The SaaS Weekly is a weekly newsletter covering major SaaS news from Canada and around the globe.
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#paid secures $18.9 million CAD Series B round to capitalize on the exploding creator economy (BETAKIT)
“Every major consumer brand today is being built with creators at the core, but the world of brand and creator collaboration is still super messy and broken.”
Women in Tech Hiring Event
VanHack’s Women in Tech hiring event starts September 21st. In our last event, 30+ companies made 708 connections, with 20+ women getting hired within days!
Attending our event will provide companies who are struggling to find senior talent an opportunity to connect with dozens of female senior developers within one day!
Sign up for our event and find your next hire with VanHack!
Apple loosens rules for developers in major concession amid antitrust pressure (WASHINGTON POST)
Companies including Fortnite-maker Epic have alleged Apple wields too much control over how people can purchase apps for iOS devices, forcing them to go through the official App Store which charges a 30 percent commission.
BuildDirect and Think Research post mixed second-quarter results (BETAKIT)
In 2018, with former COO Dan Park installed as CEO, BuildDirect came out of creditor protection, raised $36 million CAD in new financing, and converted $19 million CAD million of interim financing for a total of $53 million CAD.
OnlyFans reverses its decision to ban explicit content (NEW YORK TIMES)
Many of the platform’s stars felt the sting of being turned away by a business they helped build – and unfortunately, building its own payments system isn’t a solution.
Shopify, TikTok expand partnership to allow shopping directly through social app (BETAKIT)
Shopify first began partnering with TikTok last fall, allowing US-based Shopify merchants to advertise and sell products on TikTok’s video-sharing platform directly through Shopify.
Facedrive execs depart in shakeup as tech startup’s shares plummet after meteoric rise earlier this year (THE GLOBE AND MAIL)
The departures follow a steep decline in the company’s share price, which has plummeted from a high of $60 to a little less than $6, a decrease of more than 90 per cent over just seven months.
Cybersecurity startup Cmd to be acquired by enterprise search firm Elastic (BETAKIT)
In 2019, Cmd raised a $19 million CAD Series B round led by GV (formerly Google Ventures), bringing its total funding to date to over $28 million.
BlackBerry’s path from smartphone roadkill to smart car pioneer — with a brief detour into meme stock (CBC)
The company best known for obsolete smartphones now has its technology installed in almost 200 million cars.
Acquisition roundup: Semios, Lone Wolf, Pluribus, Graph Blockchain, Frenter, NestReady (BETAKIT)
Semios announced that it is set to acquire fellow AgTech company Agworld, while Pluribus Technologies has acquired fellow Toronto-based firm Pathways Training & eLearning.
Big-league aspirations: marketing app maker FanSaves enjoying breakout year in 2021 (OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL)
The Cornwall-based startup previously won the second annual RC100 competition in 2019.
Funding roundup: Zilia, Lytica, GrowthGenius, Plentywaka, LifeBooster (BETAKIT)
Ottawa startup Lytica has secured over $3.8 million CAD ($3 million USD), while GrowthGenius has raised a $2.3 million CAD investment round.
Headspin co-founder charged with defrauding investors (PROTOCOL)
The DOJ alleges that Headspin’s former CEO overstated annual recurring revenue by over $50 million.
Acquisition roundup: One45, Medivolve, Wondershare (BETAKIT)
Toronto-based Altus Assessments has acquired Vancouver’s One45 and its medical education management software platform, MedEd, for an undisclosed amount.