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Odaia closes $34 million CAD Series B to fix “bottleneck” in drug delivery process (BETAKIT)
Toronto-based software startup Odaia has secured $34 million CAD ($25 million USD) in Series B financing co-led by Threshold Ventures and Monograph Capital, a pair of foreign venture capital investors focused on life sciences and healthtech companies.
Odaia’s software automates the data analysis process using AI and machine learning to collect and analyze phrama industry data sources, which is usually a long, intensive process needed to support sales and marketing efforts.
Telehealth giant Amwell posts nearly $400M loss in Q1 (MOBIHEALTHNEWS)
Amwell reported a significantly larger net loss in the first quarter due to a noncash goodwill impairment charge related to a lasting decline in the company's share price.
The telehealth company posted a $398.5 million loss compared with $70.3 million in the prior-year period and a $61.6 million loss in the fourth quarter. The impairment charge was $330.3 million.
Canadian venture capital investment in Q1 2023 drops by 82 percent compared to last year (BETAKIT)
In the first quarter of 2023, deals in Canada’s tech ecosystem plummeted. The latest data from Briefed.in shows Canada experienced a 82 percent decline in amount invested compared to the same time last year, and a 67 percent drop in number of deals.
Peloton shares plunge after company reports wider-than-expected loss (CNBC)
The fitness company has sought to stabilize its business and find a path to profitability again, after it saw a sharp reversal of fortunes. Sales of its bikes and treadmills slowed dramatically after a Covid pandemic-related surge, forcing Peloton to lean into other revenue sources like subscriptions.
Brightspark seeks to recreate its "home run" exits of Think Dynamics, Radian6 as it launches $120-million fund (BETAKIT)
Brightspark Ventures thinks now is the right time to be investing in early-stage Canadian tech companies as it holds the first close for its latest fund, which has a target size of $120 million CAD.
OSC accuses former Facedrive executives of issuing misleading press releases for its contact-tracing tech (THE GLOBE AND MAIL)
The OSC alleges that between April, 2020, and January, 2021, Facedrive issued several news releases that “created confusion or a misleading impression" about TraceSCAN COVID-19 contact-tracing bracelets.
Some announcements suggested TraceSCAN was a consumer-ready product, when in fact the company had only developed a prototype, according to the OSC.
Elevate to return for 2023 with Lisa LaFlamme, Dragons’ Den, and Shark Tank stars among speaker lineup (BETAKIT)
Canadian tech conference Elevate is returning for its second year in-person since the COVID 19 pandemic, and will be running from September 26 to 28 in downtown Toronto.
Elevate’s presenters for this year will include Canadian celebrity figures such as Lisa LaFlamme as well as two “dragons” from CBC’s Dragons’ Den: Arlene Dickinson and Wes Hall.
Healthy.io lays off a third of its workforce after raising $50 million (CTECH)
Israeli medtech company Healthy.io is laying off around 70 employees, accounting for a third of its workforce. Meanwhile, the company also announced that it has completed a $50 million Series D funding round.
Federal government names six funds to distribute $50 million VCCI life science financing (BETAKIT)
The government renewed its commitment to Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative in Budget 2021, promising $450 million across three streams.
The three streams are funds-of-funds, life science, and inclusive growth. The announcement of the life science fund managers marks the second stream the government has chosen managers for.
Inside Amazon’s canceled plan to make Halo a fitness success
(THE VERGE)
None of Halo's promising data or AI-trainers in development was enough to turn things around. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has been aggressive about cutting back from efforts that aren’t reliable money-makers for the company; Halo didn’t stand a chance.
Practice Better raises $27 million USD to grow client management software for wellness providers (BETAKIT)
Since its launch, the startup claims to have reached more than 10,000 customers in more than 70 countries. Practice Better says the majority of this came through word of mouth, and with little outside financing.
Earlier this year, Practice Better raised $27 million USD to expand the reach of its platform even further.
ChatGPT Will See You Now: Doctors Using AI to Answer Patient Questions (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
In California and Wisconsin, OpenAI’s “GPT” generative artificial intelligence is reading patient messages and drafting responses from their doctors. The operation is part of a pilot program in which three health systems test if the AI will cut the time that medical staff spend replying to patients’ online inquiries.
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