Cancon Podcast

"To compete in any field of technology, and especially AI, you have to be global." Like many Canadian tech companies, Untether AI started 2024 with a new CEO. Former Intel leader and Untether AI president Chris Walker explains why he came out of retirement for the role, and how he intends to capitalize on the company's "scaling moment." Sponsored by DiscoveryX Conference, Ontario’s premier innovation event: April 18 & 18. Recorded at CreatorClub, a one-stop hub for content creation empowering brands, agencies, and marketers to streamline their content creation process from start to finish.

“We kinda want to leave the internet.” Inspired by Canadian science fiction author and journalist Cory Doctorow, the BetaKit Podcast articulates all the ways we find the internet getting worse. Sponsored by the Master of Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MEIE) Program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Learn how MEIE can help accelerate your career or bring your startup idea to life. Recorded at CreatorClub, a one-stop hub for content creation empowering brands, agencies, and marketers to streamline their content creation process from start to finish.

“How often are they going to increase prices before Canadians say ‘that’s enough?’” Did Rogers (now #1 in consumer complaints) finally cross a line with a price increase so shortly after its merger with Shaw? Will Canadians (and our elected representatives) finally be riled into action? MobileSyrup telecom reporter Nida Zafar joins to discuss. Don’t hold your breath. Recorded at CreatorClub.

"We are so back." BetaKit reporter Josh Scott joins to play the most dangerous game: trying to beat his boss in identifying the biggest tech questions that will define 2024. With no answers given, no tech question is off the table. Sponsored by the Master of Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MEIE) Program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Learn how MEIE can help accelerate your career or bring your startup idea to life. Recorded at CreatorClub.  

“So many Canadian organizations today are sending their dollars, their economic capital, to AWS, to Azure, to Google. There really is no Canadian response to this today.” Tenstorrent senior director of business development Eric Duffy explains why the company’s leadership pedigree and open standard tech have attracted interest from Korean auto manufacturers and consumer electronic companies alike, before discussing the opportunities and gaps before Canadian hardware companies competing with Apple, NVIDIA, and Intel. Recorded live at ALL IN 2023 in Montréal. Sponsored by Float: Finance on auto-pilot. Originally aired October 22, 2023.

"We have industrialized grift in a way that is kind of unprecedented in human history." Canadian YouTuber Dan Olson (Folding Ideas) explains his battle against internet grifts, how his career changed after a viral video on NFTs, and why the metaverse was destined to be a dead mall. Sponsored by Goodlawyer. Originally aired May 5, 2023.

“I had to remind myself that SVB happened this year. Because it seems like it happened a bazillion years ago.” Rob and Douglas close out 2023 in style with a look back at all the major events in a crazy year before making 2024 tech predictions. Sponsored by Float, Finance on auto-pilot.

“The government doesn't have a great way of being able to kind of parse through and say, ‘this is bad and this is good.’ And, this is, I think, a key part of the problem.” TMU senior research associate Stein Monteiro and former NACO CEO Yuri Navarro join to discuss the successes and failures of the Start-up Visa program in relation to its predecessor, and how improving the program might be difficult without the right data. Sponsored by Float, Finance on auto-pilot.

“When I heard the news, I was stunned … Absolutely, it is going to be happening in Canada.” CMD Capital’s Matt Roberts joins for an emergency podcast on the sudden demise of OpenView Venture Partners, what caused it, and the likelihood that Canadian tech will see similar zombie funds north of the border. Sponsored by Float, Finance on auto-pilot.

"Verticalized AI applications right now are available, right now accelerating industry after industry." Canadian tech luminaries close the year discussing AI disruption, the state of SaaS, and what marketing should be saved for the DMs in this compilation of interviews recorded live at SAAS NORTH. Featuring Reid Robinson (Zapier), Joella Almeida (MedEssist), Solon Angel (Fresh Founders), Sarah Stockdale (Growclass), Danielle Gifford (Movement51), Patrick White (L-SPARK). Sponsored by Float (Finance on auto-pilot) and Ada (a full customer service team, powered by AI).

"If you're pension-backed you gotta deliver returns, buddy." OMERS Ventures senior managing partner Michael Yang recounts a turbulent year for the pension-backed VC firm, and what the future holds for "OV 3.0". Sponsored by Cisco Secure Firewall and Ada: a full customer service team, powered by AI.

