything they need to make their mark on the global high-tech stage, and I hope this donation will act as a catalyst to help us do exactly that,” Lassonde said in a statement. 

The donation is the largest single gift in the history of Polytechnique Montréal, according to the university’s president, Maud Cohen, and will be used to assemble research teams with the aim of establishing the school as a complementary partner for major tech initiatives in Bromont, Québec City, and Ottawa. 

Bromont is home to Technum Québec, one of the province’s three government-designated innovation zones. Semiconductor players such as IBM, Teledyne, and Nord Quantique are stationed there.

RELATED: Clio donates $3 million to create new innovation hub at the University of British Columbia

The new institute’s initial efforts will go towards developing mid-infrared emission and detection devices to help autonomous vehicles see through fog and snow, as well as ultrasensitive imaging systems for the early diagnosis of cancers. The research teams also hope to develop quantum technologies that aim to reduce the energy footprint of digital tech. 

In 2011, Lassonde donated $25 million to York University to establish the Lassonde School of Engineering, which is also the largest single gift in York University’s history.

Lassonde’s donation towers above other academic donations from the business sector so far this year. Last month, the University of British Columbia and the University of Waterloo received much smaller donations to respectively support entrepreneur hubs and a new laboratory for artificial intelligence and blockchain research on their campuses.

Feature image by Thierry du Bois, courtesy Polytechnique Montréal via its website.

The post Mining magnate Pierre Lassonde donates $50 million to establish deep tech institute at Polytechnique Montréal first appeared on BetaKit.

Crypto publication CoinDesk has revealed the lineup of speakers for the first Toronto edition of its blockchain- and web3-oriented Consensus conference, which runs May 14-16, 2025.

CoinDesk touts Consensus as the longest-running crypto event in the world.

Some speakers are from Canada’s larger crypto firms or key leaders from global firms’ Canadian divisions. WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka is slated to present, as his Toronto-based company plans to expand beyond cryptocurrency. Lucas Matheson, the Canadian CEO of crypto giant Coinbase, is also due to speak.

Further major names include PayPal digital currencies Senior VP Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov, BitGo CEO Mike Belshe, and Kaiko chief Ambre Soubiran. VC speakers include Pantera Capital founder Dan Morehead, Delta Blockchain Fund founder Kavita Gupta, and Asymmetric General Partner and prolific X poster Dan Held.

RELATED: WonderFi plots expansion beyond crypto into multi-asset trading with Eightcap

CoinDesk founded the Consensus conference in 2015 and touts it as the longest-running crypto event in the world, with over 15,000 attendees and 550 speakers at the 2024 event. Conference chair Michael Casey announced the move to Toronto for 2025 due to major renovations planned for its previous home at an Austin, Texas convention centre.

Speaking at the 2024 gathering, Casey said Toronto had one of the “fastest-growing” tech ecosystems in North America, including established heavyweights, startups, and rich talent. Canada sent a large contingent to last year’s show, including leaders from Air Canada, RBCx, Kraken, Coinsquare, DMZ, and the MaRS Discovery District.

The Canadian stopover comes at a turning point for crypto. US President Donald Trump has pushed for greater cryptocurrency adoption. Securities and Exchange Commission chair nominee Paul Atkins is a cryptocurrency proponent who co-chaired the advocacy group Chamber of Digital Commerce. Trump has also championed the idea of a strategic reserve for cryptocurrencies, which he describes as a Fort Knox for virtual assets, but economists and other researchers characterize as “absurd” and “[serving] no purpose.”

Feature image courtesy Unsplash.

The post Consensus 2025 crypto conference will feature WonderFi’s Dean Skurka and Coinbase Canada’s CEO first appeared on BetaKit.

Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify has acquired San Jose, Calif.-based artificial intelligence (AI)-powered retailer search startup Vantage Discovery for an undisclosed amount. 

Vantage Discovery CEO Lance Riedel announced the acquisition in a LinkedIn post this past weekend. Riedel co-founded Vantage Discovery with fellow Pinterest engineering alumni Nigel Daley. The search platform aims to move beyond traditional keyword searches with semantic searches and search personalization for shoppers. Semantic search differs from traditional search, which is based on matching search terms with keywords and their variations; it attempts to also consider user intent and the contextual meaning of search terms. 

A Shopify spokesperson told BetaKit that Vantage Discovery’s search platform and team will play a key role in “supercharging” Shopify’s work for both merchants and buyers, but declined to disclose any other details of the transaction. 

RELATED: Shopify merchants can now prompt AI to design a store theme

However, Shopify CTO Mikhail Parakhin signalled that the acquisition could be used to help with advertising in a cryptic post on X. 

“[Vantage Discovery’s] incredible Search platform will level up the search experience for Shopify users,” Parakhin said. “Now, why Search is important is left as an exercise for the inquisitive reader :-)”

When a reply to Parakhin commented on the potential to help merchants advertise, Parakhin said it was a “very, very perceptive comment!”

The acquisition seems to be part of broader effort to bolster Shopify’s AI toolkit, which became apparent when Shopify tapped Parakhin as CTO in August 2024. In a release, the company called him “one of the finest machine learning crafters on the planet.” Before joining Shopify, Parakhin had served as Microsoft’s CEO of advertising and web services, worked on its Bing search engine, and helped build consumer-facing AI products such as Copilot.

Shopify CFO Jeff Hoffmeister revealed during its Q4 earnings call last month that Shopify had also done six “tuck-in” acquisitions in 2024 to bolster its AI expertise, according to Business Insider. Hoffmeister said the people acquired this way were an important source of talent, and that they were “very tactical, thoughtful AI hires.” 

Shopify launched a new AI feature earlier this month to help merchants set up and design their stores by describing their businesses with prompts to create custom digital storefront themes.

Disclosure: BetaKit majority owner Good Future is the family office of two former Shopify leaders, Arati Sharma and Satish Kanwar.

Feature image courtesy Burst.

The post Shopify acquires search startup Vantage Discovery for undisclosed amount first appeared on BetaKit.

Canada has a new prime minister, with immediate impacts on Canadian tech.

Mark Carney wasted no time, putting a bullet in his party’s controversial capital gains tax inclusion rate changes last Sunday during his acceptance speech as Liberal leader.

In his first day in office, Prime Minister Carney appointed two new ministers at key cabinet positions for Canadian tech. You can read Madison McLauchlan’s stories on both decisions below.

How long will he have the job? My DMs indicate a federal election could be called very soon, possibly before the next delivery of this very newsletter.

In a fit of civic duty, I sat down with CCI’s Ben Bergen on The BetaKit Podcast to discuss the policy planks Canadian innovators need in the next election. We also rate the likelihood the two leading parties will adopt them.

Our democratic process is important stuff, but do not let it overshadow all the good good Canadian tech news this week: two early-stage Canadian companies took home prizes at SXSW, beating out a horde of international competition; for the first time ever, Cohere holds pole position in the global LLM race; and autonomous vehicle startup Waabi invented a new metric to measure reality.

You can read all of it (and more!) below. While you do so, I’ll stay here at my keyboard, waiting for the writ to drop.

Douglas Soltys
Editor-in-chief

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TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

Anita Anand named innovation minister, Champagne moved to finance in new Carney cabinet 

Canada’s newest Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced the makeup of his cabinet after being sworn in on Friday. Notable shakeups include former Transport Minister Anita Anand taking on the innovation portfolio from François-Philippe Champagne, who will take over as Minister of Finance. 

Earlier in the week, Carney replaced former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party, securing an overwhelming 85 percent of the party nomination vote. In his acceptance speech, Carney effectively put a nail in the coffin of the controversial capital gains tax rate changes his own party put forward in last year’s budget. 

“We will stop the hike in the capital gains tax because we think builders should be incentivized for taking risks and rewarded when they succeed,” Carney said on stage. 

Cohere says Command A model edges out LLM competition in speed and energy efficiency

Is it Canada’s turn for a DeepSeek moment?

Canada’s leading large-language model developer Cohere has unveiled its new Command A model, which the company claims is faster and uses less computing power than other global competitors.

The company noted that Command A’s efficiency is especially key for its enterprise clients, some of whom may be looking to cut costs.

Clio acquires UK-based ShareDo to move into serving large law firms, fuel global expansion

Burnaby, BC-based Clio has acquired fellow legaltech company ShareDo, of Manchester, United Kingdom, to accelerate its expansion upmarket and begin serving large law firms.

Clio co-founder and CEO Jack Newton claimed that the transaction is the biggest of Clio’s five acquisitions to date in terms of both the amount it paid and ShareDo’s employee count.

