#1. Who said it: “Traditional VC hates that risk, but that risk is exactly what venture capital is supposed to fund.”
At BetaKit Town Hall, SRTX founder Katherine Homuth shared her diagnosis of the Canadian investment landscape, which she believes is undervaluing technological innovation. “We need actual venture capitalists again who are willing to take risks on the zero-to-one,” Homuth added.
#2. Earlier this year, Clio CEO Jack Newton said he wants Clio to become legaltech’s what?
This week, the company acquired Miami-based, Barcelona-founded legaltech company vLex, the world’s largest legal and regulatory database, for $1-billion USD. When Clio acquired ShareDo earlier this year, Newton told BetaKit he thought the current scale of Clio’s platform put the company in a good position to be “the acquirer of choice in legaltech.”
#3. Michelle Scarborough has departed her role at BDC, where she spent eight years leading the bank’s investment initiatives focused on what?
Scarborough had spent eight years heading women-led investment initiatives at the business development bank, including BDC Capital’s Thrive Venture Fund and Women in Technology Venture Fund. Her departure is the latest in a series of leadership changes within the venture arm of the Crown Corporation.
#4. Who said this at Toronto Tech Week’s Homecoming last week? “All of our little bright lights that start—these ambitious Canadians who want to build a company inside of Canada—they get pulled.”
In conversation with Katchen and Finkelstein, Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez lamented the fact that so many Canadian companies choose to leave Canada.
All three speakers advocated for Canadian entrepreneurs to stay in Canada and build, with Gomez noting he was “so grateful” that Cohere had turned down a nine-figure acquisition offer in the company’s early days to stay in Canada.
#5. What policy did US President Donald Trump cite as his reason for pausing trade negotiations with Canada last week?
Trump paused trade negotiations last week, citing Canada’s Digital Services Tax, which was aimed at generating revenue from firms that operate in Canada but don’t pay taxes on the gains made from Canadian users.
Trump claimed that the DST was a “direct and blatant attack” on the US tech sector and threatened new tariffs within a week. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded by rescinding the DST, and trade talks resumed on July 1.
#6. Which tech conference did Canadian AI Minister Evan Solomon attend as his first international visit last month?
Solomon’s first international trip as Canada’s inaugural Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation was to VivaTech 2025 in Paris. On that trip, he led Canada’s delegation, showcasing homegrown AI companies as part of his mission to promote Canadian tech innovation on the global stage.
#7. Whale Seeker, which was featured in BetaKit Most Ambitious, started after Emily Charry Tissier watched her husband’s process for locating which type of whale?
Whale Seeker got started when Emily Charry Tissier found her husband, a marine biologist, analyzing aerial photographs to identify narwhals in the Arctic. The couple later founded Whale Seeker, a Montréal-based company that combines marine life expertise with software design and AI. Read BetaKit Most Ambitious here.
#8. Toronto Tech Week featured countless activity-based events. Which of these did BetaKit’s Chief Fun Correspondent Kelsey Rolfe not participate in?
Rolfe attended a spooky history tour at the University of Toronto’s Massey College, led by local historian Adam Bunch, as well as a cold plunge session at Othership, and a round of pickleball. It was one of many weird, wacky, and wonderful side quests Rolfe took part in during Toronto Tech Week. To the dismay of her editor, she did not participate in one of the various basketball runs.
#9. Emoji mode: activated! Name the Canadian venture fund: ✌️🤏🐟
Two Small Fish!
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