Tech-enabled fulfillment company Darwynn closes $20 million pre-seed round
Darwynn says its facilities take up less space and costs less to operate.
Retail
Blume secures $2 million CAD to scale latte replacement product
Ex-Frank and Oak exec buys into Blume’s first institutional round.
Real estate auction platform Unreserved files $25 million lawsuit against real estate associations
Startup claims defamation and interference in Unreserved’s economic interests.
R|T: The Retail Times – Inside Amazon’s strategy to shield its profits from Canadian taxes
Plus: Shopify completes acquisition of Deliverr.
Lightspeed expands systems integration with OpenTable
Lightspeed gives OpenTable a seat in its growing reservation platform network.
Shopify launches YouTube Shopping integration in latest social commerce push
New Shopify partnership lets customers press play and pay on YouTube.
Multilingual chatbot startup Proto secures $5.6 million for global expansion
Proto’s polyglot chatbot was created to improve inclusion, protection of customers.
Fieldless Farms secures $17.5 million to expand indoor farm, leafy greens product line
The Ottawa startup claims growing demand for lettuce amid global shortage.
R|T: The Retail Times – Knix sells, Bruush to IPO, Tiggy halts operations
Plus: How Wish Built (and Fumbled) a Dollar Store for the Internet.
Shopify completes acquisition of Deliverr, plans launch of two-day and next-day delivery service
Shopify ‘Primes’ for head-to-head competition with Amazon.
R|T: The Retail Times – Clutch, StockX, Weee! cut staff, WanderJaunt closes, Enjoy files for bankruptcy
Plus: Tablz closes $3.2 million CAD to bring premium seating to the restaurant industry.
Electric toothbrush startup Bruush files to go public on Nasdaq with $17.25 million IPO
Bruush agreed to pay Kevin Hart a fresh $1.5 million to be a celebrity endorser.
US court partially rejects Urbx motion to dismiss Attabotics patent lawsuit
Only a portion of Attabotic’s claims are moving forward.
R|T: The Retail Times – Market downturn hits Ritual, Bonsai, Sonder
Plus: Amazon is running out of people to hire.
US companies Avanade, Nautical Commerce, Twilio, Dealpath plot Canadian expansions
All four plan to conduct a hiring spree amid a growing number of global tech layoffs.