TikTok Bans, CEO kidnappings, and Canadian tech’s Fast 50

In September, Virgovicova met actor and Water.org co-founder Matt Damon when attending the UN General Assembly. Since founding Xatoms, which aims to clean the world’s water with quantum chemistry and AI, Virgovicova has received a stream of global recognition and investment, including backing from Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who provided Xatoms grant funding through his 776 Fellowship. On the latest episode of The BetaKit Podcast, Virgovicova explained how figures like Damon, and Ohanian are helping her raise awareness and funding.

Manzil offers Halal-certified investment and home financing solutions for customers looking to maintain religious observance with Islam, which prohibits earning or paying interest.

This past summer, Manzil announced it has successfully financed over $50 million CAD in Halal mortgages since its inception. CEO Mohamad Sawwaf told BetaKit that the Aghaz acquisition will also help Manzil expand to the United States, which has a Muslim population of 4.45 million.

Minister Skeete, who has taken over the innovation portion of Pierre Fitzgibbon’s portfolio after Fitzgibbon resigned as Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, said innovation is the key to everything Western society holds dear.

He spoke with BetaKit about his priorities in the role and the pain points still facing Québec’s tech sector, including how he plans to finish executing Fitzgibbon’s $7.5-billion innovation strategy.

Calgary and Winnipeg-based Neo Financial tracked a stunning 154,022 percent increase in revenue between 2020 to 2023, more than nine times that of the runner-up on the Technology Fast 50. Co-founder and CEO Andrew Chau, who also co-founded SkipTheDishes, told BetaKit he attributes the growth to his team’s “relentless dedication to challenging the status quo.” Read more about the 2024 Technology Fast 50 winners here.

The federal government ordered TikTok Technology Canada to wind up its operations in Canada, citing “specific national security risks” related to the operations of TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance in Canada. The government has not banned use of the TikTok platform, though it began banning public servants from downloading or using TikTok on government-issued phones last year.

Lightspeed and Well Health Technologies both reported strong year-over-year revenue growth. That growth has translated into Well Health’s revenue run rate exceeding $1 billion CAD, and on a trailing 12-month basis, Lightspeed’s revenues exceeding $1 billion USD. Following the release of their quarterly earnings, both companies saw their shares jump on public exchanges.

Six of Exit North’s seven co-founders are exited FinTech founders. They include Gary Schwartz, who exited Impact Mobile; Financeit co-founder and executive chair Michael Garrity; Paradigm Quest co-founder Katherine Gregory; Beanworks co-founder Catherine Dahl; LendCare co-founder Ali Metel; and Savvyy co-founder Norm Cappell.

“The name Exit North really reflects the composition of the folks involved,” Exit North general partner Tal Schwartz told BetaKit this week.

A $5 wrench attack refers to a low-tech robbery targeting individuals who are known to hold high amounts of crypto, and is one of an increasing number of serious safety threats reported to be faced by those in the industry. This week, Dean Skurka, CEO of WonderFi, was reportedly kidnapped and reportedly held for ransom in Toronto. Skurka was fortunately unharmed, claiming the incident “won’t slow us down!”

Longbow Capital said its new fund is focused on investing in North American businesses that will benefit from the energy transition, including companies that help lower carbon emissions. The firm’s portfolio includes Canadian cleantech firms Clir Renewables and Arcus Power, which both offer energy intelligence platforms.

Last month, Donald Trump told Fox News, “We’ll have a new position: Secretary of Cost-Cutting. Elon wants to do that, and we have incredible people.” Musk has since said he expects no pay, title, or recognition for his work supporting Trump’s campaign, and Trump indicated it is unlikely Musk will join his Cabinet.