InnovateNB Recognizes 10 Individuals, Organizations

InnovateNB Hall of Fame Inductee Marcel LeBrun

InnovateNB Hall of Fame Inductee Marcel LeBrun

The 2025 InnovateNB Awards brought together a sold-out crowd of more than 440 people at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre on Thursday evening to celebrate the people, companies, and organizations driving innovation across New Brunswick.

This year’s event featured a keynote address by Cathy Bennett, Founding and Managing Partner at Sandpiper Ventures, as well as remarks from Premier Susan Holt.

"Innovation is about people who turn ideas into impact,” said federal Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser in a video address. “Tonight’s nominees and winners reflect the creativity, collaboration, and determination that make New Brunswick a leader in the innovation economy."

The InnovateNB Awards were founded by a coalition of organizations committed to advancing innovation in New Brunswick, including TechImpact, the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, the McKenna Institute at the University of New Brunswick, and Propel, along with local economic development partners. The 2025 Host Economic Development Partner was Envision Saint John.

Ten awards were presented, recognizing innovators making an impact across the province:

2025 InnovateNB Hall of Fame Inductee
Marcel LeBrun
Over 30 years, LeBrun has co-founded multiple technology companies. He helped launch iMagicTV, one of the first companies to commercialize Internet Protocol television (IPTV) technology. He went on to co-found Radian6 in 2006 with technologist Chris Newton and former NBTel colleague Chris Ramsey. In 2011, Salesforce acquired Radian6 for nearly $350 million, marking one of the largest technology exits in Atlantic Canadian history.

The Beacon Award for Women in Innovation and Leadership
Dr. Alli Murugesan
Murugesan is a health innovation and biomedical translational researcher on the faculty of the University of New Brunswick. An experienced biotechnologist and cancer researcher, she is also the Founder and CEO of BioHuntress Therapeutics Inc.

Emerging Innovator Award
Pascale Michaud
Trained as a molecular biologist, Michaud is the Co-founder and CEO of Moncton-based AgroGene Solutions, which provides hive monitoring services for beekeepers.

Innovative Product or Service Award
MedReddie
Led by Founder and CEO Kara LeBlanc, Saint John–based MedReddie has developed a platform that helps hospitals and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) manage increasingly complex purchasing decisions for medical technologies. Earlier this week, MedReddie announced it had closed a $1.55 million equity funding round and secured $500,000 in grants.

Public Sector Transformation Award
Centre of Excellence for Digital Innovation
Based in Fredericton, the Centre helps K–12 students expand their knowledge of digital technologies and emerging technological innovations.

Startup of the Year Award
Versos AI
Saint John–based Versos AI, led by CEO Chris Keevill, is a video intelligence platform that transforms large libraries of unstructured video into searchable training data for AI. With multimodal search, advanced video segmentation, and a built-in chain-of-custody system, Versos enables data buyers to discover, license, and integrate rights-cleared video directly into AI models.

Scale-up of the Year Award
Resilia Inc. (does business as Uresta)
Founded in 2004, Shediac-based Resilia has developed a product that has been clinically tested and referenced in several global medical journals. Clinical studies have shown that 97 percent of women saw a reduction in leaks when using Uresta. Led by CEO and Co-founder Lauren Barker, Resilia closed a $3 million funding round earlier this year to support its planned launch in the United States.

Inclusivity and Empowerment Award
Bloom Funding
Saint John–based Bloom Funding, led by Co-CEOs Elizabeth Murphy and Colúm Connolly, helps businesses and nonprofits diversify revenue streams, maximize SR&ED refunds, and align business goals with social and environmental responsibility. As of this month, Atlantic Canadian organizations have raised $26 million through working with Bloom.

