Issue 6
by Chakshu
Hi Readers👋🏻,
Welcome to the new issue of Decoded by Diwan.
Every week I write this newsletter where I share interesting and insightful links that either delights or helps you learn something new.
Let’s dive in & Join the community of intellectual minds! Cheers🥂
Newsworthy 📰
Twitter to consider $1000 charge to let businesses keep gold verification.
Rivian is reportedly working on some sort of micromobility option, possibly an e-bike or an e-motorcycle.
Arm is eyeing an IPO in 2023. Reminder: The chip design company was almost acquired by Nvidia last year, but the deal fell apart after mounting regulatory pushback.
OpenAI has launched a $20 monthly subscription for its premium version of the ChatGPT bot.
Elon Musk announced plans to share Twitter ad revenue with creators who purchase Twitter Blue.
Spotify founder Daniel Ek officially confirmed rumors of his new “health tech” startup, Neko, by quietly kicking off a body scanning service in Sweden
What I am Following 👀
EV battery material suppliers brace for gluts as competition heats up.
Ad Net Zero, a group dedicated to carbon reduction in the ad industry, has started a US chapter.
Amazon increased its spending on ads and promos to $20.6 billion last year, up 22% year over year, setting a new record for annual marketing spend, according to Ad Age Datacenter.
Worth Analyzing 📈
Startup Deals & VC Landscape in Canada? 🍁
- Funding
Peggy, a Toronto-based contemporary art marketplace, raised $10.8 million in seed funding. Real Ventures, ZVC, Garage Capital, Portage, Nomad Capital, and other angels invested in the round.
Jobber, an Edmonton, Canada-based operations management software provider for home service businesses, raised $100 million in Series D funding. General Atlantic led the round and was joined by Summit Partners, Version One Ventures, and Tech Pioneers Fund.
Conquest Planning, a Winnipeg, Canada-based financial planning software startup, raised CAD $24 million ($17.87 million) in Series A funding. Fidelity International Strategic Ventures led the round and was joined by Portage Ventures, BNY Mellon, and RBC.
Levr.ai, a Vancouver-based FinTech startup has secured $1 million CAD in pre-seed funding to provide small businesses in Canada with simplified loan applications, led by British Columbia-based Mavan Capital Partners and Alberta-based Sprout, which has previously invested in BC companies. Additional investors included Weave VC, AC100 VC, Red Thread Ventures, and local investors Teal Linde, Emily Davies and Paul Podolny.
Raven.ai, an Ottawa-based startup is looking to lessen Canada’s supply chain issues by streamlining production lines, after having recently secured $12 million USD in Series A equity financing. Raven’s round was led by Momenta Ventures and Chartline Capital Partners with participation from Celtic House Venture Partners and Export Development Canada.
- Acquisition
Montréal-based SaaS startup GSoft has acquired Québec City company Didacte as it looks to expand its suite of software solutions for employee engagement.
RBC has acquired the Canadian operations of United States-based proptech company and former partner Ojo Holdings to help its customers navigate the home-buying process.
Resources & Tools 📚
Same Energy - A beautiful visual search engine that you can use to find beautiful art and ideas.
Remove.bg - Upload an image to remove the background.
Before I take your leave, I would like to recommend — History Maps
Quote of the Day: "There are things in life that are bigger than ourselves. Life is short, live it well." — St. Jerome
Thank you for reading and I would really appreciate your feedback & support. 🤗
Until next time,
Chakshu Diwan