Canada’s only hardware and semiconductor-focused lab has announced its third cohort of participating companies and one of B.C.’s own is in the mix.
ventureLAB’s Hardware Catalyst Initiative has selected Vancouver’s Epic Semiconductors as one one of eight emerging tech companies from across Canada that the initiative will support as they aspire to join the $7 trillion global semiconductor market.
Epic has created a battery-free microscopic AI chip. SMART DUST is an energy-harvesting sensor that communicates wirelessly and bidirectionally to the cloud. Unlike momentarily activated systems, SMART DUST is ‘always-on’, acting like a superorganism that scientists believe is the next step in AI.
As ventureLAB’s Hardware Catalyst Initiative enters its third round, the goal of the specialized semiconductor lab remains the same: bolster a new generation of tech founders who will build and scale IP-rich products here in Canada — products that are key to strengthening the resilience of our global electronics supply chain and fueling our economic recovery.
“In order to build an economy of the future, we need to create the jobs of the future. If our brightest minds and our most promising tech graduates don’t see transformational career opportunities in Canada, we’ll lose them,” explains Melissa Chee, President and CEO, ventureLAB.
“That’s a major part of what the Hardware Catalyst Initiative aims to do, and it’s clear from this third cohort of participants that Canada’s tech leaders of tomorrow have the vision and the talent needed to help modernize our economy. Now it’s our job to give them the tools they need to get there.”
The selected companies will receive invaluable mentorship from global tech leaders, as well as in-person and virtual access to specialized semiconductor lab equipment that is otherwise cost-prohibitive to early-stage companies.
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