startups News

Each week hundreds of new startups are launched. Many of these will fail, a few will succeed. Working out those with the best prospects can be challenging. To assist with this, ten of this week's hottest startups are presented.

Hustle: The power of textationships

By Brett Wilkins

San Francisco - Once upon a time, telemarketing reigned supreme. Today, it’s dying a slow death before our very eyes. Budgets are being slashed, personnel are being reassigned or let go and fewer and fewer prospects are actually picking up the phone to answer calls.

New digital disruptors are non-digitally native organizations

A new survey seeks to understand the impact of digital disruption on incumbent, non-digitally native organizations. The report predicts that these firms will become the next major tranche of digital disruptors.

NEXT Canada presents 12 early-stage startups on Demo Day

Toronto - NEXT Canada ran their 2018 Demo Day, which took place on Tuesday, August 14, with the focus of this year's event is on 12 early-stage startups, drawn from across a wide range of industries.

Canadian startup betting big on motion-gesture technology

Motion-gesture technology is set to take over where voice-recognition technology left off as the new frontier of human-machine interaction, and Canadian startup Motion Gestures says it wants to bring this tech into the consumer mainstream.

Black women–led startups in the US more than doubled in a year

ProjectDiane publishes a report every two years that provides a closer look at the state of black female founders in the US.

Startup announces breakthrough in drought-resistant crops

Israel’s PlantArcBio has isolated the genes that help desert organisms survive. Now, the University of Wisconsin-Madison will test the genes’ impact on soybean yields.

US Department of Defense looking for startups to work with

The United States Department of Defense has launched a new competition, with prize money, to "(link) innovators directly with the army to spur innovation."

Q&A: Insight into Toronto’s developing tech scene Special

Toronto - Toronto is becoming synonymous with innovative technology startups and there’s talk about the city coming to rival Silicon Valley. A spokesperson from startup support community OneEleven helps interpret this dynamic.

OneEleven to host fifth summer social Special

Toronto - OneEleven is ready to welcome Toronto’s startup community and technology innovators to its fifth annual Technology Summer Social, an event that takes place on July 19.

Three startups disrupting the insurance industry

The insurance industry may not be entirely prepared for digital transformation, but insurtech is coming. Here are a few of the startups disrupting the insurance industry.

Startup Valencell secures $10.5 million in Series E funding

Raleigh - Valencell, the leading innovator in wearable biometric sensor technology, announced on June 13, it has secured $10.5 million in Series E financing.

Female-owned startups a better investment, study says

A study released by the Boston Consulting Group and MassChallenge found that female-founded startups receive less than half as much as their male counterparts, but do more with the money they're given.

This week saw some big funding rounds across all sectors

The past seven days saw some truly massive funding rounds across all sectors. From a new way to sell property to an insurtech startup, here are three big winners from this week.

Slower and lower funding leaves Canadian startups trailing U.S.

A University of Toronto study found that the Canadian innovation sector is lagging behind the U.S. because of the amount of money being invested into the space, and at what rate startup companies get that money.

Tiny African start-ups draw interest after slow start

By AFP

Paris - African high-tech startups are minuscule compared with their US and European peers but they are finally gaining momentum and attention in some of the world's most promising economies.

Augmented reality startup Blippar is abandoning Silicon Valley

By Business Insider

One of the UK's best-funded startups, augmented reality firm Blippar, is abandoning Silicon Valley after shutting its third office in the space of two years.

VC firm launches fund to invest in black women founders

A venture capital firm that invests in "underestimated" and underrepresented founders has just announced a new $36 million fund that will invest exclusively in black female founders.

New technologies impacting the weekly trip to the grocery store

We have talked about grocery shopping in the past and how it has changed in the digital age. But besides bringing the shopping experience online for customers, there are other technologies having an impact on the industry.

Taking on microfibers — One washing machine at a time

Microfiber pollution is unknown to most people, but they pose a risk to our marine and freshwater aquatic habitats and humans. Several products have come on the market recently that tackle this problem, one laundry room at a time.

Apple and Microsoft make key acquistions

This week saw Apple acquire Canada-based Buddybuild, a cloud service for building, testing, and deploying mobile apps and Microsoft purchased cloud solutions and data platform Avere Systems.

Kelowna on track to become Canadian hub for high-tech industry

Kelowna - Kelowna, British Columbia is becoming a Canadian hub for the high-tech industry. Not only are local entrepreneurs launching start-ups, but established companies are moving to the Okanagan Lake city.

Canadian insurtech joins U.S. accelerator program

Quebec - Canadian Insurtech company Ubios has been selected to join an accelerator program in the U.S., established to assist startups attempting to disrupt the insurance sector.

Telecom startups investing in AI

The future of improved telecommunications services is being driven by startups. From AI integration to cloud security, startups are showing big telcos how to innovate through the use of digital tools and grow the industry.

Startup banks using AI to disrupt finance sector