Vancouver-based Klue has slashed 40 percent of its workforce as it contends with growing competition from businesses experimenting with AI internally, BetaKit has learned| BetaKit
Logistical hurdles mount for startups as US deadline yields no trade deal.| BetaKit
Smart Nora co-founder and CEO Behrouz Hariri said “the sharp and unexpected increase in tariffs” negatively affected investor sentiment.| BetaKit
Embattled retailer with ties to Montréal tech set to shutter stores on May 18.| BetaKit
Montréal-based fashion tech startup SSENSE is set to announce it has reached a valuation of $5 billion CAD following a minority investment from Sequoia Capital.| BetaKit
TruLOCAL says it's a US tariffs beneficiary with 193-percent subscription growth in February.| BetaKit
Lightspeed has launched a supplier network for North American retailers that allows merchants to order and manage stock on the company’s point-of-sale system.| BetaKit
Tariff trackers, startup directories, and Buy Beaver apps are the latest fronts in the Canada-US trade war.| BetaKit
Satish Kanwar (Good Future) and Katy Yam (Real Ventures) join for a special episode recorded live on the BetaKit Keynote Stage at SAAS NORTH 2023.| BetaKit
Québec saw a significant dip in VC in Q3 2024, continuing a multi-year trend and ranking the quarter in the bottom five of the past 10 years, per a new joint report from Réseau Capital and the CVCA.| BetaKit
In an exclusive interview with BetaKit, Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon laid out the provincial government’s five-year SQRI2 plan to incentivize R&D commercialization.| BetaKit
Québec's community members were surprised to learn that Impulsion PME had been paused, seemingly overnight.| BetaKit
Heylist, Vosyn, Pok Pok, and Ability Biologics have all raised fresh capital.| BetaKit
Plus: Shopify quietly kills Indigenous Entrepreneurship program.| BetaKit
Survey finds 42 percent of Canadian entrepreneurs want financial support navigating US tariffs.| BetaKit
Ssense wins temporary protection in battle with creditors| BetaKit
Sheertex tights maker says tariffs could slap 41-percent duty on some shipments to US.| BetaKit
Rip-resistant tights manufacturer temporarily laid off 40 percent of staff ahead of “worst-case” US tariffs.| BetaKit
The BetaKit Podcast reviews the latest dispatches in Canada’s impending trade war with the United States, specifically how Canadian tech is responding.| BetaKit
EDC and BDC get a big boost to support businesses affected by tariffs and market uncertainties.| BetaKit
After more than a decade leading BDC Capital, Jérôme Nycz announced his retirement today, BetaKit has learned.| BetaKit
BDC has officially launched its Thrive Lab for women entrepreneurs, unveiling more details about the types of companies it will support.| BetaKit
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has committed $100 million CAD to support channel partners using AppDirect's subscription commerce platform.| BetaKit
AppDirect has secured up to $54.8 million CAD in financing from the Government of Quebec, which the company plans to use to grow its Montréal footprint.| BetaKit
Canadian-founded, San Francisco-based AppDirect has secured a $136-million CAD investment from CDPQ to expand its AppDirect Capital program.| BetaKit
AppDirect, a San Francisco-based cloud service commerce platform, announced that it has acquired Montreal-based Radialpoint.| BetaKit
AppCarousel, a Calgary-based app management platform for connected cars and fleets and connected devices, has been acquired by AppDirect.| BetaKit
US and Canada first to be featured as Tobi Lütke claims Shopify is “unaffected” by tariffs.| BetaKit
Ex-BlackBerry co-CEO Jim Balsillie donates $10 million CAD to ‘economic nationalism’ think tank.| BetaKit
Vancouver Startup Week (VSW), a volunteer-run tech event, finally returned to its in-person format for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.| BetaKit
Inaugural event continues conversation about Vancouver's status as a global innovation hub.| BetaKit
Collision has officially announced that Toronto will host its tech event in 2024, but Collision’s long-term future in Canada is still unclear.| BetaKit
Geoffrey Hinton, who has been internationally distinguished for his work on artificial intelligence, has resigned from Google to warn about the dangers of the technology.| BetaKit
A new report warns that while Canada is well-positioned with personnel and leading research in AI, Canadian companies face significant barriers scaling up.| BetaKit
Leaders in the technology community and academics threw their support behind the federal government’s proposed bill to regulate AI in Canada.| BetaKit
