News from BetaKit

After Ecobee, Stuart Lombard has no regrets

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Douglas Soltys @ BetaKit 1 place · 02/24/2024 14:54 EDT

Ecobee was founded in 2007 and launched its first product in 2008. That was a long time ago, in real life and tech lifespans.  Last year, Stuart Lombard stepped down from his role as Ecobee’s president and CEO after a 16-year run. On this week’s episode of The BetaKit Podcast, I talked with Lombard about what that run was like now that it’s over. “There’s a big difference between wanting... Read more ›

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Helius raises $12.8 million CAD to help devs build blockchain apps on Solana

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Isabelle Kirkwood @ BetaKit 1 place · 02/23/2024 12:42 EDT

The Web3 startup was founded by former Coinbase and AWS software engineers. Read more ›

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As Techstars makes changes, the future of its Toronto accelerator is uncertain

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Josh Scott @ BetaKit 2 place · 02/23/2024 12:31 EDT

Techstars Toronto has paused applications with leader Sunil Sharma transitioning away. Read more ›

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Yoshua Bengio co-signs statement calling for new laws to combat deepfakes

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Isabelle Kirkwood @ BetaKit 1 place · 02/23/2024 12:23 EDT

One study cited a 3,000 percent increase in deepfake fraud last year. Read more ›

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Helika closes $10.8-million CAD Series A for Web3 gaming analytics platform 

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit · 02/23/2024 06:10 EDT

Following success in North America and Europe, Helika wants to expand to the Asia-Pacific market. Read more ›

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As crypto market bounces back, Balance reachieves $2 billion in assets under custody

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit · 02/23/2024 06:00 EDT

Balance relocated its headquarters from Toronto to Calgary at the end of January. Read more ›

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H|T: The Healthtech Times – Healwell CEO dishes on evolution from clinics to AI

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit · 02/23/2024 05:30 EDT

Plus: Newfoundland wants to be a biotech hub. Read more ›

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R|T: The Retail Times – Dax Dasilva returns as Lightspeed CEO, Shopify drops on strong earnings

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit 2 place · 02/23/2024 05:00 EDT

Plus: Investors fooled by Lyft typo. Read more ›

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Ontario companies receiving $17.2 million in federal funding to commercialize quantum solutions

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Isabelle Kirkwood @ BetaKit · 02/22/2024 17:13 EDT

Xanadu, High Q, ProteinQure among companies receiving funding. Read more ›

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BC’s tech companies stand out in 2024 TSX Venture 50 list

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Isabelle Kirkwood @ BetaKit · 02/22/2024 12:46 EDT

Tech companies surged on the TSXV, with an average share price growth of 178 percent. Read more ›

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Golden Ventures closes nearly $140 million CAD for fifth seed-stage VC fund

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Josh Scott @ BetaKit 3 place · 02/22/2024 08:59 EDT

Despite a tough market, Golden remains “long Canada” with strong support from existing LPs. Read more ›

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Profitable payments startup Zūm Rails closes $10.5-million Series A

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Isabelle Kirkwood @ BetaKit 2 place · 02/22/2024 07:22 EDT

Founded by Flinks, Versapay alums, Züm is looking to ramp its US expansion. Read more ›

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Canadian late stage VC funding continued to slip in 2023

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Isabelle Kirkwood @ BetaKit 2 place · 02/22/2024 06:02 EDT

The CVCA tracked $6.9 billion invested during the year across 660 deals. Read more ›

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A|I: The AI Times – OpenAI debuts Sora, a hyper-realistic text-to-video generator

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit 3 place · 02/22/2024 05:00 EDT

Plus: How Vector Institute is reversing Canada’s AI brain drain. Read more ›

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Y Combinator and Yoshua Bengio-backed Armilla AI secures $6 million CAD in new funding

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit · 02/21/2024 15:59 EDT

Armilla says its AI model warranty could have covered Air Canada’s chatbot snafu. Read more ›

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BEKH, Volta and Tribe launch new initiatives to support Black Canadian founders

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Isabelle Kirkwood @ BetaKit 2 place · 02/21/2024 06:05 EDT

Both initiatives look to address the unique, systemic barriers facing Black entrepreneurs. Read more ›

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S|W: The SaaS Weekly – Prodigy’s got a new plan, a new CFO, and a leaner team to boost growth

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit 3 place · 02/21/2024 05:00 EDT

Plus: It’s getting (slightly) easier to sell software. Read more ›

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1Password acquires Boston-based device security platform Kolide

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit 2 place · 02/20/2024 15:17 EDT

Following the deal, CEO Jeff Shiner said 1Password expects to add 250 new positions in 2024. Read more ›

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Levr.ai closes $1-million seed round for AI-powered loan platform for small businesses

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Isabelle Kirkwood @ BetaKit 2 place · 02/20/2024 08:30 EDT

Startup serves companies that “big banks struggle to service and tech startups often ignore.” Read more ›

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Round13 Digital Asset Fund claims over 40 percent gains despite tough crypto market

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Josh Scott @ BetaKit 2 place · 02/20/2024 06:30 EDT

Toronto fund says mix of digital assets, crypto VC has fuelled strong early returns. Read more ›

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