How to Fix Canada’s Start-Up Visa
Canada’s Start‑up Visa (SUV) was launched a decade ago to lure world‑class entrepreneurs, but chronic delays have turned it into a bottleneck. By the end of 2025 processing times stretched between ten and thirty‑five years, prompting the federal government to suspend the program while a new model is considered. BetaKit’s podcast features venture capitalist Boris Wertz and Build Canada CEO Lucy Hargreaves discussing why the scheme faltered and how a return to the original design could revive it. The conversation outlines concrete steps to streamline approvals and restore credibility.
What I Learned From Trying to Buy only Canadian Tech
In 2017 Stefan Palios tried to run a profitable business using only Canadian‑made technology. The experiment exposed deep skepticism among VCs and accelerators, many of whom advised founders to move to the United States to scale. A decade later, louder...
Canadian Bitcoin Consortium Launches Insurance Company for Digital Asset Businesses
The Canadian Bitcoin Consortium (CBC) has launched Blockchain Insurance Inc., the first association‑based captive insurer dedicated to digital‑asset businesses. Licensed in Alberta in December 2025, the carrier offers member companies up to 25% discounts on premiums, cutting costs that can...
Wealthsimple Named CIX Innovator of the Year
Wealthsimple was crowned the 2026 CIX Innovator of the Year by Elevate, with CEO Michael Katchen slated to speak at the CIX Summit in Toronto. The Toronto‑based fintech doubled its assets under administration to $100 billion CAD and its valuation to...
How Mycroft Scaled to over 100 Customers without a Playbook
Mycroft, a Canadian AI‑driven cybersecurity startup, has surpassed 100 B2B customers and is approaching $2 million CAD in ARR after a $3.5 million USD seed round. Founder Mike Kim built the platform as a virtual CISO, using AI agents to automate policy...
Cohere Co-Founder Nick Frosst Wants to Build More Canadian, Less Silicon Valley-Centric AI
Co‑founder Nick Frosst said at the Vector Institute conference that AI development should reflect Canadian values rather than Silicon Valley dominance. He positioned Cohere as Canada’s flagship large‑language‑model company, emphasizing efficient, custom models for business ROI over frontier AGI pursuits....
Feds Announce $6.5-million Investment in Alberta Defence Manufacturing
The Canadian government announced a $6.5 million investment in Edmonton’s defence manufacturing sector through Prairies Economic Development Canada. The funding, part of the $357 million Regional Defence Investment Initiative, is split between Zero Point Cryogenics ($5 million) to commercialise quantum‑grade dilution refrigerators and...
Québec Has a New Digital Sovereignty Plan. Will It Work?
Quebec announced a $1.4 billion digital sovereignty plan to shift data hosting and procurement to local providers, aiming to reduce reliance on US tech giants. The policy emphasizes sovereign cloud services, hydro‑powered data centres, and free‑software development. However, recent cost‑overrun scandals...
Sheertex Maker Will Be Sold to Fellow Quebec Hosiery Company AYK
Bank of Canada Orders XTM to Cease Retail Payment Activities After Investment Regulator Halts Trading of Its Stock
The Bank of Canada ordered fintech XTM and its affiliates to stop all retail payment activities after customers of its Everyday Payments subsidiary reported missing funds. Simultaneously, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization halted trading of XTM’s PAID stock, causing the...
From Client to Cap Table: Shakudo Converts Customers Into Investors with $7-Million USD Raise
Toronto‑based AI infrastructure startup Shakudo closed a $7 million USD Series A2 round, led by Wittington Ventures, adding investors from its client base such as Loblaw and CentralReach. The round brings total funding to roughly $18 million and places Wittington managing partner...
Is BDC Too Big to Change?
In 2022 the Canadian government commissioned a report asking venture capital firms for candid feedback on the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). The report, which highlighted concerns about BDC’s size, dual mandate, and recent turnover, was never publicized or...
