In 2024, nearly 1,700 wildfires burned a combined one million hectares of land in British Columbia. Roughly 160 evacuation orders or alerts affected over 15,000 properties province-wide. One-third of wildfires are caused by human activity, the Province estimates, with the rest being attributed to natural factors (most commonly lightning). Whether man-made or nature-triggered, controlling and […]
Vancouver Studio Hothead Games Declares Bankruptcy as Contracts Collapse at Last Minute
After nearly two decades in business, Vancouver studio Hothead Games has shuttered. “It pains me to announce that Hothead Games Inc. is no more,” company president Ian Wilkinson stated last week. Hothead filed for bankruptcy this month following last-minute contract cancellations from partners which the studio couldn’t financially recover from. “We created an amazing playable […]
Why the Cleantech Industry Dominated Headlines in B.C. Through 2024
British Columbia continues to be a hotspot for innovation in the clean technology field. The province is anchored by the Vancouver area, which KPMG regards as a world-class cleantech cluster. There are hundreds of cleantech firms across the region. And we’ll mention dozens in this article alone as we highlight some of the year’s top […]
Thinkific Labs Launches ‘Cohesive’ Kit of A.I. Tools for Creating and Selling Digital Products
Thinkific Labs this week announced a slew of new features powered by artificial intelligence. The Vancouver-based cloud software platform enables entrepreneurs and businesses to create, market, and sell digital learning products. Trading publicly on the Toronto Stock Exchange as THNC, Thinkific says the “host of new AI features” are “designed to streamline the entire process […]
Shift Coastal Brings Advanced Marine Tech to Gitxaala Nation for Three-Phase Project
Gitxaala Environmental Services been awarded nearly half of a million dollars in funding, a recent announcement revealed. The capital is earmarked to support a multi-phase project from Gitxaala, run by the northern coastal Gitxaała Nation, aimed at enhancing environmental monitoring processes in-port and terminal settings to improve operational efficiency and reduce environmental impact. The funding […]
Seven B.C. Tech Innovators Advancing the Future of Robotics in Canada
Artificial intelligence posing a threat to the end of the world has been a trope for as long as humanity could conjure the concept. So, too, has the utopian ideal of robotic entities performing all of the tasks people do not desire, thus freeing up our time for blissful enjoyment of life’s pleasures. And with […]
WELL Health Reaches for a Star with Strategic Rebrand and Multiple Acquisitions
WELL Health Technologies is rebranding its subsidiary, WELL Provider Solutions Group, with intentions to spin the business into an independent firm. WELL’s Provider Solutions business is now known as WELLSTAR Technologies, a software-as-a-service healthcare firm. “A pure-play SaaS and technology leader, or ‘star,’ is born,” stated Hamed Shahbazi, founder and chief executive of WELL. To […]
Celebrating ‘Tech Milestone,’ Vancouver Robotics Upstart Reveals Enhanced Dexterity
A company on a mission to create the world’s first human-like intelligence in general-purpose robots has achieved what it describes as a “technological milestone.” Vancouver’s Sanctuary AI recently demonstrated dexterous robotic hands with 21 degrees of freedom that can perform in-hand manipulation, which the firm says opens up a wide range of industrial tasks. “Demonstrating […]
CFIN’s Innovation Booster Injects Two B.C. Food-Tech Firms with Fresh Capital
The Canadian Food Innovation Network this week revealed that it is awarding a total of $500,000 to 11 food-tech projects across Canada. The funding, hailing from CFIN’s Innovation Booster Program, is set to be matched by industry for a total of $1M in investments. The projects span a wide range of innovations, including the digitalization […]
Okanagan City the First in Canada to Launch Power-Optimizing TELUS SmartEnergy Pilot
A couple of months ago, we reported on an initiative from TELUS that aims to help customers save on energy bills. The launch from TELUS, SmartEnergy, is a tech-forward approach to reducing bills and one’s environmental footprint, according to the company. “With SmartEnergy, our goal is to empower Canadians with the best technology, devices, and […]