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Tentree founders spin out platform to help businesses keep their tree planting promises (BETAKIT)

Tentree created a platform internally to track its tree-planting projects, which CEO Derrick Emsley and fellow Tentree co-founders have now spun out as its own company, Veritree. The spin-out is a B2B product to help businesses globally verify their own tree-planting projects.

How Salesforce went from gifting ultra-luxury cars to mass layoffs and a ‘showdown’ between co-CEOs (BUSINESS INSIDER)

In late 2021, it looked as if Salesforce had reached what Marc Benioff might call “business nirvana.” Then came the downturn, and everything changed.

After “pilot” program in Canada, Google expands cloud accelerator to US startups (BETAKIT)

Google has launched an accelerator for North American startups that build on cloud computing services, and is taking applications for its inaugural cohort. Applications close on May 30.

According to Google, this expanded North America-wide accelerator will support eight to 12 tech startups that use cloud-native technologies, including artificial intelligence and analytics, in their product, service, or operations.

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Inside Meta’s scramble to catch up on AI (REUTERS)

For more than a year, Meta has been engaged in a massive project to whip its AI infrastructure into shape. While the company has publicly acknowledged “playing a little bit of catch-up” on AI hardware trends, details of the overhaul – including capacity crunches, leadership changes and a scrapped AI chip project – have not been reported previously.

RenoRun granted court extension in insolvency filing to pursue sale (BETAKIT)

RenoRun has filed for and been granted an extension as part of its insolvency process as the startup says it’s seeing a high level of interest from potential buyers.

The pandemic drove Clubhouse to a $4 billion valuation that never looked sustainable (CNBC)

Social audio platform Clubhouse announced Thursday that it was laying off half its staff in order to “reset” the company. It shouldn’t come as a surprise. If there was a posterchild for the tech industry’s irrational exuberance during the Covid pandemic, it was Clubhouse.

Inside the reborn OneEleven (BETAKIT)

Toronto tech hub OneEleven has seen high executive turnover, an ill-fated national expansion, and in 2020, an abrupt shutdown that sent shockwaves through the local tech sector.

While questions remain as to why it went away in the first place, OneEleven is now firmly back. How did that happen and what does the innovation hub look like in 2023?

Former CEO of Startup Headspin Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud
(THE INFORMATION)

Manish Lachwani, the co-founder and former CEO of mobile app testing startup HeadSpin, pled guilty to wire fraud and securities fraud in San Francisco federal court on Thursday. Lachwani was arrested in 2021 for providing false key financial metrics to venture capital investors.

Practice Better raises $27 million USD to grow client management software for wellness providers (BETAKIT)

Since its launch, the startup claims to have reached more than 10,000 customers in more than 70 countries. Practice Better says the majority of this came through word of mouth, and with little outside financing.

Earlier this year, Practice Better raised $27 million USD to expand the reach of its platform even further.

How new tools will change the way developers learn to build software (BETAKIT)

Mark Paulsen, the Global Director of Enterprise Advocacy at GitHub, shared with BetaKit the major trends he’s seeing globally, where Canada fits in, and why companies need to change their approach to skills training for developers.

Exclusive: Training software firm iLearningEngines to go public via $1.4 billion SPAC deal (REUTERS)

Training software company iLearningEngines Inc agreed to go public through a merger with blank check company Arrowroot Acquisition Corp in a deal that values the combined company at $1.4 billion.

The deal comes at a time when the business potential for artificial intelligence software has attracted massive interest from the world’s largest investors, as the popularity of futuristic chatbots like ChatGPT has surged in recent months.

US data integration company Boomi plans expansion into Canada, starting with new office in Vancouver (BETAKIT)

Boomi will set up shop in Vancouver to support strategic business functions, including sales and business development. The company said it aims to immediately hire 80 people, then expand its Vancouver workforce in the next few years.

What to know about Bluesky, as Dril and AOC join the new Twitter alternative (THE WASHINGTON POST)

Many apps have tried to fill the gap of pre-Musk Twitter — Mastodon being the most successful so far — but Bluesky seems to be the first to come close to striking Twitter’s offbeat tone.

While Twitter users see mostly what the algorithm chooses to show them, Bluesky says it intends to create a system where people can select from a variety of recommendation algorithms to better control their experience.

As Bill C-11 passes, YouTube influencers, content creators express concern while Big Tech quiet (BETAKIT)

While reaction from big tech remains tepid, one popular Canadian creator called bill C-11 “an ignorant, pointless piece of legislation that has thrown the futures of Canadian YouTubers — and many other professional Canadian online content creators — into doubt.”

The post S|W: The SaaS Weekly – Inside the Salesforce slowdown first appeared on BetaKit.