Xanadu looks to snap tech IPO drought. Xanadu Quantum Technologies, the darling of the Canadian quantum industry, announced plans to go public on the Nasdaq via SPAC in 2026. At launch, the IPO is expected to raise about US$500 million. There’s hope the launch will trigger a flood of offerings that will revive Canada’s barren tech IPO landscape. That said, few sectors are generating as much interest as quantum computing. (Nov. 4 Edition)
Liberals table a potentially transformative budget. Carney’s first budget was a doozy, calling for $141 billion in new spending and $51 billion in cuts and savings. At its heart is a $51 billion plan to fast-track nation-building projects. There was a brief moment when it looked like it might not pass (which could’ve triggered an election), but the Liberals wrangled a Conservative defector and the support of Elizabeth May. (Nov. 5 Edition)
Ottawa and Alberta play nice on new pipeline. The feds inked a memorandum of understanding with Alberta to construct a new oil pipeline connecting the province’s oil sands to the coast of B.C. In exchange, Alberta agreed to cut its methane emissions by 75% over the next decade and jack up its industrial carbon price. This compromise was not enough to quiet critics like B.C. Premier David Eby and cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault, who resigned. (Nov. 20 Edition)
Big deals take prediction markets to the next level. In a one-week span, Kalshi bagged a US$1 billion raise, giving it an eye-watering $11 billion valuation, and inked a deal with CNN to integrate its data into its broadcasts. It was the capper for a year that saw it, and rival prediction market Polymarket, ascend to the mainstream. The dream of Kalshi’s founder to “financialize everything” might soon come true — for better or for worse. (Dec. 5 Edition)
Netflix’s Warner Bros. bid upends Hollywood. When Warner Bros. Discovery accepted a US$82.7 billion takeover from Netflix, questions exploded. Would a Netflix-HBO Max link-up end the streaming wars? Would Netflix’s disdain for theatrical releases kill off cinemagoing? Would Bugs Bunny visit the Upside Down? But the first question that needs an answer is: can the merger survive regulators and a competing offer from Paramount? (Dec. 6 Edition)