The BetaKit Podcast Channel

45:06

Where quantum and AI intersect (ALL IN 2026)

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/10/05

"Transformative technology doesn't become transformative when we invent it. It becomes transformative when we adopt it." AI and quantum are two potentially transformative technologies at very different stages of development. Leaders from Xanadu (Nikki Bhatia), Nord Quantique (Marc-Antoine Lemonade), IonQ (Lisa Lambert), and CGI (Chris Juryn) discuss where they intersect live on stage at ALL IN 2026. -- Amid global uncertainty, the path forward is clear: Canada's moment to build is now. Presented by

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47:12

How Canada can keep its AI talent (ALL IN 2026)

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/09/28

"I think—and I hope I'm right—that we can build the next OpenAI, or Anthropic, or world model here in Canada." Mila entrepreneur-in-residence Alex Shee joins to explain the cultural shift among academic institutions toward supporting the entrepreneurial journeys of locally trained AI scientists and the "generational opportunity" it could create for Canada. Recorded live at ALL IN 2026. -- Amid global uncertainty, the path forward is clear: Canada's moment to build is now. Presented by Uber Canada,

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56:15

How the future of tech and Canada's sovereignty are...

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/09/18

"We're focused on 'the future of', so that gives us a lot more liberty of the type of speakers we can book." Elevate is the type of tech festival that plays host to everyone from Akon to Al Gore to Michelle Obama. This year, Kyle Lowry—The Greatest Raptor of All Time—will take the stage. CEO and co-founder Lisa Zarzeczny joins to share lessons learned and funny stories from a near-decade of Elevate, alongside how she has modified the program to address the pressing questions facing Canada today. --

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54:25

Waving the AI bubble red flags

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/09/11

"They're building AI that they're selling as so powerful that it is exceeding its limitations." We've talked a lot about AI on The BetaKit Podcast, but there's one topic we tend to ignore: the AI bubble. No longer! BetaKit Managing Editor Sarah Rieger joins to wave a few select AI bubble red flags (circular financing! Rogue AI agents! A lack of Situational Awareness!) to try and understand what is driving behaviour that might burst. ---- The BetaKit Podcast is presented by CPPO. How is prepaid being

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44:35

Answering your burning tech questions

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/08/24

"My god. Every time I ask you people for questions, I instantly regret it." What is Canada's most overrated tech company? How do we keep young founders in the country? Is BlackBerry making a comeback? What are Canada's must-read business books? In a special mailbag episode of The BetaKit Podcast, BetaKit editor-in-chief Douglas Soltys answers your burning tech questions. Let's dig in! -- Amid global uncertainty, the path forward is clear: Canada's moment to build is now. Presented by Uber Canada,

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57:28

Can Canada function without American tech?

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/08/14

"When we talk about sovereignty, we're talking about strategic capacity. Can you govern yourself with the tools that you have?" What would happen if, overnight, Canada suddenly lost all access to American tech? Canadian Shield Institute managing director Vass Bednar joins to answer that question before discussing how Canada can bootstrap digital self-reliance in the face of weaponized integration and the best ways to evaluate the federal government's 'elbows up' policy initiatives. Related: A Day in

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01:02:37

What killed your startup? (LIVE from Startupfest 2026)

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/08/04

"There has never been a more exciting time to found and build a company in Canada." A *killler* lineup of Startupfest speakers joins for a live recording of The BetaKit Podcast at the Startupfest village in Montréal's Grand Quay. In a rapid-fire talk show format, these luminaries discuss the leading causes of startup death, hard-won lessons in company scaling, the virtues of AI, and why now is the most exciting time to build a company in Canada. Featuring: Johnathan Nightingale - Co-founder of Raw

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01:12:01

Cory Doctorow on using AI without letting AI use you

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/07/27

"I am Tron-pilled: I fight for the user. I want people to be in charge of their technology, not the other way around." Award-winning Canadian science-fiction author, journalist, and tech activist Cory Doctorow is back with a new book, "The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI." He joins The BetaKit Podcast to discuss healthy ways people can be assisted by AI rather than conscripted in service to the tech, before pitching the need to jailbreak Canada to help the country reclaim its digital

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49:46

How Dominion Dynamics is building Canada's first line...

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/07/13

"The Arctic is the hardest operational environment on Earth for anybody. For any country." Dominion Dynamics CEO and BetaKit Most Ambitious honouree Eliot Pence joins to discuss his company's plans to become the general contractor for Canada's defence needs, why the Arctic is so important, and why he came back to Canada to build. -- Amid global uncertainty, the path forward is clear: Canada's moment to build is now. Presented by Uber Canada, DMZ, and National Bank of Canada, BetaKit Most

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01:04:16

Minister Evan Solomon on Canada's AI strategy,...

