Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Leadership, Competition, Human Capital, Health
Join NCFA at Elevate Festival 2025 in Toronto Oct 7-9
Elevate Festival | Aug 22, 2025
Elevate Festival Oct 7 9, 2025, Toronto
NCFA partners with Elevate Festival October 7–9 in Toronto, Canada’s Stage for Bold Innovation
The National Crowdfunding and Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA) is proud to be a Community Partner of Elevate Festival 2025. This is the seventh edition of Canada’s largest home grown technology and innovation gathering taking place from October 7 to 9 at Toronto’s Meridian Hall and St. Lawrence Centre. The Elevate Festival will welcome more than ten thousand attendees and over 250 speakers who are innovating the future of business, finance, and technology.
Visionary Voices and Experience
The lineup reads like a who’s who of innovation. Chris Urmson of Aurora, Clay Bavor of Sierra, and Dorothy Kilroy of Oura Health will share their visions for automation, artificial intelligence, and digital health. They will be joined by Erika Ayers Badan of Food52, Ida Tin of Clue, Althea Wishloff of Raven Capital, Harley Finkelstein of Shopify, and Hussein Fazal of Super.com. Together they represent the scale and diversity of thought that defines Elevate.
See: Accelerating Financial Innovation and Access in Canada
Elevate is not just a gathering, it is an experience. AI and Scale Up tracks will take the main stage for the first time, drawing thousands to conversations that matter most for Canada’s growth. Eight focused tracks will also cover fintech, moonshots, future talent, investors, and women in tech.
Attendees can join masterclasses limited to one hundred participants, connect in the Women in Tech Lounge presented by Interac, and build relationships in the Startup Lounge presented by Moneris.
Commitment to Inclusion and Impact
One of the things that we love about Elevate is that it continues to lead in representation. More than half of attendees in 2024 identified as women or non binary, which is way above Canadian and global benchmarks for tech gatherings (big and small). The festival has also generated significant startup investment by giving founders access to curated meetings, roundtables, and pitch stages.
See: 10 Innovative Product-Led Growth Strategies
That momentum carries into 2025 with the Startup Open House on October 9, where entrepreneurs can open their doors to investors, partners, and future hires. There are a plethora of reasons why entrepreneurs and investors globally should attend Elevate 2025, don't miss out!
GTA-BASED STARTUP HOST OPPORTUNITY
Open your doors to Elevate Festival attendees at Toronto's Startup Open House on Thursday, October 9 from 3:00 - 7:00 PM. Showcase your business, connect with talent and meet potential partners. Join this unique opportunity presented by TechTO, Elevate, and ElanTech. Gain exposure in Canada's vibrant startup ecosystem --> APPLY NOW
20% Discount for NCFA's Network
For NCFA’s community, Elevate is a fantastic opportunity to be part of Canada’s innovation story. It is where founders meet investors, where startups become scale ups, and where the fintech community can help shape Canada’s economic future. Save 20% on your Elevate Festival pass with the code NCFAELEVATE (offer valid for unlimited uses until October 9).
Register now to secure your ticket before prices rise on September 5.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Grok Leak Triggers Global AI Privacy Alarm
AI | Aug 21, 2025
Image: Freepik/Rawpixel.com
xAI Exposed Private Grok Conversations to the Open Web, Breach of Trust in AI
On August 20, 2025, Forbes revealed that Elon Musk’s xAI had published hundreds of thousands of Grok chatbot conversations that became searchable on Google without warning. The exposed chats ranged from personal medical questions and passwords to instructions for creating drugs, malware, and even a plan to assassinate Musk himself.
AI Conversations Exposed to Search Engines
The problem was related to Grok’s “share” button. When users clicked it, the platform generated a unique URL that was publicly crawlable by search engines. There was no disclaimer or safeguard, and ultimately private exchanges and shared personal information would immediately be published and available online. TechCrunch reporting confirmed that thousands of Grok conversations containing sensitive data are indexed on Google.
Among the published material were uploaded spreadsheets, text documents, and conversations disclosing names, personal details, and at least one password. Experts noted that xAI’s approach mirrored and exceeded a failed OpenAI experiment last month in July 2025, when ChatGPT briefly allowed chats to be discoverable before pulling back after user backlash.
Opportunists are already exploiting Grok’s share function to manipulate Google search results, proving that careless design choices can spawn entirely new risks.
