From Toronto (and Zurich) with love | The Sunday Briefing
From Toronto (and Zurich) with love | The Sunday Briefing
Dispatches from Collision and the Swiss Tech Experience. Welcome to the Sunday Briefing.
You’d be forgiven for thinking the VTJ team are globetrotters. This morning, we have dispatches from Toronto and Zurich for you. Speaking for myself, Switzerland was delightful yet it feels great to be home. That exhale when the return flight lands is one of my favourite parts of traveling (though I know this is counterintuitive). Speaking of being back in Vancouver, stay up to date on citywide events via our events calendar. I hope to see you at these ones:
Tuesday, July 12: Vancouver Tech Morning Coffee
Wednesday, July 13: A Conversation with BC Cleantech Companies
Thursday, July 14: Post-Collision Happy Hour Vancouver
Wednesday, July 20: Founder Photo Studio
Wednesday, July 27: Ask the Experts: Web3 & NFTs
Now onto today’s briefing. It’s 1,003 words, a 4-minute read.
-James, @jimmermatthews
Four highlights from the Swiss Tech Experience
I went to Switzerland so you don’t have to (but I think you actually may want to). In Zurich, B.C.’s own TrendiTech Inc., a Burnaby-based startup that’s creating robotics-powered food waste solutions, were winners of an application to join the Swiss Tech Experience. » Get the full story.
Vancouver Tech Journal reflects on four wild days at Collision Conference
Key takeaways from an event where Vancouver stole the show. » Start reading.
Vancouver-based Panevo among cleantech firms to receive $26.7M in federal funding
The startup helps industrial facilities manage energy and reduce emissions. » Get the full story.
Victoria-based Axolotl Biosciences is 3D-printing tissues that mimic human stem cells
The young company is leading a seismic shift in medical research and practice. » Get the full story.
Victoria-based FreshWorks Studio acquired by advisory services giant EY
The firm’s principals will join its new company as partners. » Get the full story.
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🤝 Funding and deals
7 Generation Capital, a Vancouver-based electric vehicle and charging infrastructure leasing company, raised $8 million in Series A funding led by FTQ and Siemens Financial Services. » Continue.
Despite a slow-down in the venture capital market, CIBC Innovation Banking has allocated $1.5 billion of growth capital to support later-stage startups. » FinSMEs.
Loop Energy signed a supply agreement with Tevva Motors worth over US $12 million. » Continue.
Zonetail announced a partnership to expand its service offerings with B2B2C booking platform Roar. » Continue.
Vancouver-based blockchain company Neptune Digital Assets has invested USD $2 million into Elon Musk’s SpaceX. » Continue.
PDFTron Systems Inc. has acquired PDFlib GmbH, a Germany-based innovator of PDF creation technology. » Continue.
Foresight Canada and the Mining Association of British Columbia announced Sepro Mixing and Pumping as the winner of the Mining Innovation Challenge: Reducing Water Use, which comes with a $150,000 prize and a potential opportunity to pilot their innovation. » Continue.
Partner Message from Float: Managing spend in today’s economic climate.
🗞️ In other news
Life Sciences BC announced the recipients of the 24th Annual Life Sciences BC Awards. » Continue.
Professor Darren Dahl was appointed as the new dean of the UBC Sauder School of Business. » Continue.
Vancouver-based Bruush Oral Care Inc., an electric toothbrush retailer, has filed for an initial public offering. » Morningstar.
15-minute food delivery startup Tiggy suspended Vancouver operations. » Business in Vancouver.
SFU Beedie alumni Charles Chang and Denise Williams were honoured with 2022 Outstanding Alumni Awards. » Continue.
Moment Energy and Hydra Energy were among the first recipients of the B.C. Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy climate solutions awards funding. » Continue.
Moment Energy also established a supply agreement with Mercedes-Benz Energy for second-life electric vehicle batteries. » Continue.
The founders of Omnicart help entrepreneurs make deliveries. » BCBusiness.
Jenny Dingus was hired as senior vice president of global sales at Clio. » Continue.
Fernanda Whitaker, director of partnerships at Innovate BC and Ingrid T. Polini, CEO at SafetyDocs were appointed co-chairs of the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce. » Continue.
Founder Photo Studio on July 20: Get new, high-quality headshots for your founding and/or executive team
💡 Ideas and insights
Elicia Maine, the Van Dusen Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Simon Fraser University, writing at The Conversation: Canada needs to invest more money into science innovation to help prevent the next global crisis
Dr. Sam Gharbi, co-founder of Arya Health, joined the How It's Med podcast to discuss what led him to create a physician-first EHR without any coding experience. » Listen now.
Penny AI co-founder and CEO David Abbey joined the AfternoonT podcast to discuss building a tool to help millions of direct sales consultants grow their business. » Listen now.
Raghwa Gopal, president and CEO of Innovate BC, joined the Re-Defined podcast to discuss lessons learned after 30 years of experience in the area of innovation and international business. » Listen now.
Igor Debatur, CEO of Uploadcare, shares a thread on why his company moved its HQ to Vancouver, and what’s happened since.