Digital Technology Supercluster CEO Sue Paish kicked off a media event this morning at Terramera’s office in Vancouver with tech champion the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
Minister Bains announced 14 new projects with a total investment of $25 million; eight focused on talent development for the digital economy, six in technology.
The six new technology projects support the digital transformation of key industries, including aviation, water quality systems, health care and agriculture. These six projects received $20.4 million in funding and will bring together 34 partner organizations, including 14 SMEs.
For the agriculture project event host Terramera is collaborating with nine partner organizations—including three universities—to use machine learning and robotics to test new pest control measures that will make the world’s food supply safer.
Terramera is focused on fusing AI, science and nature to create revolutionary technologies that transform how we grow food and solve other world-scale challenges. Terramera recently raised US $45 million in equity funding to advance its Actigate™ Targeted Performance technology.
We appreciate the opportunity to lead this important crop health project through the Digital Technology Supercluster and collaborate with universities, government labs and innovative companies from across Canada. It’s a novel approach that will impact genomics and digital technology in multiple ways, and can set the stage for other companies to solve problems unique to their fields, impacting both Canada’s digital economy, our agriculture economy and the health of Canadian across the country,” shared Karn Manhas, founder and CEO of Terramera.
Minister Bains also launched the Digital Technology Supercluster’s first set of projects specifically designed to address long-term systemic challenges.
Eight capacity-building projects will promote skills development, diversity and inclusion in the technology sector and will help attract students to careers in digital technology. These projects will bring together 40 partner organizations, including eight SMEs.