S|W: The SaaS Weekly – Hootsuite acquisition fuels shift to intelligence
Plus: Amazon scraps Alexa Developer Rewards Program.
SaaS
WordPress owner acquires Eric Migicovsky’s messaging app Beeper following spar with Apple
Under Automattic’s wing, Beeper aims to continue building “the best chat app on Earth.”
Pinterest is on a Toronto hiring spree to scoop up AI talent
CTO Jeremy King says company aims to use AI and ML to make Pinterest more “shoppable.”
Government software provider Clariti Cloud secures $24.6 million CAD from Vistara Growth
Clariti’s co-CEO is seeing increased demand for digital government services.
Now-private Farmers Edge partners with Gevo to carbon track US agriculture
Gevo’s project is backed by grant funding from the USDA.
S|W: The SaaS Weekly – Microsoft faces new Excel rival as it’s forced to separate teams from office
Plus: BlackBerry CEO sued by former senior employee for sexual harassment.
Hootsuite to acquire social media analytics company Talkwalker
Hootsuite shifting from social media management to intelligence.
Define Capital closes $20 million to acquire and nurture profitable niche software companies
New Toronto private equity fund aims to follow in Constellation’s footsteps.
Eirene raises $4.1-million seed round to simplify end-of-life solutions
Funding will support Eirene’s expansion into the US.
Meet the Y Combinator Winter 2024 cohort startups with Canadian roots
W24 participants include Senso, DraftAid, AgentHub, GovernGPT, Datacurve, and more.
Recon Instruments founder unveils new AR swim goggles
Form’s Smart Swim 2 features heart rate monitor, digital compass.
S|W: The SaaS Weekly – Peek inside Canva’s battle plan against Adobe
Plus: Ontario school boards sue social media giants for $4.5B.
These B2B software companies are hiring in Canada
Visier, ShyftLabs, Autodesk are all looking to beef up their Canadian teams.
Tofu nets $1.2 million to fast-track hiring for tech startups
Company’s backers include Night Capital, Garage Capital, Wayfinder Ventures, Ritual Capital.
Flare acquires US-based competitor Foretrace
Flare claims it experienced triple-digital growth in 2023.