Plus: Shopify facing $130M lawsuit for alleged attempts at slashing severance pay.
Welcome to BetaKit’s startup stories of the week! Here, you will find the week’s most important news, features, and editorials published on BetaKit.
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Top Stories of the Week
WITH COLLISION NEARING A ONE-YEAR TORONTO EXTENSION, EFFORTS ARE MOUNTING FOR A WEST COAST ALTERNATIVE
With Collision’s long-term future in Toronto still uncertain, efforts are mounting for a British Columbia alternative, as multiple Vancouver organizations have begun exploring the idea of luring Collision to the city.
If it arrived on the West Coast, Collision would find itself in a similarly crowded market. BetaKit was first to report this week that SAAS NORTH producer Cube Business Media had revealed new Vancouver-based tech conference INNOVATEwest.
EX-PANACHE, SCALEUP PARTNERS TEAM UP TO LAUNCH NEW EARLY-STAGE VC FUND CMD CAPITAL
Long-time Canadian technology startup investors Matt Roberts and David Dufresne have teamed up to launch their own early-stage VC firm, CMD Capital.
CMD Capital aims to raise up to $75 million CAD for startups that use artificial intelligence to solve problems across the B2B and enterprise sectors.
SHOPIFY FACING $130-MILLION LAWSUIT FOR ALLEGED ATTEMPTS TO SLASH POST-LAYOFF SEVERANCE PAY
The week of its 17th birthday and new ‘Shop Day’ event, Shopify is facing a $130-million class action lawsuit for allegedly breaching severance pay contracts by tens of thousands of dollars with recently laid-off employees.
GEOFFREY HINTON, YOSHUA BENGIO WARN “RISK OF EXTINCTION FROM AI” IN PUBLIC LETTER
Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, and Sam Altman are among the signatories of a new, one sentence, public letter that reads: “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”
REPORT: 2021 VC BOOM IN CANADA WAS SHORT-LIVED AS MARKET RESETS TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS
A recent report published by BDC Capital, the investment arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada, found that the number of VC deals in 2022 dropped by 12 percent year-over-year, while the total amount invested declined by 34 percent.
OSC ADVISORY PANEL BACKS STRONGER REGULATION OF CRYPTO PLATFORMS
In its 2022 annual report, the OSC’s Investor Advisory Panel said that it continues to believe crypto assets constitute a growing risk for financial consumers.
A SURVEY OF THE CHALLENGES WOMEN FOUNDERS FACE WHEN FUNDRAISING (AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM)
40 women founders from 25 different countries share their views for other women entrepreneurs fundraising.
Latest Funding, Acquisitions, and Layoffs
VAN – Vrify – $6M (read more)
VAN – Platformatic – $3.5M (read more)
SSK – SolusGuard wins $50K at Uniting the Prairies 2023 (read more)
SSK – BetterCart wins $25K at Uniting the Prairies 2023 (read more)
TOR – Hostaway receives $175M investment (read more)
TOR – Doormat – $1.25M (read more)
MTL – FemTherapeutics – $2.5M (read more)
FRD – Picketa – $1.4M (read more)
The BetaKit Podcast
CANADA IS IN A HEALTH CARE CRISIS. WHAT’S THE PRESCRIPTION?
“We are in a time of the worst health care crisis we’ve seen in Canada. It is really close to a collapse of the system across the country.”
Brett Belchetz (Maple) and Alexandra Greenhill (Careteam Technologies) join to diagnose the failings of Canada’s health care system before offering a prescription. How can innovators help? Can a balance be struck between public and private care? The doctors will see you now.
A WAKE FOR BUZZFEED, GAWKER, VICE WITH CANADALAND’S JONATHAN GOLDSBIE
“That is a deeply unhealthy way to live and to work and it’s ultimately not a successful way to sustain a publication.”
CANADALAND news editor Jonathan Goldsbie joins to discuss the rampant demise of digital media publications launched in the 2000s and how they compare to the slow death of traditional media. Advice for aspiring young journalists comes mixed with an investigation of the ideal media business model in 2023.
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