The BetaKit Podcast Channel

“ The company fascinates me… because they have such interesting concepts internally. One of them being ‘treat the company as a future adversary,’ which I have never seen anywhere in my career." Bluesky's head of trust and safety is a Canadian working out of Dublin. In town to speak at the BetaKit Town Hall for Toronto Tech Week, Aaron Rodericks first joined The BetaKit Podcast to discuss his journey from government to social media, lessons learned from working at Twitter, and how Bluesky might one day help you find joy online. -- The BetaKit Podcast is presented by Invest Northern Ireland—the gateway to international growth. International Tech companies are discovering countless advantages in Northern Ireland. That’s why it’s the #2 international investment location for US Cybersecurity firms, as well as Europe’s leading location for new Software development projects. Global Tech giants like Microsoft, Qualcomm, Nvidia, and Synopsys have already spotted the benefits we offer–such as our skilled workforce, supportive business environment, competitive costs, and expertise in sectors like Cybersecurity and Fintech. Let Northern Ireland help your business grow. Visit investni.com/americas to learn more.  -- The BetaKit Podcast is also brought to you by Motion—the control center for creative strategists.  Motion helps brands scale paid social campaigns faster by turning complex ad data into clear, actionable insights, offering tools like visual ad analysis, competitor tracking, and automated reporting.  Backed by a recent $30M Series B raise, Motion just launched AI Creative Strategists: virtual teammates that analyze creatives, run research, and use real ad data to generate more winning content. If you're ready to take on real marketing challenges and make an impact, Motion is for you.  Explore open roles at one of Canada’s fastest-growing tech companies. They're expanding their engineering and customer success teams at the moment! Visit motionapp.com/careers to learn more and apply.   Related links: BetaKit Town Hall showcases Canadian ambition at home and abroad Half of the internet is bots and they’re feeding you lies  

“I want to put ambition in people’s hands. You say it doesn’t exist—you’re going to hold it, you’re going to flip through it, you’re going to see it.” BetaKit CEO Siri Agrell joins to discuss today’s launch of BetaKit’s Most Ambitious: our first-ever print issue, telling stories of bold ambition in Canadian tech. Consider this your Most Ambitious director’s commentary companion, with highlights of some of our favourite stories from the inaugural issue, alongside a behind-the-scenes peek at how it was made. We also answer the most important question facing Canadian tech: how do you get an issue? The BetaKit Podcast is presented by Uber Canada and Cisco Canada. Uber Canada is helping to reduce drunk driving and make it safer to get around according to 87% of Canadian riders. Alcohol remains a factor in a quarter of crash fatalities on public roadways in Canada—and Uber Canada is working with MADD Canada (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) to bring that number to zero. With over 100,000 designated drivers on the road, Uber plays a vital role in this fight. See how the impact is real. -- In the race to adopt AI, security isn’t keeping pace. According to Cisco’s Cybersecurity Readiness Index, less than half of Canadian companies say their teams understand AI-related threats — while over half face critical cybersecurity talent shortages. Cisco Canada’s CTO, Rob Barton, says its new Cybersecurity Readiness Assessment tool helps organizations gauge their overall security maturity in the age of AI. Want to assess your cybersecurity posture? Take Cisco’s Cybersecurity Readiness Assessment and get your personalized score.  

“ Subversiveness is a way of changing the system. And I think what we're seeing right now is that all systems are changing.” Entrepreneur and Startupfest founding partner Alistair Croll has co-authored a new book, Just Evil Enough: The Subversive Marketing Handbook. If you’re wondering why your company is so bad with its go-to-market execution, or which rules need to be bent (or broken) to win in the attention economy, this book might shoot to the top of your summer reading list. Originally aired: Feb 02, 2025 The BetaKit Podcast is presented by The BetaKit Newsletter. Your inbox deserves better, and so do you. Stay informed on all things Canadian tech by signing up for The BetaKit Newsletter today.

“ That's what we wanna change, right? For future companies, more Canadian investors on the cap table so that we can see those benefits come back through investment, through mentorship.”  Jill Earthy, CEO of InBC Investment Corp—a provincial Crown corporation with $500 million of direct and indirect capital to deploy—joins to discuss the state of Canadian venture, the role of organizations like hers in BC’s growing tech ecosystem, and InBC’s future fundraising plans. Recorded live at Web Summit Vancouver. The BetaKit Podcast is presented by Motion: the control center for creative strategists. Motion helps brands scale paid social campaigns faster by turning complex ad data into clear, actionable insights, offering tools like visual ad analysis, competitor tracking, and automated reporting.  If you're ready to take on real marketing challenges and make an impact, Motion is for you. Visit motionapp.com/careers to explore open roles at one of Canada’s fastest-growing tech companies. Related links: At Web Summit Vancouver, BC wants to let the world know its cleantech hub is open for business Canadian VCs arrive at annual industry gathering in need of a “wake-up call”

