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Conduit and Unreserved close big seed rounds, while AmpMe faces bogus review charges.
Welcome to the BetaKit Startup Stories of the Week! Here you’ll find the week’s top news, features and editorials published on BetaKit. If you’d rather have this update delivered to your inbox every week, be sure to subscribe to the BetaKit newsletter using the form at the bottom of this page.
Top stories of the week
Conduit’s ‘Stripe for DeFi’ approach bags $21.2M CAD seed round led by Portage
After less than a year in business, decentralized finance (DeFi) startup Conduit has raised C$21.2 million in seed funding led by Portage Ventures. The company Diagram aims to become the “Stripe for DeFi” by making DeFi “invisible” through its APIs.
AmpMe has been accused of boosting app sales through fake reviews by a prominent App Store critic
Montreal-based startup AmpMe has found itself in the crosshairs of the App Store’s “one-man Bunco Squad.” Costa Eleftheriou, an American entrepreneur, alleged that VC-backed AmpMe purchased thousands of fake reviews to boost the popularity of its music app on the Apple App Store.
Unreserved closes a $33 million seed round to build a real estate auction platform
After building a successful auto auction platform, E Inc founder Ryan O’Connor set out to bring online auctions to Canada’s booming residential real estate market through Unreserved. The Ottawa-based startup has secured C$33.85 million in seed funding and the backing of E Inc investors and real estate professionals to fuel its growth.
A look at 11 Canadian tech companies to watch in 2021
Kevin Sandhu reviews his list of the 11 Canadian tech companies to watch in 2021 to see how they’ve fared over the past year. In 2021, Sandhu tagged Bluedot, Clutch, Symend, Ollie Order, Craver Solutions, Synctera, Showbie, Elastic Garage, Synex Medical, Lufa Farms and LifeSpeak as ones to watch.
Vendasta makes second acquisition after failed IPO plans, venture round
Saskatoon-based business solutions startup Vendasta has acquired ad tech company MatchCraft in its second acquisition deal in less than three months. The 14-year-old company is well-capitalized to make such purchases after putting its IPO ambitions on hold and securing C$119.5 million in venture capital in late May.
Alberta launches immigration stream for tech workers after calls from community
The new immigration stream – part of the federal-provincial Alberta Nominated Immigrant Program (AINP) – is something Alberta’s technology and innovation community has been calling for as companies face a shortage of skilled technical talent.
VC economics: why startup valuations are an art while dilution is a science
Lewis Hauer, managing director at Silicon Valley Bank, explains investor sentiment and how it can affect startup valuations.
Recent funding, acquisitions and layoffs
VIC – Redbrick acquires Delivra (read more
VAN – Unbounce Acquires LeadsRx (read more)
LCA – Delivery Analysis – $6m (read more)
CAL – Wagepoint acquires Timesheet Mobile (read more)
SSK – Vendasta acquires MatchCraft (read more)
ONT – FedDev Ontario pledges $5.4 million to NACO + AIO (read more)
TOR – Future Fertility – $7.6 million (read more)
TOR – Together – $6.2 million (read more)
TOR – Maple Acquires Wello (read more)
TOR – FundThrough Acquires BlueVine’s Invoice Financing Business (read more)
OTT – Unbooked – $33 million (read more)
MTL – Conduit – $21.2 million (read more)
MTL – PayFacto acquires iShopFood (read more)
RBC Capital Markets Global Market Outlook 2022
This year’s Global Markets Forecast combines the insights of our M&A and equity capital markets experts with the forecasts of our global economists to determine what will drive deal flow in the coming year.
As markets move into the next stage of the recovery, momentum remains strong. But all eyes are on how QE unwinds and rates change.
Global market insights to help you lead today and shape tomorrow.
Get the 2022 forecast
CONDUIT MAKES THE CASE FOR THE DEFI
“Imagine the bank as a program.”
Conduit co-founder Cyril Gertmann joins to discuss why he’s excited about decentralized finance and what’s still missing from the DeFi stack.
BESSEMER AND TRULLIO AND CARE – OH MY GOD!
“This episode is going to get a little SaaS-y.”
BetaKit interview highlight at SAAS NORTH featuring: Bessemer Venture Partners, Trulioo, Plaid, RBCx, Unbounce and L-SPARK.
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