Dear reader,
I hope you had a relaxing holiday filled with friends and family.
As I write this, I am on the couch surrounded by loved ones, slowly recovering from a regrettable combination of high-caloric deliciousness and low impulse control.
Speaking of stuffed goods, Team BetaKit cooked this week, covering the latest developments from Elevate, Canadian venture capital movers and shakers, and major company milestones. The result leaves me without the literal kilobytes to contribute anything beyond serving up their efforts in a tinfoil-covered to-go plate, still warm and reminding you of home.
I’ll be back next week. If I can just get off this couch.
Douglas Soltys
Editor-in-chief
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Dispatch from Elevate
This year’s Elevate Festival focused on Canada’s role in the artificial intelligence race.
- From job loss to mental health, innovation leaders (and Canadian actor Simu Liu) unpacked the human impact of AI on opening night.
- OpenAI chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane teased opening a Canadian office in an interview with BetaKit.
- Canadian healthtech entrepreneurs discussed how slow policy and weak procurement limit Canadians’ access to aging and fertility tech.
- It wouldn’t be Elevate without pitch competitions. Find out who The Black Innovation Zone, Moneris eCommerce North, and Elevate Women+ crowned as their winners.
Shopify promotes Jess Hertz to COO as chief revenue officer departs
Shopify promoted general counsel Jess Hertz to chief operating officer as the company’s chief revenue officer, Bobby Morrison, announced his departure after three years.
Hertz is filling the void left by the departure of Kaz Nejatian, who left Shopify to lead San Francisco-based real estate tech firm Opendoor last month.
Manzil surpasses $100 million in halal mortgages for Muslim Canadians
Toronto-based Islamic FinTech startup Manzil has surpassed $100 million in total halal mortgage financings after doubling the size of its mortgage business in less than a year.
Manzil co-founder and CEO Mohamad Sawwaf described the milestone to BetaKit as “a testament” to both the strength of the company’s mortgage product and the demand for it.
Canadian venture updates
- Toronto-based Radical Ventures closed $650 million USD ($907 million CAD) for its new fund investing in early-stage AI companies.
- Vancouver-based VC firm Pender Ventures has hired Cheri Corbett as a partner. Formerly of BDC Capital, Corbett joins Pender nearly one month after its Montreal-based partner, Isaac Souweine, left the firm.
- Québec’s leading AI institute, Mila, may create its own VC fund to turn more of its research output into commercial ventures. Mila tapped Jonathan Shaanan, the managing director of Couche-Tard’s corporate VC operation, to help develop the fund.
Canadian cloud providers unite to launch sovereign cloud offering for government
ThinkOn, Hypertec Group, Aptum, and eStruxture are each chipping in components of what they claim is Canada’s first end-to-end, sovereign, and AI-ready government cloud.
“This initiative restores both data and operational sovereignty, ensuring the Government of Canada can run its most critical workloads under its own control,” said ThinkOn CEO Craig McLellan.
Ex-Cohere execs Sara Hooker and Sudip Roy unveil new AI startup
Former leaders from Toronto-based Cohere and its research division are launching Adaption Labs, a startup aimed at building efficient AI that can “adapt and continuously learn.”
Former Cohere Labs head Sara Hooker will lead the new venture alongside her former Cohere colleague, Sudip Roy, who was the company’s senior director of inference.
Former Dye & Durham leaders resurface with $100-million USD SPAC targeting Canadian tech
Toronto-based MAK Acquisition, led by former executives from legaltech company Dye & Durham, has filed plans with Canadian regulators for a $100-million USD ($139.5-million CAD) initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The special purpose acquisition company hopes to acquire technology businesses that provide “critical solutions in niche markets,” such as tech-enabled services, space, and defence.
Swiirl teams up with former Raptors star Jerome Williams for 40-city student tour
Toronto- and San Francisco-based Swiirl will be powering a 40-city North American tour for Shooting for Peace, the non-profit educational program created by NBA legend and former Toronto Raptors player Jerome Williams.
Kicking off in Toronto, Shooting for Peace will curate its programming using Swiirl’s new agentic AI offering, Pulse. Pulse will listen in on Williams’ session and learn what topics matter most to students and educators.
Position your startup as a trusted security partner
Join Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst on Friday, October 24 for a free webinar designed to help Ontario’s startups seize the growing opportunity in OT (operational technology) security.
We’ll cover:
- Why OT requires a fundamentally different approach than IT
- The biggest risks and challenges critical sectors face today
- How startups can design solutions built for the realities of OT environments
- Why OT security is a massive opportunity for innovators
When: Friday, October 24, 2025
Time: 12 – 1PM EST | Where: Virtual (Zoom)
Cost: Free
Spots are limited – register now to explore how your startup can help safeguard Ontario’s critical sectors, while accelerating your growth.
FEATURED STORIES FROM OUR PARTNERS
- The Hinton Lectures return next month, hosted by the AI Safety Foundation. As AI’s safety cracks are widening, Owain Evans, Director of Truthful AI, will take audiences to the cutting edge of alignment research. Read about what to expect at this year’s lectures.
- Brampton’s startup scene is heating up, and Brampton Venture Zone is helping local founders become the next Canadian tech success stories. More than half of BVZ’s current portfolio is now focused on health and related sectors, positioning Brampton as the land of opportunity for healthtech founders. Read about the tech incubator putting Brampton on Canada’s startup map.
🇨🇦 Weekly Canadian Deals, Dollars & More
- 1Password holds $100M secondary sale, inks AI integration deal
- Spellbook raises $50M USD Series B led by Khosla Ventures
- Mark Cuban-backed TransCrypts closes $20M CAD seed round
- PhenoTips raises $2M to fuel international expansion
- Melamoon pitch competition awards $200K to Black founders
- CDL, Vimy Forge, and Calian launch defence tech programs
- NordSpace partners with C-Core to build aerospace infrastructure
- TransPod partners with Canadian steelmakers for Alberta hyperloop
- Deep Sky to build $500M carbon capture facility in Manitoba
- EQ Bank unveils new account for Canadian small businesses
- Felix launches new “longevity” platform
The BetaKit Podcast — Can Canada build its own social network?
“It’s one thing to say ‘let’s do this in a sovereign way.’ It is a whole other to actually do it.”
Gander Social is attempting to do something that seemed inconceivable six months ago: build a Canadian social network. What does sovereign social media look like? And what will prevent Gander from devolving into every other social network? CEO Ben Waldman joins to answer these questions and many more.
Take The BetaKit Quiz – Manzil’s milestone, a venture capital wind down, and the Junk Yard Dog returns
Think you’re on top of Canadian tech and innovation news? Time to prove it. Test your knowledge of Canadian tech news with The BetaKit Quiz for October 10, 2025.
Calling investors, entrepreneurs, and ecosystem partners
Join FutureSight Ventures at its annual Investor Summit & Demo Day for an afternoon of world-class speakers, inspiration, and company pitches. Hosted at the storied National Club in Toronto, home to rich experiences and new relationships, thought leaders will share hard-won lessons, bold predictions, and practical frameworks you can apply immediately.
Expect founder spotlights, live demos, and candid conversations on building defensible AI ventures and scaling with discipline. Network with LPs, operators, and technologists shaping the next decade of vertical B2B AI SaaS and discover opportunities to invest, advise, or collaborate.
Seats are limited. Request an invite to secure your spot and be part of a community committed to turning ideas into enduring companies.
We can’t wait to welcome you on October 29th from 3 PM to 7 PM.
BetaKit is an Elevate media partner. Feature image courtesy Brandon Ferguson Media for Elevate Festival.