News from BetaKit

Canada won’t pursue national semiconductor strategy, AI minister says

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit 1 place · 05/08/2026 13:41 EDT

Canada is the only G7 country without a standalone strategy. Industry groups are urging action. Read more ›

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Founded by Alphabet alums, Canadian-led AI hardware startup Extropic secures over $14 million

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Josh Scott @ BetaKit 3 place · 12/08/2023 06:00 EDT

Run by @BasedBeffJezos, Extropic’s backers include Tobias Lütke, Cohere co-founders. Read more ›

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H|T: The Healthtech Times – New Spring Impact Capital fund targets early-stage healthtech startups

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit · 12/08/2023 05:00 EDT

Plus: AbCellera decimates staff in biotech slump. Read more ›

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ContactMonkey raises $55-million Series A from Updata Partners

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Isabelle Kirkwood @ BetaKit · 12/07/2023 16:52 EDT

Toronto startup claims it is profitable and has grown 330 percent in the past three years. Read more ›

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Nicotine addiction treatment tech startup Ditch Labs acquires IP assets of French firm Enovap SAS

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit · 12/07/2023 15:59 EDT

Acquisition comes nine months after Ditch Labs secured $3.25 million CAD in seed funding. Read more ›

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Bitkey lead calls Canada an important market as Block launches new self-custody Bitcoin wallet worldwide

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Josh Scott @ BetaKit · 12/07/2023 10:00 EDT

Block bills Bitkey as a simpler alternative to other self-custody Bitcoin storage options. Read more ›

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$86 million Series D extension has Koho targeting growth and profitability

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Douglas Soltys @ BetaKit 3 place · 12/07/2023 09:02 EDT

Canadian challenger bank reaches one million users, $100-million run rate. Read more ›

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Bianca Bharti joins BetaKit as newsletter editor

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BetaKit @ BetaKit · 12/07/2023 07:00 EDT

Former National Post reporter joins as BetaKit’s newsletter editor. Read more ›

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EZee Assist reveals $1.85 million in funding to help franchises manage institutional memory

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Josh Scott @ BetaKit 3 place · 12/07/2023 06:00 EDT

Toronto startup caters to clients like BeaverTails and Real Property Management. Read more ›

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R|T: The Retail Times – Shopify’s Black Friday-Cyber Monday breaks records

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit · 12/07/2023 05:00 EDT

Plus: Shein officially files for US IPO. Read more ›

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Workleap expands through acquisition of US-based HR tech firm Pingboard

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit · 12/06/2023 16:50 EDT

The acquisition comes five months after Workleap raised $125 million from CDPQ. Read more ›

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As ailing WeWork reduces Canadian footprint, BDC opens new collaborative work location in Vancouver

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit · 12/06/2023 16:12 EDT

Vancouver marks BDC Square’s third location, following Toronto and Montréal. Read more ›

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Renaissance raises $1 million CAD in fresh funding to help artists connect with their superfans

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Isabelle Kirkwood @ BetaKit · 12/06/2023 13:00 EDT

Music tech startup claims to have surpassed one million downloads with zero marketing spend. Read more ›

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SMEs that reduce their carbon footprint perform better than those who don’t: BDC report

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Bianca Bharti @ BetaKit · 12/06/2023 06:00 EDT

SMEs recoup investments in 16 months, but 32 percent of those surveyed don’t plan on taking action. Read more ›

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FinChat secures $1.5 million USD from Social Leverage to expand AI-powered stock research platform

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Josh Scott @ BetaKit 3 place · 12/06/2023 06:00 EDT

Earlier this year, Toronto-based FinTech startup Stratosphere—an investment research analytics platform led by the co-founder and co-host of The Canadian Investor Podcast (TCI)—decided to jump on the generative artificial intelligence (AI) trend. In what FinChat co-founder and CEO Braden Dennis described as an “experimental” bid to build an AI tool for researching publicly traded companies, Stratosphere launched FinChat in April 2023, and the platform quickly exploded in popularity. Whereas Stratosphere... Read more ›

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A|I: The AI Times – Sam Altman is back, Microsoft grabs a board seat, OpenAI plans governance changes

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit · 12/06/2023 05:00 EDT

Plus: PASQAL commits $90 million to quantum initiative to DistriQ in Sherbrooke. Read more ›

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Aiming for cash-flow positive in 2024, Virtuo targets North American expansion with 2023 funding

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Isabelle Kirkwood @ BetaKit · 12/05/2023 15:05 EDT

Calgary-based proptech startup raised $3.5 million in seed financing in March. Read more ›

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Asian food delivery service Fantuan secures $40-million Series C round

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit · 12/05/2023 14:37 EDT

The funding will be used to improve its platform and explore an expansion into other service sectors. Read more ›

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Sixty Degree Capital closes $338 million CAD for third venture fund

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit 2 place · 12/05/2023 06:00 EDT

The new fund looks to invest in enterprise software and healthtech startups. Read more ›

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S|W: The SaaS Weekly – OpenText sells off mainframe business for over $2 billion USD

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Alex Riehl @ BetaKit · 12/05/2023 05:00 EDT

Plus: MaRS IAF returns and is ready to invest. Read more ›

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Flinks and Shakepay reveal new payment services for businesses and consumers

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Josh Scott @ BetaKit · 12/04/2023 16:15 EDT

Montréal FinTech firms target payments with latest offerings. Read more ›

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