BetaKit - Canadian Startup News & Tech Innovation

Featured

Funding

Koho becomes Canada’s latest unicorn following $130-million Series E round

Josh Scott Jun 11

FinTech firm passes 2.5 million users as it navigates “final stages” of acquiring banking licence.

Nesto CEO Malik Yacoubi sits on stage with two other unidentified man.

Funding

Nesto secures nearly $1.5-billion valuation in new Series E round

Alex Riehl Jun 10

Montréal-based digital mortgage lender wants to speed up approvals using AI.

Intriciate technology connected to the Trillium Supercomputer

Inside the GTA facility housing one of Canada’s most powerful supercomputers

Josh Scott Jun 8

Trillium helps Canadian researchers with massive jobs like simulating oceans and modelling stars.

Evan Solomon speaking into a microphone.

Canada’s AI strategy contains $2.3 billion in spending but few details on new privacy regulations

Alex Riehl Jun 4

Delayed strategy promises plan to encourage Canadians to reinvest tech investment gains in AI startups.

BDC extends Isabelle Hudon’s mandate as CEO through 2030

Alex Riehl Jun 1

Crown corporation’s board chair says Hudon will help shape its next five-year strategy.

Defence Tech

Q&A: Erin O’Toole says Canada needs to play catch-up on defence innovation

Douglas Soltys May 28

Erin O’Toole wants Canadian innovators to seize the moment before it’s gone.

Latest

Acquisitions

1Password acquires Apono to become the “control pane” for businesses using agentic AI

Josh Scott Yesterday

Toronto firm says deal aids transition from securing credentials to governing access.

A man in the middle of a planted crop holding a Picketa briefcase.

Funding

Picketa raises $2.1 million to help farmers make the most of their fertilizer

Alex Riehl Yesterday

Fredericton-based AgTech startup can analyze crop health on the spot.

A woman tending flowers in the front yard of a large house.

Legacy Keeper launches to organize estate planning with AI agents

Madison McLauchlan Yesterday

Victoria, BC-founded platform aims to cut down work for financial advisors.

And Alberta and Canada flag in front of a rainbow.

Meet the AI company tracking the foreign actors stoking Alberta separatism

Jesse Cole Yesterday

Cipher is using AI to track, monitor, and categorize the disinformation amplifying Canada’s unity crisis.

Layoffs

Ubisoft closes Winnipeg office, laying off another 65 staff

Alex Riehl Jun 12

French game developer continues cost-cutting measures just months after closing Halifax office.

Funding

MDA Space, Calian, and Kepler tapped to lay groundwork for Canada’s next-gen satellite system

Alex Riehl Jun 12

Companies awarded $2.4 million to develop ground systems behind RADARSAT+.

A group of people sitting around a small table working on a project.

Osler Deal Points Report finds Canada’s venture recovery was uneven in 2025

Isabelle Kirkwood Jun 12

Osler’s Calvin Leung and Justin Young unpack the financing trends founders should watch in 2026.

OpenAI sued by mother of Montréal woman who died by suicide

Madison McLauchlan Jun 12

Complaint comes as Canada introduces bill that would hold chatbot providers liable for harms.

Funding

Maneva raises $27-million USD Series A to expand AI vision in manufacturing

Jesse Cole Jun 12

Capital will be used to scale into North America, expand into Asian markets.

Aiemann Zahabi with a Kintra team member at Tristar gym.

Healthtech

Can a saliva test make UFC athletes better fighters? This Canadian startup is betting on it

Madison McLauchlan Jun 12

Ahead of White House fight, Kintra is using AI-powered biomarkers to help fighters eke out an edge.

Several people sit on stage under an AccelerateOTT sign.

Events

Ballooning AI costs have Canadian startups weighing alternatives

Alex Riehl Jun 11

Canadian startup leaders brace for more price increases to the models they rely on.

Kath Intson at BetaKit's Most Ambitious: Town Hall

Defence Tech

Sentinel R&D at centre of Russian accusations that Canada is a “warmonger”

Jesse Cole Jun 11

Comments follow recent deal between Hamilton-based drone company and Ukraine’s Airlogix.

Ottawa

Elon Musk’s X continues to violate Canadian privacy law with Grok deepfakes, watchdog finds

Madison McLauchlan Jun 11

Privacy commissioner calls for stronger powers to force xAI to comply with recommendations.

Funding

Koho becomes Canada’s latest unicorn following $130-million Series E round

Josh Scott Jun 11

FinTech firm passes 2.5 million users as it navigates “final stages” of acquiring banking licence.

Federal Ministers Marc Miller and Evan Solomon

Ottawa

Ottawa introduces bill to ban social media for kids under 16

Jesse Cole Jun 10

Draft legislation would create new regulator to govern online safety, including AI chatbot use.

From Partners

Osler Deal Points Report finds Canada’s venture recovery was uneven in 2025

Isabelle Kirkwood Jun 12

Osler’s Calvin Leung and Justin Young unpack the financing trends founders should watch in 2026.

A woman speaking into a microphone in front of an IDEA Mississauga sign

Why scaling requires more than speed

Darah Hansen Jun 5

IDEA Mississauga’s Step-Up Program helps founders build the strategy and systems for growth.

An illustration of Chrono software on a screen.

SR&ED season is here. How to claim the hours you actually worked

Darah Hansen Jun 3

Canada’s biggest R&D tax credit comes down to producing a clear record of work.

BetaKit Podcast

Jim Balsillie speaking at BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall

Physical AI and economic nationalism at BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall

by Douglas Soltys June 8, 2026

Waabi’s Raquel Urtasun and CCI’s Jim Balsillie came to Toronto Tech Week armed with data and predictions.

Listen Now

Evan Solomon at BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall

Events

AI sovereignty & defence tech at BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall

by Douglas Soltys June 1, 2026

Evan Solomon, leaders from Xanadu, Dominion Dynamics, Sentinel R&D got candid at Town Hall.

Listen Now

Events

How Toronto Tech Week became Canada’s largest grassroots tech event

by Douglas Soltys May 22, 2026

Co-directors Julia Konefal and Mell Truong explain how TTW went from experiment to 600 events in just two years.

Listen Now

British Columbia

Harjit Sajjan reports for duty

by Douglas Soltys May 15, 2026

After decades in public service, former defence minister Harjit Sajjan is now a defence-tech entrepreneur.

Listen Now

Defence Tech

Evaluating Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy

by Douglas Soltys April 27, 2026

The DIS adds clarity to Canada’s defence spending commitments, but not their outcomes.

Listen Now