The Montreal-founded, San Francisco-based short-term-rental platform completed a previously announced merger with the special-purpose acquisition company Gores Metropoulos II. The company made its Nasdaq debut under the SOND ticker symbol. (The Logic)

Talking point: The company, which has received investment from BDC Capital and Inovia amongst others, previously said the combined company would be worth over US$1.9 billion, down from an earlier valuation of US$2.2 billion—a reflection of the COVID-19-era uncertainty for travel-dependent businesses. Yet industry leader AirbnB has nonetheless performed relatively well, while Montreal-based Hopper was able to double its valuation. “The pandemic kept bringing new twists and turns, with further waves and variant after variant, but our numbers kept getting better. We lost some good people, but the vast majority stayed on, powered through and gave everything they had to turn this crisis into an opportunity,” wrote Sonder co-founder and CEO Francis Davidson in a LinkedIn post Wednesday.