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- đź’¸ 58 deals and $807M, so far
đź’¸ 58 deals and $807M, so far
What investors poured into B.C. in 2022's first half. Welcome to the Sunday Briefing.
William Johnson
August 21, 2022
Last week, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) released investment data for the first half of 2022. The province took in $807 million over 58 deals in the first half of the fiscal year — down from $1.83 billion and 66 deals in the same period last year.
It’s a significant drop, but not entirely surprising. Perhaps more intriguing is the fact that the largest cheque in the province went to Victoria’s Certn, a fast-growing startup that specializes in background checks. Between the varying deal sizes and the vertical’s VCs are most-focused on, there’s a lot more in the data to dig into further. So, next week we’re going to do just that. Stay tuned.
Now onto today’s briefing. It’s 909 words, a 3-minute read.
-William, @notionport
P.S. See you at these upcoming events?
How NFTs are transforming Indigenous economics
The 400 Drums project doesn’t just offer a marketplace for Indigenous creators, but beats a path to a new way of self-governance. Start reading »
MintList are newly minted Stevie Award winners
The online auto sales startup became the first Canadian company to earn the honour of Tech Startup of the Year - Software. Start reading »
Vancouver’s Loop Energy expands into the U.K. to tap $15B market
The hydrogen fuel cell company will target the commercial vehicle sector, including buses and long-haul trucks. Start reading »
“Working with your friends makes your day-to-day job much more fun.” — How (and why) to get a job at UrbanLogiq
Co-founder and CEO Mark Masongsong talks about the origins of the company, the mission all staff share, and team retreats. Start reading »
Halo-maker SkyBox Labs to launch three new B.C. game-development studios
Greater Vancouver is a hub for videogame design, and is already home to 170 studios. Start reading »
Uber will be a zero-emission platform by 2040
Millions of rides a day. Zero emissions. That’s Uber’s commitment to every single person on the planet.
Progress towards a fully electric platform is achieved when we partner across the ecosystem to support drivers to go electric.
These monumental changes won’t come easy. But progress can be achieved when we work together, and you can join Uber on their mission.
Learn about Uber’s road to zero emissions.
🤝 Funding and deals
The province announced $250,000 to support BCIT in developing additional mass timber education programming. Continue »
Reusables.com received a $100,000 seed investment from Sustainable Development Technology Canada. Learn more »
The federal and provincial governments announced more than $1 million in funding for 10 agriculture projects as part of the Canada-British Columbia Agri-Innovation Program. Continue »
Imagine Create Media (the Gumboot Kids), MOLO, Omnifilm Entertainment Ltd., and The ALLELES Design Studio Inc. received a portion of $11.2 million in funding to help them meet international demand for their services as part of the Creative Export Canada program. Continue »
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🗞️ In other news
The New Ventures BC Competition has been penning feature stories on its top 25 companies, including Acel Power, Buzzit, and Ovou.
Vancouver Running Company, and OddFutur3 — a Web3 creative studio —joined forces to make an NFT project focused on running and diversity called Run As You Are. Narcity »
NFT creator Dapper Labs launched an advertisement for its NFL collaboration featuring superstar NFL player Patrick Mahomes. Adweek »
Floorspace shared a list of notable office leases including moves from Microsoft, digital studio WillowTree, and Lululemon. Floorspace »
Close the books 5x faster at month-end
Businesses like Properly, Clutch, and Coinberry are eliminating hours of manual work with Float by automating spend approvals, receipt matching, merchant rules, and GL code tagging.
We said it. No more expense reports.
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đź’Ľ The next stage in your career
Everyone’s talking about hiring. And while some local companies have laid off team members, there are hundreds of other Vancouver tech businesses searching for talent, including AbCellera, Optix, and Ari.
Check out who else is hiring on our Vancouver Tech Journal Job Board »
Growing your team? Post a job with us »
đź’ˇ Ideas and insights
Roger Patterson, co-founder and president of Later, writing in Entrepreneur: Why Creators Can Weather a Recession Better Than Big Business
Suzanne Gill, president and CEO of Genome British Columbia, musing on LinkedIn about her transition into the role
Kathleen Reid, founder of Switchboard Public Relations, on the Marketing News Canada podcast, talking about how to connect with tech reporters, among other topics. Listen »
Sumeru Chatterjee, co-founder of a stealth SaaS startup, writing on LinkedIn: Most folks don’t understand their startup stock options »
Chris Neumann, general partner at Panache, writing on his blog about high-velocity fundraising — what it is and why it’s the best approach for most early-stage founders.
Tessa Seager, B.C. director of government affairs for the Council of Canadian Innovators, writing in the Vancouver Sun: Premier Horgan’s legacy in the tech sector largely dependent on actions of his successor
👋🏾 Before you go…
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