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
After raising over $1 billion USD in the last year, Faire CTO says startup is poised for growth during market downturn
After growing “very fast” before the pandemic, and adapting to see strong customer growth during COVID-19, Cortes believes present market conditions could play in Faire’s favour once more.
As Apple moves to kill the password, 1Password CEO says he’s not worried
“Every time they’ve introduced something our business has gone up significantly as a result of that,” 1Password CEO Jeff Shiner told BetaKit at Collision 2022.
ApplyBoard CEO says market downturn isn’t slowing down international expansion or IPO plans
Basiri expressed confidence that even in the present market, an ApplyBoard IPO would generate a “very positive” response from investors. “I’m not gonna worry about it at all,” he said. “In fact, actually, it’s a good time for us because we can stand out more.”
Indigenous tech leaders talk progress at #CollisionConf and “long path ahead”
Jacqueline Jennings, venture partner at Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, called the main stage panel, focused on how Indigenous innovation is fuelling tech, the first of its kind in the history of Collision.
PitchBook projects VC deal value to drop, deal count to stay high as market cools
“It’s not like you can just walk out the door and get tens of millions of dollars [anymore],” said Vanta CEO Christina Cacioppo.
Federal government reveals plans for $443 million second phase of Pan-Canadian AI Strategy
“This is a race to the top and I intend for Canada to own the podium,” said François-Philippe Champagne. The Canadian government established its national AI strategy in 2017, providing $125 million for that first phase.
Shopify employees told hiring will slow at town hall
At a town hall meeting with Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, employees heard that that hiring will slow. Amid the market downturn, other Canadian tech startups like Bonsai and Ritual both laid off staff this week.
M&A likely to be a significant driver of value for Canadian tech firms in 2022
Canada will soon close out the first half of 2022, and already, the market for initial public offerings (IPOs) appears unrecognizable from that of 2021. PwC’s Canada-focused M&A report found M&A activity across the country saw similarly explosive growth last year.
Why VC Deven Parekh doesn’t mind “overpaying” for a good deal
Parekh and Insight Partners focus most on what he calls growth sustainability: how long a company can maintain its current growth trajectory.
Latest Funding, Acquisitions, and Layoffs
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VAN – Autozen – $5.1M (read more)
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VAN – Impro.AI – $2.25M (read more)
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EDM – Areto Labs – $1M (read more)
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TAB – Alberta Innovates launches $10M agri-food, bioindustrial funding program (read more)
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WAT – Axonify acquires Toronto-based Nudge (read more)
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WEL – Vision Greens – $7M (read more)
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TOR – BlueCat Networks to be acquired by Audax Private Equity (read more)
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TOR – Ataccama – $150M (read more)
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TOR – Bonsai makes more layoffs, cuts 55 percent of staff (read more)
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TOR – Ritual lays off 16 percent of staff (read more)
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TOR – Flipp acquires Kitchener-Waterloo’s Reebee (read more)
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TOR – Augmenta – $5.3M (read more)
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TOR – Parallelz – $3M (read more)
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OTT – Government of Canada invests $506M into AI, computer science (read more)
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MTL – Sagard raises $400M for private equity fund (read more)
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MTL – Potloc – $35M (read more)
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MTL – Beehivr – $1M (read more)
#COLLISIONCONF AMA: A TECH DOWNTURN VIBE CHECK
“So are you saying that Canadian tech is under-appreciated?”
COLLISION’S PADDY COSGRAVE TALKS SHOPIFY, TECH DOWNTURNS, AND MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS
“There’s so much fire and uncertainty afflicting some of the big names in Canadian tech that I just don’t think that people even know how to process how they might participate in Collision without just getting smacked around on stage.”
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