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Clio acquires San Francisco’s Lawyaw as it ramps up merger and acquisition efforts (BETAKIT)
The increase in M&A activity follows $136 million CAD in Series E capital raised earlier this year, which gave Clio a $1.6 billion USD valuation.
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Quizlet plans for IPO over a year after hitting unicorn status (TECHCRUNCH)
In an email to TechCrunch, the San Francisco-based edtech startup declined to comment. Quizlet hasn’t said much about its revenue specifics or if it’s profitable.
Cohere raises $40 million USD to make natural language processing more accessible (BETAKIT)
The round, which closed this summer, was led by Index Ventures, and saw participation from Section 32, return investor Radical Ventures, as well as several AI experts, including Turing Award winner Geoffrey Hinton, Fei-Fei Li, Pieter Abbeel, and Raquel Urtasun, who recently launched her own AI startup.
Inside DeepMind’s secret plot to break away from Google (BUSINESS INSIDER)
In 2017, DeepMind told employees it was hatching a plan to break away from parent company Google. Code name: Mario.
Inovia Capital partner and former RIM exec Dennis Kavelman joins board of BenchSci (BETAKIT)
BenchSci raised a $29 million CAD ($22 million USD) Series B funding round led by F-Prime Capital in September 2020.
Canadian tech leaders want more government guidance before returning to the office (BETAKIT)
At a recent panel for BetaKit Patreon supporters, a trio of Canadian tech’s people leaders said companies need more government leadership regarding how to navigate vaccination policies and mandates in the workplace.
The third revolution in warfare (THE ATLANTIC)
First there was gunpowder. Then nuclear weapons. Next: artificially intelligent weapons.
OMERS and Vector Institute sign five-year collaboration agreement (BETAKIT)
“Our work with the Vector Institute will enable us to more fully explore and act on opportunities to use machine learning and AI.”
This Google vet and Panasonic are using AI—and humans—to help busy moms (FAST COMPANY)
Yoky Matsuoka cofounded Google X and helped run Nest. At Yohana, she’s creating a new kind of wellness company, starting with assistance for everyday tasks.
BMO and Riskfuel collaborate on AI for financial transactions (BETAKIT)
BMO and Riskfuel plan to develop models for pricing and scenario awareness of structured derivatives transactions, which are complex, grouped financial instruments.
In the US, the AI industry risks becoming winner-take-most (WIRED)
A new study illustrates just how geographically concentrated AI activity has become.
Gatik raises $107 million CAD Series B round, announces Texas expansion (BETAKIT)
Along with the funding announcement, Gatik has revealed plans to expand its operations in Texas, where it intends to establish “a long-term presence.”
Attabotics files patent infringement claim against Boston-based Urbx (BETAKIT)
Attabotics’ complaint, obtained by BetaKit, alleges that Urbx has and continues to infringe two patents held by Attabotics.
Toronto tech smashed venture funding records in Q2 with $1.46 billion raised
Toronto was one of four Canadian tech markets to set funding records in Q2 2021, along with BC, Waterloo Region, and Montréal (Calgary? Not so much). The quarter helped push H1 investment to its highest levels.