“We saw an opportunity through this acquisition to really unlock that enterprise opportunity for Clio” and cater to law firms of all sizes, Newton told BetaKit in an interview.

Québec’s dismal seed-stage performance could spell trouble for province’s startup pipeline

A recent report led by Réseau Capital indicates that seed-stage venture deals in Québec dropped by more than half year-over-year, with dollars invested dropping by a sharp two-thirds. 

The early-stage slowdown reflects a national trend that Canadian Venture Capital Association CEO Kim Furlong said “presents concerns about the long-term pipeline of high-growth startups.”

Xatoms and Knead take home top prizes amid strong Canadian showing at SXSW pitch competition

Toronto-based Xatoms and Calgary-based Knead Technologies have taken home top prizes in their respective categories at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) pitch competition in Austin, Texas.

Including the winners, only five Canadian companies participated in the competition amongst an international cohort of more than 70 finalists and alternates, leaving Canada with an impressive winner-to-participant ratio. 

Waabi develops realism metric to gauge reliability of autonomous vehicle simulators

Toronto-based autonomous vehicle (AV) startup Waabi is calling for the industry to follow the road it has forged by developing a framework to measure the realism of AV simulators. 

Waabi founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun outlined in a blog post this week how the company’s newly developed realism metric works, saying that transparency and accountability are “absolutely paramount” for building public trust in AV technology. 

Web Summit Vancouver 2025 speaker lineup includes CEOs of Bluesky and Clio

The organizers of Web Summit Vancouver 2025 have revealed the first 25 speakers for the major technology conference, including a mix of in-the-moment tech celebrities along with prominent business leaders, with a few key guests hailing from Canada.

A rebrand of tech mega-conference Collision under the parent company’s name, Web Summit Vancouver will take place at the Vancouver Convention Centre from May 27-30.

Why Simon De Baene keeps killing his own products

At TechTO’s Toronto event this month at MaRS Discovery District, Workleap co-founder and CEO Simon De Baene described how his team spent two years in the late 2000s building a software product, but the product was too complicated. Customers struggled to use it, and instead of fixing that core issue, the team kept layering on more functionality.

So, they started over.

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Weekly Canadian Deals & Dollars

• CAN – Canadian government opens $300M AI Compute Access Fund
• CAN – US-based FinTech Zolve planning Canadian expansion
• VIC – Redbrick acquires New York-based Paved
• RCH – General Fusion takes major step for Canadian fusion reactors
• VAN – Novarc Technologies raises Series B round
• VAN – Deloitte Canada acquires Pocketed for undisclosed amount
• TOR – Online pharmacy Phoenix closes $50M in equity and debt
• TOR – Augmenta secures additional $14.4M in seed funding
• TOR – Softchoice taken private by US firm for $1.4B
• TOR – Vertu Capital appoints Eric Kafka as partner
• GAT – Telesat to take on Starlink with new $25M campus
• STJ – Kraken Robotics to acquire 3D at Depth for $24.5M

The BetaKit Podcast — An election primer on what Canadian innovators need

“One of the things that I think we’ve got to critically think about in our country for the future is that we’ve got to begin using those dollars effectively, like the $4 billion in SR&ED.”

CCI’s Ben Bergen joins to discuss items innovators hope will be on the agenda in the forthcoming federal election before ranking what programs (VCCI, SR&ED, etc.) and policies (AI regulation, open banking, etc.) the next government in power might adopt, drop, or move forward.

The BetaKit Quiz — This week: Carney’s first cut, Cohere finds speed, and Severance’s real HQ

Think you’re on top of Canadian tech and innovation news? Time to prove it. Test your knowledge of Canadian tech news with The BetaKit Quiz for Mar. 14, 2025.​​

The post Did Cohere give Canada its DeepSeek moment? first appeared on BetaKit.

Canada has a new prime minister! 

Mark Carney had a busy first day in office, shuffling the Liberal cabinet (with new innovation and finance ministers), and axing the carbon tax.

“One of the things that I think we’ve got to critically think about in our country for the future is that we’ve got to begin using those dollars effectively, like the $4 billion in SR&ED.”

But how long will Carney remain prime minister? Things are moving quickly, and by the time you hear this podcast, an election might be called. If not now, one is required to happen by Oct. 20. Will Canada’s most prominent CD-burning mixtape maker remain in the job, or will PP become PM?

And will the nation’s next election focus on actually solving Canada’s innovation, procurement, and productivity problems? Or will it just be more counter-tariff rhetoric aimed at Donald Trump?

Ben Bergen, president of the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), isn’t waiting to find out. His organization has put together an election primer focused on what innovators need to scale. It’s a useful guide to walk through the current state of Canada’s innovation economy, including its many hurdles, which we do on the podcast. What’s the likelihood CCI’s eight policy points become planks in upcoming election platforms? We discuss that as well.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RSS

But CCI’s WIN document, while useful, isn’t feature complete. When the Liberals prorogued parliament, it left 26 bills in limbo (like C-27), alongside a number of other policy commitments (like SR&ED reform and open banking). To close off the podcast, I forced Bergen to give a temperature check on which of each the party behind Canada’s next federal government might adopt, drop, or move forward.

Will Canada’s next election be an innovation election? Let’s dig in.

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If you’re ready to scale, refine, and lead cybersecurity innovation, apply today at www.thecyberchallenge.ca.

Edited by Darian MacDonald. Feature image courtesy Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The post An election primer on what Canadian innovators need first appeared on BetaKit.

American cloud services giant World Wide Technology (WWT) has completed its acquisition of Softchoice, the Toronto-based cloud and software solutions provider for businesses.

The take-private deal was announced Dec. 31 last year. WWT said it would acquire all of Softchoice’s outstanding common shares for $24.50 per share, a three-dollar premium over what it was trading at the time, amounting to $1.48 billion. Shareholders approved the move at a March 4 meeting. Softchoice CEO Andrew Caprara will remain in his leadership position, and the company will continue to operate under its own name.

The purchase will “help accelerate AI adoption and the digital transformation journeys” of companies worldwide, according to WWT CEO Jim Kavanaugh. 

Softchoice was founded in 1989 and was initially focused on tracking down hard-to-find software for corporate clients. Since then, it has shifted much of its attention to cloud adoption, management, and migration. It claims to have over 685 managed services customers as well as major tech partners like Amazon Web Services, Google, and Microsoft.

RELATED: Carebook joins parade of public Canadian tech companies returning private

The brand has also influenced the Canadian startup scene. Former CEO Dave MacDonald joined the Leaders Fund as a venture partner in 2019, two years after he retired from his 16-year leadership role at Softchoice. MacDonald has also served on the boards of multiple companies, such as Densify and Turnstyle Analytics (which was acquired by Yelp), and has coached the CEOs of smaller companies.

World Wide Technology is based in St. Louis, Mo. It was founded in 1990 and also concentrates on cloud and software solutions. It now touts over $20 billion in annual revenue, over $6 billion of which comes from beyond the United States (US). It has over 10,000 employees and partners with prominent tech companies like Cisco and Nvidia.

The acquisition comes at a sensitive moment for Canada. US President Donald Trump’s constantly changing tariff threats have spurred an effort to reduce Canada’s dependence on American businesses, whether it’s by buying Canadian products or fostering entrepreneur-friendly policies. While Softchoice will maintain some of its independence, its customers are now relying on a US provider.

Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Jason Goodman.

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The post Carney’s first cut, Cohere finds speed, and Severance’s real HQ first appeared on BetaKit.

Former Transport Minister Anita Anand is now Canada’s minister of innovation within new Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet, while current innovation minister François-Philippe Champagne will take over as Minister of Finance.

Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland was named Minister of Transport and Internal Trade.

Carney announced the makeup of his cabinet after being sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister this morning. The former governor of the Bank of Canada won the Liberal leadership race this past Sunday, which was triggered by Trudeau announcing he would step down in January. 

Before being elected in her riding of Oakville, Ont., Anand taught law at the University of Toronto with a focus on corporate governance. She previously served as Minister of Transport and Internal Trade under Trudeau, in addition to her role as President of the Treasury Board. She was also the Minister of National Defence from 2021 to 2023, and Minister of Public Services and Procurement from 2019 to 2021. 

Champagne has served as Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry since 2021, replacing Navdeep Bains. The innovation minister presides over Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED), which manages several organizations that invest in technology and innovation, including the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan), and Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan). 

The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to BetaKit that regional development agencies once again fall directly under Minister Anand’s portfolio. FedDev Ontario and PrairiesCan were briefly under the purview of MPs Ruby Sahota and Terry Duguid, respectively.

ISED also administers the Strategic Innovation Fund, and previously, the embattled cleantech agency Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) before it was moved under Natural Resources Canada. 

