Last year, Innovate BC and the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program provided a combined total of $2 million in research and development funding to help 14 companies pilot their technologies and create new jobs across B.C.
The program helps small and medium sized businesses design, build, and operate a pilot plant or small demonstration of their technology while helping to solve real world problems.
By providing up to $200,000 in funding for each project, the B.C. Fast Pilot program enables B.C. technology companies to demonstrate the impact of their product, measure the value of their solution, and encourage customer adoption.
This fourth round of funding included Novarc Technologies, a North Vancouver robotics company that this month ranked among the fastest-growing companies in the Americas—for the third consecutive year.
The B.C. robotics upstart, specializing in the design and manufacturing of co-bots and computer vision AI for automated welding applications, was this week named to The Financial Times’ fifth annual ranking of the fastest-growing companies.
Novarc placed 146th out of 500 companies that comprise the list, which ranked firms in the Americas by their highest compound annual growth in revenues between 2019 and 2022.
“We are very pleased to be once again named to this prestigious Financial Times’ list,” stated Soroush Karimzadeh, chief executive of Novarc. “Novarc is continuing to grow with expansion into international markets such as Australia and Europe.”
The chief innovation wielded by Karimzadeh’s company is a pipe welding automation system known as the Spool Welding Robot, or SWR, which combines Artificial Intelligence, computer vision, machine learning algorithms, and robotics.
“Novarc’s pipe welding automation system, the Spool Welding Robot, addresses the shortage of skilled welders by working with less experienced operators to significantly improve shop productivity, while still producing high-quality welds,” explains the CEO.
As demand for infrastructure drives up the need for welding services amid a major labour shortage, Karimzadeh believes “there will be an acute demand for our manufacturing automation solution.”
Last year, Novarc completed a Series A fundraising round with Caterpillar Venture Capital.
Moving forward, the Canadian company anticipates more than 50% growth this year.
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