There’s always that one road, isn’t there? The slow road, always backed up by traffic, or the intersection held up by a red light that goes on for a bit too long. Kitchener, Ont.-based Miovision Technologies wants to fix that road and ones like it across the globe through a new partnership with one of…
Canada has avoided a single, formal definition of “sovereign AI,” allowing its meaning to be shaped instead by a series of policy decisions. Recent announcements surrounding federal funding for data-centre expansions, support for domestic cloud partnerships, and assurances around data residency have each been presented as evidence of sovereignty in action. Taken together, these moves…
Slate has closed $1.3 million CAD in pre-seed funding from Toronto’s N49P and North Exit Ventures to build embedded lending infrastructure, the company announced last week. The round, which was raised via a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE), closed earlier this month, supported by undisclosed strategic angels. Founded in late 2025 by CEO Scott…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Once the last ornament is packed away and the holiday chaos gives way to quiet, it’s not just us that are lost between festive cheer and the routines of daily life; your home may feel like it’s in limbo, too. But this in-between moment is actually the perfect opportunity…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In a world where headlines often spotlight urban crime, New York City just made history— but for all the right reasons. According to the NYPD, 2025 marked the lowest number of shootings ever recorded in the city’s history, a milestone city leaders are celebrating as a testament to strategic,…
Toronto-based cryptocurrency infrastructure developer Sequence has been acquired by blockchain payments platform Polygon Labs to help Polygon scale up how it moves payments and other financial transactions on the blockchain. Polygon says that it paid more than $250 million USD for the two startups The Cayman Islands-based company acquired Sequence and another crypto firm, Seattle-based…
What do an industrial composter, AI-driven genomics, and steam-based weed control have in common? Ostensibly nothing, but they’re all on the receiving end of a nearly $2.2-million funding announcement from Innovation Saskatchewan. On Monday, the government agency announced it would invest the money through its Saskatchewan Advantage Innovation Fund (SAIF) and Agtech Growth Fund (AGF)…
Medventions has launched a pilot program in Newfoundland and Labrador to immerse budding entrepreneurs in the inner workings of a hospital. Founded in 2016 by Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto, Medventions gives post-secondary students and recent graduates hands-on experience in a hospital for four months to identify healthcare needs and invent the technologies to address…
As AI tools have advanced, anyone can now open ChatGPT to “vibe code” their way to a rudimentary app or generate an image for an online misinformation campaign—which often leaves kids the difficult task of separating what’s real from the AI slop. “Will kids use AI to help facilitate writing their code? Absolutely. But at…
Amid the agentic commerce race, Shopify has been investing heavily in new products, features, and infrastructure to help merchants selling on its platform take full advantage of AI, which many believe is poised to reshape online retail. The Ottawa e-commerce giant announced yesterday that it has co-developed a new open standard for AI agent-based shopping…