RELATED: A requiem for the feds’ (failed) innovation strategy

Champagne’s record as innovation minister was marked by large investments and unfulfilled promises to the tech sector, which included multiple iterations of an innovation agency that never materialized and an artificial intelligence (AI) policy that was never signed into law. During his tenure, the federal government made several significant investments into innovation projects, including $2.4 billion for sovereign AI compute infrastructure and nearly $2 billion toward Global Innovation superClusters. 

Champagne was considered a likely challenger to Trudeau, but announced in January that he would not run for Liberal leadership and endorsed Carney instead. 

In one of her first acts as innovation minister, Anand told reporters today that she instructed ISED to send a letter to government suppliers encouraging them to buy Canadian, “to ensure that they are utilizing Canadian steel and aluminum.” 

Benjamin Bergen, President of the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), said in a statement to BetaKit that Anand’s role requires “urgent action” as the country has failed to prioritize and scale domestic companies.

“To compete in today’s global economy, Canada requires a new economic orthodoxy that prioritizes economic security, access to capital, and the scaling of Canadian firms at home,” Bergen said. “The baton is now in Minister Anand’s hands—but there’s a lot of ground to make up.”

Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland was named Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, following an unsuccessful bid for Liberal leadership. In December, Freeland resigned from her post the morning she was slated to announce the Fall Economic Statement. Intergovernmental affairs minister Dominic Leblanc was immediately appointed as interim Finance Minister.

Now, Leblanc is resuming his previous role, with the added responsibilities of international trade and presidency of the Privy Council. 

Carney’s cabinet is smaller than that of his predecessor, featuring 24 members, including the Prime Minister, compared to Trudeau’s 37. Notably, Liberal leadership candidates Karina Gould, former House leader, and Frank Baylis, former Member of Parliament (MP), were not named to cabinet positions.

“Canada’s new government will be action-oriented, driven by a smaller but highly experienced team made to meet the moment,” Carney said at his swearing-in speech today.

RELATED: Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney says Liberals will kill their own capital gains tax changes

Carney is assuming the country’s leadership amid a trade war with the US and is now chairing the Council on Canada-US Relations. During a question-and-answer period today, Carney said he was “looking forward” to speaking with US President Donald Trump but has not set plans to travel to the US.  

Carney said the smaller cabinet will focus on two priorities: protecting Canadian workers in the face of US trade threats, and growing the country “by putting more money in Canadians’ pockets, ensuring that government spends less so Canada can invest more, by building millions of homes, by making Canada a superpower in both conventional and clean energy, by creating new trade corridors with reliable partners, and by forging one Canadian economy out of 13.”  

“Canadians know that negativity isn’t strength,” Carney said. “They know that negativity won’t pay the rent or the mortgage, that negativity won’t bring down the price of groceries. Negativity won’t win a trade war.”

In his acceptance speech Monday, Carney pledged to kill the controversial capital gains tax changes brought forward under the Trudeau government, as well as the consumer carbon tax.

Carney today did not indicate when he is planning to call an election, but sources told The Globe and Mail he is expected to call one this spring.

Feature image courtesy Mark Carney via X.

The post Anita Anand named innovation minister, Champagne moved to finance in new Carney cabinet first appeared on BetaKit.

General Fusion appears to be one step closer to making Canada a major player in fusion reactors.

Fusion power has been widely seen as a potential leap forward in zero-emissions energy.

The Richmond, BC-based experimental energy development company says its Lawson Machine 26 (LM26) demonstrator has created the first magnetized plasma contained in its target chamber. Fusion reactors use extreme heat and pressure to fuse atomic nuclei and release energy. These reactions take place within the fourth state of matter, called plasma, under immense heat and pressure. 

In other words, General Fusion claims to have made a vital ingredient it needs to move forward with fusion reactors.

The achievement comes 16 months after General Fusion built LM26. The machine is now creating plasmas “daily” while the team turns its attention to compression, according to the firm. Compressions have also produced fusion neutrons, the company claimed in a statement.

The firm hopes to make fusion reactors more practical. Other approaches rely on high-powered lasers (known as Inertial Confinement Fusion) or superconducting magnets, which are used in machines called Tokamak reactors, to create fusion conditions. General Fusion’s Magnetized Target Fusion instead uses mechanical compression to produce fusion in pulses at a lower cost. The invention creates its own fuel and has a built-in way to collect the resulting energy, the company says.

The aim is to commercialize magnetized target fusion within the next decade. The company hopes a single plant will generate 300 megawatts electrical (MWe), or enough energy to continuously power about 150,000 Canadian homes, while staying competitive with alternatives. General Fusion claims electricity providers can repurpose existing facilities, and that they can place reactors close to where they’re in demand.

The milestone helps in “de-risking LM26 and preparing [the company] for the new chapter” in its work, founder Michel Laberge said in a statement.

General Fusion has received several rounds of public and private funding since its inception in 2002. The company has raised $440 million to date, including $69 million from the federal government through the Strategic Innovation Fund. Natural resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson believes the company is backing Canada’s reputation as a “powerful innovator” in nuclear science thanks to its plasma breakthrough.

Fusion power has been widely seen as a potential leap forward in zero-emissions energy. In addition to providing power on a large scale, it doesn’t carry the radiation risks associated with nuclear fission reactors. The technology could help address rising electricity demands ranging from electric vehicles through to AI computing.

Fusion reactors have been in development for decades, however, and it’s not yet clear that they’ll be ready for real-world deployment in the near future. In 2024, South Korea’s KSTAR (Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research) team only maintained plasma in its device for 48 seconds, or well short of the five-minute target set for 2026—let alone the long durations needed for steady-state reactors based on that technology.

General Fusion’s reliance on burst operation helps it avoid that problem. However, it still has a number of progress markers ahead before it has production-ready tech. LM26 has yet to reach the three temperature levels that will be required to bring the technology online: 10 million degrees Celsius, 100 million degrees Celsius, and the “scientific breakeven equivalent” level where the energy released is equal to the heating power required. That also doesn’t include the transition from demonstrators like LM26 to full power plants.

Feature image courtesy of General Fusion.

The post General Fusion takes major step in quest for Canadian fusion reactors first appeared on BetaKit.

The organizers of Web Summit Vancouver 2025 have revealed the first 25 speakers for the major technology conference, including a mix of in-the-moment tech celebrities along with prominent business leaders, including key examples from Canada.

A rebrand of tech mega-conference Collision under the parent company’s name, Web Summit Vancouver will take place at the Vancouver Convention Centre from May 27-30.

Public and private organizations pledged $14.8 million to make the Vancouver event happen.

Jay Graber, CEO of Bluesky, the decentralized microblogging social media service that shot to prominence in the wake of the user exodus from Elon Musk’s Twitter (now X), is a marquee guest. Trevor Martin, the head of Mammoth Biosciences (the firm hoping to resurrect the woolly mammoth), is also slated to speak.

The Canadian contingent includes Clio chief Jack Newton, who headlined last year’s BetaKit Town Hall: Vancouver and will now present at Web Summit. Also presenting are leaders from Toronto self-driving tech startup Waabi (CEO Raquel Urtasun), authentication giant 1Password (co-CEO Jeff Shiner), business financial platform FreshBooks (COO Mara Reiff), and digital identity unicorn GeoComply (executive chairman Anna Sainsbury).

Other Canadian speakers include Grammarly co-founder Max Lytvyn as well as Telus data and trust chief Pamela Snively. Americans dominate the rest of the panel list and include Deep Space Initiative founder Sara Sabry, Cloudflare co-founder Michelle Zatlyn, and eBay global brand head Emily O’Hara.

RELATED: Everyone at Collision is talking about Web Summit Vancouver

American venture capitalists like Andy McLoughlin of Uncork Capital, Steve Jang of Kindred Ventures, and Edith Yeung of Race Capital also have significant places in this early list. More announcements are due in the “coming weeks,” according to the Web Summit team.

Web Summit is set for at least a three-year run in Vancouver. When the company announced the move in 2024, it pointed to Vancouver’s status as a technology hub for fast-growing startups like Dapper Labs and Trulioo. A combination of public and private organizations pledged $14.8 million in funding to make the Vancouver event happen.

The decision was a blow to 2019-2024 Collision host Toronto, which has now filled the gap with Toronto Tech Week. Cube Business Media also cited Web Summit as the reason for cancelling INNOVATEwest in 2025, warning that the rival Vancouver show would “draw substantial attention and resources” that would hurt the quality of its own production.

Feature image courtesy Web Summit via Flickr.

