The FIFA World Cup delivered a measurable matchday boost to Vancouver businesses, according to new Visa data that found in-person spending rose by as much as 12.7% compared with the same period in 2025. Vancouver’s largest increase came on June 13, when Australia faced Türkiye. Card-present spending that day was 12.7% higher than average daily […]
Infiligence Opens Richmond Engineering Hub to Bring Enterprise AI Into Production
Vancouver is gaining a new enterprise AI engineering hub as Infiligence expands its presence in North America. The AI-native platform engineering company has launched a Forward Deployed Engineering Center of Excellence in Richmond. The centre will support North American organizations working to move AI projects beyond early experimentation and into secure, production-ready systems. Forward deployed […]
TravelAI Brings Sonder Home with Brand Acquisition
Vancouver-based TravelAI has acquired the Sonder brand and relaunched Sonder.com, giving one of Canada’s best-known travel-tech names a second life following the collapse of its former operator. Through parent company UpNext Ventures, TravelAI acquired the Sonder word mark, more than 50 global trademark registrations, and a portfolio of more than 70 domain names that includes […]
Kelowna’s Nordic AutoFeed Brings Automation to the Barn
At most horse barns, feeding happens on a schedule designed around people. A Kelowna company has developed an automated alternative intended to prioritize horses’ natural grazing patterns and physiological needs. As a part of a product diversification program, led by Kirsten Wiklund and Ashton Shura, Nordic AutoFeed makes an automatic hay feeder that can provide […]
BC Founders Day Moves Outdoors with Its Biggest Lineup Yet
British Columbia’s startup community will come together in Vancouver next month as BC Founders Day returns for its third year. Taking place August 20th at South Flats, a new outdoor venue beside Emily Carr University, the day-long gathering will connect emerging entrepreneurs with some of the province’s most accomplished founders, investors, and mentors. Organized by […]
Innovation UBC Taps Sauder Talent to Help Eight Startups Grow
Innovation UBC has introduced its 2026 cohort of Venture Development Specialists, pairing five UBC Sauder graduate students with eight early-stage companies working to bring university research to market. The specialists are Lisa Popplewell, Drew Blackmun, Nkemdilim Okwuchi, Mitchell Liebrecht, and Darryl Mah. Over a series of two-month consulting projects, the students are supporting CereCura Nanotherapeutics, […]
LōD to Pilot Grid-Responsive AI Technology with Dominion Energy
LōD Technologies has been selected to pilot its flexible AI inference technology with Dominion Energy, one of North America’s largest energy providers. The pilot follows LōD’s selection for the Dominion Energy Innovation Center’s 2026 Accelerate program, a startup accelerator backed by Dominion Energy. It will take place within the utility’s territory in the PJM electricity […]
Vancouver Tech Days Brings Scale-Up Leaders Together for Two-Day Summit
Vancouver founders and tech execs will gather downtown later this month for Vancouver Tech Days, a new two-day summit focused on the practical lessons behind building and scaling successful companies. Taking place July 27 and 28 at And-Co on West Georgia Street, the event will feature two afternoons of fireside chats, panels, keynotes, and networking […]
UBC’s Express Licence Clears a Faster Path from Lab to Startup
Turning university research into a company is rarely as simple as finding a promising technology and assembling a founding team. Before a UBC researcher can commercialize an invention developed at the university, the new company needs the rights to use that intellectual property. Negotiating those rights can take months, cost thousands of dollars, and create […]
Photonic Adds Microsoft Quantum, UK Intelligence Veterans to Leadership Team
Vancouver’s Photonic is strengthening its leadership team as the quantum computing company moves deeper into commercialization. The company announced this week that Orlagh Neary has joined as Chief Marketing Officer, while Briony Shipman has been appointed Vice President of Global Government Affairs. The hires follow Photonic’s final close of more than $200 million in May, […]