With $2 million closed, Startup TNT is looking to double down on its conviction that Canadian investors can succeed by betting on local entrepreneurs.| BetaKit
The Saskatchewan Technology Start-up Incentive will provide up to 45 percent non-refundable tax credits for individual and corporate equity investments.| BetaKit
The Government of Saskatchewan plans to extend the Saskatchewan Technology Startup Incentive, its 45 percent tax credit for early-stage tech investors.| BetaKit
Companies nurtured through Saskatchewan-based incubator Cultivator have collectively raised more than $100 million in private capital since 2019.| BetaKit
Sean O’Connor, former managing director of Conexus Venture Capital and Emmertech, has joined Salmon Arm, BC AgTech firm TechBrew Robotics as CEO, BetaKit has learned.| BetaKit
After over a year of searching, Saskatoon-based technology hub Co.Labs has found its next executive director in Jonathan Lipoth.| BetaKit
Pet food company Healthybud says Canada’s retaliatory tariffs will take a bigger bite out of its margins.| BetaKit
President Donald Trump’s backtrack limited to Canadian goods covered under CUSMA.| BetaKit
Toronto-based FinTech startup Wealthsimple has launched its new consumer payment app, Wealthsimple Cash, for users across Canada.| BetaKit
Power Corp has written down its valuation of Wealthsimple, in addition to other FinTech investments it holds through two of Portage Ventures’ funds, amid a broader tech stock rout.| BetaKit
Some experts believe challenger banks are due for a reckoning, but CEO Daniel Eberhard says Koho is well-positioned to ride out impending economic pressures.| BetaKit
Toronto-based FinTech startup Koho has secured $210 million in Series D financing to democratize access to wealth creation in Canada, led by Eldridge.| BetaKit
Koho has made a 14% workforce reduction, following in the footsteps of the many tech companies trimming their headcount as tough market conditions continue.| BetaKit
Canadian Women in VC has released its third annual survey, which paints a picture of gender-based compensation across roles in Canada’s venture capital sector.| BetaKit
Senior-level diversity in the industry is still lagging, according to a new report from BDC Capital.| BetaKit
Despite some positive signs, PitchBook analysts told BetaKit that it will still take some time for the overall VC market to rebound—let alone reach its previous highs.| BetaKit
Montréal-based AQC Capital, formerly known as Anges Québec Capital, has created a new $64 million fund to fuel the growth of tech startups across the province.| BetaKit
A new study found that, compared to men, women reported it took longer to raise Series A financing, requiring more pitches to do so.| BetaKit
This latest report shows that investment firms might be hiring more diverse teams, but the environment they are creating has yet to become inclusive.| BetaKit
Yoshua Bengio and hundreds of tech leaders, AI researchers, and policymakers, signed an open letter urging all AI labs to agree to a six-month pause on training AI models more powerful than GPT-4.| BetaKit
Canadian AI pioneers Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio have added their names to another letter warning against the unfettered development of AI.| BetaKit
Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio warn of “risk of extinction” from AI as more industry leaders ring the alarm to regulate the technology.| BetaKit
Former Intel leader and Untether AI president Chris Walker—now CEO—explains why he came out of retirement to lead the Canadian AI hardware company.| BetaKit
Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced how the federal government plans to spend the $443 million for the second phase of the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy.| BetaKit
The federal Liberal government has introduced the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022 to legislate privacy and artificial intelligence.| BetaKit
AI leaders believe that Canada’s new AI safety institute could help strengthen AI policy, adoption, and the country’s role on the global stage.| BetaKit
Canadian AI luminary Raquel Urtasun has moved on from Uber’s self-driving unit and launched her own company with the goal of disrupting autonomous driving.| BetaKit
CFO says closing of de minimis exemption for Chinese goods not expected to have short-term “meaningful impact.”| BetaKit
While Collision’s long-term future in Toronto remains uncertain, BetaKit has learned that a group is exploring bringing the tech conference to Vancouver.| BetaKit
Collision has asked for over $40 million for an extended three-year stay in Toronto. But five other cities are also vying to host and stakeholders want provincial and federal support.| BetaKit
