There was a brief period when I thought Wealthsimple might lose its way.
The Toronto-based FinTech firm, founded in 2014 as a robo-advisor, had grown to around 500,000 clients and just under $10 billion in assets under administration by 2020.
Two major developments happened in the following years: the Reddit-fuelled retail trading frenzy and one of the larger crypto boom cycles. Wealthsimple rode both to exceptional growth, doubling its AUA and quadrupling its customer base by 2022.
The rapid rise came with complications for the company that likes to keep it simple. The disruptor predicated on selling trust was now marketing FOMO. CEO Mike Katchen used to joke about the competitor incumbent banks luring new customers with free Apple products—Wealthsimple was now doing the same. The crypto market crashed hard in 2022, and 13 percent of the company was laid off.
What a difference a few years can make. Wealthsimple hosted its first product showcase this week, clearly demonstrating exactly what type of company it wants to be. Josh Scott has your full rundown, but believe me when I say the audience was wowed—not an easy thing to do in financial services.
Or is it? Co-founder and CPO Brett Huneycutt told Josh that Canadian financial services are not very competitive (which is true) and offered an alternate vision where Wealthsimple provides a “one-stop shop” that doesn’t squeeze fees from customers on each individual product (which is compelling).
The company’s confidence is high enough that Wealthsimple not only teased products months away, but its next event, where it will replace its original product: the robo-advisor. Implicit in this roadmap divulgence is the belief that Canada’s Big Five banks can’t use the extra time to catch up.
That message will not go unnoticed by Bay Street. On stage, Katchen was more explicit. “The way I see it, the banks are a tax on all of us,” he said. “We as Canadians need to demand more.”
Those are fighting words. Wealthsimple is walking and talking like it thinks it can win.
Douglas Soltys
Editor-in-chief
Uber Canada is working with MADD Canada (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) in the fight against impaired driving.
While it has never been easier to get a safe ride home, alcohol remains a factor in a quarter of crash fatalities on public roadways in Canada.
Ridesharing plays a vital role in the fight against impaired driving. That’s why Uber Canada is working with MADD Canada to drive real change.
87% of Canadian riders say Uber has helped reduce drunk driving and made it safer to get around. And with more than 100,000 designated drivers on the road, the impact is real.
No matter how Canadians get home, Uber is proud to support every ride that gets them there safely.
AI minister Evan Solomon wary of overdoing regulation, but says Bill C-27 “not gone”
Canada’s new minister of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital innovation says he plans to focus on AI’s economic benefits instead of “over-indexing” on regulation, marking a shift away from the previous government’s attempts to strike a balance between the two.
One of the key aspects is not to put a saddle on “the bucking bronco called AI innovation,” Minister Evan Solomon said at the Canada 2020 conference, put on by the progressive think tank of the same name, in Ottawa this week. “But it is to make sure that the horse doesn’t kick people in the face.”
Kyle Braatz got Fullscript to $1 billion in revenue by treating every new business segment like a startup
When Fullscript was founded in 2012, CEO Kyle Braatz saw two options: be ultra-focused and do one thing really well, or create the ultra-broad whole-person care platform he envisioned from the start. Held to the constraints of bootstrapped capital, Braatz opted to take it slow, building each segment of his wellness tech business like they were each their own startup.
In a fireside chat at AccerlateOTT this week, Braatz described to the Ottawa tech community how Fullscript’s slow and steady approach led to it achieving $1 billion USD in revenue over the past 12 months.
“If we have this thing we want to invest in, don’t go right to the end state immediately,” Braatz told BetaKit. “It sounds like common sense, but let’s just start and go through the process of getting there.”
Sezzle sues Shopify for alleged “unfair” privileging of its own buy-now, pay-later feature
Buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) platform Sezzle is suing Shopify for allegedly violating United States (US) antitrust laws by “manipulating” customers to use the e-commerce giant’s own BNPL software, causing competitors to lose out on sales.
The lawsuit alleges Shopify used its market power to favour its own BNPL service for merchants and intentionally made it more difficult for consumers to find alternative BNPL providers on its merchant sites, crowding out competitors such as Minneapolis, Minn.-based Sezzle.
After news of the lawsuit dropped, which Shopify did not respond for comment on, the Canadian e-commerce giant began to roll out support for the USDC stablecoin within Shopify Payments and Shop Pay through a partnership with Stripe and Coinbase.
CVCA calls for Digital Services Tax pause to avoid retaliatory US tax changes
Canada’s venture capital industry group has co-authored a letter pushing the federal government to pause the collection of the Digital Services Tax (DST) as it anticipates a costly US policy retaliation.
