Canada's Arctic defender looks south? Ottawa-based Dominion Dynamics closed Canada's largest-ever defence-tech Series A just before our national holiday. It's the latest sign of Canada's defence spending gold rush after the Government of Canada said it would pour half a trillion dollars into reducing the country's military dependency on the US through domestic capacity. But while venture dollars are now flowing - Crunchbase found 2026 defence funding has already blown past record-breaking 2025 - Dominion and many other Canadian defence companies are still waiting for federal commitments to turn into actual contracts. This includes the smaller firms expected to play a key role in helping Canada meet its ambitious targets, which include boosting the share of defence contracts awarded to domestic firms from 43 to 70 percent. A BDC-Icebreaker report from June indicates that a great deal of those businesses are still struggling to secure a seat at the table. "Small companies have to take risks, and we need, as a country, to get companies to take risks," Pence told The BetaKit Podcast, in a soon-to-be-released episode (stay tuned). "We can't have a procurement system that over-indexes on not taking risks." While Pence has quickly garnered influence within the Canadian government, he still thinks there is a 50 percent chance Dominion's first contract lands in the US, where the company plans to establish an office and subsidiary later this year. Historic fundraising aside, it would be a troubling sign for Canada's ability to turn financial backing into buying if the first stop on Dominion's quest to build Canada's defence neoprime is south of the border. Josh Scott, Reporter AI is transforming how decisions get made across every industry, every role, every day. The real opportunity isn't just understanding the technology, but knowing how to use it responsibly, and how to turn data into insights people trust. That's where the University of Alberta's new Online Graduate Certificate in Data Science and AI comes in. Designed for working professionals, this fully online, part-time program builds practical, ethical, in-demand skills you can apply immediately - whether you're new to data science and AI or looking to modernize your expertise. Ranked #1 in Canada for AI research, and #5 in the world, the U of A offers a learning experience grounded in excellence and real-world relevance. Top stories from BetaKit. Shopify competitor settles Two years after Shopify sued Singapore-based competitor Shopline for producing and selling "a thinly-disguised knockoff" of a storefront template, the e-commerce firms have struck a deal to settle the case; Shopline will pay Shopify an undisclosed sum. Ahoy, Envoi! Entrepreneur, author, and event organizer Alistair Croll, has built Envoi, a virtual conference for AI agents. Think of it like "Moltbook" - the AI social network - "but a conference." This week, Startupfest attendees can send their AI agents to Envoi to make connections and advise their humans on who they should meet. Paystone restructuring London, Ont.-based payment processor Paystone filed for creditor protection in early June amid severe financial difficulties stemming from a yearslong acquisition spree. The company and one of its creditors are now presenting arguments for what should happen next. The participation problem A new Deloitte Ventures report finds that while more corporations are spinning up their own venture capital arms, corporate VC deal volume dropped by 20 percent last year because the largest players are investing less. Satellite lifeline Following disastrous earthquakes in northwestern and central Venezuela, Ottawa-based satellite firm Telesat is donating some of its communications capacity to help the country restore critical infrastructure and public safety operations. Digital elbows up Award-winning Canadian science-fiction author Cory Doctorow, known for coining the term "enshittification," argues that the best way to reclaim our digital sovereignty is to jailbreak Canada. Sponsored stories. Why cybersecurity teams are struggling to keep up with AI adoption Fortinet's agentic AI capabilities and unified security architectures provide understaffed teams with full visibility into company-wide AI data flows and automate the threat investigation process. How university-born healthtech research can make the leap beyond the lab As IEEE Quantum Week prepares to bring global researchers to Toronto this September, the themes from NVIDIA's Sam Stanwyck's keynote last year on moving quantum technology from research labs into practical use will continue to drive the discussions at this year's event. Deals and dollars. Who's cashing in, or out, this week: * Quantum tech firm BTQ will acquire France's QPerfect. (Vancouver) * Mecka AI acquires Docula as it builds the data layer for robotics. (Toronto/Vancouver) * Toast launches an AI-powered recruitment platform. (Calgary) * FinTech startup Composer gets acquired by US finance app SoFi. (Toronto) * InvestEco Capital raises $106 million for its fourth sustainable food fund. (Toronto) * Stathera raises $55 million USD for semiconductor clock tech amid the data centre boom. (Montréal) * Floqer reveals $2 million in funding as it helps companies like Perplexity and Wise gather