Tank Talks By Ripple Ventures

Canada is entering one of the most important moments in its innovation history. As global tensions rise and national security becomes a growing priority, founders, investors, and governments are being forced to rethink how Canadian defence technology is built, funded, and scaled. In this special episode of Tank Talks, host Matt Cohen steps into the guest seat as part of a live panel recording from...

In this special episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen brings listeners inside Toronto Tech Week with a live podcast studio recorded at the Toronto Homecoming event. This episode captures a fast-moving snapshot of the Canadian tech ecosystem through candid conversations with Boris Wertz of Version One, Lawrence Mandel and Farhan Thawar of Shopify, Ben Vinegar of Modem, Andrew Chau of Neo Financial, Fah...

In this episode of Tank Talks, recorded live at the Global Startups Conference, Matt Cohen and John Ruffolo take the stage for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of Canada’s innovation economy, the AI infrastructure race, and why this moment feels different, even if John still refuses to fully believe “this time is different.” The conversation opens with SpaceX’s historic IPO, massive valua...

In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen sits down with Michael Arbus, CEO of moomoo Canada, for a wide-ranging conversation on Wall Street trading floors, Canadian fintech, crypto regulation, AI-powered investing, and what it really takes to build and scale financial technology companies. Michael’s career has taken him from the chaos of Bay Street and Wall Street desks at firms like RBC Capital...

In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen sits down with Aidan Madigan-Curtis, Partner at Eclipse, for a sharp conversation on physical AI, frontier tech, robotics, manufacturing, and the future of building in the real world. Aidan shares her unlikely path from a small mountain town in Penticton to Harvard, Bridgewater, Apple, Samsara, and now Eclipse, where she invests at the intersection of atom...

In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen and John Ruffolo unpack the latest leaked details around Canada’s national AI strategy, including a proposed Canadian Tech Growth Fund that would take direct equity stakes in AI startups and scale-ups. John pushes back on whether creating yet another government-backed fund solves the real problem or simply adds more confusion to an already crowded funding...

In this episode of Tank Talks: The Rundown, Matt Cohen and John Ruffolo break down a huge week across Canadian tech, quantum computing, SPACs, AI infrastructure, vertical SaaS, and the reported SpaceX IPO filing. They start with Xanadu’s $300 million at-the-market equity facility and what it reveals about the funding challenge facing Canadian quantum companies that need billion-dollar scale capita...

In this episode of Tank Talks, host Matt Cohen sits down with Jason Shuman, General Partner at Primary Ventures, New York’s largest dedicated seed fund. With a journey that spans from raising money for a nonprofit at eight years old to driving Uber at night while sourcing deals like Latch, Jason’s experience offers valuable insights for founders, especially those navigating the challenges of build...

In this episode of Tank Talks, host Matt Cohen sits down with Mina Mitry, CEO and Co-Founder of Kepler Communications, one of the world’s most ambitious space infrastructure companies. With a journey that spans from winning $75,000 in university pitch competitions to building the world’s first commercial optical data relay network, Mina’s experience offers valuable insights for founders, especiall...

In this episode of Tank Talks, host Matt Cohen sits down with Jon Love, founder and executive chair of KingSett Capital, one of Canada’s largest and most experienced private equity real estate platforms. A seasoned investor who has navigated multiple market cycles, Jon is known for his frank, unfiltered takes on Canadian policy, regulation, and capital deployment, and this conversation is no diffe...

In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen and John Ruffolo break down one of the biggest economic policy announcements in Canada’s innovation economy: Mark Carney’s proposed $25 billion Canada Strong Fund, a sovereign wealth fund designed to invest in nation-building projects, strategic industries, Canadian technology companies, and long-term economic sovereignty. John, who previously argued for t...

Originally recorded as Matt Cohen’s guest appearance on Mantle Mondays hosted by Amar Varma. In this special episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen joins Amar Varma on Mantle Mondays for a candid conversation about how to get VC funding in 2026, what early-stage investors actually look for, and where the next wave of breakout startups is being built. As the Founder and Managing Partner of Ripple Ventur...