Why This Matters
The Grok and ChatGPT leaks illustrate the absolute need for privacy by design and transparent governance in AI. For fintech and financial services, the implications are massive given that trust is foundational.
See: Cybersecurity Bill C8 Raises Fintech Security Bar
If users believe that their conversations or sensitive data could be exposed online without consent, it will only hinder AI adoption and long term growth. With global media and regulators now scrutinizing the exposure, the lesson is clear: innovation cannot come at the expense of trust.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Moneris Sale and Canada’s Changing Payments Market
Payments | Aug 21, 2025 | Last Updated Sep 21, 2026
Image: Freepik
Moneris Sale Separates Bank Distribution From Payment Processing
On August 10, 2026, Francisco Partners agreed to acquire Moneris from RBC and BMO for approximately C$2 billion in cash, subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Each bank is entitled to half of the proceeds. The agreement turns the potential sale first reported in 2025 into a signed change of control.
Moneris supports more than 325,000 points of commerce and handles roughly one in three transactions in Canada. RBC and BMO are selling their ownership interests, but both banks have established long term agreements to refer customers exclusively to Moneris.
RBC and BMO can therefore continue serving business customers and distributing Moneris payment services without owning the processor itself. Francisco Partners will own the company responsible for much of the merchant technology, payment acceptance and commerce infrastructure behind those relationships.
The Moneris sale also leaves the company's Canadian headquarters and technology infrastructure in place while ownership changes hands.
TD, Scotiabank And National Bank Also Use Payment Partners
Canada's other major banks already use variations of this model.
In July 2025, TD partnered with Fiserv under a multi year managed services agreement. TD Merchant Solutions uses Fiserv payment processing, servicing and Clover products. Fiserv also agreed to acquire part of TD's merchant processing business covering approximately 3,400 merchant relationships and 30,000 locations.
Scotiabank works with Chase Payment Solutions for merchant services. National Bank refers commercial clients to Clover Canada, a Fiserv company, for payment processing and merchant technology.
Banks can keep the deposit account, lending, treasury services and customer relationship while specialist payment companies carry more of the technology and operating load.
Merchant acquiring now includes ecommerce, mobile acceptance, terminals, fraud controls, reporting, software integrations, inventory tools, analytics and faster settlement. Competing effectively requires continuous investment well beyond processing a card transaction.
Moneris Is Expanding Beyond Card Processing
Moneris itself is also becoming more than a traditional card processor.
In June 2026, the company expanded Konek pay by bank across Moneris Checkout and its API, giving merchants an online account to account payment option alongside cards.
Moneris has also added accounting integration with QuickBooks and technology that can connect AI agents with commerce tools. Merchant payment providers are now competing across checkout, accounting, data, software integration, fraud controls and business operations as well as payment acceptance.
Francisco Partners is acquiring both a large Canadian processing network and a merchant software platform with room to expand further into commerce technology.
Real Time Rail Adds Another Payment Option
Canada's national payment infrastructure has also advanced substantially since this article was first published.
The Real Time Rail rules and access framework is now approved. The RTR By-law and Rules came into force on August 24, 2026, establishing the legal and operating framework ahead of launch.
Payments Canada is targeting a Q4 2026 launch. Initial direct participants are scheduled to connect first, followed by additional participants and transaction volumes through 2027.
RTR is designed to support instant clearing and settlement around the clock with richer payment data. Payments Canada reported in August that 60% of Canadian businesses surveyed would use real time payments in specified situations. Supplier payments, government payments and domestic account to account transfers were among the identified use cases.
RTR is not a replacement for merchant acquiring or card networks. Banks, fintechs and payment providers still need to build payment initiation, fraud controls, reconciliation, merchant services and customer experiences around the rail.
Account to account products could give merchants another way to receive money and give payment companies another service to integrate into checkout, invoicing and business software.
More Payment Providers Can Enter Canada's Core Systems
Canada is also widening access to its national payment infrastructure.
Changes to the Canadian Payments Act expanded Payments Canada membership eligibility to qualifying payment service providers and other organizations that historically operated outside the core systems. The opening of Canada's payment infrastructure has already brought fintechs, PSPs and credit unions into systems once dominated almost entirely by banks.
The Retail Payment Activities Act framework adds regulatory oversight. Registered payment service providers are supervised by the Bank of Canada and must meet requirements covering operational risk, safeguarding funds, incident response and reporting.
