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
VCCI fund managers chosen for latest, $350 million injection of federal capital
HarbourVest Partners, Teralys Capital, Kensington Capital Partners, and Northleaf Capital have been chosen to dole out the $350 million that was committed in the federal Budget 2021. Each of the four firms also managed the previous round of VCCI capital.
After two quarters of sluggish growth, Shopify increases revenues in Q3 2022, but eyes future quarters for road to recovery
“Looking ahead, the flexibility of our platform, breadth of solutions, pace of innovation, and disciplined investment approach position Shopify well to realize the enormous opportunity ahead,” declared Amy Shapero, Shopify’s CFO.
Wealthsimple becomes first regulated Canadian crypto platform to offer staking
As of Wednesday, Canadians can officially stake two tokens through Wealthsimple—Solana and Ethereum—to earn crypto rewards for staking their assets, which can be up to four percent in returns.
Float quadruples revenue YoY despite increased competition, choppy economy
Float claims to have seen its revenue and payments volume quadruple since its $37 million CAD, Tiger Global-led Series A round in November of last year. The startup has also entered two new product categories in recent months with a charge card and a USD card.
WonderFi swaps CEOs, plans hedge against crypto volatility with stock trading and sports betting
In addition to being named president, Dean Skurka has replaced WonderFi co-founder Ben Samaroo as interim CEO, as the Vancouver-based cryptocurrency company plots an expansion into traditional equities, sports betting, & online gaming.
Lightspeed promotes CRO JD St-Martin to president as leadership overhaul continues
St-Martin’s appointment represents the latest major leadership change triggered by the departure of its founding CEO Dax Dasilva. In February of this year, Dasilva stepped down to become executive chair, while JP Chauvet, who had been Lightspeed’s president since 2016, was tapped to become CEO.
Graphite Ventures appoints Omi Velasco as principal to lead Western Canada deals
In 2019, Velasco also co-founded Aventrock Ventures, a family office that has invested in the likes of Symend, Circle Cardiovascular, Beatdapp, Chata, Surf, Wize, and Ownly, among others. In August, Velasco became the executive director for Venture Capital Association of Alberta.
Why Potloc founder Rodolphe Barrere tries to fire himself every six months
Not all startup founders go on to become growth CEOs, and Barrere said he’s had multiple opportunities to exit Potloc, either selling the company entirely or bringing on a professional CEO. However, he always decided against it.
Q3 CANADIAN TECH VENTURE FUNDING REPORTS:
Latest Funding, Acquisitions, and Layoffs
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VIC – Certn acquires InterCheck (read more)
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VAN – Telus International to acquire WillowTree (read more)
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VAN – Visier acquires Boostrs’ assets (read more)
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TOR – Cinchy – $19.7M (read more)
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TOR – University of Toronto nabs funding for AI research from Eric Schmidt (read more)
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OTT – Shopify invests in Watis (read more)
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MTL – Nolk – $30M (read more)
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MTL – Unito – $20M (read more)
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MTL – RenoRun lays off 43 percent of staff (read more)
MAKING FUTURE BETS ON SHOPIFY, WEALTHSIMPLE & THE METAVERSE
“If Canadian VCs weren’t allowed to talk to journalists anonymously, they would never say anything.”
The BetaKit Podcast’s monthly AMA episode answers listener questions about what the future holds for Shopify, Wealthsimple, venture funding, and tech in the 2020s.
WATCHING ALEXIS GAY IS THE MOST FUN YOU CAN HAVE WHILE QUIET QUITTING YOUR TECH JOB
“One of the things that’s funniest in tech is the complete and utter lack of self-awareness.”
Comedian and podcaster Alexis Gay joins to share her transition from working in tech to creating content that perfectly articulates the absurdities of working in tech.
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