BetaKit - Canadian Startup News & Tech Innovation - Part 202

Canadian Tech & Startup News

Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez

By Madison McLauchlan August 18, 2025

Cohere remains Canada’s AI hope

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Sheldon Fernandez at the BetaKit Town Hall: Most Ambitious

By Douglas Soltys August 17, 2025

What can talking to AI teach us?

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Generic chart

By Josh Scott August 13, 2025

“Wake-up call” unheeded as Canadian VC investment hits lowest level since H1 2020

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Former OpenText CEO Mark Barrenechea

By Alex Riehl August 11, 2025

OpenText replaces longtime CEO Mark Barrenechea as it considers selling off “non-core assets”

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Stock market graph

By Douglas Soltys August 11, 2025

Peeking through the Canadian tech IPO window

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By Madison McLauchlan August 6, 2025

Shopify regains status as Canada’s most valuable company with strong Q2 earnings

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Latest

Zenhub closes $10 million to make platform for managing software projects more accessible

Josh Scott March 9, 2023

Yaletown-backed Zenhub aims to take the silos out of software development.

vancouver

Yaletown Partners hits $200 million final close for Innovation Growth Fund II

Josh Scott March 9, 2023

Yaletown saw four exits in 2022, including Tasktop, Circle Cardiovascular Imaging.

R|T: The Retail Times – The Shopify divide: manager or crafter?

Alex Riehl March 9, 2023

Plus: Amazon pauses long awaited construction

row of gaming pc's

Web3 startup Helika closes $4 million seed round led by Diagram Ventures

Ryan O'Connor March 8, 2023

Diagram: “We see Helika at the forefront of a rapidly evolving industry.”

Wattpad lays off 15 percent of workforce

Meagan Simpson March 8, 2023

Interim president says cuts come despite best efforts to limit economic impact.

Magnet shares independent advisor report recommending $1.8 billion acquisition as some shareholders push to halt deal

Meagan Simpson March 8, 2023

One of Magnet’s largest investors says $1.8 billion price tag “simply too low.”

Waterloo Hockeystick

Dwindling tech deal volume remained a thorn in the Waterloo Region’s side in 2022

Isabelle Kirkwood March 8, 2023

Venture funding in Waterloo Region dipped from 2021 peak, but still surpassed pre-bull market years.

S|W: The SaaS Weekly – Salesforce’s ‘one big family’ is showing cracks. Can Slack’s new CEO hold it together?

Alex Riehl March 8, 2023

Plus: Not the first LastPass breach

Daily Blends

Daily Blends raises $2.7 million CAD, signs Metrolinx deal to deploy smart vending machines

Charlize Alcaraz March 7, 2023

Healthy vending machines are coming to public transit stations, college campuses across Canada.

Six months after petition launch, federal minister calls market benefits plan “essential” to Global Talent Stream visa

Meagan Simpson March 7, 2023

Employees at VanHack, Hopper, Dapper Labs, others signed a petition that calls the plan “cumbersome.”

Cohere among first investments from Salesforce’s new $250 million AI fund

Charlize Alcaraz March 7, 2023

Salesforce invests in Toronto startup as part of broader generative AI strategy.

Loopio, Reelhouse co-founders launch Barley to help make employee compensation easier, more equitable

Josh Scott March 7, 2023

Golden Ventures-backed Barley has raised $5.4 million CAD to date.

Adaptis secures $2 million CAD to help building owners move to net zero with AI

Charles Mandel March 7, 2023

“Using deep tech to do deep decarbonization is really where we think the gap is.”

Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou

F|T: The FinTech Times – Bad news comes in threes for Dapper Labs

Alex Riehl March 7, 2023

Plus: Roham on the hot seat.

Drug discovery startup Congruence Therapeutics closes $20 million CAD extension of Series A

Meagan Simpson March 6, 2023

BDC Capital’s Thrive Venture Fund joined to lead the extension.

The BetaKit Podcast

Sheldon Fernandez, BetaKit Town Hall: Most Ambitious

Rahul Goel at BetaKit Town Hall: Most Ambitious

Notman House door at Startupfest 2025.

Waabi's Raquel Urtasun (left) and Nvidia's Sanja Fidler (right) at Homecoming 2025

Xanadu advanced photonic packaging plant

Sheldon Fernandez, BetaKit Town Hall: Most Ambitious

Rahul Goel at BetaKit Town Hall: Most Ambitious

Notman House door at Startupfest 2025.

Waabi's Raquel Urtasun (left) and Nvidia's Sanja Fidler (right) at Homecoming 2025

Xanadu advanced photonic packaging plant

Podcast

What can talking to AI teach us?

by Douglas Soltys

Former DarwinAI CEO Sheldon Fernandez discusses the virtues of being vulnerable with his ChatGPT-4o instance.

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Podcast

How Canada can be a leader in space (and save the world)

by Douglas Soltys

Highlights from BetaKit Town Hall: Most Ambitious with NordSpace, Deep Sky, Xatoms, MycoFutures, and Verto Health.

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Podcast

The living history of Canadian tech

by Douglas Soltys

Startupfest founder Phil Telio on how Canada’s tech community evolves with each generation.

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Podcast

‘Canada’s edge in applied AI’ with Nvidia and Waabi leaders

by Douglas Soltys

Sanja Fidler and Raquel Urtasun discuss new AI frontiers and Canada’s role in reaching them.

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Podcast

Why Canada’s federal government keeps talking about quantum tech with Xanadu’s Christian Weedbrook

by Douglas Soltys

A federal push for quantum sovereignty comes at the right time for Xanadu.

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