Firms still need settlement arrangements, technical connections, fraud controls, liquidity, compliance and reliable operations before they can build competitive products on national payment infrastructure.
What The Moneris Sale Means For Fintechs And Merchants
For fintech companies, there are more ways to compete around the merchant relationship without owning the underlying processor.
A commerce platform can combine payment acceptance with accounting, reconciliation, lending, payroll, inventory, loyalty and analytics while another company handles regulated payment processing. Banks can distribute these products without building every payment capability themselves.
For merchants, pricing, uptime, settlement timing, dispute handling, fraud protection, software integration, reporting and support matter more than who owns the processor.
Real time account to account payments should eventually add another option once RTR is operating and commercial products are available. Cards will continue to offer different acceptance, credit, rewards and consumer protection features, so merchants are likely to support several payment methods rather than replace one system outright.
Outlook
RBC and BMO are selling Moneris while keeping exclusive referral relationships. TD uses Fiserv technology and has transferred part of its processing portfolio. Scotiabank works with Chase, while National Bank refers merchants to Clover.
At the same time, RTR is approaching launch and more regulated payment providers can participate in Canada's payment infrastructure.
Ownership of the processor is only one part of the market. Banks can control the commercial relationship, processors can run payment infrastructure, software companies can own the merchant workflow and fintechs can build services across those layers.
That gives new entrants more places to compete than the older model where merchant acquiring was concentrated inside a small number of bank owned networks.
Talking Point
If banks can keep the business customer without owning the payment processor, where will the most valuable part of the merchant relationship sit once real time payments and new account to account products become widely available?
Related NCFA Intelligence
Canada's payments market is opening while banks, processors and fintechs compete across different parts of the merchant relationship.
Frequently Asked Questions About The Moneris Sale And Canada's Payments Market
Who is buying Moneris?
Francisco Partners has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Moneris from RBC and BMO for approximately C$2 billion in cash. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
Are RBC and BMO leaving merchant services?
RBC and BMO are selling their ownership interests in Moneris, but both banks have established long term agreements to refer customers exclusively to Moneris. Their business customers can therefore continue to use Moneris services after the transaction closes.
What happened to TD Merchant Solutions?
TD entered a multi year managed services relationship with Fiserv in 2025. TD Merchant Solutions uses Fiserv payment processing, servicing and Clover products. Fiserv also agreed to acquire part of TD's merchant processing portfolio covering approximately 3,400 merchant relationships and 30,000 locations.
When is Canada's Real Time Rail expected to launch?
Payments Canada is targeting Q4 2026. The RTR By-law and Rules came into force on August 24, 2026, and participant onboarding and transaction volumes are scheduled to increase in stages through 2027.
Will the Real Time Rail replace credit and debit cards?
RTR is national infrastructure for instant account to account payments. It can support new payment products, but cards offer different acceptance, credit, rewards and consumer protection features. Banks, fintechs and payment companies will decide how RTR is incorporated into merchant and consumer services.
Why does the Moneris sale matter for fintechs?
The sale separates ownership of a major Canadian payment processor from the banks distributing its services. Fintechs and software companies can compete around merchant software, payment integration, data and customer experience without owning the underlying processing network.
This article was originally published on August 21, 2025 and updated on September 21, 2026 using public company, regulatory and industry disclosures. The proposed Moneris acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Payments Canada continues to target Q4 2026 for the initial Real Time Rail launch, and implementation timing may change. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial or legal advice.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Fintechs Lead NPS Race as Banks Lag Behind
Customer Loyalty Report | Aug 20, 2025
Image: Freepik
CustomerGauge 2025 Benchmarks Show Fintechs Leading the Pack as Incumbents Play Catchup
The 2025 CustomerGauge NPS & CX Benchmarks report (120 page PDF report) helps stakeholders measure customer loyalty across the financial services landscape. The industry average NPS stands at 44, while the banking subset is at 30. Fintechs by contrast are setting new standards with NPS scores ranging from 77 to 90.
What is NPS?
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a widely used measure of customer loyalty. It asks customers a simple question: How likely are you to recommend this company to a friend or colleague? Answers are scored on a scale from 0 to 10.
