Canadian startup news of the week (2/13/22)

D-Wave 2000Q Chip
Plus: D-Wave looks to go public.

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


D-Wave hopes to raise $431 million CAD as it prepares to go public via SPAC

The deal is anticipated to close in the second quarter of 2022, and is expected to give D-Wave a valuation of approximately $1.5 billion CAD ($1.2 billion USD).


11 Canadian tech companies to watch in 2022

ControlHQ’s co-founder is back with his #CDNtech crystal ball. Here’s Kevin Sandhu’s annual list of Canadian tech companies that will make significant strides in 2022.


Raquel Urtasun’s Waabi unveils “revolutionary” autonomous vehicle testing simulator

AI and self-driving car expert Raquel Urtasun says the next generation of autonomous vehicle technology is here. Eight months after coming out of stealth mode with her company, and securing $100 million CAD in initial capital, Urtasun has unveiled the capabilities of Waabi’s technology.


Canadian biotech leader Clarissa Desjardins secures $63 million CAD for Congruence Therapeutics

Clarissa Desjardins’ Congruence Therapeutics has secured $63 million CAD for its platform, which designs novel small molecules that can speed up drug discovery for rare diseases. The Series A round was led by Amplitude Ventures and Fonds de solidarité FTQ, in Amplitude’s third bet on Desjardins.


Dozr raises $27.5 million in Series B funding to support US expansion plans

According to Dozr, the startup’s Series B round consisted “mostly” of primary capital, but also involved “some secondary.”


Forma.ai quadruples annual revenue, sets out to disrupt sales compensation

“In this last year, not only have we truly demonstrated that we can handle the most complex of sales comp challenges, but we’re doing it in a way that’s totally disrupting how organizations operate, for the better,” Alazzam told BetaKit.


Latest Funding, Acquisitions, and Layoffs

  • VAN – Elastic Path – $60M (read more

  • VAN – Trulioo acquires HelloFlow (read more)

  • EDM – Wyvern – $4M (read more

  • SSK – 7shifts – $101.6M (read more)

  • SSK – Cubbi – $1.35M (read more)

  • TOR – Wafra Capital Partners acquires Financeit from Goldman Sachs (read more)

  • TOR – Newton Crypto – $25M (read more)

  • TOR – Odaia – $17.5M (read more)

  • TOR – Micruity – $6.5M (read more)

  • GAT – Cilex – $230K (read more)

  • MTL – Canexia Health and Imagia merge, raise $20M (read more)

  • MTL – Axya – $3.9M (read more)

  • SHE – Nord Quantique – $9.5M (read more)

  • FRE – Potential Motors – $4M (read more

  • NY – LoanStreet closes $32M led by Portage Ventures (read more)


RECOMMENDED BY BETAKIT

WHO ARE CANADA’S ‘SOONICORNS’?

Mike Potter (Rewind), Stephany Lapierre (TealBook), and Lloyed Lobo (Boast.ai) discuss building tech companies in Canada, and why their companies may soon be Canadian tech unicorns.


HOW ADA AND BENEVITY BECAME CANADIAN TECH UNICORNS

Kelly Schmitt (Benevity) and Mike Murchison (Ada) discuss their company’s journey to a $1 billion valuation, scaling and keeping talent in Canada.


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.

0 replies on “Canadian startup news of the week (2/13/22)”