Welcome to BetaKit’s startup stories of the week! Here, you will find the week’s most important news, features, and editorials published on BetaKit.
If you prefer this update hit your inbox every week, make sure to subscribe to the BetaKit Newsletter using the form at the bottom of this page.
Top Stories of the Week
Despite market conditions, 2022 second-highest year on record for Canadian venture capital
In the fourth quarter, $2.5 billion CAD was invested across 162 deals, closing the year with $10 billion across 706 deals.
OMERS Ventures enters 2023 with new playbook as firm looks to launch fifth fund this year
Four years after John Ruffolo’s departure, OMERS Ventures has built its global venture fund out of Canada. But 2023 has brought more changes: with plans to launch its fifth fund this year, OMERS Ventures has overhauled its operational structure and unified under one global investment committee.
Canadian securities regulators tighten rules for crypto platforms following Voyager, Celsius, FTX collapse
These moves come in light of the recent collapse of a number of different unregulated international crypto trading platforms, from Voyager Digital to Celsius Network and FTX, amid the broader crypto downturn.
Dapper Labs cuts another 20 percent of staff while fending off class action suit
Vancouver-based Web3 firm Dapper Labs has laid off 20 percent of its full-time employees as part of a restructuring amid the crypto winter. These cuts represent Dapper Labs’ second round of significant layoffs since November, and come as the firm contends with a class action lawsuit claiming its NBA Top Shot NFTs constitute unregistered securities.
Canadian privacy commissioners launch joint investigation into TikTok data use
According to the federal privacy regulator, the investigation was initiated in the wake of now settled, class action lawsuits in the United States (US) and Canada, as well as media reports related to TikTok’s collection, use, and disclosure of personal information.
CDPQ makes executive changes following Celsius investment write-off
Alexandre Synnett, executive vice-president and CTO at CDPQ—and the executive involved in the CDPQ investment in Celsius—has left the firm. As per the firm’s recent earnings call, CDPQ CEO Charles Emond noted that Synnett voluntarily resigned.
Felix Health CFO Paritosh Gupta on why finance leaders need a new approach to risk
Speaking on the Float Retained Learnings podcast, Gupta shared more about his belief that CFOs need to learn to experiment more.
Latest Funding, Acquisitions, and Layoffs
-
CAL – IrisCX – $6.2M (read more)
-
EDM – Future Fields – $15.1M (read more)
-
SSK – Optimistic acquires CropPro Consulting, secures $9.1M (read more)
-
KIT – Plum – $8M (read more)
-
TOR – Lighthouse Labs – $21.2M (read more)
-
TOR – System-3 – $3.6M (read more)
-
MTL – Oxio acquired by Cogeco (read more)
-
MTL – AAVAA Technologies – $2M (read more)
-
STJ – TechNL – $27.1M (read more)
POWERED BY: DMZ You’ve heard of startups becoming unicorns, but what about startups becoming camels?
For a long time, a founder’s ultimate goal was to achieve unicorn status, characterized by rapid growth and high valuations.
In today’s climate, operating with this mindset isn’t always realistic. Instead, companies must embody the camel, characterized by future-orientated thinking and resiliency.
At the DMZ, we build camel startups. That means helping founders become resourceful and calculated as they launch and scale world-class businesses. It’s time to start thinking like a camel, startups.
GENERATIVE AI WILL TEST WHAT’S WORSE: BIASED DATA OR USER BAD FAITH
“This whole thing with ChatGPT is just history replaying itself. We need to stop viewing tech and innovation as a veritable silver bullet for all the world's problems and instead understand that it can actually scale inequities at warp speed.”
Feminuity co-founder and CEO Dr. Sarah Saska walks through the current relationship between DEI and tech, before tracking the dangers of biased data and bad faith users on generative AI.
THE INDIGO HACK IS BAD. WILL AI MAKE CYBER THREATS WORSE?
“The deepfake technology that is part of this new rise of generative AI tools I think will have a very deleterious effect on the current state of cyber defences.”
Plurilock CEO Ian Paterson discusses the economics of AI cyber threats and Canada's response with Bill C-26.
Subscribe to B|K: The BetaKit Newsletter
Subscribe to B|K using the form below to ensure the best from BetaKit hits your inbox every week.