- Those who score 9–10 are called Promoters
- 7–8 are Passives
- 0–6 are Detractors
See: The Benefits of Implementing Automated Customer Journey Mapping in Your Business
The final NPS is the percentage of Promoters minus the percentage of Detractors, giving a score that can range from –100 to +100. Higher scores reflect stronger customer advocacy and satisfaction.
Reported NPS Scores for Leading Financial Firms
The table data below is from the CustomerGauge 2025 report, sorted high to low. These figures clearly show fintechs leading customer loyalty followed by USAA and First Republic, while many popular banks fall significantly behind.
| Company | Type | NPS |
| SoFi | Fintech | 90 |
| OnDeck | Fintech | 84 |
| Affirm | Fintech | 83 |
| LendingClub | Fintech | 79 |
| Funding Circle | Fintech | 77 |
| USAA | Financial Institution | 75 |
| First Republic Bank | Bank | 72 |
| First Direct | Bank | 66 |
| ING Luxembourg | Bank | 63 |
| American Express Bank | Bank | 52 |
| Charles Schwab | Financial Institution | 52 |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | Bank | 51 |
| ABN AMRO | Financial Institution | 30 |
| JP Morgan Bank | Bank | 31 |
| Santander UK | Bank | 27 |
| Tesco Bank | Bank | 23 |
| Bank of America | Bank | 18 |
| CitiGroup | Bank | 18 |
| Morgan Stanley | Bank | 16 |
| ANZ | Bank | 15.4 |
| National Australia Bank (NAB) | Bank | 15.4 |
| PNC Bank | Bank | 15 |
| TSB Bank | Bank | 12 |
| CBA | Bank | 10.4 |
| HSBC | Bank | 7 |
| Goldman Sachs | Bank | 5 |
| Westpac | Bank | -6.9 |
Global Region Benchmarks
To help compare and contrast 2025 CustomerGauge NPS figures, below is some regional data points for consideration:
- In Europe and the UK, NPS for traditional banks hovered in the low to mid 40s in 2024, based on Forrester analysis of 60 European banks.
- In Australia, NPS among big banks averages –12.7 in 2024, while the digital-only bank Up scores +49.
- NPS Prism report clocked Canadian banks NPS range in 2024 from 12-48, with Tangerine scoring the highest at 48
- Back in 2020, CSI financial ran an Ipsos poll to find that the average NPS of Canada's financial sector was 21.7
- Canadian fintech Nesto self-reported it's NPS of 76 in 2021, which is close to 2025 global fintech leaders scores
Why This Matters
Loyalty is still a competitive currency in financial services. With fintechs consistently outscoring banks by wide margins, Canadian incumbents in particular face mounting pressure to address gaps that stretch beyond digital convenience into trust, personalization, and value delivery.
See: Is FinTech getting it wrong? Focus on needs and wants
Put differently, improving NPS is not simply about catching up to fintechs but about meeting a global standard that modern customers expect globally. For Canada, this means that raising customer loyalty scores is directly tied to future competitiveness, investor confidence, and the ability to scale innovation in an increasingly global financial marketplace.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Cybersecurity Bill C8 Raises Fintech Security Bar
Cybersecurity | Aug 19, 2025
Image: Freepik/DC Studio
Canada’s New Cyber Law Strengthens Compliance and Resilience for Banks and Fintechs
After years of delay, Canada is finally moving forward on cybersecurity legislation. The previous Bill C-26 stalled after critics raised concerns around due process and transparency issues with sweeping ministerial powers, unclear compliance costs, and provisions that would have allowed the government to rely on “secret evidence” in court challenges.
Now a newly introduced Bill C-8 An Act Respecting Cyber Security with the controversial secret evidence clause removed and the introduction of stronger oversight, make it more acceptable to industry stakeholders and politically viable. The legislation creates a new compliance regime with enforceable standards for critical infrastructure operators, including the banking system, and introduces penalties for non-compliance. For fintechs, the implications extend well beyond checklists and into how firms manage partnerships, payments, and cross-border data.
Bill C8 and PSP Oversight Raise the Bar
Bill C-8 arrives alongside the Bank of Canada's supervision of payment service providers (PSPs) under the Retail Payment Activities Act on September 8, 2025. Wallets, transfer apps, and other fintech PSPs must register, meet operational requirements, and demonstrate risk and security controls. The alignment of Bill C-8 with this deadline raises the bar for cyber resilience across the fintech ecosystem.
