Welcome to BetaKit’s startup stories of the week! Here, you will find the week’s most important news, features, and editorials published on BetaKit.
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Top Stories of the Week
WAABI PARTNERS WITH UBER FREIGHT TO DEPLOY ITS AUTONOMOUS TRUCKING TECH
Toronto-based autonomous vehicle startup Waabi has teamed up with United States ride-hailing giant Uber’s logistics arm, Uber Freight.
The 10-year partnership will bundle Waabi’s core technology, Waabi Driver, with Uber Freight’s logistics platform, marketplace, and autonomous trucking operations to create what the two firms claim will be a “first of its kind” turnkey driver-as-a-service solution.
FORMER CULTIVATOR MANAGER JORDAN MCFARLEN JOINS CONEXUS VENTURE CAPITAL AS DIRECTOR
Jordan McFarlen is joining Conexus Venture Capital as a director after six years with the credit union’s business incubator Cultivator. “I’ll be jumping right in to support the current portfolio companies, and then we’re focused on the future,” McFarlen told BetaKit.
Early in September, Sean O’Connor announced he was stepping down as managing director of Conexus Venture Capital and Emmertech.
AQUANOW LAUNCHES AQN DIGITAL VENTURES FUND TO BACK NEXT GENERATION OF BLOCKCHAIN STARTUPS
Digital assets infrastructure provider Aquanow has launched a blockchain technologies fund. It claims the AQN Digital Ventures Fund will give investors access to the next generation of founders and businesses.
Michael Kwok, head of venture capital at AQN Digital, said the fund is valued at $13.4 million CAD ($10 million USD) and targeting early-stage investments in blockchains and projects.
ALL IN TO SHOWCASE CANADA’S AI AT MAJOR CONFERENCE
Scale AI, Canada’s federally funded AI Global Innovation Cluster, is presenting the country’s largest gathering dedicated to Canadian artificial intelligence (AI), ALL IN. The event will bring together leading AI experts, industry members, startups, investors, and researchers to share their insights and explore how AI is transforming the Canadian economy.
A CHECKLIST FOR BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RURAL TECH HUBS
With the explosion of remote work, there has been a paradigm shift away from major municipalities and toward smaller regions as people seek both livability and career prospects, said Pablo Listingart, Executive Director of tech skills school ComIT.
Speaking with BetaKit, Listingart shared his theory of how rural tech hubs can come to be—and what support they need to become sustainable.
HOW TECHNATION THINKS WE CAN SOLVE CANADA’S TECH TALENT GAP
Data from TECHNATION, a member organization of Canadian tech companies that bridges the tech industry and government policy, shows that Canadian firms have over 40,000 vacant positions that they need to fill as soon as possible.
Speaking with BetaKit, TECHNATION Executive Director for the Future Workforce Development Team, Sandi Campbell, shared more about the root causes of Canada’s tech talent gap and offered a solution for organizations looking for talent.
NETCOINS LOSES $343,000 IN SECOND SECURITY BREACH WITHIN 17 MONTHS
For the second time, the online cryptocurrency brokerage Netcoins is reporting a security breach of its network, this time resulting in a loss from its operational float worth $343,000 CAD. Netcoins is a subsidiary of Bigg Digital Assets.
Latest Funding, Acquisitions, and Layoffs
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CGY – Monark – $1.5M (read more)
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CGY – ZayZoon – $34.5M (read more)
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TOR – Secoda – $19M (read more)
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TOR – GrowerIQ – $1M (read more)
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MTL – Simmunome – $2M (read more)
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SHB – Oneka – $12.5M (read more)
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QC – Vooban secures funding from CDPQ (read more)
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HFX – Nàdarra Ventures – $20M (read more)
The BetaKit Podcast
AS 1PASSWORD HITS NEW REVENUE MILESTONES, CEO JEFF SHINER TOUTS B2B GROWTH
"Everybody's trying to run their own business. Apple's trying to sell you devices. Google's trying to sell you ads. Our job is only to make you more secure."
Passkeys are here, and along with them renewed interest in the future of passwords from Apple and Google. 1Password CEO Jeff Shiner joins to discuss how passkeys will change the internet, and what they change (and don't change) about his company's business.
CAN WAZE’S FORMER CEO BUILD A SOCIAL NETWORK FROM SCRATCH?
"Canada is at the forefront. Yes, mistakes are being made, but at least they're doing something. The US is doing nothing. And at the end of the day, these are American companies that are destroying the world."
Post.News founder Noam Bardin shares what it's like trying to build a new social network "in public" in 2023 and why the Big Tech platforms only fear regulation before making a pitch to Canadians looking to return news to their social media.