Innovation in Academia and Research Award
Moulay Akhloufi, Université de Moncton
Akhloufi is the founder and head of Perception, Robotics and Intelligent Machines (PRIME) at Université de Moncton. PRIME is a research laboratory focused on machine learning, deep learning, computer and robot vision, drone vision, augmented reality, and intelligent machines. It is now working on applied AI in areas such as defense and security, medical diagnosis, intelligent robotics, smart sensing, and sport analytics.

Impact Innovation Award
SmartSkin Technologies
Fredericton-based SmartSkin Technologies, led by CEO Evan Justason and CTO Kumaran Thillainadarajah, uses industrial Internet-of-Things technology to improve the efficiency of production lines in the bottling industry. Last December, SmartSkin received the award for Best Manufacturing/Processing Innovation at the 2024 World Beverage Innovation Awards.

Feds Commit $29M to New Defence Hub

The federal government has committed $29.4 million to Canada’s first Maritime Defence Innovation Secure Hub (DISH), which will be developed at COVE in Dartmouth.

The federal government has announced it will spend $29.4 million to establish the hub that will be focused on resilience and collaboration with the Canadian innovation ecosystem and like-minded partners.

“Today’s investment connects the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces with the next generation of Canadian innovators," said Defence Minister David McGuinty in a statement. "We need to set up our industry for success – and we cannot do that if our armed forces and businesses are unable share critical information. As Canada rebuilds, rearms and reinvests in our armed forces, we will build a strong industry to support our workers and communities across the country”

This is the first in a national network of secure, purpose-built spaces, where Canadian researchers and scientists and their partners can co-develop, test, and validate emerging technologies requiring classified handling, said the press release.

The Department of National Defence has signed collaboration agreements with COVE and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. The work is being undertaken under BOREALIS – the Bureau of Research, Engineering and Advanced Leadership in Innovation and Science – which is charged with fast-tracking innovation for Canada's defence and security.

It’s intended that a network of hubs will focus on areas of defence research and development essential to a resilient Canadian innovation industry and include quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, autonomous systems, Arctic research, space, and—in Atlantic Canada—ocean technology.

The Maritime DISH will unite defence and security partners, including industry, academia, naval and joint operators, and federal departments and agencies, to develop, test, and transition new maritime technologies.

  • Areas of focus will include:
  • undersea domain awareness;
  • uncrewed and autonomous systems;
  • advanced sensing and surveillance technologies;
  • And AI-enabled maritime analytics.

Canada is navigating a rapidly changing global environment where shifting power dynamics and advances in technology are affecting the foundations of Canadian security and prosperity, the government said.

MedReddie Raises $2M in Capital

The MedReddie team: Kara LeBlanc, Steven Fyke and Erik Huebner

The MedReddie team: Kara LeBlanc, Steven Fyke and Erik Huebner

Saint John- and Waterloo-based MedReddie, which helps to streamline hospital procurement, has raised $1.55 million in equity financing and secured $500,000 in grants, bringing its latest round of capital to $2 million.

The equity round, announced Tuesday, was led by MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, with participation from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Business Development Bank of Canada’s Thrive Lab, and strategic angel investors. The company said the new capital will support international expansion and further development of its AI-driven procurement platform.

The raise follows MedReddie’s $782,000 pre-seed funding round in the summer of 2024, which included BDC’s Thrive Lab, The Firehood, New York-based Forum Ventures, NBIF and government grants. That earlier funding was used to grow the team and advance product development as the company moved to scale its presence in Canada and enter the U.S. hospital market.

“This high-potential company, and its Founder and CEO, Kara LeBlanc, represent the innovation and tech leadership that continues to emerge from Atlantic Canada,” said NBIF Chief Executive Jeff White in a press release. “MedReddie is addressing a pressing health-care system need, and this funding positions them to scale quickly and achieve real impact.”

MedReddie’s platform is designed to help hospitals and group purchasing organizations, or GPOs, manage increasingly complex purchasing decisions for medical technologies. Hospitals are contending with higher costs, supply chain uncertainty and tighter timelines to evaluate equipment and digital tools, while regulatory regimes in the United States and Europe are evolving.

