Atlantic Startups Raised $208M in 2023: CVCA

Atlantic Canadian startups raised just $18 million in the fourth quarter, mirroring a loss of momentum nationally in the closing months of 2023, though that figure rises to about $45 million with the inclusion of an eight-figure round finalized by St. John’s- and Toronto-based Spellbook over the holidays.

For the full year, East Coast startups raised $208 million, down from $230 million in 2022,

Continue Reading

Pain Coach Victorious at Volta

Pain Coach, an app that aims to guide surgery patients with post-operative pain management, took first place at Halifax startup hub Volta’s annual Virtual Pitch Competition last week.

The company is the brainchild of Emily Johnston, a clinical pharmacist who works with trauma victims. It aims to give patients the information and personalized guidance they need to more effectively manage their

Continue Reading

SUMS Event Features Ultrasonic Scalpel, AI Tutoring

A quartet of startups delivered pitches of about half an hour each to an audience of investors and ecosystem members Thursday night in Halifax at an investment club event hosted by SUMS Capital, a platform for early-stage companies to communicate with their financial backers.

Co-founded by life sciences industry veterans Peter Hickey, Neil Smith and Kent MacLean, SUMS has developed a platform

Continue Reading

SimplyCast Expands Canadian Server Capacity

Halifax’s SimplyCast, which sells a platform for companies to consolidate and automate their marketing efforts and communications, is expanding its Canadian server group in response to growing demand.

Chief executive Saeed El-Darahali said in an interview Tuesday that the increasing proliferation of data localization laws, which require businesses to store information in the same country where

Continue Reading

Cognizant to Double Halifax Staff

Two years after it announced it would open a branch office in Halifax, international technology consultancy and services company Cognizant plans to double its presence in the city, adding another 1,000 jobs.

When Cognizant originally announced it was coming to Nova Scotia, it pledged to employ 1,250 people under a payroll rebate agreement with provincial business development agency Nova Scotia

Continue Reading

Eight Present at Democamp

Eight startups presented Thursday at Halifax innovation hub Volta’s annual Democamp event, showcasing their technology to an audience of investors and ecosystem members.

Held at Volta’s new offices overlooking Argyle Street, one of the event’s core conceits was that entrepreneurs could not make their presentations with the aid of a slide deck. The aim of Democamp is that presenters focus on

Continue Reading

ideaHUB Seeks Accelerator Applicants

Dalhousie University’s Emera ideaHUB has opened applications for this year’s ideaBUILD accelerator — a 10-month program meant to help deeptech startups develop and manufacture their products.

The program lasts 10 months and offers participating companies up to $10,000 of funding, as well as access to training workshops, research and development facilities, technical assistance and one-on-one

Continue Reading

Sparrow Launches Stethophone

Seven months after it won United States Food and Drug Administration approval, St. John’s-based Sparrow Bioacoustics has launched its stethoscope app for smartphones in the United States.

The app, called Stethophone, uses a phone’s internal microphones, along with software processing, to allow the device to function as an ad hoc stethoscope when it is held against a patient’s chest. And in a nod

Continue Reading