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 USD $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 […]
Hootsuite Acquires Talkwalker to Innovate at Intersection of Social and AI
After Hootsuite’s 2022 rebrand, the longstanding Vancouver social media firm found itself laying off staff in 2o23 (alongside, of course, a lot of other tech companies across the continent). Since then, the storied pioneer launched an AI product and, most recently, announced an acquisition. Hootsuite this week acquired Luxembourg’s Talkwalker, an AI-powered “social listening solution” […]
TRIUMF Spinoff ARTMS Acquired by Pharma Firm for Health-Tech Innovation
A spin-off company from TRIUMF, Canada’s particle accelerator centre, has been acquired by Australian biopharma company Telix Pharmaceuticals. Vancouver’s ARTMS, an innovator in the medical isotopes space, was acquired in a recent US$82 million deal. “ARTMS is a tremendous example of how federal support for fundamental science can spur innovation and deliver real impact for […]
Vancouver Startup Wins Deep Space Challenge to Help Feed Astronauts
A coding hackathon runs for one or two days; a startup accelerator, perhaps three-to-six months. For Ecoation, the battle lasted three years. The Vancouver-based food-tech startup trumped rivals from the University of Guelph, Concordia, McGill, and more to win the years-long Deep Space Food Challenge. The Deep Space Food Challenge, hosted by the Canadian Space […]
How Artificial Intelligence is Helping the Okanagan Clean Up Recycling Habits
The Regional District of Central Okanagan believes that leveraging modern technology is an important step toward optimizing recycling in B.C. and beyond. For example, the region has long recommended Municipal Media’s Recycle Coach, a mobile app that helps citizens be aware of local rules and schedules around recycling, setting up custom reminders to stay on […]
Elevated Signals and pH7 Collaboration Targets Critical Minerals with Cleantech
Two Vancouver-area upstarts this week unveiled a strategic partnership. The freshly funded Elevated Signals, which develops modern manufacturing software, has partnered with pH7 Technologies, a globally recognized cleantech innovator targeting the mining industry. PH7 provides mines and original equipment manufacturers with eco-friendly and cost-effective technology-based solutions for extracting and processing high-value metals like copper and […]
Novarc Maintains Momentum with Rising Demand for Spool Welding Robot
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 […]