BC Tech Crowns Winners of 2022 Technology Impact Awards

Now in their 29th year, the Technology Impact Awards (TIAs) have never had more reasons to celebrate than they did last night at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Ambition was the theme of the 2022 TIAs and through the evening’s celebration 45 TIAs finalists across 12 categories were honoured.

Staged before a sold-out crowd at the Vancouver Convention Centre, the province’s largest and longest-running tech awards program broke new ground declaring the “Company of the Year – Startup” winner following a dramatic new Dragon’s Den-style format for category.

VodaSafe, an underwater scanning technology used to help find drowning victims, emerged as the winner and went home with $10,000 from BC Tech to fuel their growth and $4,000< in PR support co-funded by BC Tech and Switchboard PR.

The evening’s final award, “Person of the Year,” ended the gala on an emotional note with Josh Nilson, originally from Willow River, BC and founder of the iconic East Side Games studio, receiving recognition for his leadership in the local tech ecosystem and commitment to advancing diversity in tech, specifically for Indigenous peoples.

“I think I’m a voice right now in getting the word out that ‘tech is for everyone’ and for what I can do to talk about diversity, equity and inclusion. But most importantly, I think my job is just to hold the door open, so other people can come in. And then I’ll step back and let people that really can do it better than me have a huge impact and get the work done. And I’ll help amplify their voices and support them wherever I can,” Nilson said in an impassioned acceptance speech.

Spirit of BC Tech – Ambition

• Finalists: Clio, Dapper Labs, LandSure, Trulioo, & VanHack
• Winner: Dapper Labs

GameChanger – Climate Leadership

• Finalists: General Fusion, Global Relay, HTEC, & Loop Energy
• Winner: HTEC

GameChanger – Diversity & Inclusion

• Finalists: Hootsuite, Jelly Academy, & SAP
• Winner: Hootsuite

Excellence in Industry Innovation

• Finalists: Seaspan Shipyards, TechBrew Robotics, & Vancouver Airport Authority
• Winner: Vancouver Airport Authority

Excellence in Technology Innovation

• Finalists: Elevated Signals, ForwardAI, MeetAmi Innovations, & Transoft Solutions
• Winner: MeetAmi Innovations

Company of the Year – Startup

• Finalists: Carbin Minerals, Daanaa, MintList, & VodaSafe
• Winner: VodaSafe

Company of the Year – Growth

• Finalists: AOT Technologies, FansUnite, Oxygen8, & StandardFusion
• Winner: AOT Technologies

Company of the Year – Export

• Finalists: Advanced Cyclotron Systems, Canalyst, Launchpad, & Weir Motion Metrics
• Winner: Advanced Cyclotron Systems

Company of the Year – Scale

• Finalists: Freight Club, Lighthouse Labs, ReadyMode, & Redlen Technologies
• Winner: Redlen Technlogies

Company of the Year – Anchor

• Finalists: GeoComply, Global Relay, LMI Technologies, & Seaspan Shipyards
• Winner: GeoComply

Excellence in Company Culture

• Finalists: Dapper Labs, FreshWorks Studio, & Lumen5
• Winner: Dapper Labs

Person of the Year

• Finalist: Joy Johnson, Josh Nilson, & Pascal Spothelfer
• Winner: Josh Nilson of East Side Games