S|W: The SaaS Weekly – Tech craze on the TSX

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

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Loopio secures $252 million to accelerate its growth in RFP software market (BETAKIT)

Loopio isn’t the only Canadian software startup SEP has recently funded: the California-based firm led a $126 million CAD ($100 million USD) investment in Vancouver’s Tasktop, which was also announced recently.


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Vendasta Technologies IPO struggles to sell, sources say, as Canada’s tech craze substantially cools (THE GLOBE AND MAIL)

Management must now consider pricing the company’s shares below their marketing range of $14 and $16 apiece or pull the transaction altogether. Meanwhile, Thinkific filed for TSX IPO, and has applied to trade under the symbol “THNC.”


Twitter held discussions for $4 billion takeover of Clubhouse (BNN BLOOMBERG)

The companies discussed a potential valuation of roughly $4 billion for Clubhouse, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Clubhouse also recently launched payments so creators can make money.


Study: Facebook delivers biased job ads, skewed by gender (AP NEWS)

Facebook is showing different job ads to women and men in a way that might run afoul of anti-discrimination laws, according to a new study – this coming around the same time that Facebook is looking to fix its preteen problem with a version of “Instagram for kids”.


The software industry dodges an API tax in Oracle decision (PROTOCOL)

The Supreme Court’s fair-use decision upholds decades of software development practices as Texas leads an antitrust lawsuit against Google that accuses the search company of running a digital-ad monopoly.


Goodfood reaches record revenue of $100.7 million as online grocery market booms (BETAKIT)

In addition to reporting record-high revenue, Goodfood also reached a record cash position in the second quarter of $163 million. Its gross profits also reached a record of $30.6 million, an increase of 72 percent year-over-year.


Scraped data of 500 million LinkedIn users being sold online, 2 million records leaked as proof (CYBERNEWS)

Days after a massive Facebook data leak made the headlines, it seems like we’re in for another one, this time involving LinkedIn.


Playmaker Capital closes $24 million private placement, plans to go public on TSXV (BETAKIT)

Playmaker’s co-founder and CEO Jordan Gnat told BetaKit the company plans to use the new funding to execute its strategy of “rolling up digital sports media assets and technology.”


Byju’s acquires Indian tutor Aakash for nearly $1 billion (TECHCRUNCH)

Why did Byju’s raise over $1 billion last year and is already inching closer to securing another half a billion dollars? We are getting some answers today.


Creators’ platform Patreon valued at $4 billion in its latest funding round (CNBC)

Patreon, a platform that lets artists seek financial patronage from their fans, said it was valued at $4 billion in its latest funding round, more than tripling from September last year.


One year after raising seed round, PolicyMe launches digital life insurance product (BETAKIT)

Canadian Premier Life Insurance is acting as PolicyMe’s insurance carrier partner for the launch of this product, while an undisclosed global reinsurance company will split the policy liability with Canadian Premier.


ShareChat valued at $2.1 billion in $502 million fundraise (TECHCRUNCH)

Additionally, messaging platform Gupshup raised $100 million at a $1.4 billion valuation while Sendbird raised $100 million at a $1B+ valuation.


Peekapak, Cisco, and the C100 share advice for Canadian tech leaders who “leave it all on the field” (BETAKIT)

Laura Buhler (C100), Ami Shah (Peekapak), and Erin Hipp (Cisco) provide founders with tangible examples of how to adapt and transform in the face of change.


Uber, Lyft use rides to vaccines to get drivers, customers back on the platform (REUTERS)

Ride-hailing demand is ramping up throughout the United States from pandemic-induced lows, but drivers are still slow to return to the road, slowing the companies’ efforts to rebuild revenues.


Josh Scott

Josh Scott

Josh Scott is a BetaKit reporter focused on telling in-depth Canadian tech stories and breaking news. His coverage is more complete than his moustache.

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