Canadian startup news of the week (5/7/23)
Plus: Canadian Q1 VC investment falls 82 percent from last year.
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Elevate to return for 2023 with Lisa LaFlamme, Dragonsâ Den, and Shark Tank stars among speaker lineup
Policy regulations around AI, Bill C-11 will be discussed at Elevate this year.
Canadian venture capital investment in Q1 2023 drops by 82 percent compared to last year
VC saw a sharp decline in both amount invested and number of deals compared to last year.
A|I: The AI Times – EU proposes new copyright rules for generative AI as OpenAI adds ChatGPT privacy options
Plus: Ray Kurzweil weighs in on calls to pause AI development.
H|T: The Healthtech Times – Apple developing an AI-powered health coach
Well Health investing $2.5M into AI healthcare solutions.
Bell to acquire Montréal cloud services provider FX Innovation
Bell posted an 88 percent decline in free cash flow since the first quarter of 2022.
Diagram Ventures closes $100-million for latest fund as it continues to bet on FinTech
For the first time, Diagram will also invest in companies it doesnât have a hand in creating.
R|T: The Retail Times – Amazon begins more layoffs as Shopify employees brace for same
Plus: Walmart using AI to negotiate with vendors.
1Password CEO calls Googleâs move to passkeys âtipping pointâ for eliminating passwords
1Password is on a mission to lead the shift from traditional passwords to passkeys.
Startup Montréal awards $400,000 to startups as FounderFuel reveals first revamped accelerator cohort
Both programs award seed funding and mentorship support to tech founders.
S|W: The SaaS Weekly â Inside the Salesforce slowdown
Plus: After Canadian pilot, Google expands cloud accelerator to US startups.
Shopify backs Nigeria-based FinTech Nomba in $30 million round
Nomba provides payments and banking tools for businesses.
The DMZ awards $35,000 to Black-led startups Blue Guardian, Gia Health, Scooli
The DMZ downsized its prize money after handing out $50,000 last year.
BlackBerry considering breaking up its businesses to improve revenue, cash flow
BlackBerryâs year-over-year revenue declined by 18 percent.
BrainBox AI acquires ABB technology in its mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in buildings
Québec government and ABB invest $27 million CAD to aid BrainBox AI help retailers use less energy.