Black Business Ventures Association Brings Dragons Den Energy to Edmonton Unlimited
On Thursday, the Black Business Ventures Association hosted an Innovation Expo at Edmonton Unlimited, offering early‑stage Black entrepreneurs a Dragons’ Den‑style platform to pitch their ventures. Six startups—including a gamified ad platform, legal‑tech, peer‑to‑peer exchange, hyperlocal networking, digital business cards,...
Mesosil’s Infection-Fighting Dental Tech Gets FDA Clearance
Toronto‑based health‑tech startup Mesosil has secured FDA 510(k) clearance for its antimicrobial dental additive, allowing U.S. dental manufacturers to embed the technology in products such as composites and cements. The clearance follows a four‑year development program and validates the company’s...
Photonic Claims “World-First” Quantum Teleportation Across Telus Fibre Network
Photonic announced it successfully teleported quantum information across 30 km of Telus’s commercial PureFibre network, marking the first time usable qubits have been transferred to a remote processing node on a live telecom backbone. The demonstration builds on earlier lab‑scale experiments...
Apple Strikes Deal to Acquire Canadian Database Software Startup Kuzu
Apple has agreed to acquire Canadian startup Kuzu, a developer of lightweight embedded graph database technology, as disclosed to the EU under the Digital Markets Act. The acquisition, finalized on Oct. 9, 2025, includes all Kuzu shares and select employee...
Kainova Closes $32 Million to Advance Cancer and Inflammation Therapies
Kainova Therapeutics announced a CAD 32 million first close of its Series B financing, led by Investissement Québec and supported by existing backers. The funding brings total venture capital to about $90 million USD and will accelerate development of its GPCR‑focused drug candidates. Lead...
Inside the Edmonton Facility Building Quantum’s Hidden Infrastructure
Zero Point Cryogenics (ZPC), based in Edmonton, is one of six firms worldwide that commercially produce dilution refrigerators essential for quantum computing. The company’s 6,300‑sq‑ft facility combines university research talent, skilled trades from Alberta’s energy sector, and low‑cost manufacturing to...
Elle, MD, Hiive, and LiORA Among Latest CIX Startup Awards Winners
Elevate announced the 14 winners of its 2026 CIX Startup Awards, chosen from more than 370 applications by a 94‑member investor committee. The awardees span three maturity tiers—Emerging, Early and Growth—and include fintech platform Hiive, geothermal pioneer Eavor, climate‑tech firm...
Ssense Founders Can Buy Back Company, Court Rules
Montréal‑based luxury e‑commerce platform Ssense will be reclaimed by its founders after a Quebec Superior Court dismissed lenders' request for a forced asset sale. The court approved a founder‑led buyback valued at $78 million, including a $58.5 million cash payment and assumption...
Trust Science Acquires Lenders API to Build Fraud Defence System for Lenders
Trust Science, an AI‑driven risk platform, has acquired Toronto‑based Lenders API, bringing its consortium‑based fraud‑prevention technology, customers, and data into Trust Science’s portfolio. The deal creates Canada’s first industry‑wide defence system against coordinated lending fraud, enabling real‑time, anonymized data sharing...
Taiv Wants to Let You Choose Your Own TV Ads
Taiv, a Winnipeg‑based ad‑tech startup, announced a $13 million USD funding round, bringing its total capital raised to over $30 million USD and valuing the company just under $100 million USD. The firm’s AI platform detects and replaces live TV commercials in under...
Haply Robotics Raises $16 Million to Build the “Steering Wheels” For Physical AI
Haply Robotics announced a $11.75 million USD (CAD $16 million) seed‑plus financing round, led by Sound Media Ventures and backed by Amazon’s Industrial Innovation Fund, Hanwha, Two Small Fish Ventures, and BDC Capital. The Montreal‑based startup builds high‑precision haptic controllers—such as the Inverse3...
Kiwi Charge Takes EV-Charging Robot to Showroom Floor with $1.7-million Pilot Project
Toronto‑based Kiwi Charge is piloting its autonomous EV‑charging robot in a $1.7 million project with General Motors Canada and Pfaff Automotive. The robot, dubbed the “R2‑D2 for EV charging,” can self‑charge in 30 minutes and fully charge a vehicle in another 30 minutes,...
