The St. John’s, Newfoundland-based tech startup Avalon Holographics launched its first-generation prototype display; the federal government will launch the first round of its $300-million Housing Supply Challenge, focused on the provision of reliable housing data; Alberta Premier Jason Kenney put Doug Schweitzer at the head of his new ministry of Jobs, Economy and Innovation; and more.
Organization: Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)
Lab2Market pilot project teaches university researchers to think like entrepreneurs
A new program will help more than 80 university-based research teams assess the commercial potential of their innovations. Modeled on successful programs in the United States and the United Kingdom, Lab2Market could eventually go national.
The Short Report, December 18, 2019: Atlantic “sea ice” computing; Quebec’s digital wallet; post-Brexit Euro-futures for Canadian research
ACENET at Memorial University launched a regional advanced computing system. in Atlantic Canada called Siku, a word that means “sea ice” in Inuktitut. The centre is 50% more powerful than all of ACENET’s recently retired systems together and is interoperable with the national Compute Canada platform. Supported by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), Siku aims to generate economic benefits for…
The Short Report, October 30, 2019: Bad loans, rocket propulsion, population growth
The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is contending with defaulted loans worth $43.2 million dollars, comprising more than 10% of the federal agency’s $422.9-million portfolio. By comparison, only 3.3 per cent of the loans given out by the Business Development Bank of Canada were impaired as of March 31. – Financial Post University of Toronto’s seed-stage accelerator…
The Short Report, July 24, 2019: 5G, Indigenous health, John Knubley
Rogers Communications has partnered with Waterloo accelerator Communitech to open a 5G innovation lab, opening in September and focusing on smart city, IoT and enterprise applications. – Yahoo Finance Saskatoon-based software company Vendasta Technologies Inc. has raised $40-million in venture capital, the largest ever for a Saskatchewan tech company. – The Globe and Mail Ottawa calls it the largest…
The Short Report, July 17, 2019: Frailty, electric vehicles, cloud computing
A new report by the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s World Trade Centre Toronto (WTC-T) argues that the Toronto region needs a better scaleup ecosystem to grow its small and medium enterprises. Titled ”Defying Gravity: Building a Scaleup Ecosystem,” the report claims that the region provides ample support to tech startups through its numerous accelerators…
Scaleup initiative in Atlantic Canada seeks to break “invent and sell” cycle
A new program to help Atlantic Canada-based businesses rapidly grow was launched in late March by the Univ of New Brunswick, in partnership with the Government of Canada and Opportunities New Brunswick (ONB).
Ottawa invests $100M in steel and aluminum SMEs across the country
The initiative will provide recipients with non-repayable contributions for projects to enhance productivity, adopt new technologies, and create more skilled jobs.
ACOA jumpstarts Atlantic Aerospace and Defence Association
The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is investing $3 million in a new Atlantic Aerospace and Defence Association (ACADA) to promote the sector’s capabilities and develop value-added activities, with an emphasis on small- and medium-sized enterprises.
ACOA renews Springboard Atlantic funding
Springboard Atlantic has received $9.2 million to continue delivering technology transfer services to its 19 member institutions.