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GoBolt closes $75 million Series C round to double down on EVs, North American expansion (BETAKIT)
The funding was led by GoBolt’s existing backer Yaletown Ventures, joined by first time investor Export Development Canada. BDC Capital also came in as a new investor, and the round had participation from returning investors Whitecap Venture Partners, MIG Group, Northleaf Capital Partners, BMO Capital Partners, and Ingka Group, Ikea’s main retailer.
Fanatics valuation hits $31 billion after $700 million investment round (CNBC)
The company plans to use the new money to focus on potential merger and acquisition opportunities across its collectibles, betting and gaming businesses, one of the people said.
Commerce startup Elastic Path secures additional $30 million from existing investors (BETAKIT)
The e-commerce startup said the new capital will enable it to accelerate what it claims is its leadership in the composable commerce movement.
Elastic Path says that approach allows brands “to curate a best-of-breed solution that provides the flexibility to fit their unique business requirements.”
Microsoft eyes ‘super app’ to break Apple and Google’s hold on mobile search (THE INFORMATION)
Microsoft recently considered building a “super app” that could combine shopping, messaging, web search, news feeds and other services in a one-stop smartphone app, in what would be an ambitious move by the software giant to expand further into consumer services, according to people with direct knowledge of the discussions.
Microsoft executives wanted the app to boost the company’s multibillion-dollar advertising business and Bing search, as well as draw more users to Teams messaging and other mobile services.
CommerceBear raises $10.5 million USD to modernize outdated furniture e-commerce market (BETAKIT)
With an aim to modernize the family business, Vlessing launched CommerceBear in 2019. The startup provides furniture manufacturers with an end-to-end e-commerce solution to sell their products on markets like Wayfair, Amazon, and Walmart.
E-commerce tech startup Rokt valued at $2.4 bln in latest funding amid plans for IPO (REUTERS)
Tech startup Rokt said on Monday it raised its valuation to $2.4 billion in a secondary funding round led by investment firm Square Peg and asset manager Wellington Management, and is planning for an initial public offering encouraged by the e-commerce boom.
Former head of marketing at Klaviyo and Dropbox joins Lightspeed as chief marketing officer (BETAKIT)
It’s been a year of sweeping change in Lightspeed’s executive offices, beginning in February when company founder and CEO Dax Dasilva stepped down from his position as CEO. Lightspeed has made more than half a dozen executive-level changes to its team so far this year, and the new CMO is the “last big piece.”
Gorillas facing valuation, staff cuts as part of Getir deal (BNN BLOOMBERG)
Getir is currently in advanced talks to buy German rival Gorillas in a deal consisting of equity and $100 million in cash, people familiar with the matter said.
Gorillas, which quickly attracted capital after it was founded in 2020, has had to slash staff and pull back from some of its markets after rapidly burning through capital by offering money-losing services, such as grocery delivery within minutes.
Goloot announces $4 million to improve online advertising for D2C merchants (BETAKIT)
Goloot’s tech allows online media publishers to reward user engagement with personalized offers that can be claimed in a single click. The Montréal startup aims to enhance rather than interrupt the user experience, blending in with publishers’ existing websites.
Oda, the Norwegian grocery delivery startup, raises a fresh $151M, but at a lowered valuation of $353M (TECHCRUNCH)
The investment gives Oda a post-money valuation of NOK3.5 billion, or $353 million. This represents a big devaluation for the company, which says it is profitable in some (but not all) of its markets. In April 2021, Oda (known then as Kolonial) was valued at around $900 million when it raised $265 million from investors that included SoftBank’s Vision Fund.
Shopify, Benevity set records for Black Friday-Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday (BETAKIT)
Shopify declared a record-setting year with combined Black Friday-Cyber Monday sales on its platform adding up to $7.5 billion USD from merchants globally. The figure represented a 19 percent increase from 2021 when Shopify merchants declared $6.3 billion in sales.
Shopify stock seen carrying weight of Canada curse into 2023 (BNN BLOOMBERG)
Shopify shares have tumbled 70 per cent in 2022 and brokerages see a gain of only 2.2 per cent for the Ottawa-based company’s shares in the next year. That’s the lowest expected return among this year’s 10 worst-performing Canadian and U.S. tech companies with market values of US$20 billion or more.
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