Kaster Technologies Raises $1.6 Million to Scale up Pharma Manufacturing
Canadian startup Kaster Technologies announced a CAD 1.6 million pre‑seed round led by Graphite Ventures, with participation from Hidden Layers Capital and angel investor Louis‑Martin Rousseau. The company offers an AI‑guided software platform that optimizes pharmaceutical production cycles, promising up to...
Josh Ogden Thinks Canada’s Drone Industry Can Gain some Altitude
Josh Ogden, CEO of AVSS, warns that Canada’s drone sector has dwindled to fewer than 20 manufacturers that merely assemble foreign components rather than develop core technology. He points to historic successes like Aeryon Labs, many of which were acquired...
Latency May Be Invisible to Users, but It Will Define Who Wins in AI
AI inference today is dominated by centralized cloud data centers, introducing 100 ms or more of network latency per request. As AI moves into real‑time applications—voice agents, gaming, robotics—such delays become product constraints, making latency a competitive differentiator. Traditional CDNs cannot...
Substack Hires Former Google Exec as Its First Head of Partnerships in Canada
Substack has hired former Google Canada executive Mark Swierszcz as its first head of partnerships in Canada, reflecting the platform’s rapid organic growth north of the border. Canada is now Substack’s third‑largest market worldwide, with more than half a million...
Elevate Farms Acquires Fieldless Farms to Create “Canadian Food Powerhouse”
Toronto‑based Elevate Farms announced the acquisition of Ottawa‑based Fieldless Farms, merging two leading Canadian indoor‑farming startups. The combined entity aims to create a “Canadian food powerhouse,” delivering year‑round leafy greens through controlled‑environment agriculture while strengthening domestic food security. Both companies...
Despite Q3 Loss, Lightspeed Optimistic on Executing Growth and Profitability Plan
Lightspeed Commerce reported fiscal Q3 revenue of $312.3 million, slightly beating its own and analysts’ forecasts, while posting a net loss of $33.6 million, wider than a year ago. The company upgraded its full‑year revenue outlook to $1.22 billion and expects higher gross...
For Rayhawk Technologies, Automating Away Risk Is a Family Story
Rayhawk Technologies, founded by Tom Boehm, has turned a family‑rooted safety concern into an automated gantry system that opens and closes railcar lids at grain elevators. Leveraging machine‑learning and computer‑vision, the solution replaces hazardous manual work with precise, weather‑resilient robotics....
AgTech Startup Brilliant Harvest Secures $4 Million USD in Seed Funding
Calgary‑based AgTech startup Brilliant Harvest announced a $4 million USD seed round, led by returning investors Builders VC and AltaML and joined by FTW Ventures, Alpaca VC, Automotive Ventures, SVG Ventures and NYA Ventures. The AI‑driven platform, which parses technical manuals...
Vena Moves Into “Orchestrated” Financial Planning with Acterys Acquisition
Vena Solutions announced a cash‑and‑stock acquisition of Australia‑based Acterys, a profitable FP&A vendor with roughly $13 million in annual recurring revenue and over 300 customers. The deal merges Vena’s Excel‑native budgeting platform with Acterys’ Power BI‑driven operational planning and app‑development suite. Vena...
BDC Head Says Bank Pulled Back From Life Sciences “Too Early” As It Preps New VC Fund
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is preparing a new life‑sciences fund of roughly C$100 million to re‑enter direct medtech investing, launching before April. BDC’s president Isabelle Hudon said the bank withdrew from the sector too early after its 2013...
Building with AI Is Now the “Price of Admission” For Software Startups, Inovia Report Says
Inovia Capital’s 2025 State of Software report shows AI‑native startups now account for 40% of Canadian software deal value, up from 12% a decade ago. Investors treat deep AI integration as a baseline requirement, rewarding AI‑focused firms with larger rounds...
