Vendasta goes agentic, Databricks builds in Vancity, and Google’s late-night host

Mandy Potter, Misfit Ventures co-founder and managing partner, told BetaKit that US President Donald Trump erasing mentions of DEI in government could spell an opportunity to bring queer founders talent to Canada, noting that 2SLGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs create 36 percent more jobs, generate 114 percent more patents, and achieve 44 percent more exits on average, according to data collected by Startout Index from 2000 to 2022.

Vendasta’s AI agent roadmap is starting with a receptionist and assistant, and the company has teased plans to make more so-called “AI employees” available over time.

Friendlier, which recently raised $4.5 million CAD, is looking to replace single-use containers for food service operators. The startup claims it has helped reuse over 3.3 million containers since 2019.

Aalo said in a blog post that the funding will go toward Aalo-X, its first nuclear power plant. The facility will include an experimental data centre to demonstrate how nuclear power can potentially serve data providers.

Two of Databricks’ seven-person founding team graduated from Canadian universities. Reynold Xin is an alum of the University of Toronto while Matei Zaharia graduated from the University of Waterloo.

Databrick’s new Vancouver hub will be led by Ken Wong, the founder of revenue intelligence startup Datajoy, which Databricks acquired in 2022.

MaRS is searching for a new delivery partner for its innovation laboratory after Johnson & Johnson withdrew its support for the space. The 40,000-sq. ft. space known as JLabs opened nine years ago to support up to 50 early-stage pharmaceutical, medical device, consumer, and digital health startups with lab space, programs, and potential investment partners.

North Vector Dynamics was awarded a $4.2-million contract by Canada’s defence department to provide expert engineering support for high-speed and hypersonic aeropropulsion technologies. Hypersonic speeds are usually more than five times the speed of sound.

Google’s Pixel event was hosted by Jimmy Fallon. The star-studded event also featured podcaster Alexandra Cooper, basketball legend Steph Curry, and music group The Jonas Brothers.