In this episode of Tank Talks , Matt Cohen and John Ruffolo break down the latest developments shaping Canada’s tech landscape, from AI policy and government regulation to talent flight and emerging cybersecurity risks. They discuss proposals to restrict AI chatbot access for minors, the broader implications of tech regulation in a fast-moving market, and the controversial idea of imposing an exit...

Venture debt might be the most misunderstood tool in startup finance. Ask ten founders to explain it, and you will get ten different answers, most of them wrong. In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen sits down with Marshall Hawks, a 16-year Silicon Valley Bank veteran who structured hundreds of venture debt deals, including for Airbnb, Twitch, and Fitbit. After SVB’s collapse in 2023, Marshall...

Originally recorded as Matt Cohen’s guest appearance on the Make It Click podcast hosted by Willson Cross. Matt Cohen joins Willson Cross on the Make It Click podcast for a sharp, no-fluff conversation on what actually makes early-stage startups click. As the founder and managing partner of Ripple Ventures, Matt breaks down how he went from Bay Street and Wall Street trading desks to becoming one...

In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen and John Ruffolo unpack a major week across Canadian venture capital, deep tech liquidity, sovereign investment strategy, and the rapidly shifting AI software stack. The conversation opens with Ontario’s newly announced $4 billion Protect Ontario Account investment fund, designed to back artificial intelligence, defence, manufacturing, and growth-stage bus...

In this episode of Tank Talks , host Matt Cohen sits down with Glenn Cowan, a former Canadian Special Forces squadron commander, world-record skydiver, and founder of ONE9 Investments, one of Canada’s most focused venture firms in defence, national security, and dual-use tech. He has experienced both sides of the mission, from the field to the boardroom, and brings a perspective you do not hear of...

In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen sits down with Ali Asaria, Co-Founder of Transformer Lab, to unpack the less visible side of the AI boom, from broken machine learning tools to the rise of autonomous research agents. Ali shares what it really looks like inside modern AI development and why the biggest opportunity isn’t just using models, but having the ability to train, control, and impro...

In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen and John Ruffolo unpack a volatile moment across software, capital markets, AI, and Canadian industrial policy. The conversation opens with Constellation Software’s AI-era challenge, as new president Mark Miller faces investor skepticism around whether legacy vertical market software can maintain its moat in a world increasingly shaped by AI-driven product...

In this episode of Tank Talks, host Matt Cohen sits down with Didier Lavallée, Founder and CEO of Tetra Digital Group, to explore one of the most important frontiers in Canadian fintech: regulated digital assets and the rise of a sovereign Canadian stablecoin. Didier shares his journey from more than a decade in capital markets and custody roles at RBC to founding Tetra following the collapse of Q...

In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen and John Ruffolo unpack the most pressing trends shaking up the innovation economy, from AI-driven layoffs to the ongoing turbulence in the private credit market. The conversation kicks off with insights from the Upfront Summit 2026, where AI dominated the spotlight. As venture firms scramble to stay ahead of the curve, Matt and John delve into how AI is r...

In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen sits down with Christian Weedbrook, founder and CEO of Xanadu, and Bill Fradin, CEO of Crane Harbor Acquisition Corp., to explore the historic SPAC merger that is bringing Xanadu to the public markets. With a focus on photonic quantum computing, Xanadu has rapidly advanced in the quantum tech space, positioning itself as a leader in both hardware and softw...

In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen and John Ruffolo dive into Canada’s bold new defence industrial strategy, backed by $6.6 billion to reduce U.S. dependency and prioritize domestic tech suppliers. They discuss the challenges of defining a “Canadian” company and whether the strategy has the right balance of government procurement and private sector support to succeed. The conversation also...

Why is gold suddenly back in the spotlight? In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen sits down with Peter Grosskopf, a seasoned veteran in the precious metals and investment management world. Peter has seen it all. He helped scale Sprott from $5 billion to over $20 billion in assets under management, and now, he’s co-founded Argo Digital Gold, a platform pioneering the tokenization of physical go...

In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen sits down with Amar Varma, CEO and Co-Founder of Mantle, a revolutionary platform designed to transform the private investing landscape. As a serial entrepreneur with experience as both a General Partner (GP) and Limited Partner (LP), Amar offers a rare, dual perspective on the world of investment. His background spans multiple industries, including mobile...