See: Ottawa Issues New Guidance for Biometric Privacy in Canada
Even if most fintechs are not directly listed under the new Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act, regulated banks and clearing systems will be. These institutions will port obligations onto their fintech partners through contracts, audits, and certifications. OSFI’s Guideline B-13 on technology and cyber risk requires federally regulated institutions to govern third-party risks, test resilience, and maintain continuous monitoring, so we can expect those same requirements to flow into fintech vendor and partner assessments.
Payments Canada has also emphasized that national systems such as Lynx are critical infrastructure requiring robust cyber resilience. For fintechs integrated with those rails, resilience is no longer optional. It has become a business differentiator that impacts customer trust and competitive positioning.
Data Flows, Threats, and Global Readiness
Policy analysis suggests that Bill C-8 could influence EU–Canada data adequacy assessments, critical for fintechs handling European customer data or operating cross-border platforms. A compliance strategy that includes strong governance and privacy readiness will put Canadian fintechs in a better position to scale globally. For fintechs, compliance is only the minimum floor. Continues monitoring and governance should be the program.
Outlook
Bill C-8 is a structural change in how Canada is approaching digital security. For fintechs, it means cyber readiness is inseparable from growth, compliance, and trust.
See: Fintechs Face Rising SaaS Security Risks, JPMorgan CISO
Those that move early to align with the expectations of both regulators and banking partners will not only meet compliance demands, but also stand out in a crowded marketplace. Canada’s fintech sector has an opportunity to turn these new rules into a foundation for competitive strength in a global digital economy.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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CEO Exits as GitHub Absorbed into Microsoft’s CoreAI
AI | Aug 18, 2025
Microsoft Integrates GitHub into CoreAI as CEO Thomas Dohmke Prepares to Depart
GitHub’s era of independence has ended.
On Aug 11 2025, Microsoft announced that GitHub will be folded into its CoreAI division, aligning with the planned departure of CEO Thomas Dohmke who confirmed with GeekWire that he will remain until the end of 2025 before starting a new venture, after leading GitHub since 2021 and driving Copilot’s rapid adoption.
Since Microsoft's acquisition of GitHub in 2018 for $7.5 billion, the platform operated under a quasi-independent model to reassure developers of neutrality. But with GitHub Copilot now reaching 20 million users and enterprise adoption up 75% quarter over quarter, the platform is now key to Microsoft’s AI strategy. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella even noted last year that Copilot had grown into a larger business on its own than all of GitHub was at the time of acquisition.
Implications on GitHub
Analysts at IDC argue that embedding GitHub into CoreAI will allow Microsoft to keep Copilot at the forefront in an increasingly competitive market for AI-assisted software development, and natural extension of Copilot’s trajectory. Adding AI engineer resources into CoreAI will also accelerate Microsoft's ability to commercialize breakthroughs.
See: Goldman Sachs Deploys Agentic AI Engineer Devin
But the change has courted warnings from analysts and media outlets. Runtime News called it “the end of an era,” referring to the erosion of GitHub’s independence that once made it the world’s trusted open source commons. Tom’s Hardware editors are drawing comparisons to Microsoft’s earlier acquisitions of Skype and Xamarin, which lost relevance after deeper integration, warning that GitHub’s unique identity is at risk.
Stakeholder Perspectives
Enterprises and Microsoft partners view the GitHub consolidation as a win. Consulting executives quoted by CRN argue that GitHub’s alignment with CoreAI will deliver tighter synergies across Azure, Copilot, and enterprise developer tools, unlocking greater efficiency for corporate teams.
Analysts are being pragmatic saying that the integration ensures GitHub is positioned to compete against quickly advancing rivals such as Google’s agentic coding efforts and startups like Cursor and Windsurf.
See: Fintech Leader Insights on DeepSeek’s AI Disruption
Developers and open source advocates are far more skeptical. Reddit threads reflect concerns over Microsoft leveraging public repositories for training AI, frustration that GitHub marketing focuses almost exclusively on Copilot, and fear that openness and independence will erode. One top voted comment lamented, “AI everywhere, no mention of Git anymore”.
Will a GitHub 2.0 Appear?
The GitHub integration into Microsoft will likely accelerate competition. Developer-first AI powered coding editors like Cursor are growing rapidly. If GitHub continues to tilt heavily toward AI and corporate adoption, it could create an opportunity for a decentralized or community-owned “GitHub 2.0.” Whether that becomes mainstream will depend on whether GitHub balances its role as Microsoft’s AI flagship with its responsibility as the global repository of open source code.
