Canadian startup news of the week (1/8/23)
Plus: BetaKit is hiring.
layoffs
Shopify launches commerce stack for enterprise retail
Commerce Components will target retailers with billions in sales like Mattel, Staples.
R|T: The Retail Times – Shopify abandons The Well
Plus: Saas-based hotel management platform raises $185 million.
H|T: The Healthtech Times – MasterControl becomes unicorn after $150 million Series A
Plus: Bezos and Gates on the hunt for brain implant breakthrough.
A|I: The AI Times – OpenAI projects $1 billion in revenue in two years
Plus: Cohere hires YouTube CFO as president.
S|W: The SaaS Weekly – John Carmack is leaving Meta
Plus: Former Google ad chief’s ad-free search engine launches in Canada.
CEO of Briza steps down as insurtech startup cuts close to half of its staff
Briza’s leadership includes FreshBooks founder Mike McDerment and former director of engineering Rishi Sharma.
Federal government commits $90 million to boost intellectual property support for startups
Communitech, MAIN, New Ventures BC, Innovate Calgary, and Springboard Atlantic all secured funding.
F|T: The FinTech Times – The inevitable arrest of SBF
Plus: Nesto raises $80 million series C.
Canadian startup news of the week (12/18/22)
Plus: Kim Furlong talks VCCI & what comes next for Canadian venture.
H|T: The Healthtech Times – Senior health initiative gets $47 million SIF investment
Plus: Former Theranos COO Sunny Balwani sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison.
S|W: The SaaS Weekly – The end of an era at Slack
Plus: Wattpad president Jeanne Lam resigns months after being tapped to lead company.
Plooto closes $27 million CAD Series B to help SMBs manage cash flow
Plooto plans to double down on product-led growth strategy.
Canadian startup news of the week (12/11/22)
Plus: meet BC’s new innovation minister.
S|W: The SaaS Weekly – Inside Mozilla’s bid to enter the metaverse
Plus: Applyboard lays off customer experience employees.