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
Ikea’s investment arm buys into Bolt Logistics as part of Series B round(BETAKIT)
Bolt Logistics (formerly Second Closet) has had a lightning-fast year, finding its niche in fulfillment and last-mile logistics, and securing $115 million CAD to scale that offering beyond Canada. The financing comes less than 10 months after the startup extended its Series A round with $20 million to support a shift away from self-storage.
Clio doubles C-Suite with four new execs to support product, international expansion(BETAKIT)
In an interview with BetaKit, Clio co-founder and CEO Jack Newton said these personnel moves are about positioning the legaltech company—which just recently surpassed 750 employees—for its next stage of its growth.
Canadian Starlink competitor Telesat to go public on the TSX(BETAKIT)
Satellite communications company Telesat filed to go public on the Toronto Stock Exchange earlier this week. With the financial support of Ontario, Québec, and the federal government, the company is working to launch a low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite network, and is a notable Canadian competitor to Elon Musk’s Starlink and Jeff Bezos’s Project Kuiper.
Shopify, Ledger dodge class action as California court dismisses 2020 data breach lawsuit(BETAKIT)
A California court has dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Shopify and Ledger over a 2020 Shopify data breach that impacted both companies, on jurisdictional grounds.
Bootstrapped Ataccama hungry to win global data management market(BETAKIT)
“The pandemic has really opened the eyes of a lot of CEOs about the importance of having a sustainable digital transformation initiative.”
Wealthsimple Crypto launches wallet support(BETAKIT)
A spokesperson for Wealthsimple called this the first step in the company moving from a closed-loop system to one that allows for functionality around external wallets.
HugOps: how to get developer and security teams working together(BETAKIT)
Cybersecurity leaders from Microsoft Canada, GitHub, and Ammolite Analytx join a recent BetaKit Live panel to discuss what’s causing the disconnect between developers and security.
BetaKit Live: Dax Dasilva on making a difference on November 15th(BETAKIT)
On Monday, November 15 at 4:00 pm EST, BetaKit will be joined by Dasilva to discuss how his personal journey has informed his views on social impact and what his experience running one of Canada’s publicly-traded tech giants has taught him about scaling change.
Latest Funding, Acquisitions, and Layoffs
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VAN – Mimik Technology – $17.9M (read more)
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CAL – StellarAlgo – $16.5M (read more)
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CAL – Gradient MSP – $12.7M (read more)
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CAL – Plug and Play Alberta receives $7M investment from OCIF (read more)
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CAL – Interface Fluidics – $6.7M (read more
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KIT – EnPowered – $12.75M (read more)
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WAT – OpenText to acquire Zix (read more)
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TOR – Wrapbook – $100M (read more)
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TOR – VerticalScope announces plans to acquire three companies (read more)
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TOR – McRock Capital leads $57M round for California-based Landing AI (read more)
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TOR – Savvy – $3.7M (read more)
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TOR – Enso Connect – $2M (read more)
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TOR – Think Research acquires the assets of Pharmapod (read more)
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OTT – Fullscript – $300M (read more)
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OTT – Threekit – $43.6M (read more)
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OTT – Knak – $31M (read more)
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MTL – Inovia Capital leads $65M seed extension for California’s Neo4j (read more)
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MTL – Quebecor launches new corporate VC fund (read more)
RECOMMENDED BY INNOVATE BC
Your business can get up to $10,000 to hire for a tech role through Innovate BC’s Innovator Skills Initiative program.
The Innovator Skills Initiative program aims to help under-represented groups, including Indigenous, BIPOC, 2SLGBTQQIA+, and neuro-diverse persons living with a visible or invisible disability. Non-binary, women, youth from care, and others get their first job in the tech sector by ensuring placements for under-represented people are available.
The program will help create a more diverse tech sector and, with talent shortages filled, B.C. businesses will have the opportunity to expand and grow. If you are looking to diversify your talent pool with skilled workers, the ISI program is for you.
SHOPIFY’S CRYPTO BROS, AND ANTI-GROWTH IS COOL NOW(BETAKIT)
Unlike past AMA episodes, this week’s version features no questions better suited for a Master’s thesis. It does feature the requisite amount of shenanigans.
THE CDL MENTORING SESSION THAT GAVE BRICE SCHESCHUK IMPOSTER SYNDROME(BETAKIT)
Brice Scheschuk (Wind Mobile, Globalive) explains the motivation behind his new initiative to improve the craft of mentorship and create more resilient entrepreneurs.
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