The feds are picking Canadian tech winners through MOUs

Canada crowned Cohere its AI champion with the stroke of a pen, and the feds have ink ready for a few more.  

AI minister Evan Solomon told reporters at Solink’s Ottawa headquarters this week that his government is looking to sign more MOUs similar to the broad agreement it made with Cohere this year.  

“We’re trying to get some qualified companies that we think are strategically important to expedite [the procurement] process,” Solomon said. 

Procurement has been an ever-present pain point for Canadian tech. Leaders at Dominion Dynamics told me earlier this month that Cohere has been “anointed” by the federal government. The defence tech startup is hoping to receive the same treatment. 

On a panel at Ottawa’s Rideau Club, where former Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole argued Canada “was built upon” picking winners, Dominion Dynamics founder Eliot Pence said that “Defence often isn’t about technology or product.” Instead, “it’s about co-opting a buyer.” 

Pence later theorized to me that MOUs allow governments to work with a company while avoiding the traditional procurement process. Instead of conducting a months-long request for proposals, any relationship development with an MOU company is simply an advancement of that agreement. 

At Solink, Solomon seemed to confirm Pence’s expediency theory. He told reporters we will “soon” see some results from the government’s MOUs. 

“We’re using technology and other things to make the government more efficient,” Solomon said. “We are trying to do that from the MOU point of view.” 

For startups looking to co-opt buyers, the federal government seems ready to sign on the dotted line. 

Alex Riehl
Staff Writer, Ottawa

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Tech investor associations urge unified capital strategy ahead of budget

With the Government of Canada weeks away from dropping its budget, two organizations that represent Canadian technology investors are lobbying for the feds to “recognize the importance of a unified capital strategy” for innovation funding.

The National Angel Capital Organization and Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association have called for a seed-matching program, the renewal of the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative, a Canadian Qualified Small Business Stock, and a fund for homegrown mid-cap companies.

Evan Solomon teases new AI laws as experts warn Canada is behind international peers

At a conference in Montréal this week, Canadian AI minister Evan Solomon provided more details on the federal government’s plans to introduce legislation on data privacy, including rules surrounding deepfakes.

Earlier that day in Ottawa, Solomon didn’t rule out American involvement in Canada’s sovereign cloud strategy, and provided updates on the government’s AI task force and upcoming quantum program. 

Wealthsimple unveils advanced investing tools as it hits $100-billion milestone

Wealthsimple has surpassed $100 billion CAD in total assets under administration, three years ahead of its original December 2028 target, after growing 37 percent since March 31.

Wealthsimple shared the news during the second product showcase of its Wealthsimple Presents series, where it unveiled new services like zero-commission options contracts, cheaper cryptocurrency trading, and the ability to buy and sell gold. 

The Toronto FinTech startup was also included in the first batch of registered payment service providers revealed by the Bank of Canada this week. The designation opens the door to accessing payment rails, the infrastructure that allows money transfers, without having to go through banks.

Aidan Gomez says Cohere could IPO “soon” as company holds secondary sale

While breaking down his company’s place in the AI market at the Bloomberg Tech conference in London this week, Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez said his AI scaleup could hit the public markets “soon.”

“We’re on a clear path to profitability; I think public market investors would be excited to have a pure-play AI investment opportunity, as opposed to investing by proxy through hyperscalers,” Gomez said. 

Canadian AI pioneers Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton join global call to ban superintelligence development

Canadian AI pioneers Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio have signed onto yet another open letter, this time advocating for the prohibition of “superintelligence” development.

The open letter brings together a unique assortment of backers, including American right-wing commentators Steve Bannon and Glenn Beck, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and billionaire Virgin founder Richard Branson.

BDC report finds optimism is up among Canadian entrepreneurs despite trade war uncertainty

A new report from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) found that Canadian entrepreneurs have become more optimistic about the economy in the months since the United States trade war began.

BDC vice-president and chief economist Pierre Cléroux attributed this uptick to SMBs now having “less uncertainty” regarding the impact of US tariffs, and the steps that they have taken to ensure their survival and competitiveness in this “new reality.”

Neo Financial completes first-ever hat trick of Deloitte Technology Fast 50 rankings

Calgary-based FinTech startup Neo Financial has completed its hat trick of appearances in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 program, taking the top spot of all three lists over the past three years.

The list recognizes Canada’s fastest-growing technology companies across three categories, using their revenue growth percentage over the past three years as a benchmark. Other companies included on the enterprise list were fellow FinTech startup Koho in second place, Lightspeed Commerce at sixth, and Hopper at ninth.

Tell-all events

• Shopify president Harley Finkelstein and DavidsTea co-founder David Segal spilled the tea on building a global company from anywhere, including Canada, at HEC Montréal this week.
  
• In Toronto, Rally explored how the next generation of Canadians can build healthy relationships with and without technology.
  
• In a candid fireside conversation at TechExit.io, Lighthouse Labs co-founder Jeremy Shaki recounted how it felt watching his 12-year project “fall apart.”

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🇨🇦 Weekly Canadian Deals, Dollars & More

• CAN – Feds renew Black Entrepreneurship Program with $189M
• VAN – FINTRAC issues record-setting fine against Cryptomus
• TOR – Felix raises $53M to get more “aggressive” in telehealth
• TOR – Cybrid closes $10M USD to make stablecoins mainstream
• TOR – MaRS relaunches Capital Program to guide startups through fundraising
• QC – Investissement Québec transforms Fonds Impulsion into $200M VC fund
• MTL – Ready Plan Go raises $750K to automate accountants’ grunt work

Take The BetaKit Quiz – Start-up Visa takes too long, a Canadian IPO coming soon, and the cloud 404s

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Feature image courtesy Alex Riehl for BetaKit.