The post Web Summit Vancouver 2025 speaker lineup includes CEOs of Bluesky and Clio first appeared on BetaKit.

Toronto-based private equity firm Vertu Capital has promoted long-time principal Eric Kafka to partner, joining Kim Davis, Gil Nayot, and founding managing partner Lisa Melchoir. 

Kafka “has played a crucial role in shaping Vertu’s collaborative and high-performance culture.”

The firm announced Kafka’s appointment in a LinkedIn post this week, describing him as a “driving force” at Vertu since joining the firm as “employee number two” in 2018. Kafka brings experience as an operations program manager at Facebook (now Meta), and as vice-president of corporate development at Toronto-based data analytics company Sysomos (now Meltwater). 

He also previously worked on “numerous transactions” with Melchoir when they were both with Ontario pension giant OMERS Private Equity, according to his profile on Vertu’s website. 

Kafka “has consistently demonstrated an exceptional ability to source and execute high-impact investments, while also working closely with our portfolio companies to improve performance and create lasting value,” Vertu Capital said in the post. “He is a mentor to many within the firm and has played a crucial role in shaping Vertu’s collaborative and high-performance culture.”

Bringing in another partner strengthens Vertu’s ability to source and execute on new investments, as well as manage its growing portfolio, Melchoir told BetaKit in an email statement.

RELATED: EdTech startup LumiQ receives strategic investment from Vertu Capital

Founded by OMERS veteran Melchoir in 2017, Vertu closed its inaugural fund with more than $300 million in 2023. The firm invests in Canadian software and software-enabled companies focused on enterprise customers with more than $15 million CAD in company revenue that are profitable or are on track to be. 

Vertu Capital previously told BetaKit its fund aims to put in $25 million to $75 million per deal in companies worth up to $500 million, and then double or triple the size of its business before selling. In September 2024, Vertu completed a strategic investment into LumiQ, which makes an education platform for aspiring accounting professionals. The edtech startup was Vertu’s fourth investment since closing its inaugural fund. 

Feature image courtesy Vertu Capital.

The post Vertu Capital promotes principal and “employee number two” Eric Kafka to partner first appeared on BetaKit.

St. John’s, Nfld.-based marine technology company Kraken Robotics has signed an agreement to acquire Longmont, Colo.-based subsea technology company 3D at Depth for $17 million USD ($24.5 million CAD). 

3D at Depth, which has offshore service operations in Houston, Texas and satellite offices in the United Kingdom, provides underwater light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology and services for subsea assets and infrastructure, such as detecting leaks on oil rigs. 

“Kraken and 3D at Depth now offer customers a ‘best-of-breed’ toolbox for subsea optical metrology and asset integrity measurement.”

Kraken Robotics

The final closing price is subject to adjustment for any debt assumed or paid out, and other working capital adjustments, Kraken said in a statement. The transaction is expected to close on April 1, subject to certain closing conditions, such as consent from Kraken’s primary lender. 

UPDATE (04/07/2025): On April 2, 2025, Kraken Robotics announced it completed the acquisition of 3D at Depth.

The acquisition builds on Kraken’s expertise in subsea optical systems and “immediately strengthens” its presence in the United States (US) Gulf region, which complements Kraken’s work in Northern Europe, Kraken president and CEO Greg Reid said in a statement. 

“Following completion of the acquisition, Kraken will be able to offer a more comprehensive suite of world-class subsea acoustic and optical imaging technologies and services,” Reid said. “Additionally, establishing our first US-based facilities enhances our ability to scale manufacturing operations in the US as demand continues to grow.”

According to Kraken, 3D at Depth has seen its average project value grow by more than 45 percent over the last three years, thanks to its client roster of fossil-fuel giants like Exxon, Shell, and BP. The company, which currently has 56 employees, has completed more than 450 marine surveying projects in 18 countries, Kraken says. 

RELATED: Kraken Robotics emerges from the deep to take top spot on 2025 TSX Venture 50 list

3D at Depth’s underwater LiDAR technology provides extended range at challenging water depths compared to Kraken’s similar SeaVision offering, Kraken said in a statement, as well as unique non-contact vibration sensors and temperature-measurement capabilities.

“With this combined capability, Kraken and 3D at Depth now offer customers a “best-of-breed” toolbox for subsea optical metrology and asset integrity measurement,” Kraken Robotics said in a statement. 

Last month, Kraken took the top spot on the 2025 TSX Venture 50, sporting a 323-percent share price appreciation and adding more than $587 million to its market capitalization last year. The achievement shortly followed the passing of Kraken’s retired founder and former CEO, Karl Kenny, at the age of 64. 

Feature image courtesy Kraken Robotics.

The post Kraken Robotics looks to peer further under the sea with $24.5-million acquisition of 3D at Depth first appeared on BetaKit.

Is it Canada’s turn for a DeepSeek moment?

Canada’s leading large-language model (LLM) developer Cohere has unveiled its new Command A model, which the company claims is faster and uses less computing power than other global competitors.

“Command A was in development long before the DeepSeek release, but it certainly validated our approach.”

Nick Frosst
Cohere

Cohere pitches Command A as a “max performance, minimal compute” solution for its enterprise clients. Last month, tech stocks momentarily crashed over Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek’s model capabilities, which it claimed to achieve with only a fraction of the funds and compute resources compared to US tech giants. 

At the time, Cohere co-founder Nick Frosst told BetaKit that DeepSeek’s model proved their point that “innovation and efficiency, not excessive compute,” is key to AI development. 

“Command A was in development long before the DeepSeek release, but it certainly validated our approach,” Frosst said as part of today’s announcement. “We’ve never believed in things like AGI or the bigger is better mentality to building models. We’re instead focused on running a capital-efficient business and building products that solve real-world problems for our customers.”

The company says its new LLM is faster than DeepSeek’s v3 model and OpenAI’s GPT-4o model released in November. It also runs with twice the context length of leading models, allowing it to sift through larger documents. Context length is the amount of information, broken down as tokens, that an LLM can process at the same time. 

For comparison, DeepSeek v3 requires at least eight graphics processing units (GPUs) to run with 128k context length. Command A needs only two GPUs with 256k context length. 

RELATED: Cohere leaders think DeepSeek proves their point about AI innovation

According to Cohere, Command A also outperforms GPT-4o and DeepSeek v3 on metrics such as inference efficiency (the resource-to-output ratio of generating a response) and certain retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) tasks, which involve a model’s ability to retrieve information from the right sources. 

The Toronto-based company has also joined some of its competitors as the subject of legal action by major media companies. Last month, a group of publishers including Forbes and the Toronto Star sued Cohere for alleged copyright and trademark infringement. A group of Canadian news organizations brought a similar suit against OpenAI last year, while Meta has been the subject of legal claims led by North American and French authors.

Cohere has never been at the top of the model performance rankings for speed, especially compared to leading LLMs. According to the independent AI model index Artificial Analysis, Cohere’s previous models are not among the top 50 by AI intelligence index. OpenAI models are in the top three, followed by DeepSeek v3 and Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet Thinking. However, these rankings are subject to constant change as companies release new models and optimizations.

Though Cohere is one of the most well-capitalized Canadian AI companies, its compute spend also pales in comparison to global competitors. Cohere secured $500 million USD in financing at a $5.5-billion valuation last year ($687 million at $7.6 billion CAD), not to mention the $240 million CAD committed by the federal government towards a Cohere data centre. In comparison, Meta said it would spend up to $65 billion USD on AI infrastructure this year. OpenAI raised $6.6 billion USD in October—more than Cohere’s valuation.

In a blog post, the company noted that Command A’s efficiency is especially key for its enterprise clients, some of whom may be looking to cut costs.

“With these efficiency gains, any business can run AI to increase productivity for employees with agents that can automate work,” Frosst said.

Command A will be “seamlessly integrated” into North, a customizable workplace AI platform the company launched in January. The platform integrates with a company’s in-house applications and allows users to automate complex tasks with AI agents. It also launched a finance-specific edition, North for Banking, in collaboration with the Royal Bank of Canada. 

Cohere’s model is also available in 23 languages. The company says it outperforms DeepSeek v3 and GPT-4o in accurately responding to English prompts in Arabic, following the release of its Command R7B Arabic model serving businesses in the Middle East and Northern Africa.

Feature image courtesy Cohere. 

The post Cohere says Command A model edges out LLM competition in speed and energy efficiency first appeared on BetaKit.

Burnaby, BC-based Clio has acquired fellow legaltech company ShareDo, of Manchester, United Kingdom (UK), to accelerate its expansion upmarket and begin serving large law firms.