“Be a customer of Canadian startups. This is the thing that every company needs. Nobody died from having too many customers.”  The CEO of the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, Cam Linke, joins to discuss the next phase of the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy and how Amii stands apart from other national AI institutes, Vector and Mila. Recorded live from the Upper Bound AI conference. The BetaKit Podcast is presented by Motion: the platform helping marketing teams turn ad performance data into creative strategy. Motion makes it easy to analyze what’s working across your campaigns, find winning ideas, and scale creative that converts. If you want to work on hard problems with real impact, explore open roles at motionapp.com/careers. Related Links: Google grants Amii $5 million to help post-secondary schools develop AI curricula Richard Sutton warns against “centralized control” of AI regulation based on fear Evolving Canada’s AI strategy with CIFAR’s Elissa Strome AI regulation is coming. What’s Canada’s approach?

“ Companies have spent a lot of time and money creating really great user experience for humans. And now there's kind of this race to create a really good experience for AI agents.” Erik Reppel, head of engineering for the Coinbase Developer Platform, joins to explain why the x402 open payment standard he helped create might plug one of the oldest holes in the internet, and how the protocol could revolutionize commerce—with the help of cryptocurrency and AI. The BetaKit Podcast is presented by OVHcloud, the global cloud provider trusted by innovators worldwide. OVHcloud offers transparent, sovereign cloud solutions designed to help you build on your own terms—without vendor lock-in or hidden fees. With over 80 services available, you can build and scale your infrastructure confidently, knowing your data is hosted in Canada and supported by 44 data centres globally. Visit ovhcloud.com to get started with trusted cloud built for scale. Related links: x402: An open standard for internet-native payments A primer on the decentralized finance stack Coinbase Canada CEO pushes for crypto-friendly government just as company reveals hack that could cost up to $400 million USD

Marcelo Cortes, Co-founder and Chief Architect of Faire, shares his inspiring journey from Brazil to Canada, emphasizing the blend of Silicon Valley's innovation with Canadian entrepreneurship. He discusses how Faire navigates the trade war and leverages AI to enhance the retail experience. Cortes highlights the company's commitment to empowering small boutiques, providing data-driven insights, and the unique challenges of operating across borders. The conversation also touches on the importance of decentralized leadership and building strong relationships in retail.

“Bad actors are weaponizing AI faster than governments and enterprises are using AI to combat it.” New data shows that more than half of all internet traffic comes from bots, and a third of those bots have malicious intent. Koat.ai co-founder Connor Ross joins to discuss the impact of the disinformation and defamation campaigns these bots run, how governments and enterprises are unprepared for this AI-driven explosion, and why the social networks are doing nothing to stop it. The BetaKit Podcast is presented by OVHcloud, the global cloud provider trusted by innovators worldwide. OVHcloud offers transparent, sovereign cloud solutions designed to help you build on your own terms—without vendor lock-in or hidden fees. With over 80 services available, you can build and scale your infrastructure confidently, knowing your data is hosted in Canada and supported by 44 data centres globally. Visit ovhcloud.com to get started with trusted cloud built for scale. Related links: 2025 bad bot report Cyber Threats to Canada's Democratic Process: 2025 Update

Joe Canavan, Canada's 2025 Angel of the Year and Principal at Canavan Capital, shares his deep passion for tech investing after a finance career. He discusses the vital role of mentorship and personal connections in fostering startup success. Canavan also highlights the challenges posed by recent tax policies and advocates for cohesive governmental support to enhance Canada's tech ecosystem. His insights on bolstering economic sovereignty and the importance of community support resonate strongly in today’s innovation landscape.

“I think for any entrepreneur that’s navigated the last five years, I don’t know if there was a worse time to be building a company.” Clutch found a new gear for its business after a post-pandemic lull … just in time for tariffs to hit. Dan Park (CEO) and Stephen Seibel (COO) join to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated online car retail, how the end of cheap capital pumped their brakes, and how Clutch regained traction after a savvy market expansion. What has this journey taught them about how to prepare for whatever tariffs will do to the auto industry? Let’s dig in. The BetaKit Podcast is presented by Float. Float helps Canadian companies manage spend, automate expenses, and now, convert FX at rates 90% lower than the banks. Sign up in minutes and learn why Canada counts on Float. Related links: Clutch gears up for expansion with $100-million CAD Series B round Clutch cuts staff to extend runway, citing market conditions Clutch cut approximately 65 percent of its staff as online auto marketplaces gear down Clutch recovers valuation and eyes growth with $50-million Series D round