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.
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Top Stories of the Week
“A NEW BOTTOM”: TORONTO AND WATERLOO REGION VENTURE FUNDING FELL SHORT IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2023
Venture funding in Toronto and the Waterloo Region had a particularly sluggish start to 2023, with startups in the neighbouring tech ecosystems raising less than eight percent of what was raised in the same quarter last year.
BC VENTURE DEAL VOLUME REACHED A THREE-YEAR LOW IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2023
According to briefed.in's latest report, in the first quarter of 2021, startups in BC raised a total of $95.1 million through nine deals. Investment in terms of dollars raised fell by 78 percent from the fourth quarter of 2022 and 82 percent year-over-year.
FLOAT LAUNCHES NEW CORPORATE CARD AS IT EXPERIENCES GROWTH IN ECONOMIC DOWNTURN
The second version of the corporate card comes two years after Float first launched, and follows a 4x increase in its revenue. Float claims it has helped thousands of customers, processing over 140,000 transactions per month.
Some of the new features of “Float Cards 2.0” include merchant and category restrictions, temporary spending limits, and one-time use cards.
ONEELEVEN HEAD MATTHEW LOMBARDI STEPPING DOWN
The search for OneEleven’s next leader has begun. Angelo Casanas, OneEleven’s programming director, will assume Lombardi’s leadership duties on an interim basis.
ATTABOTICS SUES CANADIAN TIRE OVER WAREHOUSE FIRE
Attabotics alleges that as a result of Canadian Tire’s “alleged evasiveness and obstruction,” it has suffered and continues to suffer damages for which Canadian Tire is liable.
INFLATION BLAMED FOR DECLINE IN MENTAL HEALTH OF CANADIAN FOUNDERS IN THE LAST YEAR
Based on a survey with 1,500 respondents, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) found that rising inflation rates has taken a toll on startup founders, identifying that as a potential stressor that could be behind why their mental health significantly declined in the last year.
ONTARIO INNOVATION CONSORTIUM SOSCIP SHUTS DOWN AS THREE-YEAR FEDERAL FUNDING ENDS
The Southern Ontario Smart Computing Innovation Platform (SOSCIP) has shut down as its three-year funding term from the federal government concluded.
As of June 2022, SOSCIP claimed it had supported at least 289 projects, engaged 576 personnel, and helped 1059 students gain data science skills.
VENTURELAB PRESIDENT AND CEO MELISSA CHEE STEPS DOWN AS TECH HUB LOOKS FOR NEW LEADER
VentureLab has announced its president and CEO Melissa Chee has decided to step down, launching its external search process for a new leader.
HOW STARTUPS CAN BETTER MANAGE THEIR E-WASTE
The life cycle of electronics needs to be re-envisioned, said Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) managing director Andrew Wesolowski.
Wesolowski said startups are the target businesses the ERA aims to help with the equipment it repurposes, as they "typically would not have much to discard since they are just entering the market."
Latest Funding, Acquisitions, and Layoffs
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VAN – GeoComply acquires OneComply (read more)
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VAN – Bonsai Micro secures funding (read more)
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TOR – Cyclica acquired by Recursion (read more)
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TOR – Carbonhound – $1.3M (read more)
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MTL – Valence Discovery acquired by Recursion (read more)
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MTL – Deep Sky – $10M (read more)
The BetaKit Podcast
DO THE FEDS HAVE AN INNOVATION STRATEGY? (AMA EPISODE)
"I don't necessarily know if the government understands what an innovation strategy is."
Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) president Ben Bergen joins to answer listener-submitted questions about: the Canada Innovation Corporation, open banking, SR&ED reform, and why the feds are behind on so many innovation files.
YOUTUBER DAN OLSON (FOLDING IDEAS) ON INTERNET GRIFTS AND HOW HE HUNTS THEM
"We have industrialized grift in a way that is kind of unprecedented in human history."
Canadian YouTuber Dan Olson (Folding Ideas) explains his battle against internet grifts, how his career changed after a viral video on NFTs, why Bill C-11 is a "legislative mess" and the future is a dead mall.
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