Startup ecosystem stories

Forum crowns Door Gurus, NovaSonix Healthcare and Quip Medical in Vancouver as women founders' pitch event marks 10 years and raises CAD $1.52 million.

Xero expands its Canadian engineering footprint with a Vancouver hub focused on AI, the Accounting Engine and Anthropic integrations.

Alberta's new IP office, backed by AUD $8 million, will help researchers and founders protect ideas and turn them into local jobs and ventures.

Founders should treat lawyers less like transactional advisers and more like long-term partners who can shape confidence, reduce friction and support growth.

Canadian coalition launches to connect early-stage investors as founders face shrinking pre-seed funding and greater reliance on foreign capital.

Wagepoint hires Alexander Gonçalves to lead sales and marketing as the Canadian payroll software firm intensifies its growth push for small businesses.

Capsule Security emerges from stealth with $7 million backing to police AI agents at runtime as enterprises widen their use.

OpenAI buys TBPN, adding Silicon Valley's influential daily tech talk show to its Strategy team while pledging editorial independence.

Valencia-based Maisa lands a place among Gartner's four global Set Diamonds as businesses seek auditable AI workers for regulated sectors.

Harness says its AI tools tackle the post-code bottleneck as it lands No. 24 on Fortune's 2026 innovation list, alongside rapid growth and new funding.

Canada founders urged to buy local, back strategic start-ups and build resilient systems as speakers warn sovereignty talk is becoming too vague.

Xero to embed Anthropic's Claude across accounting tools as JAX gains automation for cash flow, invoices and scenario analysis.

AI creator platforms launch awards with USD $90,000 prize fund as virtual personalities move deeper into the online economy.

Oasis raises USD $120 million to expand its AI-first access control platform for non-human identities across large enterprises.

Arduino and Qualcomm launch a global Hackster contest around the new AI-focused UNO Q board, giving away 300 units to developers.

AI video platform PixVerse becomes a unicorn after a record Asia Series C funding round valuing the company at over USD $1 billion.

Wonderful secures USD $150m Series B at a USD $2bn valuation to scale its agentic AI platform and triple headcount for global expansion.

OpenAI brings its Codex desktop app to Windows, targeting the nearly half of professional developers who use the platform daily.

From runway to boardroom, Australia's pageant stage doubles as a high-stakes PR lab for purpose-driven personal branding in 2026.

One in four women has left venture capital in five years, spurring calls for data-driven fixes to stalled careers and leaky retention.