The strategic deal, which Clio funded using a combination of cash, stock, and debt, closed this month. Clio co-founder and CEO Jack Newton declined to disclose the purchase price, or any other financial details, beyond claiming that the transaction is the biggest of Clio’s five acquisitions to date in terms of both the amount it paid and ShareDo’s employee count.

Clio confirmed to BetaKit that the company’s previous largest acquisition was Lawyaw, which it purchased in 2021 for an undisclosed sum in the mid-eight-figure range.

ShareDo enables Clio’s expansion into the enterprise legal market ahead of schedule.

For Clio, which has established a presence selling legal practice management software to solo lawyers as well as small and mid-market law firms, ShareDo hastens its entry into the enterprise legal market, which Newton defined as law firms with 1,000 or more staff and a global presence.

“We saw an opportunity through this acquisition to really unlock that enterprise opportunity for Clio” and cater to law firms of all sizes, Newton told BetaKit in an interview.

ShareDo’s entire 70-person team is joining Clio, and ShareDo founder and CEO Ben Nicholson is transitioning to general manager of ShareDo, where he will continue to guide the company and help oversee the gradual integration of ShareDo and Clio’s business and technology.

This deal comes nearly eight months after Clio raised the largest software funding round in Canadian tech history. In July 2024, Clio closed a $900-million USD (then $1.24-billion CAD) Series F at a more than $4-billion CAD valuation, making it one of Canada’s highest-valued tech startups and, according to Clio, the world’s most valuable cloud-based legaltech company. 

That financing, which was “substantially secondary,” followed Clio surpassing $200 million USD in annual recurring revenue (ARR) after doubling its sales in just two years, since hitting $100 million in ARR in 2022. Today, Clio confirmed that the company is generating more than $250 million USD in ARR from over 150,000 individual users. Clio and ShareDo are both profitable, Clio claims.

RELATED: Clio’s record-breaking funding round explains 2024’s public market exodus

ShareDo sells legal case management software to over 40 large law firms, which collectively employ approximately 13,000 legal professionals. Newton said this group includes dozens of the UK’s largest law firms, as well as clients across six other countries.

ShareDo was initially bootstrapped before taking on “a small amount” of venture capital funding in 2018 from Sussex Place Ventures, which is associated with the London Business School. The company was in the process of fundraising to support its expansion into North America when conversations with Clio began.

Newton said Clio has long hoped to expand to large law firms, “a very significant and important segment of the legal market.” The CEO noted that enterprise clients have discrete needs relative to the small and medium-sized legal businesses Clio has largely focused on to date. 

“This is a brand new segment for us,” Newton said. 

RELATED: Clio tops $4-billion CAD valuation with largest software funding round in Canadian tech history

Clio’s merger and acquisition (M&A) strategy is closely tied to the company’s product roadmap. As Newton has previously told BetaKit, the legaltech business continually evaluates whether it makes the most sense to build, buy, or partner to deliver various components of the plan.

With the acquisition of ShareDo, Newton said he saw a chance for Clio to “leapfrog” ahead dramatically and expand into the enterprise market “five years or more” ahead of schedule.

Nicholson told BetaKit that ShareDo was attracted to Clio’s “investment and growth mindset,” adding that “joining Clio felt like unlocking the cheat code to fast-track our impact.”

Newton thinks Clio could be “the acquirer of choice in legaltech.”

“With their extensive resources, expertise, and global reach, we have the opportunity to level up rapidly, bringing our solutions to a wider audience and delivering even greater value to the legal industry,” Nicholson said.

Newton said that ShareDo has “a good overlap” with the countries where Clio has been seeing success. “It helps really buttress our international expansion efforts,” he said.

At the moment, ShareDo has no presence in the United States—the world’s largest legal market—which Newton sees as “a major expansion opportunity.” 

Newton anticipates that Clio will remain active in the M&A space going forward. He thinks the current scale of Clio’s platform puts the company in a good position to be “the acquirer of choice in legaltech,” and sees more opportunity given the “explosion of innovation” happening right now across the sector.

Feature image courtesy Clio.

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Artificial intelligence has quietly moved from behind the scenes to the front lines of hiring.

Companies are now relying on AI to sift through résumés, rank candidates, and forecast job performance, sometimes before humans even get involved. Speed and automation now help dictate who gets a foot in the door.

Now, two Canadian AI tools are flipping the script by arming job seekers with the same data-driven insights and support.

“Using AI to combat the potential ramifications or negative impacts that AI could have is really interesting.”

Drew Lindsay, GuruLink

GuruLink’s Path Pilot and OpportuNext are designed to help workers compete in an AI-driven job market instead.

Both tools were created in collaboration with the Future Skills Centre (FSC), which has invested more than $280 million since 2019 in research and innovation initiatives to ensure both workers and employers can adapt to the shifting tides of the job market.

Tricia Williams, FSC Director of Research, Evaluation, and Knowledge Mobilization, said she believes AI tools can dramatically improve skills matching, targeted career guidance, and recruitment results. She noted that FSC has focused on “ensuring that AI tools addressing these challenges identify and mitigate any bias and discrimination embedded in their design.”

“The world of data is transforming dramatically, and we need AI-enabled tools that respond to Canadians’ critical information needs: to understand opportunities such as job vacancies, skill demands, and salaries and to understand potential pathways such as career guidance and skills training,” Williams added.

Here’s how these AI platforms are helping job seekers stay competitive.

Path Pilot

Path Pilot is an AI-driven career assistant developed by Toronto-based GuruLink, designed to support individuals in navigating their career journeys with personalized guidance and resources.

The tool is ideal for professionals aiming to advance their careers at any stage, and those entering the workforce or transitioning into new roles.

Path Pilot acts as a career assistant by analyzing a user’s experience, goals, and skill gaps to provide personalized job matches, résumé support, and interview preparation. Through an interactive chatbot, it assesses job fit and suggests next steps, whether it’s refining a résumé, identifying missing skills, or recommending courses to stay competitive.

The platform’s multilingual support makes it accessible to a diverse audience, allowing users to perfect their résumés, refine their applications, and prepare for interviews in their preferred language.

According to GuruLink Co-Founder Drew Lindsay, Path Pilot was designed with responsible AI at its core.

“I believe the net effect of AI will be positive but it could create some rough waters in the interim,” Lindsay said. “Using AI to combat the potential ramifications or negative impacts that AI could have is really interesting.”

GuruLink was the first company in Canada to earn ISO 42,001 certification for responsible AI development. This certification requires monthly automated audits to identify risks, such as bias, inclusiveness, and repetitiveness.

Path Pilot is set to launch publicly by the end of March. For now, it’s in a private beta, available to youth and underrepresented communities. If you’re part of these groups, you can request access and get 12 months of free use.

OpportuNext

Career changes can feel like a leap into the unknown, but OpportuNext aims to turn uncertainty into strategy. Designed for Canadians looking to switch careers or explore new opportunities, the AI-powered tool analyzes billions of data points to match users with jobs that fit their skills, education, and experience.

“The goal is for people to know how they compare to the rest of the labour market,” said Fabien Forge, Senior Data Scientist at the Conference Board of Canada. “OpportuNext brings facts to feelings.”

Using 13 billion data points and AI-powered insights, OpportuNext analyzes over 30,000 career profiles to provide personalized career recommendations. Users enter their current job title or education, and the system generates insights on salary expectations, long-term job growth, and in-demand skills based on real-time labor market data.

From there, it ranks career options using a scoring system that highlights roles requiring similar education and skills, helping users see where they already qualify and where they may need to upskill.

According to Forge, the idea for OpportuNext took shape during the COVID-19 pandemic, when entire industries were thrown into chaos. Some jobs disappeared overnight, while others exploded in demand, leaving many workers questioning their next move.

“At that time, people were saying, ‘I feel like I could do this job,’ but they needed data to back that up,” Forge explained.

To stay up to date, OpportuNext partners with Vicinity Jobs, an AI-powered system that scrapes hundreds of thousands of job postings each month. The platform analyzes real employer demands, including skills and certifications, to continuously refine its recommendations.

“It’s big, big data work,” said Forge. “We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of unique job postings and a moving window over the last three to four years, so that’s a lot of information to compute. We go from a lot of data points into something that users can digest.”

With AI doing the heavy lifting, OpportuNext aims to help Canadians take control of their careers, whether making a small pivot or a complete leap into something new.

PRESENTED BY

Discover how the Future Skills Centre is making sense of AI’s impact on skills development—helping job seekers and employers connect faster. Access the report to learn more.

All photos provided by Drew Lindsay, GuruLink.

The post Two new AI tools to help you land a job first appeared on BetaKit.

