PEI Bio Sector Aims for 4X Growth

The PEI BioAlliance has released its 2021-25 Strategic Plan, setting in motion its plan to almost quadruple private sector revenue in the Island’s bioscience cluster to $1 billion within nine years.

Now 16 years old, the BioAlliance is a collaborative organization that harnesses the talents of the private sector, government and academia to develop a thriving bioscience sector on P.E.I.

Within

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NS To Cut Regulation in Business

The Nova Scotia government’s Economic Growth Council has issued its first set of recommendations, which focus on reducing the regulatory burden and treating housing as a strategic growth sector.

The provincial government released the 16 recommendations on Wednesday, saying that it has accepted all but one.

In an interview, Council Chair Scott Brison said the council recognizes the role

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Meta Readies Commercial Plant for 2022

Metamaterial Inc., the Dartmouth-based advanced materials developer that last week became Atlantic Canada’s first publicly traded unicorn, said on an investor call Tuesday that it expects to complete its first commercial production facility in the first half of 2022.

Meta achieved unicorn status thanks to a reverse listing on the Nasdaq that left it with a market cap of more than C$2.7 billion.

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CDL Oceans Graduates 12 Startups

Twelve companies have graduated from the first cohort of Creative Destruction Lab Oceans, meaning a total of 17 oceantech startups have now graduated from the accelerator.

While the Atlantic Canadian CDL group previously accepted oceantech companies into its general program, the 2020-21 session was the first with a stream dedicated to oceantech companies. It attracted 20 companies from nine

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Side Door Closes US$3M Round

Side Door, the Halifax startup that arranges performances at unconventional venues, has closed an equity funding round of US$3 million (C$3.7 million), with which it hopes to increase its presence in the U.S.

Entrepreneurs Laura Simpson and Dan Mangan founded the company in 2017 with the mission of building a platform that would connect music acts with people willing to host performances in

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BioInnovation Challenge Seeks Entrants

Life sciences industry group BioNova is looking for startups to compete in its annual BioInnovation Challenge, which will be held virtually again this year and offer a $55,000 prize of funding and in-kind services.

Now in its eleventh year, the pitching competition will be held during BioPort Atlantic -- the annual conference for life sciences and biotech in Atlantic Canada -- between November 2

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Female-Led Firms Under-Funded

Atlantic Canada looks set to post a banner year for startup funding, but one category of company represents a well of untapped potential: those led by women.

Companies with women in their c-suites are not only underrepresented in the innovation community, but also raise far less money on a proportional basis than do male-run businesses. Entrevestor’s 2020 Startup Data Report, released last

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Nasdaq Elevates Meta to Unicorn

Atlantic Canada has minted its first publicly traded unicorn: Dartmouth’s Metamaterial Inc.

The company began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange Monday thanks to a reverse acquisition of Texas-based Torchlight Energy Resources. By the close, Meta boasted a market capitalization (the total value of its shares) of about US$2.2 billion, or more than C$2.7 billion.

The deal is part of a trend of

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MareComms, Sedna in MassChallenge

Two Dartmouth-based oceantech startups, Marecomms and Sedna Technologies, have been accepted into the MassChallenge accelerator, one of the top startup programs in the U.S.

Participation in the prestigious program would benefit any startup, but it is especially significant in the development of Marecomms, whose solution aims to improve communications with autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs.

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