I\u2019m here to tell you the beaver isn\u2019t real. And I can prove it.<\/p>\n
Today, we release the inaugural issue of BetaKit Most Ambitious<\/a>, an annual edition telling stories of bold ambition in Canadian tech. It\u2019s chock-full of Canadian ambition big and small, at home and abroad.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most Ambitious is the product of BetaKit\u2019s ambition: telling stories of Canadian entrepreneurs and innovators is what we do.<\/p>\n In February, I deputized you<\/a> to help identify Canadian tech\u2019s most ambitious, and boy howdy did you deliver. BetaKit received more than 500 recommendations pointing us to ambitious Canadian organizations and individuals. For every selection included in the issue, we worked hard to explain their ambition and why it matters.<\/p>\n Inevitably, there are many worthy Canadians not found in this year\u2019s Most Ambitious. It\u2019s encouraging to think that the ambitions of Canadian tech cannot be captured or contained in any single issue. It makes me excited to work on next year\u2019s issue\u2014there are so many more stories to be told.<\/p>\n But I\u2019m getting ahead of myself. Those attending Toronto Tech Week can exclusively nab a Most Ambitious print edition (check out our guide below for more details). Everyone else can read the digital version by heading to BetaKit.com.<\/p>\n If you score a print edition, send us a photo<\/a> of you holding it. If you see a BetaKitten at Toronto Tech Week, come say hi. We can\u2019t wait to hear what you think.<\/p>\n Douglas Soltys Build on your terms with OVHcloud<\/strong><\/p>\n OVHcloud provides transparent, sovereign cloud solutions that let you build and scale without vendor lock-in or hidden fees. With more than 80 services available, you have the flexibility to shape your infrastructure the way you need, supported by data centres in Canada and 44 locations around the world.<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re launching your first product or expanding an existing platform, OVHcloud gives you control over your digital journey, with reliable performance and clear, predictable pricing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Explore the possibilities at ovhcloud.com.<\/a><\/p>\n The BetaKit Guide: Toronto Tech Week<\/a><\/p>\n Unlike other tech happenings, this five-day unconference is community-designed, with over 300 events organized directly by builders, investors, boosters, and ecosystem heavyweights to meet the needs and priorities of the sector. That\u2019s a lot, so we made The BetaKit Guide: Toronto Tech Week 2025 to help you navigate it all.<\/p>\n As the official media partner of Toronto Tech Week, BetaKit will also deliver the coverage you need to see.<\/p>\n Like this exclusive interview with Toronto Tempo president Teresa Resch<\/a> ahead of her talk at Homecoming, Toronto Tech Week\u2019s sold-out mainstage event. Read on to understand why the Tempo \u201cis a startup in every way,\u201d and learn how Resch intends to use tech to give Canada\u2019s first WNBA team a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n G7 leaders conclude summit with commitments on AI and quantum<\/a><\/p>\n The leaders of Group of Seven (G7) nations reached consensus on a \u201ccommon vision\u201d for the future of quantum technologies and recognized the \u201cpotential\u201d for AI to grow prosperity at the annual summit, held this year in Kananaskis, Alta.\u00a0<\/p>\n The G7 leaders outlined their shared priorities and commitments in joint statements, as the Prime Minister\u2019s Office highlighted Canada\u2019s financial backing for each of the areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n AI startup Cohere and quantum startup Photonic took advantage of the festivities and got some facetime with G7 leaders this week. Cohere now has partnerships<\/a> with the Canadian and United Kingdom (UK) governments as it expands its offerings beyond enterprise AI into the public sector, while Photonic announced it will establish a research and development facility<\/a> in the UK.\u00a0<\/p>\n Toronto-Waterloo, Vancouver, Ottawa drop in Startup Genome\u2019s 2025 global ecosystem rankings as Montr\u00e9al, Calgary hold steady<\/a><\/p>\n Startup Genome\u2019s latest global startup ecosystem rankings have found that some of Canada\u2019s largest technology hubs have lost ground since last year, while others have remained strong amid a tough fundraising environment.<\/p>\n The results indicated that Vancouver, Toronto-Waterloo, and Ottawa have some room for improvement. According to the report, one of the common denominators was weak startup funding, as all three plus Montr\u00e9al scored relatively poorly by this metric. Calgary was the only exception.