Six startups are joining Blue Action Canada’s second cohort.
The Blue Action Canada Accelerator, powered by Blue Action alongside Victoria’s COAST and the Founders Factory, has expanded internationally for the first time.
The second cohort features four Canadian startups (including two based in British Columbia) plus two from the United Kingdom.
“Blue Action Canada was created to help early-stage companies turn innovation into impact,” explains Jason Goldsworthy, Executive Director of COAST. “This cohort reflects the scale of talent and new ideas emerging at the intersection of ocean innovation, climate action and security, and it’s exciting to see both Canadian and international ventures building that future here in British Columbia.”
The cohort includes UK’s ACUA Ocean, which is developing autonomous un-crewed surface vessels for full-ocean monitoring and data collection, as well as Armada Technologies, makers of a hull air lubrication system for maritime decarbonization.
Out of B.C. is Deepwater Robotics, a developer of long-range, low-cost autonomous underwater vehicles for ocean survey, port and channel inspection, and threat detection.
PhyCo, meanwhile, is innovating industrial-scale seaweed bioplastic (for which it recently garnered NorthX funding).
Maritime electrification pioneer Flux Lines and AI-powered vision detection startup Whale Seeker, both out of Montreal, also joined the cohort.
“Defence, maritime fuel efficiency, and nature are the critical challenges of the day,”posits George Northcott, President, Founders Factory.
“We are excited to welcome pioneering startups into this programme in British Columbia,” he commented.
Canada’s Ocean Supercluster “is proud to partner with COAST and Founders Factory in delivery of Blue Action Canada,” remarked Kendra MacDonald. “This cohort will accelerate the potential for new commercial opportunities and sector growth.”
The programme will culminate in Victoria and Vancouver in May 2026 coinciding with Web Summit Vancouver and the MariTech event in Victoria.
“We see huge opportunities to develop cross-border commercialization pathways for our Canadian and UK founders and look forward to working with them over the coming weeks,” Northcott said.
Since 2015, Founders Factory has built and funded 450 technology companies. Find out more at www.foundersfactory.com.
An initiative of the South Island Prosperity Partnership, COAST has a membership of nearly 600 individuals, companies, and organizations involved in the region’s ocean economy.
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