Vancouver has an agreement with Collision parent company Web Summit to bring a rebranded version of the major North American technology conference to the West Coast in 2025, BetaKit has learned.| BetaKit
Telus to equip its Québec data centre with Nvidia’s latest AI chip architecture.| BetaKit
Torstar, Postmedia, The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press, and CBC/Radio-Canada are seeking monetary damages.| BetaKit
AI startup says it has doubled revenue, but The Information reports it fell well below forecasted goals.| BetaKit
SAP to integrate Cohere models as Dell becomes first to deliver North platform on-premises.| BetaKit
Funding for existing cleantech projects via SDTC is flowing again, while applications under the NRC’s replacement program will open “early” in fiscal 2025–2026.| BetaKit
Eight of the nine Canadian companies on this year’s list were also on last year’s.| BetaKit
Carbon Engineering is one of the latest Canadian cleantech startups to be pulled towards south of the border as they make use of the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States.| BetaKit
The BetaKit Guide is everything you need to know to make the most of Web Summit’s Best Coast debut.| BetaKit
The Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (PacifiCan) is investing $9.9 million CAD into Innovate BC to help grow the agency’s Integrated Marketplace initiative.| BetaKit
Today, Canada’s Liberal government unveiled a $2.4 billion CAD package of measures designed to boost the country’s artificial intelligence sector.| BetaKit
Everything relevant to Canadian tech in (and not in) Budget 2024, from AI to cleantech, competition, open banking, payments, procurement, and semiconductors.| BetaKit
The $300 million programs are part of the 2024 federal budget's $2.4 billion AI package.| BetaKit
Alberta and Calgary governments each gave $1.5 million to the initiative.| BetaKit
Trade tensions and economic uncertainty contributed to investor caution, CVCA says.| BetaKit
Vancouver-based Pender Ventures has closed its second VC fund with over $100 million CAD to invest in early-stage Canadian business-to-business software and healthtech startups.| BetaKit
ZayZoon, Carbon Upcycling, CoolIT Systems plan to hire and train personnel with capital injection.| BetaKit
Luge adds investor Chelsea Gillett from The51, Pender adds associate Jacob Grainger from Plug and Play.| BetaKit
Toronto "in a tier of its own" as Calgary vaults back into top 100 cities globally.| BetaKit
The Government of Alberta has unveiled its new innovation strategy, which outlines how the province plans to strengthen its tech sector and diversify its energy-reliant economy.| BetaKit
Interim CEO received unanimous board approval following delivery of go-forward plan for provincial agency.| BetaKit
The e-commerce giant expects AI to be used in prototyping, and adds AI evaluation to performance review.| BetaKit
Economists, companies share bleak outlook as global markets see one of their worst days in decades.| BetaKit
After conducting a strategic review of its business and operations, Montréal-based Lightspeed Commerce has announced plans to stay public and execute “a full transformation plan.”| BetaKit
Execs said direct sales will help company’s two “leading growth engines” at Lightspeed’s Capital Markets Day.| BetaKit
Online brokerage firm Questrade also reportedly laid off an undisclosed number of employees in recent days.| BetaKit
Two years after stepping down, Lightspeed Commerce founder Dax Dasilva is now back at the firm’s helm as interim CEO following the recent crash of its stock.| BetaKit
Lightspeed has dismissed a report from an American short-seller alleging the company had inflated key metrics and wasn’t performing as well as it claimed.| BetaKit
In response to media reports that the company is exploring a sale, Montréal-based Lightspeed Commerce has confirmed that it is currently conducting “a strategic review of its business and operations.”| BetaKit
Lightspeed sets focus on company's “two crown jewels,” North American retail and European hospitality.| BetaKit
Once again back in the CEO chair, Lightspeed's Dax Dasilva discusses why he stepped down, then returned, as the company he founded approaches its 20th birthday.| BetaKit
Embattled Montréal-based online retailer Ssense has been granted a stay order, temporarily protecting the company from a potential sale by its creditors.| BetaKit
Online retailer facing headwinds due to US trade policy, dip in luxury demand.| BetaKit
Startup aims to produce laser projector for construction sites in Montréal despite tariff concerns.| BetaKit
From mainframes to modern tooling, TD engineers are set up to grow, build faster, and deliver at scale.| BetaKit