Phoenix has closed $50 million CAD in equity and debt to help more men suffering from erectile dysfunction (ED) and other common but stigmatized health conditions “rise again.”

The Toronto-based healthtech startup—which offers a service for men across Canada to access treatment for ED, weight management, and hair loss virtually through its digital health platform—plans to use this capital to expand its team, increase the visibility of its brand, and scale its operations.

“I think Canadians really wanted to get care in this fashion, and it’s just been hockey-stick growth ever since.”

Gavin Thompson,
Phoenix

“I think we’ve really built a brand that resonates with men,” Phoenix co-founder and co-CEO Kevin Bache told BetaKit in an interview.

Phoenix’s Series A round closed in January. Boston’s Valspring Capital—a growth equity firm founded by the former healthcare investment team of Bain Capital Ventures—led the all-primary equity portion, which also saw participation from existing backer Y Combinator (YC), while CIBC Innovation Banking provided the venture debt component. 

Bache claimed that the round was “mostly equity,” but declined to disclose the exact breakdown or Phoenix’s valuation. This capital brings Phoenix’s total funding to $55 million. Valspring managing partner Yumin Choi and senior principal Amanda Zajac are joining Phoenix’s board as part of the round.

Phoenix customers seeking access to treatments for ED, weight management, and hair loss complete detailed, asynchronous questionnaires, upload government identification, and pay $40 per online visit. That information is then sent to an independent licensed physician in their province, who ultimately decides whether or not to write them a prescription based on those intake forms and follow-up questions in written chats.

If approved, Phoenix sends that prescription to a licensed partner pharmacy and fulfills home delivery of the associated drugs as early as the next day, compensating doctors for their time whether or not they write prescriptions, and generating revenue from medication sales. Today, Phoenix is available across Canada, except in Québec and the territories.

Bache founded Phoenix in 2019 with co-CEO Gavin Thompson. They claim the startup acquired its first customers within two hours of launching. 

“I think Canadians really wanted to get care in this fashion, and it’s just been hockey-stick growth ever since,” Thompson told BetaKit. 

RELATED: MedEssist offer pharmacists medication delivery via new Uber Direct partnership

The co-CEOs argued that the discretion and convenience Phoenix offers compared to the typical doctor’s office or pharmacy visit has aided the startup’s growth to date, but declined to disclose Phoenix’s current revenue or the size of its customer base.

“Out of the gate, the demand for their solution was clear,” Choi told BetaKit. “The team was able to address the incredible demand while keeping operating costs down, building and iterating quickly as needed.”

CIBC Innovation Banking executive director Niramay noted that Phoenix has achieved “impressive year-over-year growth, with revenues increasing multiple folds annually.”

“This growth trajectory reflects Phoenix’s effective operational strategies and targeted marketing efforts,” Niramay told BetaKit. “What’s even more impressive is that Kevin, Gavin, and their team have achieved this remarkable scale with disciplined execution and capital efficiency, proving the strength of their model.”

RELATED: Felix expands into more complex categories of care after $18-million Series B

Choi said that Valspring views Phoenix as a compelling investment opportunity given the size of Canada’s pharmaceutical market, its ongoing primary care physician shortages, and its cost advantages compared to the US in terms of operations and drug pricing. He sees Phoenix’s approach to marketing and operational discipline as a differentiator amid a competitive virtual pharmacy and delivery space that lacks a “dominant incumbent.”

Telehealth companies have been boosting advertising spending lately while also taking on more complex medicines. Meanwhile, online providers that help patients access GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs such as Ozempic, which have demonstrated efficacy for weight loss, have reportedly contributed towards a long-term shortage of them in Canada that has only recently eased. That is a concern for folks leaning on those drugs for their on-label use for treating diabetes.

Bache and Thompson said they were aware of these supply challenges and claimed they deliberately delayed the startup’s weight loss program until those shortages were resolved in early 2024. The company began fielding patient interest in weight loss treatments in April 2024. The co-CEOs added that they “closely monitor and maintain the recommendations and guidance outlined by Health Canada.”

On the advertising front, Phoenix went to television early to reach its customers and ran its second Super Bowl ad last month. Cable TV has proven to be an effective marketing medium as the company’s customer base skews older, the co-CEOs said.

According to Thompson and Bache, Phoenix’s specialization in certain conditions has been a key factor in its growth to date. They declined to say whether Phoenix intended to move into any new segments, noting that the company is “mostly focusing on doubling down” on what it is doing in existing markets with its Series A capital, as it looks to reach more men across Canada.

Thompson said the now 35-person company intends to “at least double, maybe triple” the size of its team this year to support its growth. Phoenix’s website also indicates that the startup is planning to move into servicing premature ejaculation.

Feature image courtesy Phoenix.

The post Phoenix secures equity funding from Valspring, venture debt from CIBC for prescription drug service geared to men first appeared on BetaKit.

Vancouver-based Novarc Technologies has raised a Series B round as it gears up to commercially launch its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered vision system for autonomous welding robots.

The $50-million USD ($71.6-million CAD) round had a $20-million USD debt component, a Novarc spokesperson told BetaKit in an email statement, and declined to disclose if there was a secondary capital component.

Federal agency Export Development Canada (EDC) led the round, with participation from private investment firm Graham Partners, shipbuilding company Seaspan, and British Columbia’s provincial strategic investment fund InBC Investment Corp (InBC). EDC partner Erik Brien-Wright joined Novarc’s board as a result of the round. 

“We believe Novarc’s technology will be a catalyst for significant advancements in the industrial manufacturing sector.”

Guillermo Freire

The funding will be used towards Novarc’s research and development efforts and expanding its market presence, the company said in a statement. This includes developing AI products like its NovAI adaptive welding vision system, which aims to automate robotic welding without the need for manual adjustments.

Novarc said that the system will be commercially available this summer.

The company also plans to use the funding to hire personnel for its sales and marketing team and expand its innovation and product development teams, the Novarc spokesperson told BetaKit.

EDC senior vice-president Guillermo Freire said in a statement that EDC is excited to support Novarc as it explores expanding its international market presence beyond North America. 

“We believe Novarc’s technology will be a catalyst for significant advancements in the industrial manufacturing sector, addressing the critical need for automation,” Freire said.

Round investor Seaspan was an early adopter of Novarc’s technology, the company said, having installed its Spool Welding Robot (SWR) at its Vancouver Drydock and recently at Victoria Shipyards. Victoria Shipyards vice-president and general manager Tony Winter said in a statement that it has seen “significant productivity and quality improvements” in its pipe shop since adopting Novarc’s SWR. 

RELATED: Sanctuary AI, Nexera, and Novarc make deals and developments in busy week for Vancouver robotics companies

The SWR is a collaborative robot designed for welding tasks involving pipes and small-pressure vessels like air tanks, and other types of “roll welding,” in which two types of metal are fused together under high pressure.

EDC and Graham Partners are following their support of Novarc’s $20-million USD (then $27-million CAD) Series A round in 2023, which had an additional $4-million USD secondary capital component. At the time, Novarc said it had SWRs operating in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Saudi Arabia and China, and had recently expanded into Australia.

Last month, Novarc struck a partnership with Appleton, Wis.-based arc welding manufacturer Miller Electric. As part of the partnership, Miller and Novarc will develop adaptive welding solutions powered by AI for Miller’s Copilot collaborative welding line.

UPDATE (03/19/2025): This article has been updated with information provided by a Novarc spokesperson.

Feature image courtesy Novarc.

The post Novarc Technologies raises Series B round led by Export Development Canada first appeared on BetaKit.

American FinTech company Zolve is reportedly planning to bring its credit services for newcomers to the Canadian market as soon as July of this year, according to TechCrunch.

Zolve offers financial services to people who move abroad and face barriers to access due to limited credit history.

Zolve offers financial services, such as credit cards and chequing accounts, to people who move abroad and face barriers to access due to limited credit history. The FinTech company claims it allows customers to access financial products more quickly by leveraging credit history from their previous countries of residence.

The neobank just closed a $251-million USD ($361-million CAD) Series B round, consisting of $200 million USD in debt and $51 million in equity. The round was led by India-based Creaegis, with support from HSBC, State Bank of India, GMO, DG Daiwa, and Community Investment Management, as well as returning investors Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sparta Group, and DST Global Partners. The Houston-based company is now valued at around $800 million USD ($1.1 billion CAD), according to Reuters. 

Zolve told TechCrunch it aims to bring its services to Canada by July or August of this year. It also plans to launch loans for automobile purchases, followed by personal and education loans. 