The letter urges Prime Minister Mark Carney to rethink the DST due to the “unintended consequence” of the United States proposing a tax hike for Canadian investors in retaliation for what it calls “unfair foreign taxes,” including the DST. The letter calls for Carney to hit pause on the DST ahead of June 30, the first deadline for companies to file a return.
Montréal tech looks to scale up with opening of Ax.c innovation hub
More than 300 members of Québec’s tech community, along with government officials and startup support organizations, inaugurated the long-awaited entrepreneurship hub Ax.c this week.
Built on the former trading floor of the Montréal Exchange and overlooking the Place Victoria tower, Ax.c is a stone’s throw from the Google and Shopify Montréal offices in the city’s business district. Its stated ethos is to offer a space where startups can connect with every part of the innovation ecosystem, from mentors to technical talent to investors.
DoorDash next on the menu as Canada’s Competition Bureau sues for allegedly deceptive pricing tactics
Canada’s Competition Bureau is suing San Francisco-based food delivery app DoorDash and its Canadian subsidiary for allegedly promoting services to customers at a lower price than what they actually have to pay—a practice known as drip pricing.
The Bureau alleges that DoorDash has been engaging in this practice for close to a decade and acquired nearly $1 billion from the mandatory fees that are added at checkout.
“We believe that this application is an overly punitive attempt to make an example of an industry leader in local commerce,” DoorDash said in a statement.
Pine unveils new real estate tools after topping $1 billion in managed mortgages
Toronto-based Pine has surpassed $1 billion CAD in mortgages under administration and launched new products to help clients with more steps in the Canadian home-buying and ownership process.
In an interview with BetaKit, Pine co-founder and CEO Justin Herlick called this “an important milestone” that puts the startup “in a very healthy spot.” When Herlick initially developed Pine’s business plan, he said $1 billion in mortgages was “the self-sustaining number” for the business. He claimed Pine has now not only achieved that, but is also on pace to add another $1 billion this year.
The BetaKit Guide: Wildfire
If you were outside this past week, you probably know that Canadian wildfires are getting worse. They’re also getting more expensive.
But across the country, startups are developing tools and platforms to help detect, suppress, and adapt to wildfires. Companies are developing fireproof construction materials, technology to reduce the number of wildfires started by power lines, and drones for just about everything.
In partnership with North Climate Tech, we recently launched The BetaKit Guide: Wildfire to explore how Canadian tech is stepping up. As fires continue to burn across Canada, this work feels more urgent than ever.
FEATURED STORIES FROM OUR PARTNERS
- Canada is a magnet for international deep tech talent, and ventureLAB wants to give them a launchpad to success through its Canada Catalyst program. Read about the program bringing global founders to Canada.
- Nova Scotia is a natural home for up-and-coming cleantech startups. Lindsay Murray of Foresight Canada believes the region’s East Coast mentality sets it apart. Read about the cleantech companies building from Nova Scotia.
- Alan, which recently brought its virtual-first health platform from Europe to Canada, is challenging what it sees as a prehistoric approach to health insurance. Read about Alan’s secret weapon to achieving that goal.
🇨🇦 Weekly Canadian Deals, Dollars & More
- CAN – AI Scribe Program opens #CDNtech tools up to clinicians
- WPG – Adtech Taiv secures $14.4M to expand to larger markets
- KW – ENVGO raises $2.7M to bring “flying” boat to market
- KW – Nicoya Lifesciences acquires UK-based Applied Photophysics
- HAM – MesoMat secures seed round for tire-monitoring platform
- TOR – Xanadu developing quantum algorithms for EV batteries
- MTL – Geneviève Tanguay joins Panache Ventures as partner
- MTL – Eli Health secures $17M Series A to launch the Hormometer
- MTL – Vessel raises $10.3M seed round for AI fund management platform
The BetaKit Podcast – InBC’s Jill Earthy knows Canadian VC “could be healthier”
“ That’s what we wanna change, right? For future companies, more Canadian investors on the cap table so that we can see those benefits come back through investment, through mentorship, through restarting.”
Jill Earthy, CEO of InBC Investment Corp—a provincial Crown corporation with $500 million of direct and indirect capital to deploy—joins to discuss the state of Canadian venture, the role of organizations like hers in BC’s growing tech ecosystem, and InBC’s future fundraising plans. Recorded live at Web Summit Vancouver.
Take The BetaKit Quiz – This week: Wealthsimple presents, Meta snags Scale AI, DoorDash gets served
Think you’re on top of Canadian tech and innovation news? Time to prove it. Test your knowledge of Canadian tech news with The BetaKit Quiz for June 13, 2025.
Feature image courtesy Wealthsimple.