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PwC digital banking director Abraham Tachjian named Canada’s open banking lead (BETAKIT)
BetaKit reported that PwC Canada digital banking director Abraham Tachjian had been chosen as Canada’s open banking lead prior to his official announcement this week. Tachjian’s appointment is the latest step in a drawn-out process that has been criticized by Canadian FinTech companies for its glacial pace. The news comes shortly after an open letter from Canada’s FinTech leaders last week calling for progress on the file.
Ramp confirms new $8.1B valuation after ‘a nearly 10x’ YoY increase in revenue (TECHCRUNCH)
Corporate management startup Ramp confirmed that it has secured $550 million in debt and $200 million in equity in a new financing that doubles its valuation to $8.1 billion.
How Optimity’s Jane Wang turned a personal tragedy into a life optimization platform (BETAKIT)
Before her life as a founder and CEO, Jane Wang worked as a mortality risk specialist. For ten years, she led global clinical trials to help pharmaceutical companies determine how long patients would live based on their conditions and lifestyles.
The investing startup Wealthsimple is raiding Shopify for talent as the Canadian tech scene heats up (BUSINESS INSIDER)
Dozens of Shopify employees have left the Canadian e-commerce giant to join Wealthsimple, a smaller, Toronto-based digital investing company, in the past year. At least 40 employees have departed Shopify for Weathsimple.
BetaKit’s FinTech coverage is brought to you by Osler. Our inaugural study of 332 anonymized Canadian venture capital and growth equity financings has been released. Read our Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Financings.
WonderFi clears regulatory hurdles, set to close acquisition of registered crypto marketplace Bitbuy (BETAKIT)
Vancouver’s WonderFi has completed its acquisition of First Ledger Corp, the parent company of Toronto-based Bitbuy, which offers a platform for buying and selling cryptocurrency. The deal took nearly four months to close because it required approval from all of Canada’s securities regulators. Amid mounting regulatory pressure, the company’s CEOs think the acquisition could mark a step towards more crypto consolidation and potential DeFi regulation.
Larger rounds, US dollars fuelled Canadian tech’s record-shattering 2021 (BETAKIT)
According to briefed.in’s annual tech report, Canadian startups raised a total of $14 billion across 698 deals through 2021. This represents a 218 percent increase in investment dollars and a 31 percent increase in deal volume from 2020. briefed.in’s CEO and founder, Rob Darling, described 2021 as an “amazing year” for the Canadian tech sector.
Fintech co Capitolis raises $110m at $1.6b valuation (GLOBES)
Capitolis founder and CEO Gil Mandzelzis said, “Over the past two years, our vision to reinvent capital markets has gained tremendous momentum as we have tripled our revenue, customer base and team. We are just scratching the surface on reimagining the capital markets.”
BetaKit Live: How NFTs might change music and gaming on March 29th (BETAKIT)
On Tuesday, March 29th at 4:00pm EDT, BetaKit Patreon supporters have a front-row seat to learn about how NFTs are impacting the world of entertainment – specifically the music and gaming industries.
FinTech startup Reach secures $30 million in equity and debt (BETAKIT)
Founded in 2016, the FinTech startup offers a payments platform that lets merchants process transactions around the world. Reach’s first outside capital, the closing date of the round was not disclosed.
Crypto investor Katie Haun raises $1.5 billion, the largest debut fund ever by a female VC (CNBC)
Haun Ventures’ kickoff marks the largest debut venture fund ever raised by a solo female founding partner, according to Pitchbook. Former investment banker Mary Meeker held the prior record with a $1.3 billion fund after spinning out from Kleiner Perkins.
Bootstrapped since 2008, Helcim raises $16 million for Stripe-style payment solution (BETAKIT)
After bootstrapping for years, and pivoting two years ago, Calgary-based FinTech startup Helcim has raised $16 million CAD in what it’s referring to as a Series A round. Now, armed with fresh capital, Helcim is getting ready for growth. The payments startup plans to use the funding to launch new products and add over 150 employees.
Fintech startup Jeeves raises $180M, quadruples valuation to $2.1B in half a year (TECHCRUNCH)
Less than seven months after closing on a $57 million Series B, fast-growing fintech Jeeves has raised $180 million in a Series C round that values the company at $2.1 billion.
Mogo launches venture arm following mixed Q4 with record revenue, large net loss (BETAKIT)
The BC FinTech firm generated record revenue of $17 million CAD in Q4 of last year, a 70 percent rise year-over-year (YoY) that was fuelled by strong subscription and services revenue growth. Q4 marked Mogo’s third consecutive quarter of accelerating growth, and capped off a strong 2021 for the company, which saw its total revenue increase 30 percent YoY to $57.5 million on the year.
Avast acquires SecureKey Technologies as it bulks up its digital identity business (BETAKIT)
Avast, a Prague-based digital security and privacy company, is acquiring Toronto-based authentication startup SecureKey Technologies, which it intends to use as the base for its digital ID business. Over in Québec, Montréal’s Hardbacon has acquired Simple Rate as it looks to consolidate its position in the rewards and credit cards space in Canada.