Plus: Google to face $25 billion lawsuit.
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GrowerIQ closes $3 million seed round to help cannabis producers stay compliant (BETAKIT)
The Toronto-based startup helps cannabis growers stay compliant, streamline their operations, and boost their bottom lines with its enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform.
Adobe to Buy Collaboration-Software Company Figma for About $20 Billion (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
Adobe Inc. agreed to buy collaboration-software company Figma for around $20 billion, using the biggest deal in its history to acquire a small-but-fast-growing rival that the tech giant hopes can give it access to a broader group of customers.
Bright secures $1.45 million from Atlantic Canadian investors to bolster its “wellness-at-work” platform (BETAKIT)
The investment was led by Tidal Venture Partners, which focuses on pre-seed and seed startups, and manages a fund that is just over $4 million. Bright’s raise also had participation from Concrete Ventures and Innovacorp—the latter of which is being consolidated with Nova Scotia Business Inc. to form Invest Nova Scotia.
Google to Face a $25 Billion Lawsuit for Siphoning Money Off Publishers in the EU and UK (ADWEEK)
The tech giant is accused of dominating the ad-tech market with behaviors that have deprived publishers of billions in revenue.
Indigenous venture firm Raven Capital eyes US market as it secures $46 million for second fund (BETAKIT)
“This is a really tough environment to raise [in], and a lot of investors are slowing down right now across the board,” Raven Capital managing partner Paul Lacerte told BetaKit in an interview.
“What we’ve found is sort of a unique value proposition [as the] first to market, and a pretty significant untapped desire on the part of investors to find ways to deploy capital into the Indigenous space, both in Canada and in the US.”
Thinkific shakes up leadership to boost growth (THE GLOBE AND MAIL)
Thinkific Labs Inc. has tapped recently appointed board member and former Groupon Inc. chief operating officer Steve Krenzer to serve as president under CEO Greg Smith.
The appointment is to last 18 months, but could extend longer “if it goes really well and he’s having a good time and we’re achieving the results we need,” Mr. Smith said in an interview.
Startup syllabus: how Dal Innovates embraced innovation education in Atlantic Canada (BETAKIT)
Halifax’s Dalhousie University (“Dal”), through its award-winning program Dal Innovates, is working to provide this education with multiple programs that encourage and support academics considering or otherwise joining the innovation economy.
UK watchdog wants deeper probe into Microsoft’s $69-bln Activision deal (REUTERS)
Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said earlier this month the takeover of the videogame publisher maker could hurt competition in gaming consoles, subscription services and cloud gaming if Microsoft refused to give competitors access to Activision’s best-selling games.
D2L increases revenues as it tries to buck market downturn (BETAKIT)
The TSX-listed company managed to rack up increased revenues in its second quarter of 2022 despite what president and CEO John Baker referred to as a “slower” second quarter than expected.
Indian edtech giant Byju’s reveals widening losses in delayed accounts (FINANCIAL TIMES)
Education technology giant Byju’s, India’s most valuable startup, has revealed that it spent almost three times the revenue it brought in during the last financial year. The company registered a loss of more than $570 million in 2021, but says an accounting change masked its revenue gains.
VCs look the other way as they give $205M more to Verkada, whose tech has been abused repeatedly (TECHCRUNCH)
Verkada, a six-year-old, maker of building security tools — it sells video security cameras, door-based access control, environmental sensors and alarms, all connected on a cloud-based platform — just raised $205 million in Series D funding at what it says is a $3.2 billion valuation.
Adam Nanjee departs Microsoft for Startups to lead venture capital in Canada for Amazon Web Services (BETAKIT)
According to Nanjee’s LinkedIn page, as the head of venture capital for Canada, he will be responsible for building partnerships between venture firms and AWS in order “to scale and invest in the best-in-class startups leveraging AWS.”
GoStudent, a $3 billion edtech startup backed by SoftBank and Coatue, is laying off a tenth of its staff (INSIDER)
The Vienna-based tutoring platform, which raised $340 million in January, plans to cut 200 roles across the business and close its US operations, cofounder Felix Ohswald told German language site Trending Topics. The company has cut back considerably on its growth plans and now aims to be profitable in 2023.
Twilio lays off 11% of its staff as it aims for profitability in 2023 (TECHCRUNCH)
In a message to staff, CEO Jeff Lawson called the layoffs “wise and necessary,” blaming them partially on Twilio’s rapid growth over the last several years and “[lack of focus]” on key priorities.
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