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
Raquel Urtasun launches new self-driving startup Waabi with $100 million CAD from top investors(BETAKIT)
The round was led by Khosla Ventures, which has invested in the likes of Square, Stripe, and DoorDash, and includes participation from autonomous driving startup Aurora, which acquired Uber ATG.
Lightspeed to acquire two companies for $925 million(BETAKIT)
The announcement follows Lightspeed pointing to plans to potentially raise up to $4 billion over the next 25 months through a type of offering that can indicate a company’s aim to make acquisitions.
CIBC Innovation Banking looks to fuel Canadian tech rocketship as ecosystem soars(BETAKIT)
With an explosion in capital entering Canadian tech, CIBC Innovation Banking has emerged as a sophisticated player in the space.
BDC Capital launches new $300 million Growth Venture Co-Investment Fund
Last month, BDC launched its second $250 million growth equity fund and a brand new $200 million deep tech-focused fund.
Carter Griffin on why the best SaaS companies are obsessive about churn(BETAKIT)
In an interview for the #CIBCInnovationEconomy podcast series, Carter Griffin, General Partner at Updata Partners, shared the metrics he really cares about as an investor.
Faire secures $260 million Series F round, claims $7 billion valuation(BETAKIT)
Faire’s Series F raise comes just over seven months after it secured $170 million USD in Series E capital at a valuation of $2.5 billion.
SSENSE claims $5 billion valuation following minority investment from Sequoia Capital(BETAKIT)
This represents the first round of external funding for SSENSE since it was founded in 2003.
Fill out the BetaKit x Cisco Startup Survey(BETAKIT)
Fill out the 3-minute survey for a chance to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card or BetaKit T-shirt.
Trulioo hits $2 billion CAD valuation following $476 million Series D led by TCV(BETAKIT)
The company’s last round was in 2019 when Trulioo secured $70 million CAD. Following the raise, Trulioo founding CEO Stephen Ufford stepped down from his leadership position.
Q4 looks to raise $150 million CAD through IPO
Q4 first filed to go public in May, looking to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘QFOR.’
Latest Funding, Acquisitions, and Layoffs
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VAN – Trulioo – $476M (read more)
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MTL – BDC Capital launches new $300M growth co-investment fund (read more)
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VAN – WELL Health Technologies to acquire MyHealth (read more)
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VAN – Version One Ventures secures $100M for two new funds (read more)
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ONT – Ontario government commits $100M to Venture Ontario Fund (read more)
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MTL – Nesto – $76M (read more)
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TOR – Kepler Communications – $72.6M (read more)
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MTL – Diagram secures $60M for Opportunity Fund (read more)
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VAN – Semios acquires Altrac (read more)
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QUE – Poka – $30M (read more)
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VAN – DeFi Ventures – $17.7M (read more)
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TOR – GreenSky Capital secures $15M for Fund IV (read more)
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FRE – Smart Skin Technologies – $10.7M (read more)
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TOR – Nurosene – $9.2M (read more)
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QUE – OSF Digital acquires Relation1 (read more)
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MTL – Black Innovation Capital secures $6.4M for Black Innovation Fund (read more)
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VAN – Commit – $6M (read more)
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NAI – Croptimistic – $5.2M (read more)
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TOR – Pluribus Technologies acquires ICOM Productions (read more)
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VGN – Data Sentinel – $3.6M (read more)
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VAN – Brüush Oral Care acquires The Dollar Brush (read more)
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MIS – NeuPath Health to acquire KumoCare (read more)
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EDM – AltaML – up to $1M (read more)
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TOR – Andes STR – $666K (read more)
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LON – Vidhug acquired by Punchbowl (read more)
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WHY HEIRLUME WANTS TO BECOME THE GODADDY OF TRADEMARK REGISTRATION(BETAKIT)
Heirlume co-founder and CEO Julie MacDonell explains the Byzantine process of trademark registration and the potential risks for startups.
HOW NEO FINANCIAL PLANS TO TAKE ON THE BIG FIVE BANKS FROM CALGARY(BETAKIT)
“When you look at the Big Five banks today, they all have the same technology stack, the same products, the same features, and the same fees. There isn’t truly competition.”
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