S|W: The SaaS Weekly – Wattpad’s next chapter

wattpad
Wattpad's Toronto office.

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

Subscribe to S|W using the form at the bottom of this page to ensure you don’t miss out on the most important SaaS news every week!


As Naver closes $754 million CAD acquisition of Wattpad, Allen Lau is looking to scale (BETAKIT)

Speaking with BetaKit, Lau said the acquisition was “all about business acceleration.”


Job posting indicates MasterClass plans to open new engineering hub in Kitchener-Waterloo (BETAKIT)

Founded in 2015, MasterClass is an edtech platform that provides on-demand, celebrity-fuelled online learning content.


Handshake, a job search platform for college students, valued at $1.5 billion after new funding round (FORBES)

Handshake counts more than 18 million students and recent graduates among its users.


Access to working capital essential to the success of Canadian small businesses (BETAKIT)

American Express Canada VP Paul Roman explains why many Canadian small business owners are still in “survival mode.”


Thinkific grew revenues by 152 percent in first quarter of 2021 (BETAKIT)

Thinkific filed for its IPO in late March, and completed the transaction in late April. Initially setting out to raise $160 million, the firm managed to close its IPO at $184 million after an over-allotment option was exercised in full by the deal’s underwriters.


Telkomsel invests an additional $300 million in Gojek (TECHCRUNCH)

The announcement comes amid Gojek working to seal a proposed merger with e-commerce platform Tokopedia.


Magnet Forensics sees revenue, profit growth in first earnings report since going public (BETAKIT)

“We have the technology, the team and with our recent IPO, the capital, to aggressively pursue this market,” said Adam Belsher, Magnet’s CEO.


Three strategies for startups looking for new revenue streams (BETAKIT)

Xero Canada Country Manager Faye Pang shares advice for how startups can find new revenue streams from both new and existing customers.


The Korean Chatroulette-style dating app quietly taking over the world (REST OF WORLD)

In February, Match Group agreed to buy Azar’s parent company for $1.7 billion.


Boast.ai hires new executives to scale, meet sizable R&D tax credit market opportunity (BETAKIT)

Earlier this year, the company raised a $125 million CAD credit facility from Brevet Capital in order to provide companies with up-front loans for their government research and development (R&D) tax credits.


UFC voice Bruce Buffer, Canadian entrepreneurs launch social e-commerce platform for athletes (BETAKIT)

Millions.co was created to allow athletes to leverage their existing fan base and social media presence in order to create and control their own revenue streams.


How Canadian tech is tackling the global problem of food insecurity (BETAKIT)

On the #CIBCInnovationEconomy podcast, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and Dr. Michael Gilbert talk about food insecurity, and how tech is tackling the challenge.


‘Misogynistic’ Apple hire is out hours after employees call for investigation (THE VERGE)

Antonio García Martínez is no longer working at Apple hours after employees circulated a petition calling for an investigation into his hiring.


Agnostiq secures $2.4 million CAD to accelerate development of quantum computing software (BETAKIT)

In an interview, Elliot MacGowan, Agnostiq’s co-founder and COO, told BetaKit the company decided to raise the round after gaining some product traction and identifying a market opportunity.


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.

0 replies on “S|W: The SaaS Weekly – Wattpad’s next chapter”