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Led by Serena Williams’ venture fund, Calico closes $2.6 million CAD to help D2C fashion brands manage their supply chain (BETAKIT)
Kathleen Chan, Calico’s founder and CEO, previously launched and scaled her own D2C jewelry and apparel companies, where she became familiar with the challenges associated with running a D2C brand’s supply chain activities.
EXCLUSIVE Amazon to secure unconditional EU approval for $8.5 bln MGM buy – sources (REUTERS)
Amazon is expected to win unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $8.5 billion buy of U.S. movie studio MGM, people familiar with the matter said, a move that is set to ramp up competition with streaming rivals Netflix and Disney+.
A year after launch, Backbone Angels is closing gaps felt by underrepresented founders (BETAKIT)
One year after launching Backbone Angels, the group of current and former Shopify leaders are proving there is a market for investing in founders who are often overlooked. Over the past year, Backbone’s 10 angel investors have collectively invested $2.3 million USD across 42 companies, 56 percent of which are run by women of colour.
SJD revenue rises 23% in defiance of China’s consumption slowdown (BLOOMBERG)
JD.com Inc. posted 23% growth in revenue, after China’s second-largest e-commerce operator managed to grow users despite intensified competition and slowing consumption.
Somm acquires last-minute restaurant reservation app Dinr to move beyond wine recommendation (BETAKIT)
Developed in 2014 by restaurateur Kyle Nares and tech exec Bryan Mahoney, Dinr is a free mobile restaurant reservation app that matches last-minute diners with popular restaurants on a same-day basis.
Despite Shopify’s stock-market wipeout, analysts see a path for long-term growth (THE LOGIC)
Shopify’s stock opened last week trading down 66 per cent from its all-time high, a fall that has wiped nearly USD $150 billion from its market cap since mid-November.
Clio and Trulioo say not now to IPOs as CEOs discuss unicorn M&A strategies (BETAKIT)
At a recent event for BetaKit Patreon supporters, Clio CEO Jack Newton and Trulioo CEO Steve Munford revealed that they aren’t planning to take their companies public anytime soon, and shared an in-depth look at how the two BC tech unicorns tackle mergers and acquisitions.
Indian food delivery giant Swiggy eyes $1 billion IPO (TECHCRUNCH)
The startup, which was valued at $10.7 billion in its Series K financing in January this year, is looking to raise as much as $1 billion in the IPO, which it plans to file as early as the first half of next year.
StoreToDoor secures $1.25 million to take same-day delivery service to new markets (BETAKIT)
StoreToDoor founder and CEO Scott Love has worked in the food industry for 25 years. After dabbling in Saskatchewan’s tech scene through angel investing and seeing the impact of Amazon and COVID-19 on local retailers, he decided to launch his own same-day delivery solution.
Seattle startup Swiftly lands $100M to help grocers fend off Amazon and other e-commerce players (GEEKWIRE)
The fresh funding comes as grocers race to adopt technologies that will give them a fighting chance as Amazon and other e-commerce giants deepen their stake in the grocery business, and customers increasingly expect the kinds of e-commerce technologies they came to rely on during the pandemic.
Phoenix Fire launches angel fund focused on women entrepreneurs (BETAKIT)
A new group has launched an angel fund focused on investing in women entrepreneurs. The fund, Phoenix Fire, is part of the Archangel Network of Funds and is led by managing partner Danielle Graham and TD Bank executive Claudette McGowan.
How Walmart’s Spotify partnerships takes direct aim at Amazon (MODERN RETAIL)
Walmart announced that new and existing Walmart+ members would receive a free six months of Spotify Premium for no extra charge, the latest initiative to get more customers to sign up for its membership program.
UofT spinout Halt AI launches tool to measure brands’ diversity across social media (BETAKIT)
Toronto-based Halt AI’s diversity analytics dashboard is designed to get a quick summary of companies’ diversity across their visual content. It analyzes every social media account from an entire industry and reports the amount of diversity in images using six categories: race, age, gender, body type, skin-tone, and disability.
Lululemon founder Chip Wilson starting new venture to find cure for type of muscular dystrophy (CANADIAN PRESS)
Wilson, 66, is starting a venture called “Solve FSHD” and contributing $100-million to help find a cure for the condition by the end of 2027.