The company’s AI agent generates sourcing documentation and aggregates regulatory, clinical and performance data into a single interface. MedReddie says this gives procurement teams a clearer view of options and helps them move more quickly on value-based purchasing decisions.

LeBlanc launched MedReddie after more than a decade working in medical procurement, including senior roles at Service New Brunswick. She created the company to address inefficiencies she observed in managing complex requests for proposals and contracts for large health systems.

The company’s clients include major group purchasing organizations and health systems representing thousands of hospitals across North America. MedReddie says its software has demonstrated improvements in both speed and data quality in complex procurement processes.

With the new funding, MedReddie plans to advance its international strategy, beginning with Europe. The company will showcase its platform at MedTech Europe’s Value-based Procurement conference in Brussels in December, where it intends to demonstrate how its AI system can support value-based procurement under European regulatory frameworks.

BDC’s Thrive Lab, which backs women-led businesses with a social impact lens, also highlighted the alignment between MedReddie’s mission and its mandate to support companies building data-driven tools for systemic challenges in healthcare. “MedReddie is helping hospitals navigate the shift in healthcare with better data and better decision-making tools,” said Sévrine Labelle, Managing Director of the Thrive Lab and the Thrive ETA Fund. “This investment is very much aligned with BDC’s purpose as a development bank.”

Said MaRS Discovery District CEO Grace Lee Reynolds: “MedReddie is strengthening a part of the health system that has long needed better tools. Hospitals everywhere are under pressure to make high-quality decisions in a short window. MedReddie gives them the intelligence they need to reduce risk and improve outcomes.”

Solace Inks US$3.8M Deal with Boeing

Mount Pearl, NL-based Solace Power has secured a US$3.8-million (C$5.4 million) contract with Boeing, the company’s seventh engagement with the aerospace giant and the largest aerospace contract in its history.

The Newfoundland and Labrador company develops wireless power and data transfer technology for aerospace, defence and other sectors. Under the new agreement, Solace will supply its patented aerospace and defence platform to Boeing to support advanced functionality using fully decoupled wireless power and data transfer.

The contract follows a previous phase of work in which Solace delivered flight-qualified wireless power solutions to Boeing. The new phase will add feature upgrades and extend integration and flight qualification to include both wireless power and wireless data. According to the company, this work is expected to expand its intellectual property portfolio and strengthen its compliance record in regulated aerospace and defence markets.

“This contract represents another major milestone in our partnership with Boeing,” said Solace CEO Neil Chaulk in a press release. “We have been trusted strategic partners for years, and this latest project reflects Boeing’s continued confidence in our technology as well as the team. It demonstrates how deep-tech innovation from Newfoundland and Labrador can transform the global aerospace and defence industry.”

Colin Ryan, chief operating and financial officer at Solace, said demand from aerospace and defence customers has increased over the past year, and that Boeing and other partners are using the company’s technology to simplify system architectures, reduce maintenance requirements and add new capabilities to their platforms.

The contract also builds on Boeing’s earlier $10.3 million investment in Solace under the P-8 Industrial and Technological Benefits program, announced in January. That program is intended to channel work and technology development to Canadian companies as part of Boeing’s obligations tied to defence procurement.

Al Meinzinger, president of Boeing Canada, said the latest agreement represents a further stage in Boeing’s collaboration with Solace and cited the role of Canadian suppliers in advancing the company’s aerospace technology, particularly in rotorcraft systems.

Solace Power provides wireless power and data technology for aerospace and defence, automotive, industrial automation and telecommunications applications. The company has previously received recognition from Boeing and from national and regional business award programs.

QuickFacts Wins IBAO Best InsurTech Award

QuickFacts Co-Founders Jeff and Christy Barsalou

QuickFacts Co-Founders Jeff and Christy Barsalou

Halifax-based QuickFacts has been named Best InsurTech at the 2025 Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) Awards. 