US-Based Welding Tech Company ESAB to Buy Eddyfi for $1.45 Billion USD
US welding equipment maker ESAB announced a $1.45 billion acquisition of Quebec‑based non‑destructive testing specialist Eddyfi. The deal, valued slightly above Lightspeed Commerce’s market cap, will be funded through cash, debt and a $318 million equity commitment. Eddyfi, which generated roughly $270 million...
Neo Financial Secures $68.5 Million in Equity as It Adopts Big-Bank Funding Playbook
Neo Financial announced a CAD 68.5 million equity round led by Canadian institutional investors such as AIMCo and Northleaf. The funding coincides with the launch of a securitization program that will bundle its credit assets to generate liquidity, a practice common among...
This U of T-Led Program Is Helping Canada Find Its Place in the Global EV Market
The Electric Vehicle Innovation Ontario (EVIO) program launched in December with a $2.5 million federal grant to embed 37 graduate researchers in 20 Ontario EV and mobility firms over three years. Led by the University of Toronto and seven partner universities,...
Carbon Upcycling Names New CEO
Markus Kritzler has been promoted from chief revenue officer to chief executive officer of Carbon Upcycling, the Calgary‑based firm that converts industrial byproducts and CO₂ into supplementary cementitious materials. Kritzler joins the role after a brief but impactful tenure that...
A16z Speedrun-Backed OpenSesame Opens New Doors with Rebrand to General Magic
Toronto‑based OpenSesame, an a16z Speedrun alum, has rebranded as General Magic to specialize in agentic AI texting agents for insurers. The startup secured a large, undisclosed insurance client and claims its platform can reduce call volumes by 30% and save...
The Startup Bringing a Piece of America’s FinTech Stack to Canada
Slate, a Vancouver‑based fintech startup, has emerged from stealth to provide embedded lending infrastructure for Canadian SaaS platforms. Leveraging real‑time transactional data from payroll, POS and e‑commerce tools, Slate handles underwriting, compliance and capital provision through low‑code, API or full‑white‑label...
Ali Asaria’s Transformer Lab Launches Worldwide
Transformer Lab, the AI research platform created by Canadian veterans Ali Asaria and Tony Salomone, announced its worldwide launch alongside a successful pre‑seed round. Investors such as Hawktail, Ripple Ventures and Garage Capital participated, providing the capital needed to scale...
“Meditate and Stay Calm”: Hopper, Lightspeed CEOs on How to Survive as a Founder
At North Star in Montréal, Hopper CEO Frederic Lalonde and Lightspeed founder Dax Dasilva shared hard‑won lessons from building billion‑dollar businesses. They emphasized self‑care, especially meditation and yoga, as a leadership prerequisite and warned that founders must delegate to avoid...
Arlene Dickinson and Amber Mac Sever Ties with Gander Social
Arlene Dickinson and Amber Mac announced they are no longer advisors to Gander Social just one day before the company’s crowdfunding campaign was set to close. Both posted on LinkedIn, while Gander’s CEO Ben Waldman said neither had finalized an...
Canada and Alberta Announce 27 New Projects to Expand High-Speed Internet Access
Canada and Alberta unveiled 27 new broadband projects aimed at delivering high‑speed internet to 83,600 homes across 759 communities, including 3,488 Indigenous households. The initiative is funded with $373.6 million, split among the provincial government, the federal government, and private service...
For This Flying Robot Company, Student Internships Trump Senior Engineers
Avestec Technologies, a Canadian maker of flying inspection robots, has shifted its talent strategy from senior hires to student interns. Partnering with the ICTC’s Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Digital program, the firm brings on three to four interns each semester,...
Canada’s Cybersecurity Startups Have No Room for Error
Metropolitan Technologies, a Toronto‑based cybersecurity startup, has built an operational‑technology platform that secures critical‑infrastructure assets such as mines, energy grids, water treatment plants, and transportation networks. The company graduated from Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst’s eight‑month Cyber Challenge, receiving $20,000 in non‑dilutive...