Closing Outlook
Enterprises will benefit from richer integrations across the Microsoft stack, but the open source community faces the challenge of trusting a platform that is no longer arm’s-length from its parent. For Microsoft, the move cements GitHub as a strategic pillar of its AI ecosystem.
Read: Cohere Raises $500M at $6.8B for Enterprise Agentic AI
GitHub must now prove it can remain the world’s trusted commons while advancing as a commercial AI platform. The outcome will determine not only the trajectory of Copilot, but also whether a new generation of developer platforms rises to challenge GitHub’s dominance.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Cohere Raises $500M at $6.8B for Enterprise Agentic AI
Financing | Aug 18, 2025
Image via Cohere's funding announcement 2025
Cohere Secures $500M at $6.8B Valuation, Strengthening Canada’s AI Ecosystem
On Aug 14 2025, Cohere announced its latest $500 million raise at a $6.8 billion valuation in an oversubscribed round led by Radical Ventures and Inovia Capital, with participation from AMD Ventures, NVIDIA, PSP Investments, Salesforce Ventures, HOOPP, and others. The fresh capital will help Cohere accelerate efforts to build the next generation of secure enterprise and sovereign AI solutions. Cohere is positioning its security-first agentic AI as an alternative to repurposed consumer models, emphasizing local data control, regulatory compliance, and digital sovereignty.
Jordan Jacobs of Radical Ventures commented:
“Cohere is fulfilling the promise of building privacy-first, cloud-agnostic models and agentic AI applications that drive extraordinary productivity gains for enterprises and governments worldwide.”
See: Canada Invests $240M in Cohere for AI Data Centre
Patrick Pichette of Inovia Capital now joining Cohere’s board, said:
"[The company's] relentless focus on data privacy, customization, and time-to-value” [places it at the forefront of global enterprise AI]."
Over the past year, Cohere doubled its annual recurring revenue to more than $100 million USD and launched North, its flagship agentic AI platform, deploying solutions across sectors with partners like Oracle, Dell, RBC, Bell, Fujitsu, LG CNS, SAP, and Ensemble Health Partners. Cohere is also expanding its leadership team, as part of its growth strategy with Joelle Pineau, former VP of AI Research at Meta and professor at McGill University, joining as Chief AI Officer, and Francois Chadwick, former Uber acting CFO, joining as Chief Financial Officer.
Aidan Gomez, Co-founder and CEO of Cohere:
“Cohere is becoming the world’s chosen partner for integrating AI into critical industries. We are at a pivotal moment in accelerating the delivery of secure AI that empowers enterprises worldwide.”
Canada’s AI Ecosystem Continues to Scale
Cohere’s trajectory is part of a much broader Canadian AI scale-up story. The country benefits from deep academic research centres (Mila, Vector, Amii), growing pools of venture capital, and the federal government Scale AI innovation cluster in Montreal which channels hundreds of millions of dollars into commercialization projects. Together these forces are turning Canadian AI from research excellence into global market strength. Below are some Canadian AI companies operating at scale.
See: Why AI Investment Is Missing What Workers Actually Want
- Cohere – Raised $500M USD in Series E funding, valuation at $6.8B, fueling enterprise-grade AI expansion
- Tenstorrent – Secured >$693M USD Series D at a $2B pre-money valuation, backing chip and open-source stacks
- Waabi – Raised $200M USD Series B, bringing total to over $280M; accelerating generative AI trucking tech
- Clio – Vancouver-based legaltech raised $900M USD Series F at $3B valuation
- Docebo – AI-powered LMS raised approx. $167M USD across rounds including post-IPO
- 1QBit – Raised $45M USD Series B in quantum software
- Ada (Ada CX) achieved unicorn status with $130M USD Series C round
- Sanctuary AI – Raised >$140M CAD/USD across strategic rounds
Why It Matters
Cohere’s $500M raise demonstrates Canada’s growing capacity as a hub for enterprise-level AI innovation, alongside other Canadian-founded scale-ups like Tenstorrent, Waabi, Clio, Docebo, 1QBit, Ada, and Sanctuary AI. Canada's momentum shows that we're not only incubating promising ideas and startups but supporting scale-ups that are impacting global AI markets with capital, partnerships, and converging talent.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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