RELATED: British neobank Revolut reportedly recruiting talent for a return to Canada

Founded in 2021, Zolve primarily served newcomers from India to the United States (US). Its expansion into Canada is part of a planned foray into new markets, including the United Kingdom and Australia. The FinTech company told TechCrunch it has served 750,000 customers and generated $25 million USD in revenue last year. 

“Many migrants are well-paid, in professional roles, and have excellent credit histories, but struggle to access basic services,” Zolve CEO Raghu Gangappa told Forbes. 

Similarly, in Canada, newcomers who have been in the country for under two years often face challenges accessing financial services such as credit cards and loans, a 2019 Statistics Canada report found. The disparity was largely due to insufficient credit history, rendering these newcomers “credit-invisible.” To solve this problem, Zolve uses credit data from customers’ previous countries to offer financial products.

Zolve is not the only FinTech company interested in the Canadian market. British neobank Revolut is reportedly recruiting talent for a potential return to the country, after retreating in 2021 following a limited launch.

Zolve faces competition from Canadian startups looking to cater to newcomers who are “credit-invisible,” such as Beacon and Karla, as well as bigger players like Borrowell. Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. based Vambora, which focused on financial inclusion for immigrants, shut down last year. 

Feature image courtesy Zolve.

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Toronto-based autonomous vehicle (AV) startup Waabi is calling for the industry to follow the road it has forged by developing a framework to measure the realism of AV simulators. 

Waabi founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun outlined in a blog post this week how the company’s newly developed realism metric works, which is meant to evaluate how an AV simulator represents the physical world to an autonomous system. 

Urtasun explained how the most safety-critical events are also the rarest, making it essentially impossible for an AV to be exposed to every potential real-world situation, and that recreating dangerous scenarios for testing purposes are also practically impossible and come with ethical problems. 

“Advanced simulators can be used to understand how the system will perform and in which specific situations it will fail, helping to understand the deficiencies of the system,” Urtasun said. “But relying on simulation for these high stakes tests introduces a new, critical hurdle: ensuring the realism of the simulator.” 

Waabi’s realism metric compares how AVs drive in simulated scenarios to how they drive in identical real-world scenarios. They do this by recreating a set of real-world scenarios within the simulator as a digital twin, and then measuring the difference between the AV’s trajectory in both. The closer a simulation is to an AV’s real-life reaction, like triggering a hand brake or detecting an encroaching vehicle, the more realistic and reliable a simulator can be considered. Waabi says its platform has a 99.7 percent realism score, by its own metric. 

RELATED: Waabi inks partnership with investor Volvo to develop and deploy self-driving trucks

After unveiling Waabi’s new measurement, Urtasun called on the AV industry to prioritize simulator realism, saying that transparency and accountability are “absolutely paramount” for building public trust in AV technology.

“Going forward, all AV developers using simulation need to be able to publicly demonstrate the quantified realism of their simulators,” Urtasun said. “Just as we have safety standards for vehicles themselves, we must establish clear and measurable standards for the simulators on which their safety depends.” 

Earlier this year, Waabi teamed up with one of its investors, Swedish automaker Volvo, to build and commercialize self-driving trucks. Urtasun told BetaKit at the time that the deal was “a massive step forward” and the last piece the startup needed in order to have a solution that can scale. The partnership follows Waabi’ $275-million CAD ($200-million USD) Series B round last June, when the company announced it planned to deliver fully driverless, generative AI-enabled trucks in 2025.

Feature image courtesy Waabi.

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Experts are worried that Quebec’s faltering seed-stage funding performance in 2024 could have long-term impacts on the province’s tech sector.

Seed-stage venture deals in Québec dropped by more than half year-over-year, with dollars invested dropping by a sharp two-thirds.

A recent report led by Réseau Capital indicates that seed-stage venture deals in the province dropped by more than half year-over-year, with dollars invested dropping by a sharp two-thirds. The report, which uses data from the Canadian Venture Capital Association (CVCA), recorded only 39 seed deals totalling $112 million. The early-stage slowdown reflects a national trend that CVCA CEO Kim Furlong said “presents concerns about the long-term pipeline of high-growth startups.”

Despite the dramatic downturn, ecosystem players BetaKit spoke with are not aligned on what the seed-stage performance indicates for the future of the province’s funding landscape. 

“Admittedly, the low number of seed-stage transactions is concerning,” Olivier Quenneville, CEO of Réseau Capital, told BetaKit. “This could signal a weakening pipeline of companies that would otherwise progress to the early stage and beyond.”

Montréal-based VC David Dufresne, who recently halted fundraising for his shuttered early-stage fund, CMD Capital, said the numbers are “disappointing but not surprising” and did not indicate a healthy ecosystem. 

“It’s a burden on future deal flow,” Dufresne told BetaKit. “If you don’t have a healthy number of pre-seed and seed rounds, it’s going to be hard to get a healthy number of later-stage rounds.”

RELATED: CMD Capital halts fundraising amid “tough” VC market

There were also zero growth-stage VC transactions in Québec last year, according to the report, with nearly the entirety of Québec later-stage investment in Q4 represented by Blockstream’s $289-million convertible financing round.

Part of the problem, Dufresne said, is a dearth of capital available at the earliest stages. Réseau Capital has tracked a weakening pre-seed and seed-stage landscape for entrepreneurs in Québec since Q1 2023. In November, the Québec government quietly shuttered an investment-matching program for startups raising their first rounds, which some entrepreneurs said directly affected their fundraising efforts. 

The ecosystem doesn’t just need more money, it needs more private money—particularly at the seed stage, both Dufresne and Quenneville said. Québec tech has long been reliant on public and quasi-public funds for venture funding. That trend continued in this latest report, which listed government-backed institutional funds as the top four most active investors. 

Though Quenneville said he began the year with “cautious optimism,” the ongoing trade war between Canada and the US has quashed it. “It is still too early to draw conclusions, but the current uncertainty is never good for business,” he told BetaKit.

While some say the numbers reflect a crisis requiring action, other VCs see a blip that will right itself. Hugues Lalancette, partner at Inovia Capital, said he thinks the “health of the ecosystem is strong” and that a tough 2024 represents a temporary dip due to overlapping global and economic factors, including the trade war. 

RELATED: Megadeals kept Canadian VC funding afloat in 2024: report

But Lalancette did acknowledge that capital is scarce on the deployment side. He attributed it to a slowdown in the liquidity path in 2024, such as through exits and other levers like secondary issuances. 

Lalancette said that he expects more US acquisitions of Canadian companies over the coming year, which would create an influx of cash in the market that will flow up to limited partners (LPs) and, he said, be reinvested in early-stage companies.  

Inovia was one of the most active private investors in Québec in 2024 besides Anges Québec, a network of angel investors. Despite the ecosystem-wide decline in deals and low seed-stage activity, Lalancette said Inovia hasn’t seen a slowdown in its venture funds. 

“What we’re seeing in our portfolio is actually reacceleration, especially at the venture stage, and more capital-efficient businesses, because entrepreneurs know that capital is not unlimited like it was in 2021,” Lalancette said.

Artificial intelligence (AI) integration, coupled with low capital availability, is allowing Canadian startups to do more with less, Lalancette said. 

In Québec, AI adoption drove investor interest in 2024, according to Inovia’s recent State of software-as-a-service (SaaS) 2024 report. The report ranks Québec first among Canadian provinces for VC investments in AI. The province accounted for 24 percent of AI-related deals, and 23 percent of AI companies with VC backing between 2019 and 2024, the report says. 

But despite an encouraging push from the emerging technology, Inovia’s report also noted a key factor impacting seed-stage funding opportunities: dwindling funds for emerging managers. VCs and LPs BetaKit spoke with last summer noted that emerging managers were struggling, and cited economic headwinds and rising caution from LPs.

“No one right now is taking responsibility for rebuilding the early-stage ecosystem.”

Dufresne’s firm, CMD Capital, stopped raising its early-stage fund last month and paused operations. The firm, comprised of experienced early-stage investors, cited “little to no appetite” to invest in first-time funds from institutional LPs, due to factors including low LP liquidity and existing portfolio VC funds returning for re-ups.

Emerging managers tend to invest more at the pre-seed and seed stages compared to more established VCs, according to the Inovia report. But those newer players are struggling to close funds from LPs: fundraising for emerging managers dropped from $1.2 billion across 28 funds in 2022 to $172 million across eight funds in 2024, accounting for only seven percent of VC fundraising overall. 

Some support levers, such as Inovia’s Discovery Fund I, are targeted at emerging managers investing at the earliest stages. But in Dufresne’s view, the 2024 funding numbers reflect an early-stage ecosystem in need of significantly more support. 

