Software-as-a-service startup Dooly is another victim of the market downturn. The Vancouver-based SaaS firm, which uses AI to help salespeople, let go of a dozen of their 100-strong team. Kris Hartvigsen, who founded Dooly in 2014, expressed his sentiment surrounding the decision in a post on LinkedIn. “We might be a SaaS company where most […]
Origen Air Secures Seed Capital to Commercialize Plant-Based Office Purification System
Origen Air has secured a seed funding round in order to accelerate its commercialization efforts, the Victoria-based startup announced this month. Origen raised $1.5 million through a strategic investment from First Inflection Business Advisors, a Toronto-based organization which provides seed capital and business expertise targeted to early-stage Canadian technology companies. The BC startup is aiming the investment […]
Hootsuite Hammered by Downturn, Cuts 30% of Staff
Tech firms across Canada continue to face significant headwind. In just the Vancouver area, stable tech firms Unbounce and Article saw major layoffs within the past week. Across the land, we’ve seen rapidly growing companies like Ottawa’s Shopify and Toronto’s Clearco abruptly reverse course. Now it is Hootsuite’s turn. Despite scaling back hiring plans earlier […]
Four Fun Facts You Didn’t Know About Water Tech in BC
Is water tech a hidden gem of the clean tech sector? At least one BC organization believes so. Invest Vancouver suggests water tech “provides an untapped economic opportunity for the Metro Vancouver region,” serving a multi-billion dollar global market. Wait—what is “water tech”? The term encompasses technology that mitigates risk for utilities and end water […]
Victoria Startup MarineLabs Floats Tech to Gain Insight on Sooke Basin Decline
The ocean has a lot to tell us—but how to listen, and what to do in response, isn’t always obvious. Enter Dr. Scott Beatty’s MarineLabs Data Systems, a Victoria-based coastal intelligence company. This BC startup has created smart technology that can be attached to any floating surface that monitors wave activity wherever their sensors are […]
UBC Researcher Earns Funding Award to Advance High-Tech Handheld Biosensor
A University of British Columbia professor is leveraging the science of light and silicon to develop incredible technology: a credit-card-sized biological sensor able to collect chemical information from a sample, such as blood or saliva, and convert it into a signal that can be communicated. The work of Electrical and Computer Engineering professor Sudip Shekhar is so […]
‘Serious Game’ Developed in Vancouver to Train Future Cultural Industry with Fun AI
You are appointed as the CEO of a brand new interdisciplinary arts centre—a culture hub designed for tomorrow’s world. As you’re making strategic decisions and reacting to global and local events, which principles and values will guide your choices? Future Arts Centre is a “serious game” that is also a potential simulation for real life: while […]
Vancouver’s Little Green Bamboo Looks Beyond Downturn with Long-Term Investment Lens
Amidst a market downturn that may lead to a “venture capital winter,” one Canadian fund is looking to stand out. Founded in Vancouver in 2019 and operating quietly since 2020, Little Green Bamboo is a $20 million rolling fund seeking to “provide both financial and human capital to founders during the current slowing financial environment,” […]
Article Trims 200+ Employees After Losing Same E-Commerce Gamble as Shopify
Another one bites the dust. From Unbounce to Clearco to Shopify, Vancouver-based Article is the latest in a long line of Canadian technology firms who after recently experiencing marked growth abruptly shifts to significant layoffs. “Today is a very difficult day at Article,” CEO Aamir Baig wrote in a memo. “This is my fault.” Baig let […]
Unbounce the Latest Tech Firm in Canada to Face Unexpected Layoffs
From launching its “next phase of growth” to trimming staff within two months: Unbounce is the latest technology company in Canada to face sudden layoffs in the midst of a global downturn. “Today we said goodbye to 47 talented people as part of a company-wide restructure across the Unbounce and LeadsRx teams,” wrote chief executive […]