🦄 Meet BC's newest crypto unicorn
...and Vancouver’s Web3 trailblazers. Welcome to the Sunday Briefing.
Good morning everyone. Welcome to the hundreds of new readers with us this Sunday. You’re invited to join me, the CEO of Visualping and the CTO of Opendoor at the final TechVancouver event of the year. It’s this Wednesday in Yaletown at 6pm. And there’s a bonus: Owl.co — which recently raised $37M — is hosting an afterparty at their office. I hope to see you there. » Register here.
Below, I’m excited to spotlight BC’s newest crypto unicorn, an insider’s look at the tech leaders paving the way for Web3 in Vancouver and 39 more stories.
Today’s Sunday Briefing is 1,512 words, a 5-minute read. Enjoy!
LayerZero Labs is Vancouver’s newest crypto unicorn: Report
The startup is raising $100 million at a $1 billion valuation according to The Information. » Get the details.
Web3 is coming, and Vancouver is at the centre of it
There is a lot of attention swirling around Web3, especially here in Vancouver. So, to help make sense of things, in an in-depth article, Launch Academy’s Ray Walia provides an introduction to how Vancouver tech leaders are paving the way for Web3 and the decentralized web.
His article covers what Web3 is, what people are saying about it, and who the key players are in Vancouver (including infrastructure builders, studios, organizers, artists, investors and more). Vancouver is Canada’s Web3 capital. » Start learning why.
Meet Paidia, the company making gaming inclusive
The newly-launched platform provides a place where women gamers and allies can play, create content and build community — harassment-free. » Starting reading.
How Tobyn Sowden grew Redbrick into one of BC’s fastest-growing companies
Inside the Victoria company's acquisition strategy and journey to $80 million in annual revenue. » Isabelle Kirkwood has the story.
Andrew Haughian is Pangaea Ventures’ bellringer
We chatted with Haughian, the firm’s general partner, about impact investing, his personal ups and downs and recent wins. » Start reading.
Jelly Academy is increasing Indigenous representation in tech-enabled sectors
Through its scholarship program, more than 40 Indigenous digital marketing graduates have entered the marketing and tech industries over the past month. » Learn more.
InBC appointed Jill Earthy as its CEO
InBC is the province’s new $500-million strategic investment fund. Earthy will start in the role effective mid-December. A stalwart of the BC business community, Earthy is currently the CEO of WeBC (formerly Women’s Enterprise Centre) and former chief growth officer of FrontFundr. » Learn more.
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.
Klue raised a $79M Series B round from Tiger Global and Salesforce Ventures. It's the firm's second major round, following a Series A in September 2020. » Get the full story.
Viridis Research, a Vancouver-based aquatech company specializing in wastewater treatment, won $100K in Spring Activator’s Fall 2021 Impact Investor Challenge Pitch Finale. » Read more .
Spare, which develops software for optimizing transportation and mobility systems, raised $18 million. The funding follows a $6 million seed round in 2019 and was led by Inovia Capital with participation from Kensington Capital, Link VC, Ramen VC, Ridge Ventures, TransLink Capital and Japan Airlines (as JAL Innovation Fund) and Nicola Wealth, amongst others. » Get the full story.
General Fusion closed an oversubscribed $130 million (USD) Series E funding round with participation from Temasek, GIC, the Jameel Investment Management Company, and the Business Development Bank of Canada and Segra Capital. » Continue.
Spring Activator partnered with the Telus Pollinator Fund for Good for its 2022 Investor Challenge. (Betakit) » Continue.
Minerva Intelligence Inc., a Vancouver-based AI company, was awarded a contract for the Canadian Coastal Zone Information System project sponsored by Public Services and Procurement Canada through the Innovative Solution Canada challenge stream. » Continue.
AMPD Ventures Inc. closed its recently announced non-brokered private placement for aggregate gross proceeds of $6.94 million. » Continue.
Open Ocean Robotics, makers of solar-powered autonomous boats, received a $2.8 million investment from the Government of Canada through Sustainable Development Technology Canada. » Continue.
