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BetaKit

@betakit.com

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Award-winning coverage of Canadian startups and tech innovation since 2012.

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BetaKit @betakit.com · 21d

📢 #CDNmedia hiring alert 📢

Want to shape how Canadians see tech in the Prairies?

As @BetaKit.com’s next Prairies Reporter, you’ll cover the startups, scaleups, and policies driving the national conversation.

Join our award-winning newsroom ⤵️

www.jeffgaulin.com/jobs/JobDeta...

BetaKit @betakit.com · 6m

The Icebreaker's Matt Lombardi draws a line from cheap drones in Ukraine to Canada's sovereign defence tech capabilities.

Full interview on The BetaKit Podcast.

betakit.com/canada-defen...

BetaKit @betakit.com · 1h

At #ElevateFest2025, healthtech founders raised the alarm: slow policy, weak procurement, and unsupportive employers are throttling Canada’s innovation.

Read more:

At Elevate, founders call out barriers holding back Canadian healthtech | BetaKit

Entrepreneurs say slow policy and weak procurement limit Canadians' access to aging and fertility tech.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 1h

ICYMI: 🚆 1,000-km/h from Edmonton to Calgary.

TransPod inked deals with Algoma Steel and Supreme Steel to help build its "ultra-high-speed" rail, and preliminary work has started, but the project is now paused.

Find out why on BetaKit:

TransPod partners with Canadian steelmakers for 1,000-km/h Alberta rail project | BetaKit

Algoma Steel and Supreme Steel to supply and build backbone for Calgary-to-Edmonton rail line.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 15h

Mohamad Sawwaf says the Manzil team feels a "responsibility" toward the millions of Muslim Canadians to provide banking options that align with their faith.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 16h

Another big C-suite change at Canada’s biggest tech company as Jess Hertz takes over as COO at Shopify.

betakit.com/shopify-prom...

Shopify promotes Jess Hertz to COO as chief revenue officer departs | BetaKit

Changes to the executive team come after Kaz Nejatian left his COO role for Opendoor.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 17h

Deep Sky says its $500-million Manitoba facility will eventually suck 500,000 tonnes of CO2 out of the air each year.

Deep Sky aims to build one of the world’s largest carbon capture facilities in Manitoba | BetaKit

Province has "ideal geology" for $500-million facility's carbon storage.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 20h

Michael Buhr (C100), Aydin Mirzaee (Fellow AI), Avery Pennarun (Tailscale), and Amanda Arciero (Airudi) break down the challenges and opportunities Canadian AI entrepreneurs face right now, on The BetaKit Podcast.

Listen now:

Are Canadian entrepreneurs willing to let their old companies die? | BetaKit

Leaders discuss the challenges, opportunities, and pressures of AI adoption at ALL IN.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 20h

The Shopify and Square democratization story but for lawyers?

Toronto’s Spellbook just landed $50M USD Series B led by Khosla Ventures, for its #AI-powered contract review platform.

Spellbook raises $50 million USD Series B led by Khosla Ventures | BetaKit

Toronto-based legaltech startup Spellbook provides an artificial intelligence-powered contract review platform for lawyers.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 22h

[email protected] is in the early stages of building a venture fund to turn its AI research into startups — and ensure "as may of them as possible" are built in Canada.

Mila exploring venture fund to commercialize AI research | BetaKit

Québec’s leading AI institute says it’s in the early stages of creating a potential VC fund to turn more of its research output into commercial ventures.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 23h

Shopify's Harley Finkelstein: you can't build a company at scale if you're burning with "exothermic" energy. Don't be a thermometer, reflecting the temperature of the room. You must be a thermostat and set it.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 23h

EQ Bank has launched a new business account for Canadian SMBs.
🪙 2.25% interest on deposits
🪙 No monthly fees
🪙 Free transactions

The bank is following other challengers like Float and Venn that have recently targeted new products to SMBs.

betakit.com/eq-bank-unve...

EQ Bank unveils new account for Canadian small businesses | BetaKit

Equitable Bank is targeting Canadian small businesses with its new business banking offering.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 1d

Sarah Hooker just left as head of Cohere Labs in September. Now she's resurfaced with her former colleague Sudip Roy with a new #AI venture that aims to extend the two computer engineers previous work.

Ex-Cohere execs Sara Hooker and Sudip Roy unveil new AI startup | BetaKit

Adaption Labs will focus on novel approaches to efficient AI.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 1d

OpenAI's Chris Lehane and Dev Saxena are looking north 👀 .

