Good morning! We all know the adult urge to say “but after this week things will slow down.” That’s probably not going to be the case next week… But, with events like these and plenty more on our events calendar, it’ll be worth it:
Monday, June 13: TechVancouver with Tiggy and CocoNFT
Tuesday, June 14: Vancouver Tech Morning Coffee
Thursday, June 16: 2022 Technology Impact Awards Finalist Announcement
To avoid any more busyness, let’s get to today’s briefing. It’s 1,055 words, a 4-minute read.
- James, @jimmermatthews
How COAST seeks to take oceantech to the next level
The Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies is building an innovation hub on Vancouver Island to support B.C.’s burgeoning bluetech businesses. » Start reading.
42 B.C. startups to watch, according to New Ventures BC
These startups are progressing in the New Ventures BC Competition, one of North America's largest technology business challenges. » Start reading.
Nectarine Credit set to shake up neglected credit application process
The Victoria-based company today announced a partnership with Creditsafe to provide companies with a credit decision in seconds. » Read now.
Y Combinator invests in Vancouver’s Metriport as part of Summer ‘22 cohort
They’re the latest in a growing line of local startups to be selected for the California-based accelerator program. » Start reading.
UVX wins $165K to further quest for air purification
The challenge, run by Spring and presented by the Telus Pollinator Fund for Good, shines the spotlight on healthtech innovators. » Get the full story.
Scoop: Former LifeSciences BC chief Dr. Lesley Esford has joined SFU VentureLabs as executive director
Previous leader Virginia Balcom is now overseeing strategic marketing at B.C. quantum computing startup Photonic. » Start reading.
Helping innovators and changemakers tell their stories
Switchboard Public Relations works with some of the most progressive and innovative teams in the tech sector.
Tech leaders know their products and services are brilliant, but sometimes need help explaining why they matter and how they will create positive change. Switchboard communicates game-changing ideas to target audiences in a way that’s accessible and exciting.
Is your team on a mission to disrupt the status quo? See how the country’s top tech PR firm can help you.
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🤝 Funding and deals
Victoria-based Swede, LetHub, and Frontly secured investment from Sprout.vc, a seed-stage venture and mentor capital firm with a Western Canada focus. » Get the full story in Victoria Tech Journal.
Burnaby-based TrendiTech raised $6.2 million in seed funding for its BioTrim technology. » Start reading.
Clio has achieved USD $100 million in annual recurring revenue, aka centaur status. » Continue.
Kamloops-based Vivacity Technologies secured $100,000 of NRC IRAP funding to support R&D in the Public Key Infrastructure space, focused on authenticating device identities and providing the technological foundation for securing end devices against cyber security threats. » Continue.
PayShepherd, a cost management tech company, secured $3 million. » Continue.
Luxxfolio, a local digital asset company, secured a CAD $2 million investment from BIGG Digital Assets Inc. » Continue.
Kobalt is collaborating with RBC to enhance SME business cybersecurity resilience. » Continue.
Victory Square Technologies, the local innovation incubator, announced that the net asset value of its portfolio companies doubled from $51 million to $102 million. » Proactive Investors.
Vybe Network, a data infrastructure solution built for the Solana blockchain, raised a USD $10.5 million round of investment from FTX, with additional participation from Sino Global, Staking Facilities, Serum, Panony, Tess Ventures, Contango, Canonical Crypto Fund and EBT Group. » Continue.
Junction, a local digital business training and consulting firm, has acquired eLearningU, an online training platform for tourism marketing. » Continue.
OnTraccr, a construction workflow automation software startup, closed $400,000 in pre-seed funding. » Continue.
Partner message from TELUS
Access to reliable connectivity is crucial for communities
For Fraser Valley’s Chawathil First Nations, connectivity empowered the community to bolster existing community infrastructure to build a sustainable future for generations to come.Learn how the right wireless policies can bridge digital divides and accelerate 5G connectivity for all Canadians.
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🗞️ In other news
Nexii Building Solutions was featured in the New York Times: Can a Start-Up Make Sustainable Construction the Next Frontier in Eco-Business?
The Technology Partnership (TTP) and Ionomr Innovations Inc. are working together to lower green hydrogen production costs through a partnership that will demonstrate a new green hydrogen electrolyser design for mass production. » H2 View.
Jay Crone, a former partner with Telus Ventures, has joined Deloitte Ventures as managing director. » LinkedIn.
Microbiome Insights was awarded an Innovative Solutions Canada contract by Health Canada to enhance regulatory testing for its microbial biotechnology product. » Continue.
TIMIA Capital changed its listed company name to Montfort Capital after tripling in size. » Continue.
The World's Smartest Robot Is Living in Vancouver: A feature on Vancouver’s Sanctuary AI in Bloomberg
B.C.’s Carbon Engineering is scaling up its efforts to help solve the climate crisis—and quiet the naysayers. » The Logic.
💡 Ideas and insights
Erin Gee, writing in d3crypto: Elections BC approved crypto campaign donations: Vancouver's on the front lines of Web3 innovation, how far is too far to test the limits?
Dejan Pralica, CEO of SoleSavy, writing in Entrepreneur: How Big-Name Sneaker Brands Are Racing Into the Metaverse
Wal van Lierop, founding partner of Chrysalix Venture Capital, writing in Forbes: The SEC Is Fed Up With ESG Greenwashing
Greg Gunn, CEO of Commit, commenting in CBC on Elon Musk forcing Tesla employees back to the office
Jason Smith, CEO of Klue, joined Alejandro Cremades’ podcast to discuss raising $81 million and top tips when launching a startup. » Listen now.
Colin Macrae, co-founder of Fluency Leadership, writing on his agency’s blog: How Do You Lead in the Hybrid World?
Mack Flavelle, founder of NFT production studio Big Head Club, joined Zima Red to discuss the ideation and launch of CryptoKitties and the creation of Dapper Labs. » Listen now.
Chris Neumann, general partner at Panache Ventures, writing on his blog: Can Vancouver be the next Austin?
Mike Stephenson, CEO of addy, writing at Inc: 3 Traits of Monogamous Co-Founders (and Why You Need One)
From the VenturesLabs blog: 3 key takeaways from #vtjtalks: Scaling From Idea to $1M-10M and Beyond
Shafin Tejani, CEO of Victory Square Technologies, writing on Forbes: What’s Next For Digital Healthcare