Missed some big moves over the last couple of months? This issue spotlights the ones that slipped by—$40M for ag-robots, a $100M growth fund first close, a permanent games tax credit, and a venture market shifting to bigger cheques,fewer bets. Plus new industrial tech capital, quantum and fusion momentum, and one high-profile bankruptcy—catch up below.
P.S. See you this week at #VTJTalks: The Founder’s Reset: How To Build Without Burning Out.
From The Journal
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Funding, Deals & More
BDC launches $200M Industrial Innovation Venture Fund II: BDC rolled out a new $200M fund to back early-stage industrial tech across advanced manufacturing, ag-tech, food-tech, extractives, and—newly—critical minerals, building on its 2019 fund’s portfolio.
Read more →Photonic awarded $1M to build quantum-powered defence tech: Coquitlam’s Photonic secured an initial $1M CAD grant as a semi-finalist in DND’s IDEaS NORAD Modernization S&T contest to advance quantum networking and repeater tech for secure defence communications.
Read more →General Fusion raises US$22M, adds key investors to board: Following spring layoffs, General Fusion closed US$22M from nine investors, including Segra Capital and PenderFund, who also gain board seats—funding milestones on the LM26 fusion test reactor.
Read more →
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In Other News
Fasken has supported founders, investors and acquirers in the emerging tech ecosystem for over 30 years. We offer a full suite of services that scale as your needs evolve.*
Read more →Databricks opens Vancouver R&D centre as valuation tops $100B ambitions: San Francisco–based Databricks has launched a Vancouver R&D hub led by Ken Wong to build AI/BI, Unity Catalog Semantics, Databricks Apps, and petabyte-scale real-time analytics—amid expectations of a Series K valuing the company above $100B USD.
Read more →addy expands into a broader alternatives marketplace: Vancouver fintech addy released its biggest app upgrade yet, enabling multiple wallet cards tied to different Exempt Market Dealers to access a wider range of alternative investments.
Read more →Nimbus Synergies names Jason Robertson CEO: Nimbus Synergies promoted co-founder and managing partner Jason Robertson to CEO, with founding CEO Paul Geyer transitioning to chief investment officer to steer investment strategy.
Read more →
*Sponsored Listing
👀 Can't-Miss
This Wednesday, August 27: #VTJTalks: The Founder’s Reset: How To Build Without Burning Out
Building a startup is thrilling — but it can also be all-consuming. Join us and SaaS Wealth Insurance for an honest and energizing conversation about what it really takes to lead a company while protecting your mental health, setting boundaries, and staying aligned with your values. Hear from:
Lauren Sudeyko, Founder & CEO, Sleep or Die
Ada Slivinski, Strategic Advisor & Exited Founder
Michelle de la O, Co-Founder, MyHomemaker
Dana Stephenson, Co-Founder & CEO, Riipen
Brandon Chapman, Principal, SaaS Wealth Insurance
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