Plus: David Sacks has a new SaaS startup for other SaaS startups.
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CiteRight and fellow Canadian legaltech startup Jurisage ink deal to merge (BETAKIT)
Toronto-based CiteRight and Ottawa-based Jurisage AI have reached an agreement to combine under the name Jurisage.
CiteRight’s software helps lawyers organize and assemble litigation materials, while Jurisage has developed artificial intelligence (AI) technology for analyzing case law. Together, the two Canadian legaltech startups hope to deliver a comprehensive, integrated legal research and drafting solution.
SAP nabs German startup LeanIX to help companies modernize faster (TECHCRUNCH)
SAP announced today that it is acquiring German startup LeanIX, a software service that helps companies map out their architecture.
The purchase is expected to complement the 2021 Signavio acquisition, a German business process automation company that SAP bought for a reported price of $1.2 billion. While the companies did not share the purchase price, TechCrunch is hearing that today’s acquisition price is in the same neighborhood, but a bit higher.
SAP is hoping to parlay the company’s capabilities into a business to help companies modernize their software stacks more quickly.
Space-tech startup Mission Control shoots for the Moon (and Mars) with funding from GreenSky (BETAKIT)
Ottawa-based software startup Mission Control wants to make it easier for other players to explore scientific and commercial opportunities on the Earth, Moon, Mars, and beyond. Now it has $2.4 million of a $3.25 million target in seed funding to start.
Mission Control’s products include its Spacefarer platform, which streamlines operations of space-based robotics and advanced payloads, and its AI platform, which the company has tested on missions but hasn’t yet begun licensing.
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BlackBerry expects to report drop in quarterly revenue, shares dive (REUTERS)
BlackBerry forecast a 21.4% decline in its second-quarter revenue due to weakness in the Canadian technology company’s cybersecurity segment, sending its U.S.-listed shares nearly 10% lower in extended trading on Wednesday.
In August, media reports said private equity firm Veritas Capital made an offer to buy BlackBerry, months after the Canadian company began a strategic review.
Former Global Founders Capital partner launches Northside Ventures to back pre-seed Canadian entrepreneurs across North America (BETAKIT)
Armed with $6.25 million USD and buy-in from big-name investors and experienced operators, Canada finally has a new pre-seed focused venture fund Northside Ventures.
After spending the past few years building out the Canadian tech investment operations of Germany’s Global Founders Capital, Northside head Alex McIsaac is targetting a fund size of $15 million to back Canadian founders on both sides of the border.
David Sacks has a new SaaS startup for other SaaS startups (AXIOS)
SaaSGrid, a business intelligence and dashboarding tool for SaaS startups, has raised $3.3 million in seed funding led by founding investor Craft Ventures, headed by David Sacks.
SaasGrid is off-the-shelf software that helps SaaS companies calculate, standardize and analyze their metrics.
Nulogy CFO offers tips for fundraising in a chaotic environment (BETAKIT)
Founders looking for growth capital are having a harder time than ever amidst record lows in VC funding. However, trading equity for VC cash is not the only path forward.
Nulogy is taking advantage of different financing paths, and its CFO, Sanjay Dhawan, shared details about his company’s $20 million raise in March 2023 while offering advice for founders fundraising in turbulent times.
Josys, a SaaS management platform, raises $93M (TECHCRUNCH)
Josys, a startup offering a software-as-a-service platform to automate corporate IT software application management, has raised a $93 million Series B round.
Josys, spun off from its parent company, Raksul, in 2021, currently has 300 small- to medium-sized enterprises using its platform, an increase of more than triple from 90 customers in August 2022, Yasukane Matsumoto, CEO of Josys, told TechCrunch.
Future workforce: where Gen Z wants to work and how startups can support them (BETAKIT)
The Work-Learn Institute (WxL) at the University of Waterloo asked Gen Z what they look for in a company or career path and recently released a full data report on its findings.
Speaking with BetaKit, Ross Johnston, Executive Director for the University of Waterloo’s Co-operative Education, shared his thoughts on WxL’s data and how startups can support and cultivate Gen Z talent.
Money laundering is a ‘significant problem’ in Ontario real estate transactions. This B.C. company wants to change that (TORONTO STAR)
About $30-billion worth of ill-gotten gains has been laundered through Ontario real estate transactions over a 10-year period, according to a money laundering inquiry by the British Columbia government.
A Vancouver company has built a program with a database to help identify money launderers in the real estate market, and recently began operating in Ontario.
Meet the Y Combinator Summer 2023 cohort startups with Canadian connections (BETAKIT)
Learn more about the seven Canadian-affiliated tech startups participating in Y Combinator’s Summer 2023 Demo Day.
Among the startups is Toronto-based Terminal, which is building an application programming interface (API) to enable companies developing insurance products and fleet software for trucking to access GPS data, speeding data, and vehicle stats.
Cultivator’s incubated startups surpass $100 million in private funding (BETAKIT)
Cultivator was launched in 2019 to help buttress the region’s visibility on the national tech stage by addressing the gaps and barriers in Saskatchewan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
This week, it hit a new benchmark: the companies nurtured through Cultivator have collectively raised more than $100 million in private capital since 2019.
Is a software engineer an engineer? Fight between tech companies, Alberta engineering regulator lands in Edmonton court
(EDMONTON JOURNAL)
Following claims from Alberta tech CEOs that restrictions over the job title “software engineer” hampered talent gains, and apparent support from the Alberta premier in July, a legal fight pitting Alberta’s professional engineering regulator against two tech companies over their use of the word “engineer” is underway in an Edmonton court.
Sean O’Connor steps down as managing director of Conexus Venture Capital, Emmertech (BETAKIT)
Sean O’Connor is stepping down as managing director of Regina, Sask.-based Conexus Venture Capital and Emmertech.
Under O’Connor’s leadership, per CVCA reports, Conexus Venture Capital has grown into one of the country’s most active early-stage VC funds and played an important role in the growth of the tech ecosystem in both Saskatchewan and the Prairies. With AgTech-focused Emmertech, its impact has been felt across Canada.
Kyle Scott, who has served as co-managing director alongside O’Connor since 2021, will continue to head the two funds.
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