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/07/01

"Either we build the innovation here with our entrepreneurs, or we buy it from someone else. And either we make the rules here, or we follow someone else's. Those are the choices we've got as a country." It's a special Canada Day edition of The BetaKit Podcast! Canada's Minister of AI and Digital Innovation, Evan Solomon, joins for an extended conversation to discuss the country's refreshed AI strategy, digital sovereignty, and forthcoming social media and privacy regulations. -- Amid global

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01:02:33

Cohere's Nick Frosst on sovereign AI and Star Trek

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/06/16

"If your entire technology is coming from a single country, and that country decides that every now and again they're going to shut off access to you, that's not a foundation you can build on." The US government just ordered Anthropic to ban access to its most advanced AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5. Seems like now is a good time to talk about sovereign AI. Cohere co-founder Nick Frosst joins to discuss how Canada's AI champion is built different than the other frontier LLM providers, how Star Trek

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01:02:33

Physical AI and economic nationalism at BetaKit Most...

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/06/08

"You guys have done what you've done with the wind in your face. Imagine if you had the wind at your back. Wow." Couldn't attend BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall? Don't worry. Enjoy Waabi CEO Raquel Urtasun explaining how the future of transportation will be driven by physical AI before sitting down to discuss Canada's AI ecosystem with University of Toronto president Melanie Woodin. Then we have former RIM co-CEO and CCI chair Jim Balsillie talking about the need for economic statecraft to drive

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01:07:33

AI sovereignty & defence tech at BetaKit Most...

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/06/01

"Everywhere I go, BetaKit is there. They grill me. Every time I say something, I say 'I wish I didn't say that' because BetaKit recorded it." Couldn't attend BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall? Don't worry. Enjoy our Vantage Points panel on Canadian defence and dual-use tech, featuring leaders from Dominion Dynamics, Sentinel R&D, and Xanadu, followed by a fireside chat with AI Minister Evan Solomon. -- Amid global uncertainty, the path forward is clear: Canada's moment to build is now. Presented by

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47:58

How Toronto Tech Week became Canada's largest...

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/05/22

"You could start your day paddleboarding on Lake Ontario, then you could go to a workout class, then you could go to a session on what VCs want to hear." Last year, a decentralized community experiment led to 15,000 people attending over 300 events in the middle of June. With nearly 600 events welcoming people from around the world set to begin Monday, this year's Toronto Tech Week promises to be much bigger and bolder. Co-directors Julia Konefal and Mell Truong join The BetaKit Podcast to ensure

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01:05:51

Harjit Sajjan reports for duty

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/05/15

"I know people with amazing ideas, but they don't have the right investment to take their idea to the prototype stage. At the prototype stage, they don't have the ability to take it to the manufacturing stage. So guess what happens? Another company from outside the country comes and snatches 'em up. It was heartbreaking to see that our amazing talent is being sucked away." After decades in public service roles, former Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan is reporting for duty once again as a

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59:14

Evaluating Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/04/27

"There's a lot in this document… Do we feel the urgency and the threats are covered here?" After months of waiting, the Defence Industrial Strategy offers clarity for $7 billion worth of spending commitments in Budget 2025. Is that enough? What's missing? What comes next? Vass Bednar (Canadian Shield Institute) and Matt Lombardi (The Icebreaker) join to evaluate the strategy, the spending, and some sticky questions about canola oil and Canadian sovereignty. The BetaKit Podcast is presented by

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59:50

How StackAdapt quietly built an adtech giant

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/04/20

"With AI, it should bring down the barriers to how you quickly adopt new software without having to become masters of the software." When StackAdapt started with its adtech solution, competition was fierce and investors didn't see the opportunity. A decade later, StackAdapt is one of Canada's largest and most profitable private companies. CEO and co-founder Vitaly Pecherskiy joins to discuss how that happened, and why AI has changed B2B software development. The BetaKit Podcast is presented by

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01:24:25

How to fix Canadian VC

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/04/13

"We have a collective action problem. Somebody has to take the first step and say, 'Hey, we're going to deploy a lot of capital here in Canada. We're gonna bet that Canada is going to grow more over the next 20 years than it did over the last 20 years." Recent data shows that the bottom has fallen out of Canadian venture capital, erasing any post-pandemic highs and taking the country back about a decade in terms of both dollars raised and dollars deployed by our nation's VCs. What's the reason for

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52:20

How to fix Canada's Start-up Visa

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/02/23

"Speed is of the essence. This is a super dynamic marketplace. Canada is losing entrepreneurs, we're losing the next generation of founders, and we need to do things, quick." More than a decade ago, Canada launched the Start-up Visa program to attract entrepreneurial talent from around the world. After years of complaints of delays, fraud, and abuse, the program was suspended while featuring a whopping 10-35 year wait time. Boris Wertz (Version One Ventures) and Lucy Hargreaves (Build Canada) join

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59:13

Is BDC too big to change?

The BetaKit Podcast Channel ·

2026/02/16

"BDC is powerful in the sense that it can make or break a fund… And a lot of people are trying to close funds right now." In 2022, the federal government commissioned a report asking Canada's VCs what they thought about Crown corporation BDC. The report was effectively forgotten, and the feedback was never actioned. Why? What did the report have to say about Canada's largest venture investor? And with Canadian VC in a multi-year lull, is BDC's "steady hand" approach preferred or simply necessary

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