Solaires Enterprises and XLYNX Materials recently announced a collaboration of efforts toward building efficient and stable perovskite solar cells to “unlock the full potential of recycled light.” The indoor photovoltaics market is entering a period of rapid growth and is projected to be worth $58 billion by the end of 2027—with perovskite-based indoor photovoltaics, like […]
Sanctuary AI Unveils Next Generation of World-Class Phoenix Robot, Carbon AI
One of the world’s most interesting robots has undergone a makeover. The Vancouver-born Phoenix, developed by local robotics firm Sanctuary AI, has re-launched as the seventh generation of itself—a new and improved humanoid bot. Phoenix is at once fascinating—named last year one of the world’s top inventions—and also boring: the robot is designed to perform […]
Amid Taxes Drama, Investor Tiny Rips Page from Warren Buffet’s Playbook
Investors on Vancouver Island are taking a page out of Warren Buffet’s old playbook. “If you own a Canadian business, there’s a vital reason why you should consider selling,” Andrew Wilkinson, cofounder of Tiny Foundation, posted recently on X. “By June 25, the capital gains tax on the sale of your business will soar.” Wilkinson […]
Battery Tech Innovator Energy Plug Taps Rivian, Tesla Expertise with Latest Hire
In December, Energy Plug Technologies announced its intention to partner with the Malahat First Nation. The partnership, currently in the process of being established, would see Energy Plug build a gigafactory to localize battery pack assembly and the battery supply chain in Canada. Specifically, the intended partnership will allow Energy Plug and the Malahat to […]
Canada Has ‘Lost the Plot’: Investors, Entrepreneurs Not Happy with Budget
Canada’s largest fintech is not the only company pissed off at the federal government. Alongside the displeased Shopify in Ottawa is a coast-to-coast collection of complainers, including investors and entrepreneurs throughout British Columbia. What, exactly, are they up in arms for? Canada’s federal government recently dropped its new budget and there’s something in particular about […]
Metaspectral Advances to Semifinals of Global Competition Innovating Wildfire Tech
Vancouver’s Metaspectral has been selected to proceed to the semifinals of the XPRIZE Wildfire competition. XPRIZE Wildfire is a 4-year, $11 million competition incentivizing the innovation of firefighting technologies to mitigate destructive wildfires. The prize aims to transform current wildfire management approaches through the development of new technologies that can rapidly and accurately detect, characterize, […]
Fintech Blossom Exceeds Target with Successful Crowdfunding Campaign
A Vancouver-based startup is crowdfunding capital from the community. Blossom, a B.C. fintech firm, is using FrontFundr to raise capital from Canadians—and is seeing strong early success. The fintech, which claims to be growing by more than 10,000 users per month, has already raised more than $2 million previously from investors such as LOI Venture […]
UniUni Secures US$70M in Capital Over Four Months to Fuel Future of Delivery
UniUni ranked fourth in the Globe and Mail’s 2023 list of top growing Canadian companies, with a three-year growth rate of more than 12,000 per cent. Nice, but not enough for founder and chief executive officer Peter Lu, who carries an ambitious goal for his company: Achieve the famed $1 billion “unicorn” status by 2025. En […]
COAST Pitchfest Seeking Early-Stage Startups Innovating the Blue Economy
From Washington to Alaska, the coast of British Columbia stretches nearly 1,000 kilometres north-south. When you factor in the coast’s many deep incisions and the province’s 40,000 islands, that figure balloons to a remarkable 26,000 km—or, in other terms, 10% of the entire country’s coastline. Thus it is of little surprise that the super natural […]
Powered by Government Funding, UBC to Add 800 Spaces Across Tech, Science
The University of British Columbia is adding nearly 800 new spaces for its technology-related programs, the post-secondary institution announced this month. The significant expansion of UBC’s tech talent pipeline is partially powered by funding from the B.C. government. A grand total of $23 million was promised by the government, which will contribute to the addition […]