#1. Cohere is opening an office in Seoul. Which South Korean company has it already partnered with?
In March, Cohere announced a partnership with LG CNS, the business information technology arm of South Korean tech giant LG. In addition to announcing the new office in South Korea, Cohere has also hired Andrew Chang, formerly the area vice-president and country manager at Confluent, as its new VP of APAC.
#2. Toronto-based Moonvalley has developed an AI model focused on which element of filmmaking?
Moonvalley’s model is designed for filmmakers with cinematography in mind. The company, which closed an additional $84 million USD this week, claims its AI tool can turn 2D images into a 3D environment with promptable “camera” positioning, transfer motion from reference videos to generated videos, and control movement in generated videos through drawing rather than text prompting.
#3. Which of the following tasks can Toronto AI startup Asepha handle for pharmacists?
Asepha, which closed $4 million USD this week, helps pharmacists by offering real-time web research tools and by screening phone calls to summarize callers’ needs. Its biggest selling point is its AI agent that uses optical character recognition to interpret and process handwritten prescriptions. In other words, Asepha can, among other things, read doctors’ handwriting.
#4. Tailscale CEO Avery Pennarun recently claimed that the pressure to adopt AI has created what for companies?
In an interview with BetaKit, Tailscale co-founder and CEO Avery Pennarun claimed that this rush has created a chaotic new “Wild West” for corporate cybersecurity. He noted that AI tools remain “pretty unpredictable” and compared them to hiring an employee without vetting them, then giving them “access to everything.”
#5. Estate planning startup Trusty was launched after founder Randy Frisch purchased what for his wife?
After selling his first startup, Uberflip, Frisch bought his wife a bracelet. When filing the certificate of authenticity, he found their drawer of important documents was cluttered and outdated, prompting an idea for a smarter way to manage personal assets. The startup secured $1 million in funding this week.
#6. Abraham Tachjian, who recently joined Brim Financial, previously led which federal initiative?
Abraham Tachjian, Canada’s former federally appointed open banking czar, joined Toronto-based FinTech startup Brim Financial as its chief regulatory affairs officer. Tachjian told BetaKit the role will focus on growing Brim’s business and leading its regulatory matters.
#7. Toronto drone startup ZenaTech is expanding its presence in the United States to capitalize on what?
ZenaTech is expanding in the US after new White House and Department of Defense directives, including a recent law signed by President Trump, loosened procurement rules for domestic drone manufacturers. The expansion will see ZenaTech triple the square footage of its facilities in Phoenix, Ariz. to enable fully US-based drone manufacturing, assembly, and testing.
#8. Which tech mogul overtook Mark Zuckerberg as the world’s second-richest person?
Larry Ellison, the co-founder and chief technology officer of software giant Oracle, surpassed Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg as the second-richest person in the world. Ellison has a net worth of $251 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His wealth has increased by $59 billion this year.
#9. Emoji mode: activated! Guess the Canadian tech company: 🌱📚
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