Six months after closing a major seed round, Ottawa-based defence tech company Dominion Dynamics has secured $139 million CAD ($100 million USD) in Series A financing to advance its mission to become Canada’s first line of defence in the Arctic. Dominion’s all-equity, all-primary capital Series A was led by existing backer Georgian, with participation from…
Montréal-based cleantech company Deep Sky has delivered the first-ever certified carbon credits using direct air capture (DAC) technology in North America. The news: Deep Sky announced on Monday morning that carbon captured and removed from the atmosphere by its facility in Innisfail, Alta., has been independently reviewed and registered as the first certified carbon removal…
While Canada’s corporate venture capital (CVC) ecosystem is growing, deal volume still dropped 20 percent in 2025, per Deloitte Ventures’ latest annual market report. The news: Published today, the 2026 report tracks activity among Canadian companies that have formed divisions dedicated to making venture capital (VC) investments in technology startups. It found the number of…
The venture capital branch of Saskatchewan’s Conexus Credit Union is investing in an AI platform that streamlines small-business loan applications. The news: Regina-based Conexus Venture Capital (CVC), the investment branch of Conexus Credit Union, announced today an investment in Vancouver’s Judi.ai. Judi is a FinTech platform that uses AI to help credit unions and community…
Canadians will have a new place to post Canada Day photos this year as Gander Social plans to roll out its platform nationwide on July 1. The news: The Canadian-built social media network today announced plans to bring the platform out of beta testing on Canada Day. Backed by more than 2,500 mostly grassroots investors…
Mecka AI has acquired a Vancouver startup to help it sift through “petabytes” of motion data to train robots. The news: Toronto- and New York City-based physical AI startup Mecka AI bought Vancouver’s Docula early this year, Mecka AI told BetaKit. The companies didn’t disclose deal terms, but all three members of the bootstrapped Docula…
There’s a rare bright spot in the fourth season of the dystopian sci-fi series Black Mirror. In the episode Hang the DJ, star-crossed lovers are actually AI simulacrums used to determine if their real-world counterparts will be a good match. “The idea is that, after an exciting day at the digital mirror version of the…
Episode Description: A study of more than 100,000 people across 125 countries found that people cooperate far more than they assume other people will. Hopeful news to receive in a world that feels so divided. This week Arielle and Karissa also cover gig worker rights getting their first-ever international vote, Pakistan scrapping its period tax…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Most people training for strength are working toward the wrong goal. The standard template of heavy loads, eight to ten reps, and cardio at the end (if there’s time) builds muscle. It does not reliably preserve speed, lateral capacity, or cardiovascular function across decades, according to strength and conditioning…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Up to 40 percent of food produced in Africa is lost between harvest and market. Not from drought or pest damage, but from the absence of one thing: refrigeration. The early numbers from solar-powered cold storage are hard to argue with. Provider Soko Fresh reports cutting spoilage rates from…
