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- 🏙️ A big week for biotech
🏙️ A big week for biotech
A short week, but a rollercoaster of news. This is your Sunday Briefing.
Allison Gacad
May 28, 2023
Last Tuesday at our latest #vtjtalks event — Inside InBC, the Province's $500M Strategic Investment Fund — I met someone who was new to the local tech scene. They asked me whether there is really enough tech in Vancouver to warrant a Vancouver Tech Journal.
If we were having that conversation today, they would have seen just how much the region punches above its weight for news. In the past week alone, we covered one of the biggest investments in local biotech in recent years, broke news of layoffs in the gaming industry, reported on the homecoming of a fintech startup, and profiled the seed raise of a local AI company, led by Google Ventures.
We stay abreast of the latest in tech news, so you don’t have to. From AI robots to behind-the-scenes of acquisitions, you can count on VTJ to figure out how global trends will affect Vancouver tech, unpack the city’s up-and-coming startups, as well as build community at our in-person events.
So to answer that attendee’s question — there’s more than enough tech news to keep us busy. And it’s only thanks to the support of our members that we can cover it all.
Now onto today’s briefing. It’s 744 words: a three-minute read.
-Allison, @allisongacad
P.S. This Tuesday from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m., join us for our weekly Vancouver Tech Morning coffee at The Coffee Bar in Gastown (10 Water Street). It’s free! Register here »
P.P.S Thanks to our new members Iris, David, Marja, and more who joined us this week. Be like them and enjoy the perks of VTJ membership too.
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AbCellera, with the Provincial and Federal governments, announces $701M investment in local life sciences infrastructure
The Provincial government is chipping in $75 million, one of its largest biotech investments in history. Start reading »
How tech will influence marketing in the next year
Three Canadian marketing leaders dive into what skills will be required for marketers with the rise of tools like generative AI and digital analytics. Start reading »
Sanctuary AI is one step closer to building human-like robots
The company unveiled its sixth-generation machine, as well as a new proprietary AI tech to power it. Start reading »
Relic Entertainment lays off 121 employees
Read our top member briefing from last week. Members only. Get started »
🤝 Funding and deals
NuriFlex Holdings has signed a memorandum of understanding with AhnLab Blockchain Company to collaborate on metaverse project NuriTopia and its associated Web3 wallet. Learn more »
Output, an innovation accelerator for businesses, announced that it has partnered with U.S.-based consultancy Arizona Bay to offer services for technology-driven corporate clients. Learn more »
Healthtech ventures DrFirst Healthcare Innovations and Applied Robotics have partnered to use an AI solution to streamline faxed prescriptions, used by several hundred pharmacies in Canada. Learn more »
For all the local funding news, become a Vancouver Tech Journal member »
Second-hand marketplace with smart contract payments launches in beta
eShopCrypto uses blockchain to verify important parts of the sales process such as depositing funds or shipping an item, so buyers and sellers can shop with trust. Start reading »
🗞️ In other news
NFT Tech, a Web3 venture, announced that its studio, Run It Wild, was awarded the Blockchain, NFT, and Web3 Tech of the Year award at the recent Sports Technology Awards. Continue »
Premier David Eby and Minister Brenda Bailey visited the Burnaby headquarters of D-Wave Quantum to celebrate breakthroughs in quantum computing. Continue »
Form, a wearable tech company, won Wearable of the Year at the 2023 Sports Technology Awards and the iF Design Award 2023 for Product UX for its smart swim goggles. Read more »
DigiBC, the provincial creative tech industry association, is running an online video game development coding camp for girls aged 8 to 13, to be held over the summer. Learn more »
Hootsuite launched Inbox, a centralized platform for social media marketers to manage direct messages. Learn more »
For all local news and our daily coverage, become a Vancouver Tech Journal member »
🎁 Featured VTJ Membership Perk
This week: Newsly
Newsly is an audio news and content mobile application reads the web’s top trending articles in a natural-sounding human voice.
- Vancouver Tech Journal members receive a 30-day free trial of Newsly Premium.
Contact [email protected] to redeem your perks or learn more about VTJ membership.
💼 Take your career to the next level
There are hundreds of Vancouver tech businesses searching for talent, including the BC Public Service, SALUS, Boomi, UrbanLogiq, The Coaches Site, Ari, and Brainstation.
Check out who else is hiring on our Vancouver Tech Job Board »
Growing your team? Post a job with us »
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Get a free Two-Day Expo ticket with coupon code WELCOME40.
Register for full access to both the conference and expo here.
💡 Ideas and insights
Erin Gee, VTJ contributor, reflected on venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz’s recent report on crypto: The a16z State of Crypto Report.
Don Murray and Dale Lutz, co-CEOs and co-founders of Safe Software, describe how they use artificial intelligence within their company’s operations: ‘We will need to hire’: How one B.C. firm is approaching working with AI.
UBC instructors in engineering physics and media studies share how they use AI in their classrooms: From science fiction to classroom reality: How UBC instructors are using AI as a teaching tool.
Jennifer Maloney Adab, founder of Triple A Media, writes in Entrepreneur: How to stop your CEO's reputation from damaging your business.
David Tso, growth and customer success at Covalent, hosted a panel with David Schwartz and Jordi Baylina, co-founders of Polygon Labs’ zero-knowledge Ethereum virtual machine. Here are the eight most-important takeaways.
Join the conversation