👋 Good morning, and welcome to (or welcome back to) VTJ’s Sunday Briefing: your weekly digest of the city’s innovation news, deals, insights, and more.
Allen Lau, founder of Two Small Fish Ventures, recently made the case that technological depth is not just a competitive advantage, but also a fundamental pillar for building successful companies that have the potential to redefine our world.
We know very well that Vancouver is home to many of these startups, some of which are keeping a low profile as they’re in stealth mode. One startup with roots to Vancouver — backed by investors at Y Combinator, Palantir, Notion, AI Grant, OpenAI, and Anthropic — took the time to give us the backstory of building an AI data analyst tool, how it acquired over 600K users, and why it’s on its way to becoming the world’s “most useful AI platform.”
Read on for the full story along with more inside news. Today’s briefing is 1,192 words and a four-minute read.
-Lisa
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🗞️ FROM VTJ
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🤝 FUNDING & DEALS
Ginger Desk, a virtual assistant service for health practitioners, raised $1.5 million in funding to transition from a largely service-based business using existing tech into a custom tech platform.
PacifiCan announced over $11 million in funding to 1QB Information Technologies, SFU, and UBC to solidify Canada's reputation as a leader in quantum science.
TELUS is investing $148 million in Vancouver to fuel innovation and drive economic growth — including using AI and advanced analytics to plan new infrastructure build.
Vancouver Entrepreneur Forum put a call out for its “Dragon’s Den-Style” pitch event that will bring together founders and BC’s most active investors in the clean-tech transportation space.
Get the latest funding and deals announcements and stories curated in our Members-only Morning Report.
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Upcoming Webinar
The Latest Trends in Tech Sector Employee Benefits: Unpacking the Results from TAP Network's 2024 Group Benefits Survey
Join TAP Network and HUB International for a look at the latest trends and emerging priorities in employee benefits within Canada's tech sector.
June 25: 9am – 10am PT
🗞 IN OTHER NEWS
Elaine McAnally, shared her founding story behind the recently launched Green Forest XR, a mixed reality learning platform that helps neurodivergent children develop critical skills through creative and immersive gameplay.
Clarius Mobile Health, the wireless ultrasound producer, is partnering with Novartis, a pharmaceuticals company, to improve access to ultrasound technology in Canada for detecting psoriatic arthritis in patients.
Photonic, a quantum computing company, announced a significant milestone on the path to commercially relevant quantum systems putting Canada in a great position to lead.
Metraspecal, a software company, is partnering with Armada, the first full-stack edge computing platform, to enable real-time computer vision using hyperspectral sensor and satellite data in remote locations.
KPMG and Microsoft are expanding its operational risk skills development centre across Canada to upskill business leaders with education and training in generative AI and cybersecurity.
💡 IDEAS & INSIGHTS
Melissa Kwan, founder of eWebinar, an automated webinar solution combining pre-recorded video with real-time interactions and live chat, opened up about how she saved her company when it once had 90 days of runway left.
Roula Meditskos, senior manager at KPMG Canada, shared key takeaways from Vancouver’s AI Summit 2.0 — from the biggest AI challenges to the need to form radical partnerships and more.
Ve Sharma, co-founder and CTO of Ad Aduris, a platform that helps digital publications convert their articles into high-quality audio, listed strategies on how the startup saved over 30K in cloud costs.
The Canadian Food Innovation Network, which helps food and beverage companies find funding, collaborators, and resources, released a whitepaper on how tech adoption can flatten the food adoption curve.
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COAST Talks: Indigenous Blue Tourism
Join the COAST webinar with the Indigenous Prosperity Centre (IPC) on June 7, 11am-12pm, exploring Blue Tourism from Indigenous perspectives. Learn how Indigenous wisdom fosters environmental balance and cultural preservation in tourism. Hear experts discuss Indigenous entrepreneurship in tourism, highlighting innovative approaches and challenges. Gain deep insights. Register here.
👀 CAN’T MISS
June 2 - 7 | Vancouver Startup Week (VSW): VSW is a week-long celebration that builds momentum and fosters connections among entrepreneurs, investors, and leaders within the Greater Vancouver startup community. Learn from local companies that have grown to become globally recognized through the many panels, fireside chats, and hands-on workshops around town. Use our promo code VSWxVTJ20 for 20% off an all access pass.
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June 4 | Vancouver Tech Morning Coffee (new location: CBRE’s HTFG): Ease into the week with new connections and fresh ideas and inspiration by meeting the VTJ team and tech community through our weekly meetup series. And if you’re looking to collaborate or partner with the VTJ, be sure to find Nicole to talk ideas!
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June 6 | Careerin Tech Society - Vancouver Startup Ecosystem Panel + Dell Pitch Tour - Founders Boost Vancouver Demo Day: Join an exciting day of innovation, networking, and entrepreneurial insights. You’ll learn about the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in Vancouver’s thriving startup ecosystem from Brenda Bailey, BC’s minister of jobs, economic development, and innovation, Chang Han, lead EiR at e@UBC, and Kenneth Ip, CEO of Careerin Tech Society.
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June 9 | Vancouver Emerging Tech Showcase: The Knowledge Society (TKS), an accelerator for teenagers to solve the world’s biggest problems, will be showcasing its students’ projects with Vancouver's tech community through pitches, panels, and keynotes. With emerging technologies rapidly evolving and impacting our world, it’s more important than ever that the next generation is prepared and ready to make a positive future impact.
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