Plus: Meet BetaKit's new managing editor.
Think about the last great technology story you read. The one you shared with your friends or that blew up in your private messages. Where did you read this?
The next time a Canadian is asked this question, my job is to make sure the answer is BetaKit.
My name is Sarah Rieger from BetaKit. new editor-in-chief. I'm an award-winning journalist who has worked for more than a decade at publications such as CBC and The Huffington Post. For the past four years, I worked at Wealthsimple Media, where I was a senior news writer for TLDR, the most read business and finance newsletter in the country.
I like to write in a way that untangles the knots: taking a complex, intense, or arcane topic and making it accessible to a wide audience. I also like to tell stories that don't get heard. There are so many tech stories that need to be told in Canada, and I believe now is the time to tell them.
I've been reading BetaKit for years because I know I'll see reports that other publications miss. Now I just hope to help this team take award-winning journalism to the next level. Expect more, better and different stories from us.
I can't wait for you to see what's next and want you to help us inform and shape our journalism.
Do you have a Canadian tech story to tell? Write to me.
Sarah Rieger
Editor-in-Chief
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Clio receives US$500 million Series G after completion of vLex acquisition
Burnaby, British Columbia-based Legaltech closed a $500 million Series G round this week and also paid down another $350 million in debt to complete the landmark acquisition of its Spanish-American peer vLex.
Arriving at a valuation of US$5 billion after investing shortly after achieving annual recurring revenue of US$400 million, the round further cements Clio's status as one of Canada's most valuable technology companies, placing it just behind the likes of Cohere, Hopper, Wealthsimple and 1Password.
Smaller and larger funding gives Canadian venture capital a boost in Q3 as domestic private capital remains hot
The Canadian venture capital market showed some “positive signs” and continued to struggle in the third quarter after a particularly dismal first half of 2025, according to a new report from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.
“We are seeing an increase in deal sizes, a decrease in the number of deals, [and] just more targeted investing,” CVCA chief data and product officer David Kornacki told BetaKit, arguing that this means the market is “selective but confident.”
Is SaaS dead? Technology leaders debate whether it's time for a requiem or a renaissance
At the SAAS NORTH conference in Ottawa, founders, investors and technology leaders reflected on how the conference's namesake software-as-a-service industry has changed and how founders can create value in a world once dominated by their business model.
Between Vidyard founder Michael Litt declaring SaaS “dead” and a “Hot Tub Time Machine,” this year's conference also distributed $310,000 in pitch competitions.
Shopify's closed Indigenous entrepreneurship program will reopen, says program co-founder
A former Shopify employee who co-founded the Build Native entrepreneurial program is reviving the initiative after the e-commerce giant quietly shut it down earlier this year.
Build Native 2.0 will launch in early 2026 with an expanded vision to “create spaces where Native entrepreneurs can lead, innovate, and thrive globally—without compromising who we are,” according to the Center for Native Nation Builders website.
Vistara Growth closes $321 million fund after 'maximum friends' fundraising'
Vancouver-headquartered Vistara Growth has closed its fifth private credit fund at $321 million, ending a nearly two-year fundraising process and allowing the firm to focus its efforts solely on backing mid- and late-stage technology companies.
Sonder collapses after spending nearly $3.7 million on now-defunct Marriott deal
Sonder is winding down its operations after ending its unexpectedly costly licensing agreement with hotel giant Marriott International.
The Canada-based, San Francisco-based alternative housing company said it considered financing and other options, including selling its business and operations, but was unable to reach a viable deal. SEC filings show that Sonder spent millions trying to integrate with Marriott's systems in the first half of the year, and that co-founder Martin Picard entertained himself by making an offer to buy the company.
Change of leadership
- Lightspeed President J.D. St. Maarten will resign from your post in March 2026, remaining close to ensure a smooth transition for new CRO Gabriel Benavidez.
- Whitecap Venture Partners added former Deep Sky CEO Damien Steele as a partner, bringing in the OMERS Ventures veteran to prepare to launch his sixth venture fund.
- Y Combinator Alum Terminal hired former BenchSci executive Eran Ben-Ari will prepare for the transition from startup to scale-up as COO.
Minister Solomon: Canadian AI and Buy Canadian strategies will likely launch in 2026
Canadian Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon visited the OneEleven Innovation Center in Toronto this week to announce that the Government of Canada's AI and Buy Canadian strategies are expected to launch in 2026, along with some additional details.
Solomon told media that federal authorities are considering forcing companies to buy from Canadian suppliers when they receive government funding for artificial intelligence and digital technologies.
Cohere and OpenAI lose key disputes in high-stakes copyright battle
Two major copyright infringement lawsuits against Toronto-based artificial intelligence scaling company Cohere and San Francisco-based artificial intelligence giant OpenAI are not moving forward.
A judge in the Southern District of New York rejected Koger's motion to dismiss the lawsuit in its entirety this week, a week after OpenAI lost its own motion to have the case dismissed in Ontario Superior Court.
SELECTED STORIES FROM OUR PARTNERS
- A group of 22 Canadian founders met with the Canadian Consul General in the UAE in October as part of a delegation led by the Canadian Startup Association. Lesson: unlearn what works at home.
- Venture capitalists shouldn't just invest in AI, they should use it. CIBC Investment Banking has supported Montreal-based Vessel as part of the “overall mission» to modernize the funds they finance.
- A new study from Intuit found that small business owners lose an average of 7.5 hours per week switching between finance, CRM and project management tools. They redesigned QuickBooks to help.
🇨🇦 Weekly Canadian Deals, Dollars and More
- OT – CereCura provides $1.4 million to treat brain diseases
- VAN/CGY – Cement decarbonization startup Cura comes out of hiding
- TOR – Digitaltail Pet Grooming Software extracts US$23 million Series B
- TOP – Dutch patent raises $3 million to support patent research using AI
- TOP – Wealthsimple partners with Wise for cross-border payments
- ARB – MDA Space reports Revenue up 45% YoY in Q3
- MTL – Mila and BenchSci unite develop AI for drug discovery
- MTL – Stingray buy media streamer TuneIn for $175 million
- MTL – Shine attacks $3.4 million to improve e-commerce marketing
- STJ – CoLab Software provides US$72 million Series C
BetaKit Podcast. Dominion Dynamics CEO says defense is a 'generational opportunity' for Canadian entrepreneurs
“This is an opportunity for generations of entrepreneurs. You have a chance to change the country.”
Dominion Dynamics founder and CEO Eliot Pence wants to build Canada's first “defense premiere.” In this episode of the BetaKit Podcast, he explains why defense technology is important to Canadian innovation and the country's future before diving into recent federal budget commitments. Recorded live on the BetaKit Keynote stage at SAAS NORTH.
Take the BetaKit Quiz: Clio's Big Promotion, U of T Special Fellows, and BetaKit's New Managing Editor.
Think you're up to date on Canadian technology and innovation news? Time to prove it. Test your knowledge of Canadian tech news with the BetaKit quiz on November 14, 2025.
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