customer data. (Halifax) * Spellbook releases a new AI product to streamline contract creation, signing, and renewals. (St.John's/Toronto) Main character. "There's often a lack of lead investor; we could play that role." AI and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon on The BetaKit Podcast. The refresh. Inside the fastest-growing Canadian AI startup you've never heard of As a BetaKit reader, you're likely no stranger to Turbopuffer, but the Ottawa-based AI search infrastructure startup is somewhat reclusive despite its rapid growth. The Globe and Mail gives us a rare glimpse into the company's rise and its founder's stubborn drive to fix problems on his own terms. Read BetaKit Most Ambitious 2026. In the 21st century, there is no sovereignty without technology. Meet the nearly 100 Canadian innovators strengthening our nation's autonomy, security, and prosperity in BetaKit Most Ambitious. BetaKit Podcast · July 1 "We don't want the digital divide, we don't want just a few people to benefit from this... distribution matters." Canada's Minister of AI and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon joins to discuss the country's refreshed AI strategy, digital sovereignty, and social media regulations. Listen now"

Paystone enters creditor protection, pursues debt restructuring, sale. London FinTech firm says debt-fuelled acquisition spree, billing error leave its options limited. London, Ontario-based payment processing company Paystone filed for creditor protection in early June amid severe financial difficulties, according to court documents. This news, which was first reported by Insolvency Insider, follows a yearslong acquisition spree. Since 2019, Paystone has purchased a swath of other FinTech firms, including DataCandy, NXGEN Canada, NiceJob, Canadian Payment Services, and Ackroo, financing these transactions in part using debt. "The decision to file for CCAA protection was not taken lightly, but due to the economic reality of the situation." While those deals "significantly expanded" Paystone's customer base, product offerings, and geographic reach, a report prepared by its court-appointed monitor AlixPartners indicates the debt the company secured to pursue this inorganic growth strategy has proven untenable given "operational and market headwinds," including a costly 2025 billing error. Paystone has obtained Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) protection and is now seeking approval from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for a sale to a new numbered company that co-founders, CEO Tarique Al-Ansari and CFO Abdullah Saab, control. This would entail a restructuring that would reduce Paystone's debt to $60 million. Paystone and its representatives are arguing this is the best available option. Paystone creditor the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) takes issue with that assertion. BDC Capital opposes this proposed sale and is pleading for a full, court-supervised sales process in the hopes of ensuring a more favourable outcome. BDC Capital has brought forward two letters of intent from other potential bidders, one from Shopley - an entity tied to former Ackroo owner Steve Levely - and another from Valsoft to demonstrate its case that other options should be explored. Paystone and BDC Capital are currently each arguing their case before the court. BetaKit has reached out to the lawyers representing both parties for comments. Founded in 2009 and formerly known as Zomaron, Paystone is a FinTech firm that provides integrated payment processing, gift card, loyalty and customer engagement software to small- and medium-sized businesses, serving 38,000 merchant customers across Canada and the US. The 118-person company processed more than $50 million in transactions and $7 billion in gross merchant volume over the past 12 months. Paystone says its high debt burden and rising interest rates, coupled with an April 2025 billing error that saw Paystone overcharge a sizeable amount of its customers by a factor of 100, led to its current liquidity challenges and triggered a default on its loan. This led Paystone to begin exploring a possible sale or new financing opportunity. "The decision to file for CCAA protection was not taken lightly, but due to the economic reality of the situation," Al-Ansari told BetaKit over email. "It was in support of the best interests of Paystone." As of April, Paystone had approximately $51 million in assets and $118 million in liabilities. BDC, to which Paystone currently owes nearly $12 million, is a subordinate creditor to Sandton, which the company owes more than $92 million. Al-Ansari said Paystone is "fully operational" at this time, and is currently engaged in "advanced talks" with Sandton for a debtor-in-possession loan to enable it to remain so during CCAA proceedings, which are still ongoing. As Paystone's proposed restructuring and sale is a related-party transaction, on June 30, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted a stay until July 10 to see if BDC Capital's objection can be addressed and a resolution can be reached. Feature image courtesy Paystone. OVHcloud: Your cloud. Your rules. Imagine a cloud that gives you the freedom to grow your way - open, sovereign, and free from lock-in.