Edmonton Businesses Get Federal Funding to Automate Homebuilding, Manufacturing
The Government of Canada announced an $8.4 million CAD (≈$6.2 million USD) grant through the Regional Tariff Response Initiative to seven Edmonton‑area firms, targeting automation and AI to offset U.S. tariff pressures. Akash Homes will receive $1 million CAD (≈$0.74 million USD) to embed artificial intelligence in its home‑building workflow, while Weldco‑Beales gets the same amount to automate welding for Latin‑American market growth. Flexxaire’s two‑phase investment totals $3.4 million CAD (≈$2.5 million USD) to enable 24‑hour warehouse production and expand automated systems. The program is projected to safeguard and create more than 150 jobs across Alberta.
NorthX Invests $2.2 Million in Trio of BC Wildfire Tech Startups
NorthX Climate Tech announced over $1.6 million USD in follow‑on funding for three British Columbia wildfire‑tech startups—Crwn.ai, Nova, and Skyward Wildfire. Crwn.ai receives about $726k USD to roll out 500 AI‑powered line sensors; Nova gets $444k USD to expand its drone...
Why the Future of Cross-Border Payments Will Be Built Through Partnership
Cross‑border payments in Canada are growing as SMEs and consumers demand faster, cheaper, and more transparent international transfers. Legacy correspondent‑banking networks cause hidden fees, delays, and manual interventions, prompting 70% of loyal bank customers to consider switching providers over friction....
Wattpad Swaps Presidents as Aron Levitz Departs to Build Something New
Toronto‑based storytelling platform Wattpad announced that President Aron Levitz is leaving after a 12‑year tenure to launch a new venture, while CFO David Lee of parent company Webtoon will assume the presidency. Lee, who previously drove transformations at Zynga, Impossible...
Inside Wealthsimple’s “Simple” Effort to Bring Canadian Talent Home
Wealthsimple launched the North Star program to lure Canadian tech talent back from abroad, starting with a Thanksgiving dinner in San Francisco. The initiative posted an evergreen job listing that drew over 6,000 applications, resulting in seven offers, five hires,...
Dentistry Gig Work Platform Fairly Staffing Aims to Help Industry Meet Demand
Edmonton‑based Fairly Staffing, a gig‑platform matching dental hygienists with clinics, secured backing from the Alberta Enterprise Corporation’s Accelerate Fund IV. The undisclosed investment—likely up to $500,000 CAD (≈$365,000 USD)—will fund expansion beyond Alberta, where the platform already serves over 600...
SBQuantum Nabs $4 Million USD, New CEO as It Preps for US Expansion
SBQuantum, a Quebec‑based deep‑tech startup, closed a $4 million USD seed round led by Quantonation and Quantacet, and appointed CPO Eric Giroux as its new CEO. The company also launched a U.S. sister entity, Zero Drift Technologies, to commercialize its quantum...
Canada Opens Applications to Build a Public AI Supercomputer
The Canadian government has launched the AI Sovereign Compute Infrastructure Program (SCIP), allocating roughly $890 million CAD (about $660 million USD) to build a publicly owned, large‑scale AI supercomputer. Applications are open to Canadian non‑profits, post‑secondary institutions, or consortia, with a deadline...
Mistral Venture Partners Sets up Shop in Alberta
Mistral Venture Partners, a Canada‑wide VC firm, is establishing a permanent foothold in Alberta by hiring a full‑time staff member based in Calgary. The move builds on the firm’s history of investing in local early‑stage enterprise startups such as Bidaya...
Credo Paid $92 Million USD in Cash to Acquire Hyperlume, SEC Filing Reveals
San Jose‑based Credo completed the cash acquisition of Ottawa AI‑interconnect startup Hyperlume for approximately $92 million, resulting in a net purchase price of about $82.5 million after accounting for cash received. Hyperlume’s microLED technology promises tenfold performance gains, fivefold power savings and...
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly Wants to See Nokia Invest More in Canada
Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly urged Nokia to deepen its Canadian footprint during a fireside chat with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb at Nokia’s Ottawa site. She highlighted the need for more investment to help Canada meet its NATO‑aligned defence target...
Wealthsimple Partners with Elon Musk’s X for Direct Stock Trading via Social Media
Wealthsimple announced a pilot integration with Elon Musk’s X that turns any stock ticker or Cashtag in a post into a direct link to the Wealthsimple app, allowing users to place trades with a single tap. Existing Canadian users are...
Cohere Exec Pledges AI Firm Will Stay Canadian-Headquartered Amid Merger Reports
Cohere’s chief AI officer Joelle Pineau publicly affirmed that the Toronto‑based AI firm will remain headquartered in Canada, even as media reports suggest a possible merger with Germany’s Aleph Alpha. Pineau’s X post emphasized Canada as the company’s “home” and...
TechJutsu Launches Browser Extension to Bring MFA to the Web
TechJutsu, a Calgary‑based identity‑access firm founded in 2015, unveiled its Caller Verify Universal Connector, a browser extension that embeds multi‑factor authentication (MFA) into any web application. The plug‑in works in Chrome and Edge and integrates with major CRM and collaboration...
AppDirect Acquires PartnerStack to Build Unified Platform for Partner-Led Growth
San Francisco‑based AppDirect announced the acquisition of Toronto‑originated PartnerStack, a partner relationship management platform with more than 138,000 B2B partners. The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, will merge PartnerStack’s network and PRM tools with AppDirect’s marketplace infrastructure to...