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Attabotics sues Canadian Tire over warehouse fire (BETAKIT)
Calgary-based 3D robotics supply chain firm Attabotics has filed a statement of claim against Canadian Tire over a March 15 warehouse fire at Canadian Tire’s distribution centre in Brampton, Ontario.
Attabotics alleges that as a result of Canadian Tire’s “alleged evasiveness and obstruction,” it has suffered and continues to suffer damages for which Canadian Tire is liable.
Alibaba logistics arm eyes up to $2 billion Hong Kong IPO – sources (REUTERS)
Alibaba's logistics arm aims to raise up to $2 billion via a listing in Hong Kong likely early next year, sources with knowledge of the matter said, bolstering hopes for a capital markets revival in the Asian financial hub.
Hopper to power Uber’s expansion into flight bookings (BETAKIT)
Montréal-based startup Hopper has struck a deal with Uber, allowing people in the United Kingdom to book flights on the rideshare app.
Hopper has made several moves to expand its product suite in recent years as part of its mission to become a “super app” for travel. This includes the launch of its B2B initiative Hopper Cloud, which has taken on notable companies as clients such as Capital One and now Uber.
TikTok Delays Full Opening of U.S. Shop (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
ByteDance has postponed opening the shop to all sellers, originally intended for early spring, to June at the earliest, people familiar with the matter said. Its actual launch date might get pushed back further because of merchants’ concerns about a possible ban of the app and tepid adoption of live-streaming e-commerce in the U.S.
“A new bottom”: Toronto and Waterloo Region venture funding fell short in first quarter of 2023 (BETAKIT)
Venture funding in Toronto and the Waterloo Region had a particularly sluggish start to 2023, with startups in the neighbouring tech ecosystems raising less than eight percent of what was raised in the same quarter last year.
Invesco cuts Swiggy valuation by half to $5.5 billion (TECHCRUNCH)
Invesco, which led Swiggy’s previous round, has marked down the Indian food delivery giant’s valuation in its holding to about $5.5 billion, according to a filing.
This revised valuation, as of January 31, 2023, represents a striking 48.6% decrease from the $10.7 billion valuation Invesco had previously attributed to the startup during a funding round the Atlanta-headquartered firm led last year.
How startups can better manage their e-waste (BETAKIT)
The life cycle of electronics needs to be re-envisioned, said Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) managing director Andrew Wesolowski, especially if we want to sustain the environment we inhabit.
Wesolowski said startups are the target businesses the ERA aims to help with the equipment it repurposes, as they "typically would not have much to discard since they are just entering the market."
Once darlings of investors, Africa’s B2B e-commerce startups are struggling to survive (REST OF WORLD)
B2B e-commerce startups were once favorites of VC firms in Africa. Flush with funds, they offered deep discounts to their customers and built asset-heavy businesses.
Due to the global startup funding slump, B2B companies are ending discounts, rescinding expansion plans, and laying off employees to stay afloat.
BC venture deal volume reached a three-year low in first quarter of 2023 (BETAKIT)
According to briefed.in's latest report, in the first quarter of 2021, startups in BC raised a total of $95.1 million through nine deals. Investment in terms of dollars raised fell by 78 percent from the fourth quarter of 2022 and 82 percent year-over-year.
Autonomous delivery startup Nuro to lay off 30% of workforce (TECHCRUNCH)
Autonomous delivery robot startup Nuro will lay off 30%, or about 340 employees, across the company as part of a restructuring meant to extend its capital runway, according to the company.
This is the second time in less than a year that Nuro — a darling of the AV world that has raised $2.13 billion — has laid off workers in a bid to cut costs and extend capital runway. In November, Nuro laid off about 300 people, or 20%, of its workforce.
Inflation blamed for decline in mental health of Canadian founders in the last year (BETAKIT)
Based on a survey with 1,500 respondents, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) found that rising inflation rates has taken a toll on startup founders, identifying that as a potential stressor that could be behind why their mental health significantly declined in the last year.
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