Co-founded by Christy and Jeff Barsalou, QuickFacts offers a platform that lets insurance brokers view packages from competing insurers side by side for easy comparison. The company says it can reduce the time brokers spend searching for information by 10 to 20 times. It also says the platform offers brokers more depth of information than competitors.

“Winning the IBAO Best InsurTech award is a reflection of our entire team …Every feature we build, every client relationship we nurture, comes from that shared drive to make a difference in this industry,” said Christy Barsalou, President and CEO.

Generative AI has opened up how information flows through the industry, from underwriting and claims to client service, the company said online.

QuickFacts sees potential in building on its existing AI tools to reduce the friction in brokers’ daily work and give them clearer, faster access to what they need to serve clients. The goal is to strengthen the broker's role by building technology shaped by the people who use it every day, the company said.

In September, QuickFacts was chosen to attend InsurTech NY’s InsurTech Match program in New York.

A member of the Atlantic FinTech community, the company raised $2 million in August 2024, and the Barsalous identified New York as the beachhead for their U.S. expansion.

Eight Honourees at Tech Forward Awards

Nova Scotia’s technology sector recognized eight companies and individuals Thursday night at the 2025 Tech Forward Awards in Halifax.

The event, organized by Digital Nova Scotia, honoured 24 finalists selected from nearly 200 nominees across the province. Organizers say the awards highlight activity in the province’s information and communications technology sector, which they value at $3.6 billion.

“We saw nearly double the number of nominations this year, which really shows how fast our tech community is growing and innovating,” said Digital Nova Scotia CEO Owen Sagness in a press release. “From farming solutions to digital innovation, these finalists are tackling some of our most pressing issues and showing that local tech can really make a global difference.”

The Tech Forward Awards are intended to showcase companies and individuals working in or alongside the ICT sector in Nova Scotia.

The winners are:

● Talent Champion Award

Maplewave, Dartmouth 

Headed by CEO Adam Baggs, Maplewave provides integrated software and retail solutions to the telecommunications industry, helping companies optimize their omnichannel customer experiences.

● Tech for Good Award

DeepSense, Halifax 

DeepSense, led by Executive Director Iaian Archibald and affiliated with Dalhousie University, provides businesses with industry-ready applied AI solutions that improve efficiency, boost productivity, and unlock new opportunities for growth.

● Thinking Forward Award

Dr. Rita Orji 

Computer Science Professor at Dalhousie University

Dr. Orji is the Canada Research Chair in Persuasive Technology and her research focuses on human-computer interaction, persuasive technology, artificial intelligence, games for change, and digital health.

● Provincial Spotlight Award

45Drives, Sydney 

Led by Doug Milburn, 45Drives provides enterprise-grade data storage and virtualization solutions by combining hardware and open-source software to avoid vendor lock-in. 

● Best of Tech Award

Palladium MC, Bedford 

Palladium MC, whose CEO is Olesya Shyvikova, is an agtech company building AI-powered tools that help farmers optimize land use, improve productivity, and modernize operations using their existing equipment.

● One to Watch Award

Irene Saliendra, Halifax

Saliendra is the Founder and CEO of Fem Entity, which hosts a wellness platform designed to connect women with a network of trusted wellness and medical practitioners who specialize in women’s health. 

● Role Model Award

Jennifer LaPlante, Halifax

Currently the Deputy Minister of Cyber Security and Digital Solutions for the government of Nova Scotia, LaPlante was previously the Chief Growth and Investment Officer at Canada’s Ocean Supercluster and the Executive Director of DeepSense.

● Diversity & Inclusion Champion Award

Turtle Island Technology Solutions, Millbrook First Nation

Founded by CEO Michael Herbert, Turtle Island is an Indigenous Cree business that provides services in cybersecurity,  data centres and cloud, networking, end-user computing and compliance.

