BetaKit
@betakit
Award-winning coverage of Canadian startups and tech innovation since 2012.
Need a break from shooting off fireworks and tossing back Caesars? Celebrate Canada Day by solving this crossword instead. For our 2026 issue of #MostAmbitious, we put together a puzzle themed around Canada's most ambitious tech companies: bit.ly/4vE6C9M
At toronto Tech Week's Homecoming, Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke said building a $1-billion company with one person is now possible, but that he has no idea why anyone would do it.
.@utoronto.ca’s #TorontoTechWeek event is May 26! Headlining speaker Reynold Xin, Databricks co-founder, is joined by Ada CEO Mike Murchison in conversation with Amanda Lang. Don’t miss this conversation on data, AI, & what Canada needs to do to seize the moment: uoft.me/ttw-uoft-2026
While Canada’s AI strategy is still delayed, we now know the six pillars that will define the feds’ plan for artificial intelligence.
Five takeaways for tech and innovation from Canada’s Spring Economic Update 🇨🇦🧵
Some of the most important moments in tech don’t happen on stage. They happen in rooms someone decided to host. A panel. A dinner. A hackathon. Toronto Tech Week creates the moment. Hosting is how you show up to it. → Submit your event: tinyurl.com/TTWHOSTS
.@mila-quebec.bsky.social says its new partnership with @mozilla.org could help open up “a different way of building and thinking about AI.” Read more: betakit.com/mila-teams-u...
At CIX Summit, Sentinel R&D CEO Kath Intson argued it is “not enough to just onshore some other company’s capability and call it Canadian.” Read more: betakit.com/defence-tech...
UPDATE: @opentext.bsky.social says its latest round of layoffs affected 4% of its staff. That's somewhere in the range of 880 people. Read more: betakit.com/opentext-emp...
Opendoor has rented out a floor at King Street and Spadina Avenue in central Toronto and wants to hire about 100 people. CEO Kaz Nejatian says he wants to make the city a hub, but that the company has no immediate plans to enter the Canadian market. Read more: betakit.com/opendoor-hir...
CAAIN's latest competition will focus on bridging the gap between new AgTech IP and its commercial adoption. Read more: betakit.com/caain-launch...
Wealthsimple has cleared an initial regulatory hurdle to enter prediction markets. The company has received initial CIRO approval to offer forecast contracts, though it says it has not announced any product plans at this time. Read more: betakit.com/wealthsimple...
Dominion Dynamics says Canada can be a leader in autonomous systems for extreme environments. Its new partnership with Denvr Dataworks is aimed at building the sovereign AI simulation infrastructure to help get there. betakit.com/denvr-datawo...
Chexy started by helping tenants earn credit card rewards on rent. Now, it wants to become a broader payments hub for Canadian households and SMBs—and stay entirely Canadian as it does. betakit.com/chexy-raises...
4-day workweek advocate Jared Lindzon says working more doesn't really increase your output, or the value of your work. Instead, stepping away and recovering lets you to do better work overall. Would a 4-day workweek make you more productive, or just leave you with more work to catch up on?
🎂 Today, BetaKit turns 10 🎂 On February 26, 2016, BetaKit spun out on our own and officially became BetaKit Incorporated. That was the moment we became like so many of the companies we cover: a Canadian startup 🧵
How much transparency does the government owe us when it uses #AI to help create policy? Jaxson Khan and @trondizzle.bsky.social sort through transparency, accountability, and answer whether the government should show us its prompts. Their full chat is here: betakit.com/an-insiders-...
Canada can never own the entire #AI ecosystem, so the country must be strategic. Jaxson Khan argues the signals Canada sends about AI might be more important than the money it pours into the technology. Listen to Jaxson's full interview on The BetaKit Podcast: betakit.com/an-insiders-...
Jaxson Khan gives an insider’s take on Canada’s #AI task force report. The former ISED senior policy advisor says Canada needs to get its ducks in a row to have any hope of keeping control of its AI future. Listen to his full interview on The BetaKit Podcast: betakit.com/an-insiders-...
Some people aren’t “unemployable.” They were just never going to be employees in the first place. Humi co-founder Kevin Kliman on founders, agency, and why entrepreneurship pulls certain people out of the workforce. Listen to The BetaKit Podcast for more: betakit.com/canadas-job-...
The uproar in #CDNTech after @ycombinator.com.web.brid.gy stopped directly investing in Canada-domiciled startups wasn't really about a terms of service change at the accelerator. On the BetaKit Podcast, John Ruffolo breaks down what Canada is getting wrong. Listen now: betakit.com/why-y-combin...
Do you know the wild story behind the infamous "butt dial" that almost unraveled everything for a Rogers CEO? Michael Healey recaps the scandal on The BetaKit Podcast. Listen for even more insight and history about one of Canada's most notorious business families: betakit.com/rogers-v-rog...
With local news under pressure and funding drying up, this innovative funding model could be a way forward for local tech journalism across Canada to bring more news coverage to areas that too often get overlooked. If you want to support local journalism in your area, email partnership@betakit.com
BetaKit is officially on the ground in the Prairies 🌽💪 With the launch of our Prairies Bureau, and support from the not–for-profit YEGAF, we’re expanding local tech journalism with a full-time reporter and freelancers across the region. And we’re maintaining editorial independence as we do it. 🧵
Michael Healey says his research into the Rogers family taught him that metrics and KPIs exist mostly to provide "cover" for the gut feelings of people with big egos and lots of power. Is he right? Listen to the full interview on The BetaKit Podcast: betakit.com/rogers-v-rog...
BetaKit's new Prairies reporter Jesse Cole and managing editor @sarahcrgr.bsky.social were at Edmonton Unlimited last night to celebrate opening our new Prairies Bureau. We're touched at the warm welcome, Edmonton, and we can't wait to tell even more stories of #Prairies innovation. Stay tuned.
Colare co-founder Nain Abdi wants to live Canada. But he's building his business in Silicon Valley. He says he left Canada because SF offers opportunities he just can't get in the North. Abdi serves up more hot takes on The BetaKit Podcast. Listen now: betakit.com/its-valley-o...