"Capital efficiency is actually really sexy." Satish Kanwar (Good Future) and Katy Yam (Real Ventures) join for a special episode recorded live on the BetaKit Keynote Stage at SAAS NORTH, discussing the different paths available for Canadian entrepreneurs, and why 100,000 fewer are choosing to walk them compared to 20 years ago. Sponsored by Sponsored by Float (Finance on auto-pilot) and Cisco Secure Firewall.

"We all have to thank Elon Musk for all that amazing innovation and disruption that's happening. Many changes that he has brought to X are now driving that interesting innovation." Buffer Chief Product Officer Maria Thomas discusses how social media has changed over the company's 13-year history and how the company is building a headless ecommerce equivalent for posting 'content' on a fractured internet. Sponsored by Float (Finance on auto-pilot) and SAAS NORTH (use the code 'betakit25' to get your tickets).

"What happens when the technologists decide what they do is more important than the government and they don't want to play by those rules? Rob and Douglas hold a post-mortem on the fever dream that was financial innovation and competition in Canada before discussing what Minister Freeland's recent announcements signal about the government's intentions. Your interlocutors then unpack Marc Andreessen's Techno-Optimist Manifesto, its approach and intentions, and how it stands in direct contrast with US President Biden's recent AI executive order. Sponsored by Float (Finance on auto-pilot) and SAAS NORTH (use the code 'betakit25' to get your tickets).

“When you’re a FinTech you’re a second-class citizen when it comes to accessing infrastructure, and so you’re spending a lot of time trying to innovate on table stakes, which takes away from the actual innovation that you want to offer.” Wealthsimple VP and chief compliance officer Hanna Zaidi joins for a wide-ranging conversation on what's impeding financial services modernization, and what Canadians are missing because of it. Sponsored by Float (Finance on auto-pilot) and SAAS NORTH (use the code 'betakit25' to get your tickets).

“So many Canadian organizations today are sending their dollars, their economic capital, to AWS, to Azure, to Google. There really is no Canadian response to this today." Tenstorrent senior director of business development Eric Duffy explains why the company’s leadership pedigree and open standard tech have attracted interest from Korean auto manufacturers and consumer electronic companies alike, before discussing the opportunities and gaps before Canadian hardware companies competing with Apple, NVIDIA, and Intel. Recorded live at ALL IN 2023 in Montréal. Sponsored by Float (Finance on auto-pilot) and SAAS NORTH (use the code 'betakit25' to get your tickets).

"So there are good things about the state of the market today compared to where we were in the 2000s. There are things that are not as good, and then you have fundamental issues that occurred in the aftermath of the dotcom era that never got solved." Investor and Canadian tech archeologist Matt Roberts (CMD Capital) discusses his journey to investigate the last 20-plus years of venture capital in Canada, what he learned, and which parts of our past continue to rhyme. Sponsored by Dynabook—make smart business moves with Dynabook Tecra A40 & A50 laptops—and Cisco Secure Firewall.

"I profoundly believe that open source is the way forward for AI so that we avoid this monopoly of power."   Hugging Face Climate Lead + AI Researcher Dr. Sasha Luccioni discusses the need to make AI "less bad for the planet," how tracking carbon impacts and sharing data can help, and how the company she works for is trying to be the GitHub for AI. Recorded live at ALL IN 2023 in Montréal.   Sponsored by Big Data & AI Toronto and Cisco Secure Firewall.

"We don’t need more referees in Canada. We need more builders. Let other countries regulate while we take the more courageous path."   A COVID isolation emergency podcast, Rob and Douglas catch up on the latest tech news, which—surprise!—is AI-focused. Featuring: hot takes on the latest AI lawsuits, new uses to help combat climate change and the just-announced Voluntary Code of Conduct for generative AI (the one that Shopify's CEO said he would not support). We also gripe about the price of the new iPhones.   Sponsored by Big Data and AI Toronto, Oct 18 & 19. Get your tickets today!

"Everybody's trying to run their own business. Apple's trying to sell you devices. Google's trying to sell you ads. Our job is only to make you more secure."   Passkeys are here, and along with them renewed interest in the future of passwords from Apple and Google. 1Password CEO Jeff Shiner joins to discuss how passkeys will change the internet, and what they change (and don't change) about his company's business.   Sponsored by TechExit.io. Early Bird tickets end September 28th. Save $300!