GoodLeaf Closes $52M Equity Round

Guelf, Ont.-based GoodLeaf Farms, which began life as Halifax-based TruLeaf, has raised $52 million in equity financing to expand its vertical farming operations in Western and Central Canada and establish a new R&D centre in Ontario.

The company, which bills itself as Canada’s only national vertical farming operator, said the money will be used to increase production at its farms in Alberta and Quebec and to advance new growing technologies at its Agricultural Centre of Excellence in Guelph.

GoodLeaf CEO Andy O’Brien said demand for the company’s baby greens, microgreens and blends climbed sharply in the past year.

“We entered 2025 with incredible momentum, and by April, demand for our products nearly doubled as Canadians from coast to coast embraced Canadian-grown greens,” O’Brien said in a statement. He added that the new funding will allow the company to double the capacity of its two largest farms in 2026.

TruLeaf was founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur Gregg Curwin, who began exiting the company several years ago as frozen food giant McCain Foods became its largest shareholder. Curwin is now the Co-Founder and CEO of Halifax-based Sperri, which makes plant-based meal replacements and raised more than $4 million last year.

GoodLeaf’s latest round included both new and existing investors, among them Farm Credit Canada (FCC), Power Sustainable Lios and McCain Foods.

Adam Smalley, Managing Director of FCC Capital, said the investment aligns with FCC’s mandate to support local food production and strengthen Canada’s food economy. Power Sustainable Lios Managing Partner Jonathan Belair said the ability to raise funds in the current market reflects investor confidence in vertical farming as part of the solution to food security and sustainability challenges.

Part of the capital will fund a new research and development centre in Ontario focused on improving the efficiency and sustainability of GoodLeaf’s growing practices across its three vertical farms.

McCain Foods, an early backer of GoodLeaf, is maintaining its support. Charlie Angelakos, McCain’s Vice President of Global External Affairs and Sustainability, said the company sees GoodLeaf as a Canadian innovator helping to transform agriculture and advance sustainable food production.

Food Web To Launch Platform Dec. 8

FoodWeb Co-Founders Justin Andrews and Keegan Francis.

FoodWeb Co-Founders Justin Andrews and Keegan Francis.

Food Web, a Halifax startup that connects commercial kitchens with food entrepreneurs, will officially launch its new Food Web Kitchens platform on Dec. 8.

The digital platform allows kitchen owners to rent out unused hours in their licensed facilities and gives food businesses a central place to find and book space. After two years of research and community engagement across Atlantic Canada, the company says the system is now live for kitchen owners to begin listing their spaces. Kitchens that sign up before Dec. 8 will receive a 25 percent off discount on platform fees for one year.

Food Web is targeting a common problem in the region’s food sector: licensed kitchens that sit idle for much of the week, while small food businesses struggle to find affordable, legal places to work. The company cites demand from farmers’ market vendors, caterers, meal prep companies, bakers, packaged food brands, immigrant-led businesses and other early-stage entrepreneurs who often require only part-time access.

“One of the clearest insights to emerge from our work over the past two years is just how widespread the challenge of kitchen access really is,” said the company in a press release.

“Farmers’ market managers told us about talented vendors who couldn’t scale because they couldn’t secure consistent kitchen time. Economic development officers spoke about entrepreneurs in their regions who were ready to grow but stalled out waiting for a licensed space. . . . Across rural communities, small towns, and even in Halifax, the barrier was identical: finding a kitchen to rent was confusing, inconsistent, and often impossible.”

Through Food Web Kitchens, owners of facilities such as churches, community centres, restaurants, cafés and event venues can create listings, set availability and hourly rates, and manage bookings. The platform handles administration including payments, agreements and messaging, and connects kitchen owners only with businesses that have supplied required documentation and insurance.

Food entrepreneurs can search for licensed kitchens across the region, join a waitlist if none are available in their area, upload documents to a central profile and book space directly through the platform. The system is intended to make legal requirements clearer and reduce the informal, ad hoc arrangements that have often characterized kitchen rentals.

