S|W: The SaaS Weekly – Canada’s latest unicorn

The SaaS Weekly is a weekly newsletter covering major SaaS news from Canada and around the globe.

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Legaltech startup Clio Canada’s latest unicorn following $136 million CAD Series E round (BETAKIT)

Clio previously secured a $330 million CAD ($250 million USD) Series D round in September 2019 from US-based investors TCV and JMI Equity.


Thoma Bravo’s $12.3 billion purchase of Proofpoint is the largest private equity cloud deal (CNBC)

Prior to the Proofpoint deal on Monday, the largest cloud acquisition by a private equity firm was the $11 billion purchase of Ultimate Software in 2019.


Thinkific closes TSX IPO, raising $160 million (BETAKIT)

CEO Greg Smith told BetaKit that he sees a “huge opportunity” in scaling to meet the growing needs of entrepreneurs and the online course creator economy.


Your free speech is at risk with Ottawa’s push to regulate online content, experts warn (CBC)

The government says the changes apply only to professional content and are necessary to make wildly successful online streaming services and apps contribute to Canadian culture.


Magnet Forensics increases TSX IPO target, aiming to raise $100 million (BETAKIT)

The new target represents a more than $10 million increase from the company’s initial goal of $90 million, showing strong investor demand for the first Waterloo IPO in 15 years.


To become more diverse, cybersecurity experts say the industry needs more mentors and problem solvers (BETAKIT)

The current approach isn’t enough to foster the diversity – or scale – necessary to fill the estimated 3.5 million cybersecurity job openings globally in 2021.


Basecamp implodes as employees flee company, including senior staff (THE VERGE)

A controversial memo and a severance offer prompted many to head for the exits.


New report shows Montréal tech caught up to Toronto in 2020 (BETAKIT)

Venture funding in Montréal reached an impressive $1.15 billion in 2020, solidifying the city as one of the top startup ecosystems in Canada, only just behind Toronto.


A $3.8 billion rival to Twilio in Europe just made a big acquisition to expand in the U.S. (CNBC)

MessageBird, which competes with U.S. cloud communications platform Twilio, says it raised a total of $1 billion in a funding round.


Ceridian to acquire Toronto talent intelligence startup Ideal (BETAKIT)

After partnering with Ceridian for about two years, Ideal is set to become part of Ceridian as the startup looks to expand its reach and accelerate its product roadmap “with increased resources.”


Here’s why M&A activity is surging in Canada’s tech sector (BETAKIT)

BetaKit spoke to key members of the Canadian innovation ecosystem to determine why M&A activity is up, and where it’s going.


Breaking point: how Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook became foes (NEW YORK TIMES)

The chief executives of Facebook and Apple have opposing visions for the future of the internet. Their differences escalated this week, just as the EU charged Apple with App Store antitrust violations.


Large deals fuelled Calgary’s healthy 2020, but Western Canada could have an early-stage funding problem (BETAKIT)

Hockeystick tracked four deals under $250,000 in 2019 and 2020, indicating an early-stage gap.


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