Author: Editor-in-Chief

An app called Young Minds wants to give parents control over what their kids do on the internet, while also protecting their children’s privacy and teaching them good online habits. The startup was founded by Nino Dvalidze (pictured), an entrepreneur and a mother of two from the United Kingdom. Dvalidze told TechCrunch that the idea for Young Minds came from conversations with fellow parents, who are also worried about how to keep their children safe, while also allowing them to have access to the internet, which, she admitted, is “enormously helpful in terms of education and exploration and connection with…

Small Business Month is here, and BetaKit is presenting a series of “How to” explainers focused on some of the top startup issues and pain points. Estyn Edwards has seen too many organizations stretch the life of legacy applications until the cost of maintaining them outweighs the benefits. At digital transformation firm Punchcard Systems, he has spent more than a decade working with companies wrestling with their own tech stack because they haven’t moved fast enough. “If you want to be innovative, you need to spend that time on modernizing.” Estyn Edwards, Punchcard “Every dollar that you’re spending on legacy…

Platform Calgary president and CEO Terry Rock is leaving the local tech hub to make a mark at the provincial level. Rock will leave his post on Oct.14 to become senior vice-president and chief operating officer of the provincial agency Alberta Innovates. In his place, Platform Calgary COO Jennifer Lussier will step in as interim CEO while the organization’s board searches for a permanent replacement. Rock’s leadership at Platform Calgary created “one of Canada’s most vibrant tech ecosystems.” Platform Calgary said Rock has made a “transformational impact” on the organization and Calgary’s tech ecosystem since joining the tech hub in…

Canada’s FinTech leaders say they are worried the country and its entrepreneurs aren’t taking bigger swings on priorities like open banking, payments modernization, and stablecoins—or implementing the systems to support them. At the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy’s third annual The Future event this week, some of the most influential names in Canadian FinTech gathered to take stock of where FinTech stands. Speakers discussed why action is needed now and expressed optimism that shifting geopolitical conditions have created an opportunity for Canada. “Somehow and somewhere along the way, we started coasting, we started assuming…

Canada is becoming increasingly anti-competitive and unproductive due to overregulation, industry heads and officials told attendees at Canada’s Competition Summit this year. Hosted by Competition Bureau Canada, the annual event brought together business leaders and regulators to discuss market competition issues in Canada. Industry minister Mélanie Joly set the tone when she told the room the government would be “hawkish” on competition. The comment lived on throughout the day’s programming and conversations as an encouraging sign that the government recognizes the importance of a competitive market. Most of the afternoon, however, focused on what the government is doing wrong. “Incumbents…

OpenText is selling off its eDOCS unit to Utah-based NetDocuments for $163 million USD ($227.3 million CAD) in cash. The Kitchener-Waterloo-based company began exploring the sale of its “non-core assets” in August to focus on its core business of information management for artificial intelligence. The eDOCS business, which helps legal professionals with document management, contributed approximately $30 million in revenue to OpenText’s latest fiscal year. The deal includes integrating the eDOCS software and its associated customer contracts, services, and employees into NetDocuments. BetaKit has asked for details on the number of impacted workers. The transaction is expected to close by…

New PitchBook data illustrates how dramatically AI is dominating startup investment, with 2025 on-track to become the first year when AI accounts for more than half of all VC money invested. PitchBook reports that VCs have poured $192.7 billion into the industry so far this year, out of a total $366.8 billion, according to Bloomberg. In the most recent quarter, AI accounted for 62.7% of the money invested by U.S. VCs, and for 53.2% of money invested by global firms. Most of that money is going to marquee names like Anthropic, which announced a $13 billion Series F in September.…

Agriculture is a thirsty industry, consuming 70% of all fresh water used worldwide. In some countries, like India or Chile, it can be more than 90%. For Mario Bustamante, who lives in Chile, the problem hits close to home. “Lack of water is a big issue here,” he told TechCrunch. Bustamante is betting that AI can help slash water use in farms across the world. His startup, Instacrops, was originally founded to deploy internet-of-things (IoT) sensors on farms to warn farmers about damaging frost conditions, but as the hardware became commoditized, the company pivoted to software and water use. Now,…

Tesla has been hit with an enforcement action by California’s Department of Insurance (CDI) for routinely denying or delaying customer claims despite years of warnings from the state regulator, according to a new pair of filings. Tesla’s insurance arm, along with its partner State National Insurance Company, engaged in “willful unfair claims settlement practices” including “egregious delays in responding to policyholder claims in all steps” of the process and “unreasonable denials,” CDI wrote. This has allegedly caused “financial harm” and “distress to policyholders.” CDI first approached Tesla about these issues in 2022, according to the filings, yet it claims things…

Rivian is changing the door handle design on its upcoming R2 SUV after employees and customers raised safety concerns, according to Bloomberg News. The automaker is one of many that has leaned into electronically latched door handles over the last few years. While this allows for sleeker presentation and more aerodynamic design, it often results in the automaker tucking the manual emergency door releases away in hard-to-find places. On the R2, which comes out next year, Rivian will now put the interior manual releases in a “more clearly visible” location closer to the electrically powered door handles, Bloomberg reports. The…