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Endy to be acquired by Sleep Country Canada for $89 million (BETAKIT)
The deal is comprised of $63.7 million in cash to be paid at closing, and up to $25 million in cash to be paid in early 2021 based on the achievement of certain growth and profitability targets in 2020.
DMS Recommends: How mobile search is driving today’s in-store shopping experience
(DIGITALMAINSTREET)
As we were reminded during the 2017 holiday shopping season, a great deal of shopping research is coming from mobile: 65% of Canadian holiday shoppers who visited a store turned to online search before going in-store.
Alexa can now help you donate to Toys for Tots and other charities (TECHCRUNCH)
After speaking the voice command, Alexa will present you with a reasonably priced item appropriate for kids across a range of ages.
Shopify’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales hit $1.5 billion USD (BETAKIT)
CEO Tobi Lütke said that approximately 10 percent of online Black Friday sales went through Shopify stores.
UrbanClap, India’s largest home services startup, raises $50M (TECHCRUNCH)
UrbanClap, a four-year-old startup that offers home services across India, has closed a $50 million Series D round for expansion.
Vendasta receives $3.3 million from Western Innovation Initiative (BETAKIT)
Through the Western Innovation (WINN) Initiative, the Canadian government has invested over $3.3 million in Vendasta Technologies to support international market expansion.
Dental care startup Quip raises $40 million following launch at Target (FORTUNE)
A combination of equity and debt financing while led by existing investor Sherpa Capital, the latest funding round brings Quip’s total funding to over $60 million.
Shipsi raises seed round to take on Amazon Prime same-day shipping (BIZJOURNALS)
Los Angeles startup Shipsi has raised $1.9 million to level the “instant shipping” playing field.
ModiFace launches first app after L’Oreal acquisitionx (BETAKIT)
Beauty AR company ModiFace has launched a Virtual Nail Salon app for iPhone, enabling photo-realistic augmented reality simulation of nail polish shades and textures on live videos of hands.
Easyship, a Stripe for global e-commerce shipping, raises $4M (TECHCRUNCH)
Easyship, a Hong Kong-based startup that aims to make international shipping for e-commerce as easy as payments, has closed a $4 million Series A round.
What online retailers can learn from the high street (RETAILTECHNEWS)
High street retail, in its simplest form, is a physical and tactile experience; this isn’t just true for customers, it is also true for employees, as well as the business itself.
Storyflow rebrands to Voiceflow, pivots to Alexa Skills builder for business (BETAKIT)
Toronto-based Storyflow, which launched as a platform to build interactive voice entertainment on smart speakers, has changed its name to Voiceflow as it pivots its platform.
