Hi everyone,
This week was a reminder that Vancouver’s tech scene is firmly out of its “prove it” phase and deep into its “scale it—or get stuck” era.
Photonic’s $180 million raise and Web Summit’s first speaker announcement both point to a city playing on a bigger stage. At the same time, founders are navigating a colder, more complicated market—where the VC mood has shifted again, AI startups are hitting procurement walls, and building a business that runs without you is starting to look like a necessity, not a nice-to-have.
In between, there’s the steady work of an ecosystem maturing: new leadership in climate investing, real money going into ag tech, Transit getting modernized by local startups, and Canadian companies like VoPay expanding their global footprint.
If you’re trying to understand where Vancouver’s tech scene is actually headed in 2026, this week’s stories are a pretty good snapshot. Here’s what happened this week.
From The Journal
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Funding, Deals, and More
Funding helps B.C. farmers modernize operations with innovative tech: New provincial funding will help B.C. farmers adopt advanced technologies to improve productivity, sustainability, and competitiveness across the agri-food sector.
Read more →TransLink selects Vancouver-based Spare to modernize HandyDART: TransLink has chosen Vancouver startup Spare to modernize HandyDART’s booking and operations systems across Metro Vancouver, improving reliability and user experience for riders.
Read more →Ready to find your ideal workspace? For businesses of all sizes—from startups to enterprises—discover coworking space that fits your needs.
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In Other News
Is Canada ready to lead in both tech and resources? Resource Works explores whether Canada can become a global leader in both technology and natural resources—and what it will take to align innovation, policy, and investment to get there.
Read more →Sprung Studios launches Sonar, an AI tool to track how players feel about games: Vancouver-based Sprung Studios has launched Sonar, a new AI-powered tool designed to help game developers understand player sentiment and emotional responses at scale.
Read more →CanLII and Caseway AI reportedly moving toward settlement in copyright dispute: Legal tech organizations CanLII and Caseway AI are reportedly nearing a settlement in their ongoing copyright dispute, which has drawn attention across Canada’s legal and AI communities.
Read more →VoPay establishes global headquarters in Qatar: Vancouver-founded fintech VoPay announced it is establishing its global headquarters in Qatar, positioning the company to scale digital financial infrastructure across MENA, Africa, Southeast Asia, and beyond.
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