You may have noticed that the BetaKit newsletter has received a bit of a glow-up this week. The pace of the industry we cover is relentless, and we want our coverage (and packaging) to keep up. That includes not only easier ways to engage more deeply with the best of BetaKit‘s reporting, but also curation of the most thoughtful takes across tech. Our editorial team is plugged in to the tech ecosystem; these changes allow us to share more of our insights with you.
Think of it as a system update intended to provide a more digestible and smarter experience for our readers, with more updates to come (stay tuned).
But great journalism doesn’t happen in a vacuum. To tell the stories of Canadian tech, we need to stay in conversation with you, our readers. So, when you’re done reading about an Edmonton company modelling synthetic cities, the funding struggles early-stage startups are facing, and a long-time Atlantic Canada startup publication’s lasting legacy, let us know what you think—or what stories you’d like to hear more of. Give us a shout.
Now, onto the newsletter.
Sarah Rieger,
Managing Editor
As Canadian businesses embrace AI and hybrid work, many are finding that their workplace technology has become increasingly fragmented. Email, chat, meetings, documents, and collaboration tools often live across multiple vendors, creating complexity, rising costs, and data governance challenges.
Zoho Workplace offers a different approach: a unified suite that brings together the essential tools teams use every day in a single platform. With Canadian data centre hosting available, organizations can improve collaboration while maintaining greater control over where their business data resides.
For companies looking to simplify their tech stack without sacrificing functionality, Zoho Workplace delivers the flexibility, security, and value needed to support modern work.
Explore a productivity suite hosted in Canada.
Top stories from BetaKit
Digital Nostradamus
Dean and Myrna Bittner can see disasters before they happen. The married co-founders of Edmonton’s Run With It Synthetics use simulations to model everything from earthquakes to heart disease so the worst outcomes can be prevented.
Open banking opens consultations
Late Friday afternoon, Canada released proposed regulations for its long-awaited open banking system. For those who have strong feelings about budgeting apps: the regulations are open for public feedback until August.
Early-stage startup struggles
New RBCx data indicates that last year’s exceptionally poor VC fundraising environment may now be impacting early-stage investment activity; RBCx’s Matt Roberts still isn’t sure we can call this the bottom of the market.
Enabling more entrepreneurs
The founder of inclusivity-focused employment platform Enabled Talent is launching the Canada Disability Entrepreneurs Network to help other disabled Canadians start their own business.
The end of Entrevestor?
Peter and Carol Moreira, the power couple behind Atlantic Canada’s startup news site Entrevestor, plan to ease their way into semi-retirement this fall.
The “inclusive succession” question
It may be less “sexy” than raising venture dollars for a brand-new AI startup, but a new report argues that encouraging Canadians to take over existing, profitable companies deserves just as much attention.
Sponsored stories
How university-born healthtech research can make the leap beyond the lab
YSpace healthtech spinout, WearDOXX, successfully transitioned its lab research into a wearable patch that tracks disease biomarkers to help clinicians diagnose and monitor diseases early.
Deals and dollars
Who’s cashing in, or out, this week:
- Feds pledge $173 million for Women Entrepreneurship Strategy. (Canada)
- Investor social network Blossom raises more than $2 million through equity crowdfunding campaign. (Vancouver)
- Superhuman acquires AI detector GPTZero. (Vancouver/Toronto)
- Sellit9 closes $4.1 million to help Canadians trade in old electronics. (Toronto)
- Float announces $85-million Series C to support AI push. (Toronto)
- French insurtech Alan raises $780 million CAD as part of Canadian expansion, Insurance Business reports. (Toronto)
- EAIGLE secures growth funding round backed by Boreal Ventures, Forbes reports. (Markham)
- Enterprise AI security startup TrojAI acquired by Silicon Valley’s A10, according to Entrevestor. (Saint John)
Main character
“Saying ‘no’ to AI hyperscale data centres allows us to say ‘yes’ to nation-building projects.”
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, on why his government recently rejected a proposal for a large-scale data centre development.
The refresh
How AI will change us
Houda Nait El Barj is a researcher at OpenAI. She’s also deeply skeptical of what it means to remove friction—like obligations, grief, or discomfort—from our daily lives. For philosophy mag Noema, Nait El Barj writes about how she believes AI will change our relationships to ourselves and each other.
Applications open for EmpowHER Tech Launchpad
IDEA Mississauga has opened applications for the next cohort of the EmpowHER Tech Launchpad, a 12-week accelerator designed to support women-led product and technology-based companies preparing to scale. The program is delivered in partnership with YSpace’s ELLA Program.
A curated cohort of 10–12 startups will be selected, with priority given to Mississauga-based businesses. The program focuses on helping founders refine go-to-market strategies, advance investor readiness, and strengthen sales and financial capabilities.
Participants will gain access to expert-led workshops, one-on-one mentorship, pitch and fundraising coaching, upto $200,000 in-kind resources and a final showcase opportunity. Founders will also benefit from a peer cohort of high-growth companies, creating opportunities for shared learning and collaboration.
Applications open from June 26 until July 12, with the cohort beginning in September.
BetaKit Podcast · June 17
“If your entire technology is coming from a single country, and that country decides that every now and again they’re going to shut off access to you, that’s not a foundation you can build on.”
Cohere co-founder Nick Frosst joins to discuss how Canada’s AI champion is built different than the other frontier LLM providers, how Star Trek informs the type of AI future the company is trying to create, and why he doesn’t make a point of listening to Marc Andreessen about AGI. Listen now ›
Feature image courtesy RWI.