A|I: The AI Times – Cruise cruises to deployment

Plus: DeepMind’s AlphaCode AI writes code at a competitive level.

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LeddarTech scores $140 million USD in Series D funding and debt (BETAKIT)

The Canadian firm also plans to use this funding to bolster its engineering capabilities as it looks to meet demand from global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and automotive customers.


Cruise, loaded with another $1.35B from SoftBank, opens up driverless ride-hailing to the public (TECHCRUNCH)

SoftBank had previously committed to investing an additional $1.35 billion, on top of its initial $900 million investment, once Cruise was ready for commercial deployment.


White Star and OMERS-backed Wrk wants to be “Uber for office tasks” (BETAKIT)

“We will use the money for growth, growth, growth,” declared Wrk CEO Mohannad-El Barachi, who co-founded Wrk with David Li, the startup’s COO.


Supply chain startup Loadsmart raises $200M to automate logistics processes (VENTUREBEAT)

A freight technology company that leverages automation to help customers price, book, and ship goods, Loadsmart has announced that it raised $200 million in series D financing at a $1.3 billion valuation.


IBM partners with Québec government to open new accelerator program (BETAKIT)

As part of the launch, IBM is deploying its first quantum computing system in Canada. It is only the fifth such system in the world, along with systems in Germany, South Korea, Japan, and the US.


SoftBank, Riverwood lead $93 mln investment in Brazilian HR startup Gupy (REUTERS)

Gupy’s latest funding round was 12 times larger than its previous one in June 2021, when the firm raised 40 million reais. Four months later, it acquired Niduu, a startup focused on employee training.


Stamped AI closes $2 million to simplify financial statement prep for SMBs (BETAKIT)

Founded in 2017, Stamped AI is building a platform designed that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help SMBs streamline and automate the traditionally time and labour-intensive accounting data certification process.


Two of Google’s Ethical AI staffers leave to join ousted colleague’s institute (BNN BLOOMBERG)

Google’s Ethical AI research group lost two more employees, adding to the turmoil at the unit studying an area that is vitally important to the technology giant’s business future and political standing.


Universities have a role to play in addressing BC’s tech talent crunch: report (BETAKIT)

The report, released last week by University Canada West, gathered opinions and insights from industry participants on how academia and industry can collaborate to fill the current gaps in BC’s workforce.


DeepMind’s AlphaCode AI writes code at a competitive level (TECHCRUNCH)

The team at DeepMind, a subsidiary of Alphabet, is aiming to create intelligence in as many forms as it can, and of course these days the task to which many of our great minds are bent is coding.


Australian government taps Bedrock AI for RegTech challenge (BETAKIT)

Months after closing a $1 million seed round, Bedrock AI has been tapped by the Australian government as one of five startups competing for a $1 million contract to solve a RegTech problem around poor capital markets disclosures.


Air Force taps Clearview AI to research face-identifying augmented reality glasses (NEW YORK TIMES)

In a flier, Clearview said the product “saves lives,” “saves time” and “improves health” by increasing social distancing and keeping officers’ hands free to grab their weapons.


AI drug discovery startup BenchSci scores $63 million Series C round led by Inovia, TCV (BETAKIT)

Sixteen of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies use BenchSci’s tech, including Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Moderna, and AstraZeneca.


Josh Scott

Josh Scott

Josh Scott is a BetaKit reporter focused on telling in-depth Canadian tech stories and breaking news. His coverage is more complete than his moustache.

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