Also: Raven Native Capital Partners closes second fund.
Welcome to BetaKit Startup Stories of the Week! Here, you’ll find the week’s most important news, features and editorials published on Beta Kit.
If you prefer this update to have it hit your inbox every week, be sure to sign up for the BetaKit newsletter using the form at the bottom of this page.
The main news of the week
CIBC Innovation Banking President Mark McEwen is off to “the next adventure”
It is currently unclear when McQueen will leave CIBC and who his successor might be. McQueen has been leading CBC Innovation Banking since the bank acquired Wellington Financial in 2018.
OpenText closes $5.8 billion acquisition of Micro Focus, cuts workforce
OpenText said it expects to reduce its workforce by eight percent by acquiring MicroFocus to balance integrated components.
Lightspeed’s one-time net loss of $814.8 million sends a Groundhog Day signal: six more weeks of tech winter
Lightspeed reported revenue of $188.7 million, a 24 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Raven’s Native Capital Partners Set to First Target of $100 Million Final Close of Second Fund
Raven Capital’s second fund is intended to build on Venture Fund 1, investing exclusively in indigenous enterprises that demonstrate commercial viability, scalability and measurable streams of community benefit.
CoinSmart to seek financial damages from Coinsquare following the failure of the purchase contract
Although CoinSmart admitted that the deal will no longer continue, the startup reiterated its position that Coinsquare “had no legal basis” to terminate the transaction. CoinSmart said it plans to pursue the matter further in court.
Ada is the latest Canadian unicorn to make further staff cuts.
Ada did not respond to questions about the number of employees released from the company, saying that only a “certain part” of the workforce was reduced. Ada CTO Jessica Pope posted on LinkedIn that she was let go as part of the cuts.
Faced with bankruptcy, Ottawa’s Tehama is moving forward with a founder-backed restructuring.
According to court records seen by BetaKit, Tehama filed for bankruptcy under Canada’s Creditors’ Arrangement Act on Jan. 20. Accountancy firm Deloitte has been appointed to handle Tehmah’s bankruptcy.
How to raise investment in women-led startups
Women are less likely to receive funding and are significantly underrepresented in both the startup founder and venture capital (VC) ranks. However, we are approaching what will later be called a tipping point.
Recent funding, acquisitions and layoffs
-
SF – AppDirect Acquires Telecom Broker Inc. (read more)
-
STE – RocketRez – $20M (read more)
-
TOR – VerticalScope disables 22 percent of workers (read more)
-
TOR – New School Meals – $15.9M (read more)
-
OTT – Ottawa Invest – $6.6M (read more)
-
OTT – Shopify Invests in Triple Whale (read more)
-
MTL – Hippoc – $3 million (read more)
Powered by: AMAZON WEB SERVICES More top startups choose AWS
There’s a reason many great startups like Ada Support or Neo Financial choose to build on AWS.
Whether you’re looking to solve a technical challenge, hire the right engineers, or finalize funding, we’ve got all the resources you need to get started.
From inception to IPO, AWS helps Canadian startups succeed.
Click here to start your AWS cloud journey today!
Why I killed my startup.
“It’s not like a light comes down from the sky and says, ‘Now stop your behavior.’ But, man, it was really hard emotionally.”
Rob Kennedy, entrepreneur and co-host of the BetaKit podcast, explains the process of launching and closing a startup called Staid.
Can Amber Mack explain WTF is happening in tech right now?
“I really feel like 2023 is going to be one of those years in Canadian tech where companies are going to be responsible.”
Award-winning Amber Mack returns to the award-winning BetaKit podcast for the first AMA episode of 2023, answering listener questions: mass tech layoffs and CEO departures; Because VCs can’t (can’t?) kill rounds; Technological development opportunities in Atlantic Canada; And the essential 10 minutes of chat chatgpt and ‘next big things’.
Sign up for B|K: The BetaKit Newsletter
Sign up for B|K using the form below to get the best from BetaKit in your inbox every week.