Along with a (possible) office in Canada, the leaders see big opportunity in the country's #AI ecosystem: talent, capacity, and capital are all competitive advantages in global expansion.

“Stay tuned”: OpenAI teases Canadian office | BetaKit

ChatGPT maker cites Canadian AI talent, capacity, and capital as advantages in global expansion.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 1d

Cloud providers ThinkOn, Hypertec Group, Aptum, and eStruxture have teamed up with a mission to keep government data under Canadian control.

Canadian cloud providers unite to launch sovereign government cloud | BetaKit

ThinkOn, Hypertec Group, Aptum, and eStruxture team up to keep data under Canadian control.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 1d

ICYMI: Some of the biggest stories from #CDNTech featured in The BetaKit Newsletter:

✈️ Founders face ~5-year wait for CAN's Start-up Visa
🖥️ Building on Alberta’s #AI legacy
📉 Canada’s productivity problem takes center stage

Subscribe today 👇

betakit.com/category/new...

Canada must not ignore its innovation problems

While many champ at the bit to lure America’s H-1B visa castaways, “high-potential” Canadian startups are fleeing to the US at an alarming rate.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 1d

Defence Tech has suddenly become a very big deal in Canada. Donald Trump is a big reason, but there are more reasons for the government to invest.

Listen to our full interview The Icebreaker's Matthew Lombardi on The BetaKit Podcast.

betakit.com/canada-defen...

BetaKit @betakit.com · 1d

🚨 Funding news: Canadian-founded blockchain startup TransCrypts has raised ~$20 million CAD in seed funding.

📊 Today:
• 4M+ users
• 450+ enterprise customers
• HIPAA-certified in the U.S.

Mark Cuban-backed TransCrypts closes $20-million CAD seed round | BetaKit

The Canadian-founded startup is placing a “significant focus” on hiring for its new Toronto office.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 1d

Brampton’s startup scene is heating up, and Brampton Venture Zone is giving local founders the backing to grow the region’s next tech success stories.

Take a look inside the tech incubator putting Brampton on Canada’s startup map.

Inside the tech incubator putting Brampton on Canada’s startup map | BetaKit

BVZ’s renewed five-year deal is giving early-stage founders a launchpad in Brampton.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 1d

What does the future look like for a company like as Large-language models start to show their limitations?

#ElevateFest25 #AI #CDNTech

BetaKit @betakit.com · 1d

What does the future look like for a company like Cohere as Large-language models start to show their limitations?

#ElevateFest25 #AI #CDNTech

BetaKit @betakit.com · 1d

Elevate Festival kicked off with keen insight and surprising takes from tech leaders like Justin Scaini, Chris Lehane, Simu Liu, @ambermac.bsky.social, Chris Urmson, and others.

betakit.com/ai-takes-cen...

AI takes centre stage on Elevate’s opening night | BetaKit

From job loss to mental health, innovation leaders unpack the human impact of AI.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 1d

Toronto's Cyclic Materials is one of "the most promising" companies on the planet tackling climate change, and the only Canadian company to crack @technologyreview.com's climate tech list.

Cyclic Materials the first Canadian company to crack MIT Technology Review’s climate tech list | BetaKit

The annual list highlights “the most promising” companies tackling climate change on the planet.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 1d

Toronto startup PhenoTips, born from U of T and SickKids, now counts 30 institutional customers and has raised $2 million-led by GreenSky Ventures and Ontario Centre of Innovation -to expand globally.

PhenoTips raises $2 million to expand “genomic health record” platform’s global reach | BetaKit

The Toronto-based genomic health software startup PhenoTips has secured a $2-million seed extension to fuel its international expansion plans.

BetaKit @betakit.com · 2d

After leaving Dye & Durham amid controversy, Matt Proud and Avjit Kamboj have resurfaced with a new SPAC backed by Canaccord Genuity and CIBC Capital Markets.

Former Dye & Durham leaders resurface with $100-million SPAC targeting Canadian tech | BetaKit

MAK Acquisitions eyes technology businesses that provide “critical solutions in niche markets.”

BetaKit @betakit.com · 2d

From Nov 10–12, The Hinton Lectures return as AI’s safety cracks widen.

Owain Evans, Director of Truthful AI, will deliver three keynotes exploring everything from AI’s big-picture trajectory to the frontier of alignment research.

betakit.com/the-hinton-l...

The Hinton Lectures return as AI’s safety cracks widen

Owain Evans will deliver three keynote talks at this year’s Hinton Lectures in Toronto.