Also: New Research Surveys Canadian Banking and Payments Sector Competitiveness.
Welcome to BetaKit Startup Stories of the Week! Here, you’ll find the week’s most important news, features and editorials published on Beta Kit. If you prefer this update to have it hit your inbox every week, be sure to sign up for the BetaKit newsletter using the form at the bottom of this page.
The main news of the week
When Real Ventures stops fundraising, it changes partners.
Real Ventures is undergoing its second major leadership change in the past two years, with co-founder John Stokes taking over as managing partner from Janet Bannister, learned Beta Kit.
Through its new Thrive platform, BDC has committed half a billion dollars to invest in Canadian women-led startups and funds.
WIT Group’s second fund represents a direct investment fund with $300 million allocated to seed, Series A and Series B.
New research explores the competitiveness of Canada’s banking and payments sector
In response to the research, Wealthmple Co-founder and CEO Michael Katchen. “It’s time to enable competition and build more affordable financial services,” he tweeted.
RBCx and RBC Ventures will merge
In a completely unexpected move, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) announced the merger of RBCx and RBC Ventures. The news formalizes the merger after it was announced in April that RBCx chief Sid Paquette would lead both teams.
Startup Curriculum: How Dal Innovates Embraces Innovation Education in Atlantic Canada
Halifax Dalhousie University (“Dal”), through its award-winning program Dal Innovates, is working to deliver a number of programs that encourage and support the integration of this education into the creative economy.
How to navigate the tangled web of government startup grants
Despite the billions of dollars in grants available, many startups don’t seek them out due to application complexity, confusion to get started, or a combination of both.
This is something that the Cisco Grant Support Program is working to address. The Grants Office helps startups of all sizes navigate the grant funding landscape in Canada and apply for relevant grants.
Recent funding, acquisitions and layoffs
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Van-Truglio to lay off up to 10 percent of workers (read more)
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Van – Cognitive 3D – $2.5M (read more)
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CAL – Litus Wins $100K Prize at Elevate (Read More)
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SSK – Andgo Systems – $5.6M (read more)
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WAT – Ssimwave at IMAX (read more)
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TOR – Rumble Closes SPAC Deal, Starts Trading on Nasdaq (Read More)
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TOR – Coinsquare to get CoinSmart (read more)
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TOR – Ada cuts 16 percent of workforce (read more)
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TOR – PolicyMe – $18M (read more)
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TOR – Inventor Jacket Wins $15K Prize at Elevate (Read More)
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TOR – DealMaker takes over FundAmerica’s book of business (read more)
Real Ventures Done? Is BDC just getting started? (AMA EPISODE)
“Half a billion dollars for Canadian women in tech. so good!”
The monthly AMA episode of the Beta Kit Podcast answers questions from listeners (serious!) about bad news from Real Ventures and good news from BDC, along with some high-profile highlights.
Couldn’t buy city google search
“This is the rise and fall of a company with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake and nothing to say about it.”
Globe and Mail reporter Josh Oken talks about his new book, Side by Side: Google Couldn’t Buy It.
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