Author: Editor-in-Chief

Sodium-ion battery startup Natron ceased operations this week, ending the company’s 12-year quest to commercialize its technology in the U.S. The company had $25 million worth of orders lined up for its Michigan factory, but it couldn’t deliver them until it had UL certification, according to Raleigh’s The News & Observer, which reported on the business’s closure because Natron had been planning to bring jobs to the state of North Carolina with its new factory. However, receiving the UL certification can be a lengthy process, often spanning several months. Natron investors balked at releasing more funds, leaving the startup…

Tesla has proposed a massive new $1 trillion compensation package for its CEO Elon Musk, and many of the benchmarks he needs to hit are simply watered-down versions of promises he’s spent years making about the company. That’s not the picture Tesla’s board of directors paints in the company’s annual proxy statement, where they revealed the proposed pay package. Instead, the board focuses on how it plans to create “the most valuable company in history.” To be sure, if Tesla accomplishes all that it aims for with this deal, it will look like a much different company at the…

Textile manufacturing startup SRTX has hired Sophie Boulanger as its new CEO, months after its founder, Katherine Homuth, stepped down as part of a critical fundraising deal. Boulanger co-founded and led the consumer eyewear brand BonLook, which was acquired by Canadian optometry company FYidoctors in 2021. She was most recently brought on as CEO at Ottawa-based property tech startup 1Valet, but left in September 2024, according to her LinkedIn profile. The Montréal-based entrepreneur also sits on multiple boards, including retailer La Canadienne and the Montréal Cancer Institute. “I am honoured to join the company at such a pivotal stage.” Sophie…

Canadian tech and business groups plan to weigh in on a forthcoming Competition Bureau consultation on the competitive landscape of debt financing options for small businesses, including startups. This week, Canada’s Competition Bureau launched consultations on how to best conduct a 12-month study on competition for small and medium-sized business loans. The agency said the research will explore how Canada can improve the lending landscape for small- to mid-size enterprises (SMEs), which is dominated by big banks. At the same time, it plans to look at how non-traditional financial lenders—such as FinTech companies—could benefit from increased competition. The Competition Bureau…

Burnaby, BC-based medical technology company Kardium has received pre-market approval from the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its innovative heart device: the Globe Pulsed Field System (Globe System). The company has also been given 510(k) clearance for both the Globe Introducer sheath and Globe mapping software. “The FDA approval of the Globe System represents the most significant milestone in the life of Kardium.” Kevin Chaplin, Kardium The Globe System is designed to treat a common heart problem called atrial fibrillation (AF). AF is an irregular heartbeat disorder that affects more than 59 million people globally. It…

Montréal-based Lightspeed Commerce is admitting no liability in the proposed settlement of a 2021 class-action lawsuit alleging it misrepresented financial reports. The proposed settlement will see the defendants, which include Lightspeed, some of its leaders, and its auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers, pay out $11 million without any admission of liability. Settlement follows the dismissal of a similar case against Lightspeed in the Eastern District of New York earlier this year.  The settlement was proposed in June and is subject to the approval of a Superior Court of Québec judge at a Nov. 21 hearing in Montréal. The class-action’s lawyers will also…

White Star Capital has launched a new seed fund to fill what it sees as a key gap in Canada’s venture capital (VC) market. The global, multi-stage VC firm has secured a first close of $25 million USD for its North American Seed Fund, with a $50-million USD target. With this, it aims to lead pre-seed and seed financings for tech startups across Canada and the United States (US). “We’ve been really happy with our track record overall in Canada.” Sanjay Zimmermann, White Star Capital Recent data from the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association indicates that there…

Isotopes AI came out of stealth on Thursday with a healthy $20 million seed round. It offers an AI agent to solve a problem that data analytics products have struggled with for decades: The people who know how to run the big data infrastructure are not the ones who actually need to use the data. With LLMs, business managers can ask questions of their data in natural language. Isotopes’ agent, Aidnn, can provide answers and draft complex planning documents, gathering data from wherever it’s stored, like finance apps, ERP, CRM, and cloud storage. There are countless agentic business analytics offerings…

Dot, an AI companion app that aimed to be a friend and confidante, is shutting down, the company announced on Friday. On a message published on its website, the startup behind Dot, New Computer, said that the product will remain operational until October 5, giving users time to download their data. Launched in 2024 by co-founders Sam Whitmore and former Apple designer Jason Yuan, Dot waded into what’s now become a more controversial area for AI chatbots. The app they created was described as an AI “friend and companion,” which would become more personalized to you and your…

For the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch, Disrupt 2025 (taking place October 27–29 at Moscone West in San Francisco) gets real about one of the most pressing founder questions: compensation and equity. On the Builders Stage, a panel of experts who’ve lived it, scaled it, and solved it will tackle the tough questions every startup faces as they grow. Register here to save up to $668! Who’s joining the Builders Stage Meet the panelists Ranudi Jakubowitz — Head of Operations & Talent at 645 Ventures. From early HR leadership at Seamless through its Grubhub merger and IPO, Randi knows how to…