R|T: The Retail Times – Canada Drives shifts into high gear

Canada Drives

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Canada Drives secures $100 million CAD Series B, plans Alberta expansion (BETAKIT)

Even as it expands, Canada Drives faces competition across Canada, including from Toronto-based Clutch.


Lightspeed aims to raise $716 million USD through public offering (BETAKIT)

In the first quarter, Lightspeed saw strong revenue growth amid pandemic reopenings, posting total revenues of $115.9 million USD.


Apeel bites into another $250M funding round, at a $2B valuation, to accelerate fresh food supply chains (TECHCRUNCH)

With the new funding, Apeel has now raised over $635 million since the company was founded in 2012. Prior to this round, the company brought in $250 million in Series D funding in May 2020.


Norway’s Gelato hits unicorn status and raises $240m (SIFTED)

Norway-based on-demand print platform Gelato has raised $240m, pushing its valuation up to $1.05bn.


RainStick raises $1 million CAD to commercialize water conservation tech (BETAKIT)

RainStick’s round was supported by Vancouver-based VC firm Red Thread Ventures and a group of impact angel investors aligned with the water and renewables space.


Why Instacart is shopping for Big Tech talent (PROTOCOL)

Dozens of employees from Amazon, Facebook and Google joined Instacart in the past year.


South Korean online secondhand marketplace Danggeun Market raises $162M at a $2.7B valuation (TECHCRUNCH)

The latest funding officially makes Danggeun Market a unicorn, with $205 million total raised.


Walmart’s e-commerce business is set to hit $75B in sales this year (MODERN RETAIL)

While its quarterly gains weren’t as strong as 2020’s, several factors impacted Walmart’s sales during this past quarter.


Shopistry secures $2 million to fuel the shift to headless commerce (BETAKIT)

Founded in 2019, Shopistry launched its hosted headless commerce platform earlier this year.


E-commerce platform Nuvemshop becomes Brazil’s latest unicorn (REUTERS)

Founded in 2010, Nuvemshop has a network that includes close to 90,000 merchants across Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.


Hopper secures $175 million in Series G funding (BETAKIT)

Hopper said it is on pace to achieve 330 percent revenue growth compared to last year, adding that it surpassed its pre-pandemic revenue peak during Q1 2020 by over 100 percent.


Amid the labor shortage, robots step in to make the french fries (WALL STREET JOURNAL)

Fast-food chains are working with a host of startups to bring automation to their kitchens.


Josh Scott

Josh Scott

Josh Scott is a BetaKit reporter focused on telling in-depth Canadian tech stories and breaking news. His coverage is more complete than his moustache.

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