“No one right now is taking responsibility for rebuilding the early-stage ecosystem, in Québec specifically and in Canada,” Dufresne said. “I would love to see more people that have gained from this ecosystem take responsibility [for] building the next generation.” 

Feature image courtesy Snap Shoot via Unsplash.

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Toronto-based construction technology startup Augmenta has secured an additional $10 million USD ($14.4 million CAD) in seed funding to refine and expand its building design software.

Raised via a simple agreement for future equity, Augmenta’s latest financing closed earlier this month and was led by Prelude Ventures with support from fellow new Silicon Valley-based investor Montage Ventures.

This round brings Augmenta’s total funding to nearly $37 million CAD, a figure that includes a $5.3-million CAD seed round in 2022 and a $15.6-million CAD seed extension from 2023.

Augmenta’s tech is being used to help design systems for hospitals, schools, labs, and maintenance facilities.

Augmenta was founded in 2018 by former Autodesk employees who built the San Francisco-based construction tech giant’s generative design tool. The Toronto startup is developing a platform designed to help contractors and engineers produce detailed, compliant building plans much faster and more cheaply with artificial intelligence (AI).

The company is approaching this problem “from the inside out,” co-founder and CEO Francesco Iorio told BetaKit in an exclusive interview. To date, Augmenta’s efforts have focused largely on figuring out how to automate electrical system design. 

Augmenta claims that its AI platform helps eliminate the risk of errors, reduces rework, and optimizes designs for sustainability and cost-effectiveness, helping contractors, engineers, and real estate developers save time and money. The company claims its software can generate electrical designs “in hours instead of weeks” using advanced machine learning and rule-based computational methods, with humans involved to ensure quality control, code compliance, and make final decisions.

“Construction is one of the largest industries in the world and has been slow to adopt new technology,” Prelude managing director Matt Eggers told BetaKit. “We believe Augmenta’s generative AI solution can fit directly into the current building design workflow [and] toolset and reduce time, cost, and waste.”

Eggers said that Prelude was excited by the productivity gains that Augmenta’s customers have already been realizing.

RELATED: Ontraccr secures $1.2 million for construction management software

The first building built using Augmenta’s tech was a public school in Lansing, Mich., Iorio said. The company recently began making its software available to a broader set of customers and partners. Today, the CEO said the startup’s tech is being used to help design systems for a range of buildings, including hospitals, universities, labs, and maintenance facilities.

“We are finding our footing in the market,” Iorio said. “We started actually having projects fully realized in the world.”

Per Iorio, the largest barrier to adoption right now is spare time to trial new tech, which he said many of the folks Augmenta pitches do not possess. To overcome this hurdle, Augmenta has been working closely with clients on initial projects to operate its software and demonstrate the results it can produce.

Iorio said Augmenta aims to use this funding to “reach the next stage of product-market fit” and help propel the company towards a larger Series A round. 

RELATED: Mave reveals $2 million CAD in pre-seed funding following beta launch of its real estate AI assistant

To get there, it intends to improve the efficiency of its electrical agent and develop “at least an initial proof point” that its software can handle design for other types of building systems beyond just electrical.

Augmenta plans to use this latest capital to refine its electrical agent and begin developing comparable capabilities for mechanical and plumbing—“stepping stones” on its path to eventually automating the design of entire buildings, Iorio said.

The startup intends to expand its engineering team, build out its support and sales functions, and add another 10 to 15 employees to its 40-person workforce by the end of 2025 to support these goals.

Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by C. Dustin.

The post Augmenta closes $14.4 million CAD to advance quest towards AI-driven building design first appeared on BetaKit.

Victoria, BC-based software rollup company Redbrick has added Paved, a New York City-based newsletter advertising platform, to its portfolio for an undisclosed amount. 

According to Redbrick, Paved marks its fourth major acquisition in the past five years. Through its platform, Paved connects newsletter creators with advertisers, matching businesses like Uber, DoorDash, and Salesforce with 253 million newsletter subscribers across more than 3,000 publishers like Paved clients The New York Times, NBC, Bloomberg, and TechCrunch. 

Redbrick acquired Paved because email is here to stay, as an intimate way to connect with an audience, Redbrick CMO Marco Pimentel told BetaKit in an interview. 

“What gets us really excited is that there is still some technical unlocking in this space to make it easier to buy ads on email, to be a bit more performance driven, and be that [much] more technically advanced,” Pimentel said. “[Paved currently has] a lot of subscribers that they’re able to email into, and they have advertisers, but we see a really great opportunity to grow it.”

Paved and its team will continue operating under their own brand within Redbrick, Paved founder and CEO John McLaughlin said in a blog post, adding that the company now expects to grow its team from 15 employees to 50 by the end of the year. 

Redbrick’s recent major purchases show it has a penchant for acquiring American companies. Rebrick bought its Minneapolis, Minn.-based website builder Leadpages in 2020, its Indianapolis, Ind.-based automated email marketing solution Delivra in 2022, and its New York City-based video-creation platform Animoto in 2023.

Pimentel said that Redbrick’s American acquisition spree is a coincidence, adding that it has attempted Canadian acquisitions that didn’t get over the finish line, and that Redbrick heavily considers cultural and logistical considerations, such as time zones, when making deals. 

RELATED: FinTech startup Reach sells majority stake to US-based Primus Capital

However, Canadian companies scooping up American ones is something Pimentel said he likes to “see once in a while.” 

“I think that doesn’t happen as often as most of the US companies buying up Canadian companies,” he said.

That trend has indeed been evident so far this year: Toronto-based companies Payfare, Carbon6 Technologies, and Street Context have all been acquired by American companies. American private equity firm Primus Capital also recently acquired a majority stake in Calgary FinTech startup Reach.

Redbrick founder and CEO Tobyn Sowden was one of the regional winners of the Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneur Of The Year awards last year, representing the Pacific region. While software portfolio companies aren’t a novel concept in Canada, Redbrick positions itself as focused on acquiring digital solutions that help entrepreneurs, a strategy that led to $100 million in annualized revenues in 2023, according to EY.

Feature image courtesy John Schnobrich via Unsplash.

The post Redbrick acquires New York-based newsletter advertising platform Paved first appeared on BetaKit.

Toronto-based Xatoms and Calgary-based Knead Technologies have taken home top prizes in their respective categories at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) pitch competition in Austin, Texas.

Knead, which sells customizable software that matches non-profit food redistribution organizations like food banks with local food donors, took home the top prize in the AgTech & Food category. Xatoms, which looks to use artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum chemistry to make water safe to drink, won out in the Innovative World Tech category, which recognizes any creative and innovative application, product, or service that does not fit in another SXSW Pitch category.

“Incredibly grateful to showcase our technology in Texas—made and built in Canada.” 

Diana Virgovicova
Xatoms

Both pitch winners posed with oversized cheques and took home $4,000 and even larger bragging rights, as they beat out the more than 70 other finalists and alternates amongst all nine pitch categories. The only other Canadian companies in the running were nervous-system imaging technology startup NerView Surgical, smart sleep mask startup Bia Sleep, and security video analysis company Sigen AI, leaving Canada with an impressive winner-to-participant ratio. 

“As the solo company from Alberta and one of just five Canadian companies in the competition, we’re incredibly proud to represent our home on one of the biggest stages in tech,” Knead founder and CEO Lourdes Juan said in a LinkedIn post. 

Knead, which closed an $800,000 pre-seed round earlier this year, helped redistribute 100,000 pounds of food from vendors at the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit last spring. The company claims it has facilitated the redistribution of over 2 million pounds of surplus food—which it says is about equivalent to 1.67 million meals and 236 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide in emissions savings.

RELATED: How Calgary-based startup Knead tackled the NFL draft’s food waste with software

Meanwhile, Xatoms is no stranger to recognition. The emergent startup won three prizes at last year’s Startupfest, including the Best of the Fest prize, the Women in Tech investment prize, and the Front Row Ventures student entrepreneur prize. Born in Slovakia, Xatoms co-founder and CEO Diana Virgovicova recounted on The BetaKit Podcast how she has been all over the world receiving encouragement for her company’s water cleaning tech, including from Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s 776 fellowship and meeting Water.org co-founder, actor Matt Damon. 

“Incredibly grateful to showcase our technology in Texas—made and built in Canada—we had a chance to compete with top innovative companies from the US, Israel, and Australia, and we are bringing home the winning place,” Virgovicova said in a LinkedIn post. “Competing in this category was incredibly challenging; we demonstrated the scalability of our technology as well as its incredible impact.”

Feature image courtesy Diana Virgovicova via LinkedIn. 

The post Xatoms and Knead take home top prizes amid strong Canadian showing at SXSW pitch competition first appeared on BetaKit.