<\/p>\n Storytime Capital holds $14-million first close of Fund II to back more startups modernizing work<\/a><\/p>\n Toronto-based early-stage VC firm Storytime Capital held the first close of its second fund this week, securing more than $14 million CAD in commitments amid what remains a particularly challenging VC fundraising environment, especially for emerging managers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Storytime ultimately aims to close $25 million to $30 million for Fund II over the next year to back 20 pre-seed and seed-stage tech companies building what co-founder and managing partner Neil Grunberg described as \u201cthe future of work.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur children won\u2019t work the same way, with the same tools that we worked with, and we\u2019re leaning into that opportunity,\u201d Grunberg told BetaKit in an exclusive interview.<\/p>\n BrainBox AI CEO Sam Ramadori joins Yoshua Bengio\u2019s LawZero as co-president and executive director<\/a><\/p>\n LawZero has appointed Sam Ramadori as co-president and executive director as the non-profit gears up to develop safe-by-design AI systems. Consequently, Ramadori is departing as CEO of recently acquired Montr\u00e9al cleantech startup BrainBox AI.<\/p>\n Ramadori joins co-president, scientific director, and LawZero founder Yoshua Bengio. The organization said its co-presidency structure combines Bengio\u2019s scientific leadership with Ramadori\u2019s strategic and operational expertise.<\/p>\n In Ramadori\u2019s absence, co-founder and CTO Jean-Simon Venne has been appointed as the head of BrainBox AI under its new parent company Trane Technologies.<\/p>\n Chris Greenfield is no longer the managing director of OneEleven<\/a><\/p>\n Chris Greenfield is no longer the managing director of Toronto-based innovation hub OneEleven, BetaKit has learned. After a 10-month search to fill his position, Greenfield lasted just over a year at tech hub\u2019s helm.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes things just don\u2019t fit the way you hoped they would,\u201d Greenfield told BetaKit. \u201cOCI does important work funding innovation across Ontario, but in the end, our visions just weren\u2019t aligned.\u201d<\/p>\n FCAC commissioner shares update on Canada\u2019s open banking future, but makes no timeline commitments<\/a><\/p>\n The commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), Shereen Benzvy Miller, provided FinTech leaders with a progress update on the country\u2019s open banking plan this week, indicating the federal government is moving ahead with the much-delayed policy.<\/p>\n In an address at the Open Banking Expo on Tuesday, Benzvy Miller revealed that FCAC is working on a consumer awareness strategy, an accreditation process, and common rules for open banking\u2019s implementation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe envision a future\u2014not too far off\u2014where consumers can securely share their financial data with trusted providers at the tap of a button,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n StatsCan finds AI adoption has doubled in businesses, but hasn\u2019t yet affected headcounts<\/a><\/p>\n The amount of Canadian businesses using AI to produce goods or deliver services doubled between May 2024 and May 2025, according to a new survey from Statistics Canada, but the technology\u2019s effect on company headcount has yet to materialize.<\/p>\n The survey found that many businesses do not consider AI investment to be required for their operation, with 41.2 percent reporting it to be \u201cnot relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n Given the survey\u2019s sample time period, the ever-increasing presence of AI-first policies adopted by companies like Shopify and OpenText, this year has yet to be captured.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s digital sovereignty: why we can\u2019t ignore stablecoins<\/a><\/p>\n In an op-ed for BetaKit, Coinbase Canada CEO Lucas Matheson argues that, without real action, Canada will depend on foreign stablecoin infrastructure rather than building a strong domestic ecosystem.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCanadians will increasingly turn to US-denominated stablecoins, eroding the Canadian dollar\u2019s relevance in everyday transactions,\u201d Matheson writes.\u00a0<\/p>\n FEATURED STORIES FROM OUR PARTNERS<\/p>\n \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 Weekly Canadian Deals, Dollars & More<\/p>\n
Editor-in-chief<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/EN-ISV-600x300-DesignedforFreedoom2x-Charlotte-Bagnara.jpg\")
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