Develop Your Leadership Skills
For 30 years Acetech has helped CEOs of technology companies become better leaders through peer roundtables, executive training, and an annual Leadership Summit.
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🗞️ In other news…
Angie Schick, head of New Ventures BC, was featured in Vancouver Guardian for her team’s work helping early-stage tech startups. » Continue.
TELUS released its 2021 Reconciliation and Indigenous Connectivity Report, which includes its first-ever Indigenous reconciliation action plan. » Continue.
AbCellera appointed Neil Aubuchon as chief commercial officer. » Continue.
GameOn Entertainment Technologies Inc, a Vancouver-based gaming company specializing in tech for media, sports and entertainment companies, announced a strategic partnership with Polygon Studios to build NFT-based games on Ethereum. » Continue.
Alex Persson was named the new chief executive officer of Victoria’s WeCommerce. » Continue.
Caty Tedman, Dapper Labs’ head of partnerships was named among 12 marketing execs leading the metaverse charge in Advertising Age. » Continue.
Sue Paish, head of the Digital Technology Supercluster, was named a BIV CEO of the Year. » Continue.
Thinkific is credited with helping TikToker Kat Norton make six figures a day selling courses online for between $297 and $997. (The Verge) » Continue.
Recon Instruments’ indelible impact on Vancouver’s tech ecosystem was chronicled by Kate Wilson and Dan Burgar. (BetaKit) » Continue.
lululemon is suing Peloton over Peloton's new apparel, which is apparently a “copycat”. (Fast Company) » Continue.
Dapper Labs has signed a partnership so “Top Shot owners will soon be able to immortalize their favorite clips in the real world with officially licensed looping video frames from Infinite Objects.” (The Verge) » Continue.
Next Decentrum has launched Crypto Pharaohs, an iconic collection of digital collectibles (NFTs) inspired by the culture and heritage of ancient Egypt. » Continue.
Train Fitness, a New Ventures BC top company, is using AI and an app to transform your workout. (BCBusiness) » Continue.
Kathleen Reid, founder of Switchboard PR, joined the Ellected podcast to chat Covid communications, pitching stories and the lack of support for female entrepreneurs who are also mothers. » Continue.
TrafficDriven Technologies Inc, Train Fitness and Moment Energy are featured in a recap of a conversation with the New Ventures BC 2021 top startups. » Continue.
Electronic Arts has begun construction on the expansion of its Burnaby campus. (Daily Hive) » Continue.
PrecisionOS received clearance from the FDA to market InVisionOS, its tool for surgeons that enables them to do preoperative planning on an Oculus Quest 2. » Continue.
💡 Ideas and insights.
Maria Pacella, managing partner at Pender Ventures, quoted in Wealth Professional: “The number one quality in a CEO is their ability to recruit, retain, and motivate their team.”
Michael Gilbert, CEO at Semios, writing in AgFunder: Agtech needs to bridge the trust gap with farmers
Boris Wertz, founding partner of Version One Ventures, writing on his firm’s blog: What will discovery look like in Web 3.0?
Samir Javer, product manager at Grammarly, writing on his blog: Airbnb and the travel revolution
Hussein Hallak, creative director of Crypto Pharaohs, writing on Hackernoon: Is It Too Late to Jump Into the NFT Space?
Shafin Diamond Tejani, writing on LinkedIn: “The most important quality a startup founder needs is ________.” » Read the responses.
Christy Wyatt, CEO of Absolute Software, in Inc.: Value the whole person, especially outside of the office
Ryan Holmes, Hootsuite founder, writing on Twitter: Innovative companies and five ideas for moving the dial on climate change
📅 See you soon in person.
December 8: TechVancouver: Join Vancouver Tech Journal, the CEO of Visualping and the co-founder and CTO of Opendoor on December 8 in Yaletown — and stay late for an afterparty hosted by Owl.co . » Register here.
December 9: Alacrity's Cleantech December Social: Enjoy a casual evening together with some drinks and snacks as you mingle and connect in person with cleantech industry peers. » Register here.
✅ Checklist.
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Post Script: A year in Vancouver tech in one tweet:
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