The launch follows several years of research and pilot work. Food Web took part in Dal Innovates’ Lab2Market Launch program, during which it interviewed more than 80 food businesses across Atlantic Canada about kitchen access, pricing and regulatory hurdles. The company also worked with Dalhousie University’s College of Sustainability for two consecutive years, with student researchers examining shared-use kitchen models and local food infrastructure.

Co-Founder and CEO Justin Andrews draws on his own experience as a chef, farmers’ market vendor and food educator who struggled to secure consistent kitchen access. Co-founder and CTO Keegan Francis leads product and engineering. Designer and brand architect Mariah Pelley-Smith oversees user experience and branding.

Food Web also works with a group of advisors from the restaurant industry, academia, shared-use food facilities, software development and local food advocacy. The company is offering weekly webinars and one-on-one demo calls for kitchen owners and food entrepreneurs interested in the platform.

NS Researcher Wins Mitacs Award for Fabric Tick Repellent

Nicoletta Faraone

Nicoletta Faraone

Wolfville, N.S.-based Acadia University researchers have created an all-natural and long-lasting fabric spray tick repellent. The work was conducted under the supervision of Nicoletta Faraone, recently appointed to head up the new Canadian Tick Research and Innovation Centre. The work has earned Faraone a national Mitacs Innovation Award — Outstanding Innovation. 

Faraone, an associate professor in the chemistry department at Acadia University, strives to understand the tick smell and taste systems, including how ticks behave at a molecular level.

“Mitacs really opened up possibilities for research that I didn’t know were possible,” said Faraone, who is pursuing her research in Canada after completing undergraduate, Master’s and PhD degrees in Italy.

“As researchers, we need that strong belief in what we are doing in order to answer important questions,” she said in a press release.

Part of the problem, she said, is that ticks have not been studied enough. It’s only during the last decade that the medical community has tied Lyme disease to tick bites, and researchers are just starting to understand how differently ticks behave compared to mosquitoes.

Because ticks are nearly blind, they depend on smell to find hosts to feed on. The Acadia researchers discovered that when ticks are exposed to certain essential oils their ability to smell is impaired, preventing them from finding hosts.

That discovery led to the development of an essential oil-based spray repellent, created in partnership with Nova Scotia-based AtlanTick Repellent Products and expected to be on the market by next summer. The all-natural fabric spray repels ticks for up to one week and alleviates health concerns associated with synthetic or chemical products that can lead to user hesitancy. 

Faraone’s team is also studying the effect of climate change on tick populations, including how warmer winters could be strengthening ticks’ ability to fight off repellents, making them less effective. Another project is examining the potential of using a fungus native to Nova Scotia as an all-natural insecticide, given its ability to kill ticks.
 



 

InnovateNB Nominees Announced

The organizers of the InnovateNB Celebration and Awards 2025 have announced the nominees for the innovation awards in nine categories.

The awards program recognizes individuals and organizations contributing to innovation across New Brunswick. According to organizers, the program is intended to spotlight achievements in a range of fields, from startups to social impact initiatives.

This year’s ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 27 at the Saint John Trade & Convention Centre. Tickets for the event are still on sale but sales close Wednesday. You can buy tickets here.

The event is organized by TechImpact in partnership with the McKenna Institute, New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Envision Saint John, and Propel.

