Edmonton-based Showbie, which provides an online platform for teachers and students, closed a $7.5-million extension to its original $5-million round. The extension includes new investor ATB Private Equity, as well as existing investors and debt financing. (The Logic)

Talking point: The company, which has nearly doubled its staff in 2020, said it wants to keep growing its team and product. The edtech space has been hot as the pandemic shifted much of schooling out of classrooms and into homes. In 2020, Kitchener, Ont.-based ApplyBoard raised $170 million in total Series C funding and saw its value grow to US$1.4 billion. Thinkific, a Vancouver-based company, raised $22 million with plans to triple its workforce early this year. And on Thursday, Toronto’s Top Hat announced a US$130-million investment from Georgian, which it intends to use to fuel its aggressive growth plan. Some of the country’s leading venture capitalists told The Logic they expect the sector to continue its momentum through 2021.