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#1. The co-founders of Montréal-based Deck have traded open banking for “open utility,” helping companies comply with what new mandated requirement?
Deck, which announced $6.2 million CAD in funding this week, supports sustainability reporting for businesses by streamlining access to water, fuel, and energy data. The federal government announced its intentions last week to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act to mandate energy-related disclosures.
#2. Venture capital is ____________, according to Robert Antoniades and David Unsworth, who announced their fund’s shift to special purpose vehicle investing.
“Venture is a long-term asset class,” wrote the GPs behind Information Venture Partners, which announced a shift to single-asset, special-purpose vehicle investing after 10 years and three funds. “This downturn has shifted the mindset to delivering quick returns,” they added. “Unfortunately, this approach is incompatible with what it takes to build world-class companies.”
#3. What did CEO Jean-Simon Gaboury do before founding Trustii, which raised $2.8-million CAD this week to combat corporate data breaches, fraud, and industrial espionage?
A former military Psychological operations (PSYOP) officer with the Canadian Forces, Gaboury’s company raised a $2.8-million CAD seed round to grow its risk management software for employers, which combines automated background checks with personalized employee risk scoring.
#4. Former East Side Games CEO Josh Nilson will appear at next week’s BetaKit Town Hall: Vancouver. Which of these shows has NOT been made into a mobile game by the Vancouver-based company?
Nilson’s former company has made mobile games focused on popular shows including Trailer Park Boys, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and The Office. He now runs Maska Investments, which supports underrepresented founders, and is part of a lineup of BC-based leaders and founders who will appear at BetaKit’s Town Hall: Vancouver on Oct. 22.
#5. Fable closed a $25-million USD Series B funding round this week. What does the company offer through its community of product testers?
Fable helps businesses test the accessibility of their products and build more inclusive products. The new capital will help Fable add individuals with hearing and cognitive disabilities to Fable’s community of product testers, and tackle accessibility issues in AI training datasets, which often exclude data representing people with disabilities.
#6. This week, the government of Ontario announced $146 million in provincial commitments to help grow what sector?
The province announced its goal to double venture capital investment in the life science sector, up to $725 million per year, by 2030. The new phase of its life sciences strategy will see $146 million in provincial commitments toward boosting research capacity, increasing access to specialized lab space, speeding up health trials, and launching modernized procurement processes.
#7. BetaKit was first to report this week that in addition to making successive staffing cuts and leadership changes, Toronto-based FreshBooks closed its office in this American city.
The contraction of FreshBooks’ international expansion efforts continues with the quiet closing of its San Antonio location. After the departure of Greg Rodriguez last December, who ran the office as SVP of Global Sales, the closure of the office was only a “matter of time,” one former manager told BetaKit.
#8. Which international billionaire increased their stake in Vancouver-based Well Health Technologies Corp., snapping up shares for a purchase price of $81 million CAD?
Hong Kong-based billionaire Solina Chau is the founder of deep tech venture capital firm Horizons Ventures, a business partner in the multinational conglomerate Cheung Kong Group, and a major shareholder in Tom.com, a Chinese publication and advertising company. The deal gives Chau a 14.53 percent ownership stake in the company, representing roughly 36 million shares.
#9. Canadian startups Wyvern and Kepler secured funding this week. What do the two startups have in common?
Both Wyvern and Kepler, which announced funding this week, are space tech companies. Wyvern, which closed an $8.2-million CAD investment round led by Squadra Ventures, has developed a satellite imaging camera that detects various materials on Earth from space. Kepler, which raised a $20-million CAD investment from the federal government, is a communications company that provides connectivity through a network of satellites.