Plus: Cisco buys Splunk, Klaviyo shares soar post-IPO.
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Secoda closes $19-million CAD Series A to scale its data management AI copilot (BETAKIT)
Toronto-based Secoda has announced $14 million USD ($19 million CAD) in Series A funding, led by Craft Ventures, to scale its AI-powered data management platform.
Secoda stands for “searchable company data,” and is exactly what the company provides, offering a platform that connects with data platforms like Snowflake, dbt, and Looker to catalog the data and metadata for employees.
Cisco buying cybersecurity company Splunk for $28B (AXIOS)
Cisco on Thursday announced an agreement to buy cybersecurity and observability company Splunk for about $28 billion.
The $157 per share offer represents over a 31 percent premium to Wednesday’s closing price for Splunk shares. The last time Splunk traded above $157 per share was in early 2021, highlighting the growing interest in the intersection of cybersecurity and AI.
Monark closes $1.5 million led by Storytime Capital to modernize leadership development (BETAKIT)
Calgary-based startup Monark has secured $1.5 million CAD in seed funding to build software designed to automate the science of leadership development and performance for both new and emerging leaders.
Through live cohort-based training, as well as personalized micro-learning, behavioural nudges, and feedback powered by machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), Monark hopes to deliver more lasting behavioural changes on a more consistent basis.
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Cyber Startup Cato Networks Hits $3B-Plus Valuation After $238M Raise (CRUNCHBASE)
Tel Aviv-based Cato Networks locked up a $238 million round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners at a valuation of more than $3 billion.
Cato Networks offers customers a secure access service edge, or SASE, platform. Those platforms help deliver networking and security from the cloud to a company’s network edge, avoiding potential bottlenecks in the datacenter.
GrowerIQ secures $1 million from Government of Canada to expand its cannabis-tracking system (BETAKIT)
Toronto-based GrowerIQ, which sells enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to cannabis producers, has received a more than $1 million CAD loan from the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario.
GrowerIQ’s ERP platform helps cannabis growers manage their businesses and meet regulatory requirements.
Klaviyo Shares Soar in Debut, Pointing to IPO Resurgence
(THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
Marketing-automation platform Klaviyo’s shares surged 18 percent to $35.74 in their trading debut as the initial public offering market continues to see a resurgence.
The Boston-based firm, which stores and manages customer data for business-to-consumer brands, priced its IPO of 19.2 million shares at $30 each.
As 1Password hits new revenue milestones, CEO Jeff Shiner touts B2B growth (BETAKIT)
“Everybody’s trying to run their own business. Apple’s trying to sell you devices. Google’s trying to sell you ads. Our job is only to make you more secure.”
Passkeys are here, and along with them renewed interest in the future of passwords from Apple and Google. 1Password CEO Jeff Shiner joins to discuss how passkeys will change the internet, and what they change (and don’t change) about his company’s business.
A checklist for building sustainable rural tech hubs (BETAKIT)
With the explosion of remote work, there has been a paradigm shift away from major municipalities and toward smaller regions as people seek both livability and career prospects, said Pablo Listingart, Executive Director of tech skills school ComIT.
Speaking with BetaKit, Listingart shared his theory of how rural tech hubs can come to be—and what support they need to become sustainable.
Uber warns of threat to drivers under EU gig work plan
(FINANCIAL TIMES)
A top Uber executive has warned that Brussels’ proposals to designate gig workers as de facto employees will force its ride-hailing service to shut down in hundreds of cities across the bloc and raise prices by as much as 40 per cent if enacted.
The law is likely to represent a significant change from the status quo in Europe, where the majority of platform workers are presumed to be self-employed, meaning they lack access to labour rights and benefits, such as paternity leave and a minimum salary.
How TECHNATION thinks we can solve Canada’s tech talent gap (BETAKIT)
Data from TECHNATION, a member organization of Canadian tech companies that bridges the tech industry and government policy, shows that Canadian firms have over 40,000 vacant positions that they need to fill as soon as possible.
Speaking with BetaKit, TECHNATION Executive Director for the Future Workforce Development Team, Sandi Campbell, shared more about the root causes of Canada’s tech talent gap and offered a solution for organizations looking for talent.
Database startup MotherDuck lands $52.5M to grow its DuckDB-based platform (TECHCRUNCH)
MotherDuck announced that it landed $52.5 million in a Series B round led by Felicis with participation from a16z, bringing the startup’s total raised to $100 million.
MotherDuck provides a cloud analytics service based on DuckDB. It can be used to build software-as-a-service apps with analytics capabilities, as a data warehouse (i.e. a system for reporting and data analysis) or as a query engine for a data lake (i.e. a centralized repository for storing data).
ALL IN to showcase Canada’s AI at major conference (BETAKIT)
Scale AI, Canada’s federally funded AI Global Innovation Cluster, is presenting the country’s largest gathering dedicated to Canadian artificial intelligence (AI), ALL IN. The event will bring together leading AI experts, industry members, startups, investors, and researchers to share their insights and explore how AI is transforming the Canadian economy.
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