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
Michele Romanow becomes Clearco CEO as Andrew D’Souza moves to Executive Chair
Clearco is facing its second executive shakeup of the new year, with company co-founder and CEO Andrew D’Souza transitioning to executive chair and co-founder and former president Michele Romanow taking over as CEO.
Elsewhere in Canadian FinTech, Bench co-founder and former CEO Ian Crosby has joined Shopify as product director of the company’s business banking offering, Shopify Balance.
Hopper continues acquisition spree with Parisian airline travel tech Smooss
“What the Smooss team has that we don’t have is they have a deep understanding of the passenger service system,” said Frederic Lalonde, CEO and co-founder of Hopper, in an interview with BetaKit.
BC’s budget strong on cleantech; Alberta positions itself as major tech hub
While BC’s NDP government focused on its debt, Alberta’s Conservatives expected to post a healthy surplus in the coming year.
Co-founder Lisa Zarzeczny named Elevate CEO with in-person festival to return this fall
As Elevate’s newest CEO, Zarzeczny said her first order of business is bringing Elevate back as an in-person festival from September 20 to 22, after going digital for two years due to COVID-19 restrictions.
ApplyBoard CEO eyes public markets as TSX rings opening bell in Waterloo Region for first time
After a busy 2021, with multiple funding rounds and a $4 billion valuation, ApplyBoard’s CEO says he’s now eyeing a potential IPO. The comment was made to BetaKit during a Q&A session held at Communitech to celebrate the opening of the Toronto Stock Exchange in the Waterloo Region.
Salesforce to acquire Traction on Demand
Burnaby-based Salesforce consulting firm Traction on Demand is set to become part of Salesforce Professional Services. Traction on Demand is far from the first Canadian startup Salesforce has acquired—the company has previously bought Mobify, Slack, and LevelJump.io.
Latest Funding, Acquisitions, and Layoffs
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VAN – Operto – $15.3M (read more)
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CAL – Avanti Software – $25M (read more)
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CAL – Village Wellth – $400K (read more)
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KIT – RouteThis – $25M (read more)
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KIT – Pulse Industrial – $3.5M (read more)
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TOR – Aviron – $23.6M (read more)
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TOR – Givex acquires Loyalty Lane (read more)
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MTL – Haivision to acquire Aviwest (read more)
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MTL – Busbud – $14M (read more)
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WHAT DOES THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE TEACH US ABOUT TECH PLATFORMS?
Josh O’Kane (Globe & Mail) and Katie Jensen (Vocal Fry Studios) discuss Joe Rogan and the rise of misinformation coinciding with the democratization of media.
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.
