Plus: Truepill conducts fourth round of layoffs in 2022.
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NACO report finds SAFEs on the rise in angel investment during record-breaking 2021 (BETAKIT)
This figure is more than double the $103 million in angel investment Canada saw in 2020, as the early-stage investment segment rebounded from a pandemic low fuelled by market uncertainty.
Meanwhile, angel organizations reporting deal flow information received 7,753 approaches from companies for investment last year—an 18 percent increase since 2020, and more than every other year since 2015, excluding 2017.
Truepill, a digital health unicorn, conducts fourth round of layoffs in 2022 (TECHCRUNCH)
Sources say the layoff impacted around 65% of the existing staff across the engineering, human resources, design, IT and finance teams. The layoff comes around two months after its last round, which impacted about a third of the company, or 175 people.
Canadian tech must embrace Indigenous reconciliation (BETAKIT)
While Canada is often viewed globally as a thriving hub of innovation, investment, technology, and education within the digital economy, Indigenous communities and practitioners are largely missing from the conversations and spaces about the future ‘smart’ and decentralized technologies.
Grocery delivery company Instacart launches health division (MOBIHEALTHNEWS)
Instacart Health will include new products focused on providing nutritious foods, strategic partnerships with organizations like Partnership for a Healthier America and food-policy advocacy, like expanding online access to EBT SNAP and TANF assistance programs.
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Important financial metrics every early-stage founder should know (BETAKIT)
Ali Ladha, a virtual CFO for startups & SMBs through his company Vertical CPA, talks about these problems regularly on his Twitter and YouTube channels. In viral tweet threads and various YouTube videos, Ladha explains the financial metrics every business owner should know, how to calculate them, and how they connect to operational decisions.
Montreal’s Ventus Therapeutics strikes US$700-million-plus deal with pharma giant Novo Nordisk (THE GLOBE AND MAIL)
Novo has agreed to pay US$70-million ($95-million) up front to Ventus to develop its anti-inflammatory molecule to treat certain conditions, including a non-alcohol-related liver condition called NASH, chronic kidney disease and cardiometabolic ailments. Ventus can receive up to US$633-million ($861-million) more if the molecule achieves clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, while Novo will cover clinical trial costs. Ventus, which has 85 employees split between Montreal and the Boston area, will also receive royalties if the drug is approved for sale.
How tech leaders like Shopify are TV-ifying the traditional company meeting (BETAKIT)
Like the pandemic’s acceleration of remote-first solutions like virtual school and telehealth, the post-COVID era has given rise to another trend, namely TV-ifying the traditional video conferencing experience, where large meetings look less like a standard Zoom call and more like a high-production show. Think studio lighting, 4K cameras, crisp audio feeds, and glitzy graphics—all for the monthly town hall.
Grow Therapy, a platform for private practices, reaches $75M in series B funding (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
The round was comprised of $45 million in equity and $30 million in venture debt, led by TCV and co-led by Transformation Capital, with support from existing backers SignalFire and SVB. The round follows 13x year-over-year growth for the platform that aids mental health therapists in launching private practices covered by insurance.
How finance teams can prepare for an IPO (BETAKIT)
In a webinar presented by Sage Intacct, Michael Lister, Leader, InsightsOfficer, at PwC, and David Appel, Head of Software and SaaS at Sage Intacct, shared the seven steps startup finance teams need to take when preparing to go public.
Cerebral Treated a 17-Year-Old Without His Parents’ Consent. They Found Out the Day He Died. (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
Telehealth startup Cerebral had software that could verify customer IDs but didn’t use it to check birth dates and other details, a policy that resulted in some minors being treated without parental consent, according to former employees and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Canadian unicorns Neo Financial, Ada lead LinkedIn’s 2022 Top Startups list (BETAKIT)
For the fifth edition of its annual Top Startups list, LinkedIn also named (in order) Fable, Shakepay, ApplyBoard, BenchSci, Cohere, Certn, Drop, Dapper Labs, Snapcommerce, Manifest Climate, Irwin, TealBook, and Klue.
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Michael Edgar
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