Toronto, Vancouver slip in Startup Genome’s 2024 rankings as Montréal, Calgary, Ottawa rise
Smaller Canadian cities make strides in 2024 as larger ecosystems lose some of their lustre.
Canadian Startup News
French private equity firm Jolt Capital to open North American headquarters in Montréal
Former Scale AI COO Clement Bourgogne will head the deeptech investor’s Canadian operations.
Sonya Shorey officially named president and CEO of Invest Ottawa
Shorey held the lead on an interim basis following Michael Tremblay’s November 2023 departure.
Inovia raises initial $300 million USD for CDPQ-led third growth equity fund
First close brings Inovia two-thirds of the way to its $450-million target.
Propel unveils new Validation cohort of early-stage founders in Atlantic Canada
Meanwhile, Halifax accelerator Tribe is seeking Black early-stage founders for its START program.
Dapper Labs reaches tentative settlement in NBA Top Shot class-action suit
The settlement, if approved, would require Dapper Labs to make a $4-million payment.
Executive turnover continues in Canadian tech as Ratehub names new CEO
Healwell, TryCycle, Userful, and more also make changes to the top.
Tiny appoints WeCommerce head Jordan Taub as its new CEO
Tiny co-founders Andrew Wilkinson and Chris Sparling will “remain actively involved” as company chairs.
Federal, BC privacy watchdogs investigating Certn over its use of personal data
Investigation will examine Certn’s tenant-screening services and its compliance with privacy laws.
Cohere launches program to help early-stage startups adopt AI and secures $450 million USD
Latest financing sees Cisco, PSP Investments join existing backers Nvidia, Salesforce.
Canada’s AI Global Innovation Cluster invests $31.3 million across 22 projects
Alongside partner participation, Scale AI says the projects represent a $96-million investment.
After over a decade at Lightspeed, JP Chauvet aims to be “good sounding board” as Inovia’s newest executive-in-residence
In wide-ranging BetaKit interview, Chauvet takes stock of Lightspeed tenure, shares plan to help other entrepreneurs.
Canadian-founded Staging Labs acquired by Merkle Science
Staging Labs uses real-time tech to detect and block malicious crypto transactions.
Surveillance hardware tech startup Vosker secures $171.2 million CAD in debt financing
Startup develops solar-powered remote-monitoring cameras that work without Wi-Fi or electricity.
McRock Capital announces initial $111-million CAD close of third fund
McRock had previously set a $200 million target for Fund III.