Software and Technology Monthly Newsletter
In This Edition:
February 2025 in Review
Public Market Dashboard
2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Review
The Generative AI War Continues
Mergers and Acquisitions
February 2025 in Review
February 6 - Lightspeed POS (TSX:LSPD) concludes strategic review and will remain public while focusing on growing its North American retail and European hospitality business.
February 10 - An Elon Musk-led investor group offers US$97.4B to acquire a controlling stake in OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT. OpenAI CEO rejects the offer.
February 14 - Bolt Technology, an Estonia headquartered ride hailing services provider, to launch its rideshare services in Canada using the app name "Hopp".
February 18 - Toronto not-for-profit to launch the Toronto Tech Week in June 2025 to replace the annual Collision conference that has been moved to Vancouver
February 25 - Prosus Group to acquire JustEat Takeaway, Amsterdam based parent company of Winnipeg based SkipTheDishes, for $6.2B.
Public Market Dashboard - February Year-to-Date Returns
1. The WST Index consists of publicly traded Canadian software and technology companies tracked by Whitehorn to represent the Canadian software and technology sector.
2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Review
The 2025 CES was held in Las Vegas from January 7-10 to highlight the latest global innovation. Over 141,000 attendees visited over 4,500 exhibits during the event. We highlight a few of our favourites from the event below:
Remember Rabbit R1 from CES 2024?
The handheld AI-powered personal assistant device was deemed the breakout story of CES 2024. Fast forward to today, Rabbit R1 flopped. In addition to the underlying software being a simple Android app, the device was bugged by critical security issues. This led to third party integrations like Uber, DoorDash and Midjourney retiring from the device.
The failure of this device serves as a stark reminder: Overhyped products may under-deliver. With the vast AI products and services flooding the marketplace today, expectations should be dampened or at the very least, be realistic for what AI can accomplish going forward.
The Generative AI War Continues
We covered the DeepSeek bombshell in last month’s newsletter. Since then, a flurry of activities continue to occur within the AI space as companies strive to stay ahead of their competitors:
Increasing AI competition will continue expanding consumer and business choice as well as drive more economical alternatives, resulting in more accessible technology going forward.
Finaincing
Below we summarized a few recent tech financing transactions:
Tech Private Equity Funding
Notable financing transactions involving software and tech private equity include:
Mergers and Acquisitions
Feb 4 – Mississauga based Sparkrock acquires Toronto based School-Day. Acquisition of payment processing and activities management platform provider for online student payments to enhance cloud software solutions for the education sector.
Feb 4 – Montreal based Valsoft acquires Brazilian company VHL Sistemas. Acquisition of cloud-based notary management solutions provider including its flagship platform, Asgard to enter Latin American market.
Feb 6 – San Francisco based Landbase acquires Toronto based LavaReach. Acquisition of advanced ID verification technology from ATB Ventures to complement existing solutions and to solidify leadership in the digital trust market.
Feb 6 – Calgary based Credivera acquires Calgary based Oliu’s technology stack. Acquisition of AI research tool provider to accelerate go-to-market automation solutions.
Feb 7 – Miami based H.I.G. Capital acquires Converge Technology Solutions (TSX:CTS). $1.3B all-cash acquisition of IT and cloud solutions provider through advanced analytics to complement existing portfolio company, Mainline Information Systems.
Feb 10 – Boston based DataRobot acquires Toronto based Agnostiq. Acquisition of Covalent, an open-source distributed computing platform provider to accelerate agentic AI application development with advanced compute orchestration and optimization.
Feb 10 – Montreal based Valsoft acquires Stoneham, MA based Softlinx. Acquisition of provider of HIPAA-compliant cloud fax services, integration and automation solutions to enter the cloud fax and secure communication space.
Feb 12 – Vancouver based Treatment.com AI (CSE:TRUE) acquires Toronto based Rocket Doctor. US$14MM acquisition of digital health platform and marketplace provider assisting physicians with tools to run virtual and hybridized practices to expand Canadian and U.S. market presence.
Feb 12 – New York based 24 Seven acquires Toronto based CORE Resources. Acquisition of technology talent solutions provider serving the financial services sector including network security, full-stack development and capital markets technology to expand global capabilities.
Feb 13 – Rezolve AI (NASDAQ:RZLV) acquires Toronto based GroupBy. Acquisition of enterprise-grade site search, product discovery and merchandising solutions provider to reinforce position as a leader in transforming digital commerce experiences.
Feb 13 – CareSpan Health (TSXV:CSPN) acquires UK based Medtech AI. $18.3MM acquisition of company owning a 27% equity investment in Oxford Immune Algorithmics, a proprietary immune monitoring platform provider to assist in blood analytics and remote health monitoring with AI capabilities.
Feb 14 – Toronto based KORT Payments acquires UK based Paysafe Direct. Acquisition of Paysafe's direct marketing payment processing business to expand offerings.
Feb 19 – WELL Health Technologies (TSX:WELL) acquires Edmonton based Microquest. Acquisition of electronic medical record solutions provider serving 375 clinics and 1,600 providers throughout Alberta.
Feb 19 – WELL Health Technologies (TSX:WELL) acquires Toronto based Bluebird IT Solutions. Acquisition of 51% stake in IT support company assisting over 700 healthcare practices nationwide to reinforce digital health offerings.
Feb 19 – Winnipeg based IC Group Holdings (TSXV:ICGH) acquires Winnipeg based Fannex. Acquisition of SaaS platform provider that drives fan engagement at live sports and entertainment events to accelerate growth in the live entertainment sector.
Feb 19 – Winnipeg based HUB Technology Solutions acquires Winipeg based IT division of Synchena Consulting. Acquisition of IT division of Synchena Consulting, a professional consulting firm specializing in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and IT services to strengthen MB market presence.
Feb 20 – Vancouver based EarthDaily Analytics acquires Mississauga based SkyForest. Acquisition of analytics platform provider specializing in wildfire risk assessment and forestry analytics to strengthen earth intelligence offerings and enhance offerings for industries and governmental organizations.
Feb 20 – Cleveland, OH based Primus Capital acquires Calgary based Reach. Acquisition of majority stake in merchant of record solutions provider to e-commerce and SaaS businesses globally including cross-border payments, fraud prevention, tax compliance and customer experience.
Feb 21 – San Francisco based Datacy acquires Toronto based Surf. Acquisition of all-in-one data and rewards platform provider by consumer insights platform to enhance position in the first- and zero-party data space.
Feb 25 – Montreal based Digicast acquires Toronto based Resolve Collaboration. Acquisition of webcasting, webinars, live streaming and technical support services provider to expand North American market presence to enhance service offerings.
Feb 26 – Montreal based Siyata Mobile (NASDAQ:SYTA) acquires Delaware based Core Gaming. Acquisition of global gaming developer and publisher of over 2,000 mobile games with $80MM in annual revenue.
Feb 26 – Beyond Medical Technologies (CSE:DOCT) acquires US based Elite Horizon Management. Acquisition of blockchain attestation platform provider specializing in secure documentation and financial verification to expand into blockchain-powered medical technology and financial management.
Feb 27 – Chicago based Kearney acquires Ottawa based IMTEK. Acquisition of supply chain consulting and systems integration company to enhance supply chain planning capabilities and to deepen technology suite.
