Meet the Canadians shaping Uber’s global vision
A number of Canadians have risen through the ranks at Uber, bringing lessons from Toronto to global leadership positions. These leaders have taken on roles helping bring Uber to more than 70 countries, driving engineering innovation from Silicon Valley, and tackling marketing challenges across markets. “There’s a broader narrative right now that if you have […]
Cookin acquired by US-based, fellow chef-made meal delivery startup CookUnity
Nearly three years after launching, Toronto-based Cookin has been wholly acquired by another, larger player in the chef-made meal delivery space in New York’s CookUnity. Founded in early 2022 by CEO Morley Ivers and president Michael Baruch, Cookin has built a homemade food delivery marketplace in Toronto and software to help food entrepreneurs across North […]
Geoffrey Hinton decries tech companies chasing “short-term profits” in Nobel Prize acceptance speech
Preceded by orchestral Wagner and reflections on the atomic bomb, University of Toronto professor Geoffrey Hinton crossed the stage of the Stockholm Concert Hall and, with a firm handshake and a bow, officially accepted a Nobel Prize in Physics from the King of Sweden for his contributions to the field of artificial intelligence (AI). “All […]
Early-stage startups grapple with fallout after Québec-funded investment program suspended
Following the surprise suspension of a Québec investment-matching program, a Montréal-based sustainable packaging startup says it could fold within the next few months if it can’t secure new funding. Mishel Wong, the founder and CEO of Bopaq, a cleantech startup that provides reusable food container solutions, said that her company’s ongoing fundraising efforts fell apart […]
Alberta Enterprise Corporation launches Accelerate Fund IV with $15 million to back early-stage tech startups
Alberta Enterprise Corporation (AEC) has launched its fourth early-stage, Alberta-focused angel co-investment fund with a $15-million CAD anchor commitment. The Accelerate Funds aim to spur more private investment in Alberta’s emerging tech sector. The launch marks the first close of Accelerate Fund IV, which aims to raise a total of $25 million from institutional investors, […]
Spexi raises $16.2 million CAD Series A for blockchain-based drone imagery network
Vancouver-based Spexi Geospatial has secured a $16.2-million CAD Series A round as it develops new applications for its image-capturing drone pilot network. The round was led by New York City-based return investor Blockchange Ventures, a venture capital firm that focuses on blockchain technologies. BetaKit has reached out to Spexi for more details on the round […]
Foreign and domestic AI with Tenstorrent and Cohere
Sometimes the timing of events coincide in ways that seem less than coincidental. Two weeks ago, Canada’s Semiconductor Council released a report noting the “economic and national security risks if a resilient, domestic supply chain” of semiconductors is not developed for the EV sector. About two weeks prior, The Logic broke news that Canadian AI […]
Cyder closes $1.5 million to fuel launch of loyalty platform for credit unions
Toronto-based FinTech startup Cyder has secured $1.5 million CAD in pre-seed funding to help Canadian credit unions offer their own loyalty programs. Cyder aims to help credit unions compete with banks and attract younger members through its new Cyder Rewards platform, which enables credit unions to design and deliver custom loyalty programs. The company plans […]
Lessons in leadership, hiring, and AI from SAAS NORTH 2024
It’s that time of year, folks: once again, we’re getting SaaS-y. In what has become an annual tradition, this week The BetaKit Podcast is featuring a compilation of one-on-one interviews I recorded in our custom-built podcast booth while at SAAS NORTH. “SaaS was around, ‘How do you automate business processes in order to empower humans?’ […]
Benevity reports over $140 million donated through its platform this Giving Tuesday
Calgary’s Benevity saw over $140 million donated to more than 56,000 nonprofits across 122 countries and territories through its platform on Giving Tuesday this Dec. 3. The corporate social impact software firm reported 148,000 individuals and 637 companies participated this year, with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and United […]