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Cardata raises $100 million for product acceleration (BETAKIT)

Toronto-based software startup Cardata has raised $100 million to accelerate its new product innovation to support what it called its rapidly growing customer base.

Cardata provides a suite of reimbursement software, compliance programs, and business intelligence tools for companies whose employees drive their personal cars for work.

BlackBerry to split into two public companies in attempt to revive shareholder interest (THE GLOBE AND MAIL)

BlackBerry plans to split itself in two by spinning its connected-car software business into a separate public company in an attempt to revive investor interest in the one-time smartphone leader.

It plans to spin out the connected car, or internet of things, business in the first half of its next fiscal year, which begins next March 1.

Oxio spinout Gaiia closes $13 million USD to develop operations software for other ISPs (BETAKIT)

Launched by former Oxio leaders and employees, Gaiia aims to become “the world’s first network-agnostic operating system for connectivity.”

The Québec City-based software startup has secured $13 million USD in initial equity seed financing. Gaiia bills itself as “the simplest platform to run your ISP,” and an all-in-one solution for billing, operations, automation, and more.

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ByteDance Valuation Falls 26% to $223.5 Billion in New Employee Share Buyback (THE INFORMATION)

TikTok parent company ByteDance is planning to buy at least $300 million worth of stock from current and former U.S. employees in a deal that values the privately-held company at $223.5 billion, down 26% from a similar buyback offer a year ago.

Ecosystem fears cleantech funding gap as ISED pauses SDTC funding after mismanagement investigation (BETAKIT)

The Government of Canada has suspended Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) from funding new projects following the conclusion of a third-party investigation into allegations of mismanagement at the federal cleantech investment agency.

Canadian investors BetaKit spoke to said even a temporary pause on new SDTC funding could have a significant impact on Canada’s early-stage cleantech startups, at a time when venture and debt financing have become even harder to secure, and cleantech capital and companies are already fleeing south.

Qualtrics lets go 780 workers to simplify its organizational structure (SILICON ANGLE)

Qualtrics International Inc. today announced that it’s laying off about 780 employees, or 14 percent of its workforce, in a bid to simplify its organizational structure.

The restructuring comes a few months after the former SAP SE unit was acquired by two investment firms in a $12.8 billion deal.

Your finance team isn’t immune to digital transformation (BETAKIT)

In a recent conversation with Zoho, a cloud software provider for businesses, Julian Weber, CEO of SELISE Digital Platforms, shared his journey and how he digitized his finance function in a way that helped grow the business.

Dye & Durham enacts slew of price hikes, upping cost of corporate searches, name registrations (THE GLOBE AND MAIL)

Dye & Durham is once again hiking its prices, this time on dozens of services the legal software company provides in its core Canadian, British, and Australian markets.

D&D chief executive officer Matthew Proud said the increases relate to the “significant investment” the company has made in its products and the fact that some prices lagged rivals.

Business getaway marketplace RetreatsAndVenues takes first prize in New Ventures BC 2023 startup competition (BETAKIT)

New Ventures BC has given out $250,000 in prize money to the winners of its 23rd annual startup competition, presented by Innovate BC.

The competition brings together the province’s top startups who receive access to education, mentorship, and prize money. This year, B2B marketplace RetreatsAndVenues took home the top prize of $110,000 and the title of BC’s top startup.

Netflix Plans to Raise Prices After Actors Strike Ends
(THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)

Over the past year or so, the cost of major ad-free streaming services has gone up by about 25%, as entertainment companies look to bring their streaming platforms to profitability. Netflix plans to wait until the dual Hollywood writer and actor strikes end before increasing prices.

David Faugno latest addition to 1Password as first-ever president and chief operating officer (BETAKIT)

Toronto-based password-management startup 1Password has added David Faugno to its C-suite as president and chief operating officer (COO).

Faugno marks 1Password’s latest addition to an ever-expanding executive team. Since 2021, 1Password has more than doubled its C-suite, adding the likes of Erin Zipes as chief legal officer and Katya Laviolette as chief people officer.

Vista Equity Buys Majority Stake in Subscription Management Software Maker TRG Screen (BNN BLOOMBERG)

Vista Equity Partners has acquired a majority stake in TRG Screen, an enterprise software provider for managing corporate spending on subscriptions, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Austin-based private equity firm has committed about $250 million in growth capital in conjunction with an additional institutional investor.

Saskatoon software startups Vendasta, 7shifts, Andgo Systems make layoffs (BETAKIT)

Vendasta, 7shifts, and Andgo Systems recently laid off employees, BetaKit has learned.

In Vendasta’s case, the move follows a slew of recent acquisitions and marks part of a push toward profitability as investor priorities have shifted.

For 7shifts and Andgo, they come after both startups failed to meet growth targets as economic conditions have deteriorated.

The post S|W: The SaaS Weekly – Cardata gears up with new funding, BlackBerry plots connected-car split first appeared on BetaKit.