Welcome to BetaKit’s startup stories of the week! Here, you will find the week’s most important news, features, and editorials published on BetaKit. If you prefer this update hit your inbox every week, make sure to subscribe to the BetaKit Newsletter using the form at the bottom of this page.
Top Stories of the Week
Ted Livingston says Kik will not stop fighting until it has “no dollars left”(BETAKIT)
The same week he shut down chat messaging app Kik, CEO Ted Livingston took the Elevate Money stage (programmed by BetaKit) to talk about the regulatory fight against digital currencies.
Element AI CEO says “I’m not leaving,” shares commercialization challenges(BETAKIT)
JF Gagné, CEO of Element AI, talked about barriers in bringing artificial intelligence to market at the Elevate AI stage (programmed by BetaKit).
Mike Katchen on why Wealthsimple avoided the traditional VC cycle to scale(BETAKIT)
At Elevate, BetaKit’s Douglas Soltys sat down with Wealthsimple’s Michael Katchen to talk about what it takes to build a successful FinTech company.
Anonymous Medium post raises allegations of sexual harassment at Planswell(BETAKIT)
A Medium post has accused Planswell’s co-founder and former chief marketing officer of the sexual harassment of a former Planswell employee.
Startup Milestones
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Verafin closes $515 million in financing (Read here)
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Hopper acquires Gravy (Read here)
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Knøx raises $8.25M (Read here)
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Wealthsimple acquires SimpleTax (Read here)
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ODAIA raises $1.6M (Read here)
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Plum raises $4.2M USD (Read here)
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Panache Ventures annouonces $58M close of inaugural fund (Read here)
Must Reads
Five Canadian cities with highest volume of investment dollars and deals in 2018(BETAKIT)
PwC broke down the Canadian cities that saw the highest volume of dollars and deals in 2018: Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Quebec City, and Calgary.
Ask an Investor: How can I create optionality after I get an acquisition offer?(BETAKIT)
No matter what stage your business is in, optionality is something you can be proactively driving towards before an acquisition comes your way.
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