Each month, the team at Switchboard Public Relations connects the dots between the trends, headlines and narratives informing the B.C. tech sector.
For December’s Connecting The Dots, the team examines B.C.’s latest cabinet shuffle, breaks down recent funding announcements, highlights the latest partnerships across the B.C. tech ecosystem, and shines a spotlight on recipients of the 2022 Victoria Tech Community Awards.
New JEDI Minister named following B.C.’s latest cabinet shuffle
The Short: Vancouver-False Creek MLA Brenda Bailey was named the new Minister of Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation (JEDI) in B.C.’s latest cabinet shuffle on December 7th.
The Long: Part of a new cabinet of 23 ministers and four ministers of state,
Minister Bailey’s appointment builds on her two years as Parliamentary Secretary for Technology and Innovation, and her extensive background in B.C.’s tech industry. In 2011 she co-founded Silicon Sisters, Canada’s first women-owned and operated video game studio, in response to the lack of high-quality games being developed for women and girls. More recently, she served as Executive Director of the Creative Technology Association of British Columbia (DigiBC), where she worked to strengthen the province’s growing creative tech industry and bring more diversity and inclusion to the sector. As Minister Bailey commented following her appointment: “Bettering the lives of people through research and innovation is an important part of our StrongerBC Economic Plan and a personal passion of mine.” The Switchboard Team congratulates Minister Bailey on her new role! Review the mandate letter of priorities here, as well as the complete cabinet here.
Funding updates for B.C. tech
The Short: Alpha-9 raises $75 million; Elastic Path secures an additional $30 million in growth funding; and MineSense closes a USD$42-million financing round.
The Long: Vancouver-born Alpha-9, a clinical-stage company developing differentiated and targeted radio-pharmaceuticals, has raised $75 million in a Series B financing round. Founded by researchers from the University of British Columbia and BC Cancer, Alpha-9 states that its work has “the potential to meaningfully improve the treatment of people living with cancer.” The latest funding will support the advancement of Alpha-9’s programs into clinical stages over the next few years while expanding early-stage programs. According to David Hirsch, M.D., Ph.D., and CEO of Alpha-9, “With this new investor partnership, we are well-positioned to progress multiple targets into the clinic, harnessing the potential of radio-pharmaceuticals to realize more effective treatments for people living with cancer.”
Vancouver’s Elastic Path has secured another $30 million in growth funding following a $60-million raise last February. According to the e-commerce startup, the new capital will be used to accelerate its leadership in the composable commerce movement, which involves selecting the best commerce components and combining them into a custom application built for specific business needs. This approach allows brands “to curate a best-of-breed solution that provides the flexibility to fit their unique business requirements.”
In a financing round led by J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s Sustainable Growth Equity team, Vancouver’s MineSense has received USD$42 million. With an initial focus on copper – a critical component for supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy – MineSense’s data-driven solutions improve ore grade control, operational profitability and carbon intensity across the metals mining industry. Currently serving mines across Canada, Chile and Peru, this latest round will allow the company to expand its coverage globally and extend into other critical metals such as nickel, cobalt, zinc and iron.
B.C. tech’s latest partnerships
The Short: Launchpad Technologies partners with a global leader in data intelligence, and Trulioo is partnering with Beedie Luminaries to support post-secondary students.
The Long: Launchpad Technologies, a Vancouver-based provider of enterprise integration software, has partnered with New York’s Altrata, a global leader in data intelligence on the wealthy and influential. By integrating Altrata’s WealthEngine and Wealth-X databases with Launchpad’s cloud-hosted and fully managed Paasport platform, this partnership enables organizations of all sizes to automate their applications, data, and workflows while leveraging data intelligence that elevates their campaigns, expands audiences, decreases acquisition costs, increases revenue, and mitigates risk. According to Launchpad Founder and Principal Bruce Qi, “We are delighted to partner with Altrata to make automation easier and more rewarding for its business, nonprofit and public-sector customers around the world.”
Trulioo, a provider of a global digital identity marketplace that allows companies to automatically verify customers anywhere in the world, has partnered with Beedie Luminaries to support post-secondary students within the program who are pursuing studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Trulioo has made a $300,000 five-year commitment to support with scholarships, paid internships, and dedicated mentoring. Beedie Luminaries’ mission is to give promising B.C. students the opportunity to advance their education, achieve their dreams, and inspire others.
“We are grateful to Trulioo for joining us in our efforts to remove barriers to higher education for deserving, driven and highly engaged British Columbians,” said Ryan Beedie, founder of Beedie Luminaries and President of Beedie. “Through the collective power of philanthropy, corporate and community partnerships, we are able to extend our support to even more talented British Columbians so they can reach their full potential.”
Award wins continue for the Victoria Tech Community
The Short: The Victoria Tech Community Awards were back this year with more nominations than ever before.
The Long: On Thursday, December 8th, the Victoria Tech Community Awards honoured the people and businesses who have made Victoria the fastest-growing tech region in B.C, with 187 nominations, and 59 finalists from 47 companies honored across 10 award categories.
A leader in background screening solutions, Certn was named “Anchor Company of the Year.” Earlier this year, Certn secured a USD$50-million Series B funding round and was added to Communitech’s first ever Team True North list. This indicates that Certn is tracking to $1 billion in annual revenue.
MarineLabs was awarded the “Growth Company of the Year” award. The company has created smart tech that can be attached to any floating surface to monitor wave activity. The company’s flagship technology, CoastAware, is used by clients like the Port of Prince Rupert, the University of Victoria, the Government of Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard, and BC Ferries.
Following a recent $12.8-million funding round, Audette was named “Startup of the Year” for 2022. The company’s end-to-end platform captures data to identify and assess opportunities for low-carbon building improvements and helps building owners source financing and incentives that reduce the cost of retrofit projects by up to 90 percent. Check out the full list of award recipients here.
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