Author: Editor-in-Chief

In 2024, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced a “new era” of venture capital: a shift toward larger vehicles, deeper specialization, and faster pathways from idea to scaled company. With roughly $46 billion under management, spread across growth, infrastructure, seed, and artificial intelligence (AI)-focused funds, this doesn’t just look like venture at scale. Instead, it looks like something new—an institution that feels part accelerator, part university, part capital allocator. It’s venture-adjacent, but it’s not the venture we’ve known. Raising over $1 million at pre-seed in Canada is rare. And when it does happen, it almost always requires stitching together multiple investors. There’s…

Two impact-focused tech firms have moved their CEOs to the board as executive changes continue across Canada. “I feel profound comfort in my decision to step down as CEO and pass the baton to Toan Dinh.” Former GoFundMe COO Soraya Alexander will step into the top job at Calgary-based charitable donation management software firm Benevity on Nov. 1. Meanwhile, Toronto-based accessibility tech startup Fable has appointed former Boast chief revenue officer Toan Dinh as CEO. Alexander replaces Christopher Maloof, who will chair Benevity’s board just over one year after he replaced CEO Kelly Schmitt (who now heads Headversity). Benevity founder…

Victoria-based holding company Tiny has received conditional approval to graduate to the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) as its stock price nears its all-time low. Tiny has been trading on the early-stage-focused TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) since 2023, when it merged with its publicly traded subsidiary WeCommerce. A company can graduate exchanges if it achieves significant growth in assets and working capital, along with other requirements, according to National Bank Direct Brokerage. “It all feeds into this idea of better liquidity [and] institutional base.” Jordan Taub, Tiny Tiny has been working on meeting graduation requirements, including improving its disclosure reporting and…

Toronto-based proptech platform Keypr has partnered with Montréal-based Nesto to add mortgage services as another tool in its digital service for Ontario homebuyers. We’re tech and process people, so we’re automating [everything] other than getting into the house, negotiating, and closing.” John Asher, Keypr CEO Keypr is the consumer-facing online platform for Toronto-based realtor Konfidis, a joint venture between advisory firm FirePower Capital and Feld Ventures. Founder and CEO John Asher told BetaKit that the platform guides buyers through the purchase process, from booking a visit to closing the deal. “We’re tech and process people, so we’re automating [everything] other…

Canada trains some of the best AI researchers in the world. Shabnam Haghzare’s job is making sure they stay here. Growing up in Iran, her natural curiosity led her to study electrical engineering, even as people around her suggested that “engineering isn’t really a fit for girls.” She pursued it anyway. “The ingredients are there. It’s a matter of pulling it all together.” Shabnam Haghzare, Mitacs Today, as Senior Advisor and National AI Lead at Mitacs, Haghzare is helping create the pathways she once had to navigate herself. She leads efforts to connect Canada’s brightest AI researchers with the…

Roach Capital lead Fahd Ananta is the latest Shopify alumnus, albeit a distant one, to join San Francisco-based real estate tech firm Opendoor. “I hate to lose, so I’m going to give this every ounce of my energy and focus.” Ananta was a product manager at Shopify, but left the company in 2020. He now follows former Shopify COO Kaz Nejatian to Opendoor, after Nejatian was appointed CEO of the proptech company last week. Ananta announced the new job in a post on X, calling it “the biggest bet” of his life. “I hate to lose, so I’m going to…

Whether it’s to help plan their financial goals or help protect against identity theft or fraud, Patricia Curtis thought her clients should have an easier way to access their credit scores and reports. Curtis, a Personal Banking Associate at TD, proposed making credit scores available on the TD app, for free. Working with TransUnion, a consumer credit reporting agency, TD implemented Curtis’ idea. “Our colleagues are interacting with our clients on a day-to-day, minute-by-minute basis, and we need their insights.” Josh Death, TD Her idea gave over 500,000 clients a tool that can help them make more informed financial decisions.…

Amid an ongoing surge in defense tech investing, advanced manufacturing company Divergent Technologies raised $290 million to expand production of missile parts and other specialized components for the military. The round, which values the company at $2.3 billion, was first reported by Bloomberg. Divergent’s customers include major defense primes Lockheed Martin, RTX, and General Dynamics. The new capital, of which $40 million is debt, will help the company expand its manufacturing facilities in Los Angeles and to break ground on a new factory in Oklahoma next year. Divergent’s specialized 3D printers make up to 600 parts, and CEO and co-founder…

This is it — today is your last chance to host a Side Event at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 in San Francisco. By tonight, applications close. No extensions. No late entries. Apply here. Disrupt Week, taking place October 25–31, is your chance to put your brand in front of 10,000+ founders and investors, plus the Bay Area tech ecosystem. To create the conversations that shape the conference. To stand out. We’ll handle the promotion. You own the event. All you need to do is submit your proposal now. Don’t miss this opportunity to shine the spotlight on your brand — apply…

At Meta Connect 2025, the company’s biggest event of the year, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled three new smart glasses: the second-generation Ray-Ban Meta, the Meta Ray-Ban Display and wristband controller, and the Oakley Meta Vanguard. Meta says it has sold 2 million of the first-generation Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, and earlier this year, Meta unveiled its latest AI-powered smart glasses with Oakley, which were designed for athletes. Silicon Valley is leaning heavily into AI wearables, and Meta seems to be one of the companies leading the charge. What happened at Meta Connect 2025 With Meta looking to regain its footing in…