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
Real estate auction platform Unreserved files $25 million lawsuit against real estate associations
“All we’re being is advocates for transparency, [and] there’s nothing transparent about traditional real estate,” said CEO Ryan O’Connor.
CB Insights report says the bottom fell out of Canadian FinTech funding in Q2 2022
The report found that funding poured into Canadian FinTech companies in Q2 2022 has plummeted by 75 percent quarter-over-quarter, from $1.2 billion to $300 million. Compared to the same period last year, which raised $1 billion, funding for this second quarter decreased by 70 percent.
Shopify launches YouTube Shopping integration in latest social commerce push
Shopify businesses can sell their full product suite on YouTube via livesteams, videos, and through a new store tab that will be added to the vendor’s YouTube channel. Meanwhile, sometime competitor Lightspeed is looking to pair well with OpenTable.
Stradigi.ai vows to continue despite laying off more than two-thirds of its staff
CEO and co-founder Basil Bouraropoulos vowed the startup will continue as a viable business, telling BetaKit: “The company has temporarily streamlined its operations to the essentials and remains in a going concern while various stakeholders continue to work together on a long term solution.”
TransPod unveils “ultra-high-speed” FluxJet vehicle as it begins construction on proposed Alberta track
The FluxJet is a fully-electric vehicle designed to carry people and goods in a low-pressure, sealed tube environment at speeds that exceed 1,000 kilometres per hour—which TransPod says would make it “faster than a jet and three times as fast as a high-speed train.”
Why now is the time for Canadian startups to hire internationally
Whether by adding remote employees or helping them relocate to Canada, accessing global talent can help fill the widening talent gap we face as Canada’s tech ambitions get bigger.
“They want to feel safe that they can stay in this country,” says Feruza Djamalova, the co-founder of Sobirovs Law Firm, a boutique business immigration law firm based in Toronto.
Check out these Canadian tech venture funding reports for Q2:
Latest Funding, Acquisitions, and Layoffs
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VAN – Intelligent City – $22M (read more)
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VAN – Blume – $2M (read more)
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SUR – BC, SFU to launch new agtech centre with provincial, federal funding (read more)
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CAL – Radicle to be acquired by BMO (read more)
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TOR – Oncoustics – $5.5M (read more)
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SCA – Darwynn – $20M (read more)
MARK MCQUEEN THINKS IT’S A GREAT TIME TO HAVE A CHEQUEBOOK
“When we look at companies today, I’m reminded of what it was like – just how bleak it was – in that summer of 2000. You can play through that as an investor and an entrepreneur.”
SOLVING THE LACK OF ACCESS TO CAPITAL FOR INDIGENOUS ENTREPRENEURS
“Trust, and Indigenous impact measurement, and the wellbeing of Indigenous families sit alongside risk and return.”
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