#1. This week’s $360-million Series D round for Neo Financial included investments from Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield, PointClickCare co-founder Mike Wessinger, Roblox CEO David Baszucki, and an unnamed lead investor from what country?
#2. A number of experts warned recently against the unchecked use of AI in language translation, with one warning that the technology is great at producing:
Isaac Caswell, a senior software engineer at Google Translate, told BetaKit that multilingual AI models are great at spitting out “very plausible BS.” He and other translators have warned against AI translation being used without a system of checks in response to AI companies like Cohere expanding their multilingual large-language models.
#3. After creating an assistive device that helps people use their hands, Hamilton’s Lianna Genovese was recently honoured with an award named after this legendary athlete.
Genovese, founder of ImaginAble Solutions, was honoured at the 11th annual Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards this past weekend, an event also attended by Shaq. Genovese was inspired to create ImaginAble’s flagship product, Guided Hands, after meeting a fellow McMaster University student with cerebral palsy who loved to paint.
#4. On an earnings call this week, Shopify executives said they weren’t concerned that merchants would be negatively affected by what major global event?
After posting strong Q3 2024 revenue growth, Shopify CFO Jeff Hoffmeister said he does not believe Donald Trump’s election as US president will adversely affect Shopify’s merchants. While Trump has proposed 60 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, Shopify president Harley Finkelstein noted that China is not a significant market for Shopify. Finkelstein has since expressed deep concern about the Canada Post worker strike, which began today ahead of the holiday shopping period.
#5. What did Kim Furlong, CEO of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, recently describe as "worrisome?”
In the organization’s Q3 2024 venture capital report, Furlong described the decline in seed and pre-seed investments as “worrisome.” In the first nine months of 2024, pre-seed and seed investments only reached roughly 40 percent of their 2023 totals. “You can’t grow what you don’t seed,” Furlong wrote.
#6. BC-based 4AG Robotics was recently named one of Canada’s “most investible” cleantech ventures, for technology designed to “pick, trim, and clean” what?
4AG Robotics (pronounced “forage”), which designs mushroom-picking robots, was among the companies named to The Foresight 50 list this year. Companies on the list are selected by a panel of cleantech investors who evaluate the instability, potential economic impact, leadership team, environmental impact, and probability of success.
#7. Not yet available in Canada, Amazon launched a challenger retail product this week to rival Chinese e-commerce giants Temu and Shein. What is it called?
Amazon Haul is expected to rival Chinese e-commerce giants Temu and Shein. The new app will feature a variety of products across fashion, home, lifestyle, and electronics, all priced at $20 or less.
The launch of Amazon Haul was followed by British Columbia-based UniUni announcing $30 million USD to fuel its US expansion. UniUni was once known to be a delivery partner to Shein and Temu, though the current status of those partnerships is unclear.
#8. Which influential Canadian family is affiliated with Power Corporation, which owns a 55.1 percent undiluted stake in Wealthsimple?
Power Corporation is affiliated with the Desmarais family, who ranked number 10 on Maclean’s recent list of Canada’s Richest People. Power owns a 55.1 percent undiluted equity stake in Wealthsimple, and recently upped the valuation of its stake for the fourth consecutive quarter to above its 2021 peak.
#9. The Competition Bureau of Canada released a report this week that it called “a first for the Bureau.” Why?
The Competition Bureau used an AI program to draft portions of “Report on Summit 2024: Competition in the AI Era.” The digital document summarized discussions at the Bureau’s annual summit, which took place on Sept. 16. Read our story on the event from September, which was written by humans.
#10. Four well-known tech figures were named to Toronto Life’s Most Influential list this year. Who were they?
Looks like winning the Nobel Prize isn’t enough to get you top billing, but Geoffrey Hinton took the eighth spot on the list, which included Nvidia’s Fidler, Wealthsimple CEO Katchen, and Cohere co-founder (and former Hinton student) Aiden Gomez.
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