Canadian bioeconomy companies are driving economic returns: 84 early-stage biotech firms generated nearly $900M in GDP over recent years, according to new data from Natural Products Canada.

Toronto's Alexi has escalated a legal fight with Clio and its subsidiary Fastcase by filing a counterclaim that includes antitrust allegations. Alexi claims the litigation has thwarted acquisition interest and forced it to lay off 2/3 of staff. #legaltech

I thought this was pretty cool

Canadian social media management firm Hootsuite is providing monitoring tech to the US government's immigration enforcement agency. Via @betakit.com reporter Josh Scott and myself. betakit.com/hootsuite-dh...

Researchers at Mila in Montréal are tackling one of the most concerning issues in #AI right now: chatbot-induced mental health crises. It's also, Simona Gandrabur tells me, really difficult to get real-world data. betakit.com/mila-researc...

"There’s a lot of money being invested ... with an assumption of having a walled garden. Ultimately, I don’t think that’s worked in the interest of the consumer." Calgary fintech CEO @nicbeique.bsky.social on why he sees open finance as the future. betakit.com/helcim-takes...

It’s Legault-ver

SO COOL. Read my brilliant friend's research!!!

SSENSE founders' bid to buy back company successful, pending approvals betakit.com/ssense-found...

More details on the Ubisoft Halifax @ubisofthalifax.bsky.social closure story: a former employee and union rep told BetaKit employees were "blindsided" by the closure, and that the majority of the team was working towards an "aggressive" February project deadline.

xAI's Grok chatbot has been creating non-consensual, sexually explicit images of women and children. The patchwork of laws that cover the generation, hosting, and sharing of this material in Canada is messy at best. Via @betakit.com reporter @madisonmcla.bsky.social betakit.com/groks-non-co...

You can find a response from Solomon's office, as well as more context on Canada's patchwork of deepfake laws, in my story here: betakit.com/groks-non-co...

If you follow Canadian tech, add @betakit.com as a preferred source on Google: betakit.com/how-to-see-b...

New Canadian lifestyle-focused media outlet By the North launched yesterday. Bonus: it's up front about not using AI for writing and editing specifically

Sobering indeed!

Vancouver-based quantum computing startup Photonic raised CA$180M led by Planet First Partners, bringing its total funding to CA$375M (Madison McLauchlan/BetaKit) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

Photonic says it's ready to commercialize #quantum tech with $180-million CAD fundraise. Investors include enterprise players RBC and Telus. betakit.com/photonic-say...

So many tech platforms have decayed beyond usability. Can we reverse the process? BetaKit is ending the year with a look back at the biggest #CDNtech stories of 2025. Here's @sarahcrgr.bsky.social on the year enshittification became undeniable: bit.ly/4pg0kJq

In 2025, Canada woke up to the possibility of buying and building #CDNtech. How did we get here? Sovereignty: the good, the bad, the performative... betakit.com/2025-was-the...

Eeeeeee

Quebec government and family doctors reach agreement in principle, putting contentious legislation on hold.  www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... via @theglobeandmail.com

Canadians: Do you plan on signing up for @gandersocial.bsky.social when it launches? Do you care if your social network is built and hosted here?

#CDNTech startup Toothpod is trying to reimagine dental care with a chewable tablet that can clean teeth without needing any water. Co-founder and @utoronto.ca alumna Vishar Yaghoubian claims the tablet kills bacteria connected to tooth decay and bad breath.

Canada's division of Coinbase wants blockchain tech to be part of AI minister Evan Solomon's portfolio. Plus: updates on the feds' Stablecoin Act. betakit.com/crypto-advoc...

A high-level Swedish delegation visited Montréal’s Mila this week to deepen #AI research ties. Attendees included Mila's Hugo Larochelle, Québec’s economy minister Christine Fréchette, Cohere chief AI officer Joelle Pineau, and AI safety organization LawZero CEO Sam Ramadori.

What is the economic promise of a Canadian #sovereign cloud? betakit.com/what-is-the-...

NEW from me: Shopify's shuttered Indigenous entrepreneurship program Build Native will relaunch in a new form led by the Centre for Native Nation Builders and Tracy Ridler: betakit.com/shopifys-shu...

Soooo pumped 🚀@sarahcrgr.bsky.social (bluesky gets more emoji energy)

It's official: Canada has lost its measles elimination status because of an outbreak that has persisted for more than 12 months. Country can regain status only if on-going spread is of measles interrupted for more than a year. www.cbc.ca/news/health/... via @cbcnews.ca

Canadian tech policy wonks react to #Budget2025. Also I make my ad read debut.... www.youtube.com/watch?v=39VQ...

#Budget2025 has dropped, promising $1 trillion in new investments over 5 years and a $78.3-billion deficit for 2025-26. Major commitments across #AI and quantum, VC, financial services innovation, and defence. We've got a comprehensive look up now:

A “huge budget for FinTechs,” according to Fintechs Canada’s Adriana Vega:

Grammarly has rebranded to Superhuman, completing its shift to an AI productivity platform betakit.com/grammarly-re...

Toronto-based Wealthsimple, an online investment management service, raised CA$750M co-led by Dragoneer and GIC at a post-money valuation of CA$10B (Josh Scott/BetaKit) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

The Assumption of the Virgin, by Guido Reni, 1597, 📸 via @RoysEnergy

NEW: Canadian #FinTech leaders told to expect open banking movement in the federal #Budget2025. Some hope for stablecoin, too. betakit.com/canadian-fin...

The planet has entered a ‘new reality’ as it hits its first climate tipping point, landmark report finds ⁦https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/13/climate/tipping-points-coral-reef-ice-amoc

Plans to expand the Port of Montreal threaten an endangered fish found only in Quebec. Advocates for the copper redhorse fear the project — now on Mark Carney's major projects list — will deal a critical blow to a species already on life support. thenarwhal.ca/copper-redho...

What does the future look like for a company like Cohere as Large-language models start to show their limitations? #ElevateFest25 #AI #CDNTech

New Merriam-Webster LLM youtu.be/RvQnl3O0D3c?...

The Stark Reality Ten Years after the Truth and Reconciliation Report thewalrus.ca/trc-introduc... via @thewalrus

New episode of the podcast with @annetheriault.bsky.social! Come sit on a beached whale (that’s what people did for fun in medieval Scotland) and listen to us talk about plucky heroines, actually scary witches, and a little light regicide! pod.link/1753505445/e...

We’re a Canadian business-focused publication, but my talented colleague @madisonmcla.bsky.social has found a way to take that angle and shed a little light on how hostile the US has become for queer people.

A “reverse brain drain” of queer tech talent could be a silver lining for Canada as the US abandons #DEI. #CDNtech

NEW: Some 2SLGBTQIA+ American tech founders are weighing a move to Canada as the US administration targets #DEI programs and large corporations follow suit.

"For now, it's all mushrooms." 4AG Robotics CEO Sean O'Connor told me the BC #AgTech company is on track to reach $7 million in revenue this year as it secures $40 million to expand its fleet of mushroom-harvesting robots. betakit.com/4ag-robotics...

@alexriehl.com digs into AI productivity promises for this week's newsletter 👀

Big @betakit.com scoop on changes at @omersventures.bsky.social. One #CDNtech #VC just told me that the "pensions are all retreating back to Canada." @madisonmcla.bsky.social has a first file with more coming from her and Josh Scott.

A Globe and Mail reporter investigating allegations of political interference in Alberta healthcare has been targeted by an anonymous X account, which posted surreptitiously obtained photographs of her in public settings and described her private movements. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...