Good morning and welcome to an agritech-heavy issue of the Sunday Briefing. But first, here’s a sample of the upcoming activities from our new events calendar:

• Tuesday, May 31: Vancouver Tech Morning Coffee

• Wednesday: June 1: Starting and Building a Career in UX Design

• Thursday, June 2: Webcouv3r x AngelForum presents DAO NIGHT

Alright, now onto today’s briefing. It’s 748 words, a 3-minute read.

-William, @notionport

Key takeaways from Invest Vancouver’s agtech report

Metro Vancouver is a fertile ground for its young companies to flourish, the document suggests, if action is taken now. » Start reading.

Terramera project highlights latest Agricultural Clean Technology Program funding

A $2 million federal investment in the agtech company was announced at its Vancouver headquarters. » Start reading.

Notable Deloitte Technology Fast 50 winners over the years

In anticipation of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 program’s looming application deadline (June 10), we took a look at the accomplishments of some past participants. Here's what Avigilon, Pixieset, Jane Software, and PDFTron Systems Inc. have been up to. » Start reading.

Well-known Vancouver street artist iHeart releases his first NFT project

The creator explores how street art – a public media – can interact with the exclusive digital world of NFTs. » Start reading.

Unbounce appoints three new executives from Indochino, RBC Ventures and Hootsuite

New hires to help guide next phase of growth of the company. » Get the full story.

Deloitte Technology Fast 50 program

Canada’s Technology Fast 50™ program recognizes businesses that are transforming everything. Open to companies large and small, public, and private, Fast 50 winners share an ongoing quest to connect today with tomorrow. The awards are presented in five distinct categories that characterize and define the unique strengths of Canadian innovation. Categories include: Technology Fast 50, Enterprise 15, Companies-to-Watch, Clean Technology, and North American Technology Fast 500.

Learn more about Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 winners over the years here.

*Sponsored

🤝 Funding and deals

• The Province of B.C. and the Netherlands signed an agreement meant to support B.C.’s food supply by developing agricultural technology opportunities in both jurisdictions. » Continue.

• Vancouver-based iQmetrix is putting customer experience first with a $14 million acquisition. » BC Business.

• LimaCharlie, a cybersecurity infrastructure company with offices in Vancouver and Mountain View has closed $7 million CAD in seed financing. » BetaKit.

• GenXys Health Care Systems, Inc., a precision prescribing software signed a deal to advance precision medicine initiatives with Ohio-based Flexsus, the laboratory division of FlexHealth. » Continue.

🗞️ In other news…

• Uber Canada partnered with Wallbox Chargers, a leading provider of electric vehicle charging and energy management solutions worldwide, to offer home charging stations to more drivers on the Uber app. » Get the full story.

• BC tech recruiter VanHack surfs Covid waves. » Electronic Products & Technology.

• Vancouver fitness software startup Trainerize announced that it’s reached $20M ARR. » Martech Series.

• Canadian College of Technology and Business announced the launch of six new programs designed to address the growing skills gap in the technology sector, as well as provide a potential pathway for international students to immigrate to Canada. » Continue.

• Ethọ́s Lab is throwing a public block party to celebrate its new home in Mount Pleasant. » BCBusiness.

• Copperleaf Technologies appointed Paul Sakrzewski as its new president. The move follows the exit of Miranda Alldritt, who recently joined Bioform as chief business offer. » Continue.

• Drew Munro On How UpMeals’ Technology Can Make An Important Impact On Our Overall Wellness. » Authority Magazine.

• Mathew Smith joins BCIT as new Director, Centre for Welding Technologies and Metallurgy Research. » Continue.

• Black and White Zebra (BWZ) announced the appointment of Philip Gray as COO, who joins from Thinkific. » Continue.

💡 Ideas and insights

• Mitch Budreski, principal at Acorn Interactive Inc., writing on his firm’s blog: #vtjtalks: Scaling From Idea to $1M -10M | Our Takeaways on the Event

• Raghwa Gopal, CEO of Innovate BC, sharing the Local Tech Stories That Caught His Eye in May

• Chris Neumann, general partner at Panache Ventures, writing on his blog: No, VCs Don’t “Skip” Diligence

• Kimberly Kaplan, CEO of Snack in Authority Magazine on The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior Executive

• Michael Gilbert, CEO of Semios, writing at Entrepreneur: Farmers Don't Have Enough Water. Can AI Help?

• Matt Harper, chief commercial officer of Invinity Energy Systems, writing in Power Engineering International: Why a diversity of storage solutions will achieve renewable energy security

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