Xanadu wants to be the first tech company in the world to deliver fault-tolerant quantum computing at scale. To reach that lofty goal, it must also do something few Canadian tech companies have successfully managed: navigate the public markets.
The company publicly listed on the TSX and Nasdaq via a SPAC this week, making it the first Canadian tech company to hit the TSX since 2021, right before the window for tech IPOs firmly closed. The intervening time has seen a public market exodus of Canadian companies swept up in that post-COVID IPO boom.
Xanudu’s $300 million USD public cash-in comes amid global headwinds and a temperamental quantum market often found overreacting to the latest Jensen Huang remark. It’s not the first Canadian quantum company to navigate these waters: a weak SPAC by D-Wave on the NYSE in 2022 led to a cash crunch and the Burnaby-founded firm moving its headquarters to the US.
CEO Christian Weedbrook once told me that the only way Xanadu relocates from Canada is if he gets fired. Fiduciary duties to shareholders can often put strains on such commitments.
But market speculation shouldn’t overshadow what all the capital is for. Xanadu wants to put the first quantum data centre (what Weedbrook calls “deep, deep tech”) in Toronto by 2029 at the earliest. You could say Xanadu finds itself in a superposition of sorts: slowly building futuristic frontier tech while managing the day-to-day whims of retail investors.
It’s a remarkable accomplishment, regardless of whether or not Xanadu can perfectly maintain both states of being. After sniffing around private capital options, Weedbrook got the funding he needed, and his tech company is now one of the 10 most valuable on the TSX.
Will Xanadu lead Canadian tech back to the public markets? It’s a question I look forward to Weedbrook answering at BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall, where the CEO will speak alongside a host of Canadian tech luminaries in May. I suggest snagging a ticket now while they’re still available.
Douglas Soltys
Editor-in-chief
NGen’s N3 Summit is where Canada’s advanced industries converge
Join Canada’s innovation leaders on March 31 and April 1 at the Metro Toronto Convention for a policy forum and trade show like none other. Hear from government and private sector leaders shaping industrial policy, meet the companies driving Canada’s advanced industries, and connect with business delegations and corporate investors from around the world.
The N3 Summit is a platform for growth, spotlighting breakthrough Canadian innovations in AI, robotics, automation, quantum, homebuilding, dual-use defence technologies, and more. Your pass includes access to speaking sessions, exhibit hall, networking cocktails, pitch sessions and industry-led workshops.
Tickets are going fast, so secure your spot at N³ today!
Innovation Exchange
Elevate’s CIX Summit was in Toronto this past week, and BetaKit was there to capture conversations about Canadian sovereignty and attend closed-door discussions with venture capital leaders.
- From fund managers to the limited partners that back them, Canadian VCs gathered to discuss challenges and opportunities amid what remains a shaky market, including a potential AI-driven “SaaSpocalypse.”
- On stage, Sentinel R&D co-founder and CEO Kath Intson said that Canada is “starting to get real wishy-washy” with how it defines sovereignty amid the defence gold rush, arguing the definition needs precision.
Feds reveal streams behind $1-billion VC initiative as budget becomes law
The federal government’s commitments to defence, financial services, VC, and more in the 2025 budget have received royal assent after months of debate.
The measures became law as the feds recently revealed that $1 billion earmarked for a new Venture and Growth Capital Catalyst Initiative will break down into three streams: for funds-of-funds, life sciences, and emerging fund managers.
Hopper’s biggest customer is bringing its travel platform in-house
Montréal travel tech company Hopper built and managed Capital One’s online travel booking portal for credit cardholders. After four and a half years, the American financial services giant is bringing the Capital One Travel platform and many of the employees behind it in-house.
In an interview with BetaKit, Hopper co-founder and president Dakota Smith positioned the move as an “update” to the partnership that will see Capital One begin managing the travel platform internally.
Wealthsimple gets regulatory approval to enter prediction markets
Wealthsimple has received initial approval to enter prediction markets, a controversial form of futures trading that has earned multi-billion dollar valuations for US firms like Kalshi and Polymarket.
A spokesperson told BetaKit that Wealthsimple has “not announced any product plans at this time,” and has simply received regulatory approval.
BKR Capital secures initial $20 million for second Black Innovation Fund
BKR is targeting a final close of $50 million for Fund II to “back the next generation of globally competitive Black-led technology companies,” the firm said in a statement.
Last year, Black-led startups in Canada received only $10 million in venture capital, according to the 2026 Black Startup Funding Report.
Chexy raises $14 million Series A led by Khosla Ventures
The round will fund Chexy’s expansion from helping tenants earn credit card rewards to supporting more everyday expenses, including business payments.
The round was led by Khosla Ventures, one of Silicon Valley’s most reputable venture firms, which has backed giant tech companies like OpenAI, DoorDash, Stripe, and Instacart.
Opendoor hiring in Canada as it looks to make Toronto a “major hub”
San Francisco-based real estate tech firm Opendoor, led by former Shopify executive Kaz Nejatian, plans to grow its team with more Canadian talent, up to 100 roles, despite no immediate plans to operate in the Canadian market.
Jacqueline Loch joins BetaKit as General Manager
With deep experience leading media organizations in Canada, including Azure Media, SJC Media, and Rogers Media, Jacqueline brings a track record of building high-performing teams, growing revenue, and developing compelling media products.
As General Manager, Jacqueline will lead BetaKit’s business operations, working closely with our growing leadership team to help BetaKit reach its full potential as an independent Canadian media company.
FEATURED STORIES FROM OUR PARTNERS
MaRS Impact Health returns to showcase Canada’s next big healthcare breakthroughs
The MaRS Impact Health summit returns to Toronto on April 23 to convene over 1,000 innovators, investors, and policymakers focused on scaling Canada’s healthtech and life sciences sectors. The event aims to address critical funding gaps and global competition by showcasing breakthroughs in biotechnology, medical devices, and AI-driven therapies for rare diseases.
🇨🇦 Weekly Canadian Deals, Dollars & More
CAN – CAAIN launches $9M open competition for AgTech innovation
BC – UBC and InBC launch new fund to support university spinouts
VAN – Miraterra secures $16M to advance its soil measurement tech
VAN – CanLII and Caseway settle copyright dispute
CGY – Feds grant $4.25M to new cleantech research centre
CGY – Denvr signs two deals to deepen sovereign AI push in Canada
KW – OpenText lays off four percent of its global workforce
TOR – Cohere teams up with Saab to put AI in surveillance jets
MTL – Spark Microsystems secures new $17M in Series B funding
MTL – Mila partners with Mozilla to build open-source AI tools
SHB – SBQuantum preps to send quantum sensor to space on Monday
Attend MaRS Impact Health
On April 23, MaRS is bringing together founders, investors, researchers, clinicians, policy-makers and corporate leaders for a full day focused on the future of healthcare innovation in Canada.
This year’s Impact Health event features two distinct stages of programming, designed to pair system-level insight with practical, founder-focused learning:
- Catalyst stage: Showcasing the system- and market-level forces shaping the future of healthcare.
- Founder-focused stage: Applied sessions on building and scaling health ventures across biotech, digital health and medical devices.
Programming will explore women’s health, neuroscience, the economics of AI in healthcare, cell and gene therapies, rare disease innovation, clinical trials and policy pathways, robotic-led surgery, founder stories, venture pitches, Canada’s “brain re-gain” and more.
Feature image courtesy Nasdaq via X.