Here are the nominees in nine categories:

EMERGING INNOVATOR AWARD

  • Punita Bhargava – Shreem Breeze Export Ltd
  • James French – White Pine Medical
  • Dr. Alli Murugesan – University of New Brunswick
  • Daniel Lirette – FloraTrack AI Inc.
  • Clodualdo Jr. Aranas – University of New Brunswick
  • Nathan MacDonald – ClinicForward Technologies Inc.
  • Shanthi Shanmugam – Urai AI Corp.
  • Brody Hanson – Work Water Inc.
  • Kara LeBlanc – MedReddie
  • Aaliyah Lahai – Gáamai Hair Inc.
  • Dustin Bowers – PLAEX Building Systems Inc.
  • Isaac Barkhouse – Victory Advanced Technologies
  • Lopsii Olagoke – Nezz
  • Brendan Wood – SnapTrade
  • Adetunji Adelakun – Scantranx
  • Gerrard Kilfoil – INNOV
  • Pascale Michaud – AgroGene Solutions
  • Jade Yhap – InteractiveNB

 

IMPACT INNOVATION AWARD

  • Thales
  • Anessa
  • SmartSkin Technologies
  • Eigen Innovations
  • CCNB-INNOV
  • Introhive

 

INCLUSIVITY & EMPOWERMENT AWARD

  • Amandipp Singh – Enabled Talent
  • Flora Gassier – Opportunities New Brunswick, Government of NB
  • Kateryna Omelianchenko – Southeast RSC
  • Kate Saeedi – Promise Partnership
  • Cree School Board
  • Karen Cummings – Centre for Youth Care
  • Pablo Montreuil – CCNB and JEDI
  • Roisin Connolly – Bloom Funding
  • Leon Morris – JEDI

 

INNOVATION IN ACADEMIA & RESEARCH AWARD

 Individuals:

  • Dr. Mohsen Mohammadi – University of New Brunswick
  • Edward Wilson-Ewing – University of New Brunswick
  • Dr. Barry Blight – University of New Brunswick
  • Dr. Alli Murugesan – University of New Brunswick
  • Dr. Anna Ignaszak – University of New Brunswick
  • Moulay Akhloufi – Université de Moncton
  • Kenneth Kent – University of New Brunswick
  • Erik Scheme – UNB
  • Jennifer Woodland – University of New Brunswick
  • Dr. Marc Surette – Université de Moncton

Organizations:

  • Partnering for Patti (Dalhousie Medicine NB + UNB + NBCC)
  • AgroGene Solutions
  • Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity
  •  University of New Brunswick – Institute of Biomedical Engineering
  • UNB Faculty of Nursing + SPECTRAL Spatial Computing Research Centre

 

INNOVATIVE PRODUCT OR SERVICE AWARD

  • AgroGene Solutions
  • Pathific
  • Parados
  • NLU Technologies
  • Bubbles Haircare for Kids
  • SpatialOne
  • MedReddie
  • Uresta
  • SnapTrade
  • hatch + parley

 

PUBLIC SECTOR TRANSFORMATION AWARD

  • NB Department of Education & Early Childhood Development
  • Project & Advisory Services, Government of New Brunswick
  • Anglophone East School District (ASD-E)

 

SCALE-UP OF THE YEAR AWARD

  • Kognitiv Spark
  • TrojAI
  • PLAEX Building Systems Inc.
  • SmartSkin Technologies

 

STARTUP OF THE YEAR AWARD

  • ASETS-CA
  • Premium Accounting Solution Services Inc.
  • saltwinds coffee
  • SpatialOne
  • MedReddie
  • Uresta
  • Bubbly Cup
  • Versos AI
  • ClinicGlide Technologies Inc.
  • Victory Advanced Technologies

 

THE BEACON AWARD FOR WOMEN IN INNOVATION & LEADERSHIP

  • Olga Palazhchenko – University of New Brunswick
  • Dr. Alli Murugesan – University of New Brunswick
  • Abby David – The McKenna Institute at UNB
  • Madison Bell – Promise Partnership (with Catherine Kerr and Kate Saeedi)
  • Laura Richard – Saltwinds Coffee
  • Kara LeBlanc – MedReddie
  • Josée Landry – Innov (CCNB)
  • Nancy Butler – Mariner

Top 7 Over 70 Seeks Nominations

Aging Proactively President Ed Leach

Aging Proactively President Ed Leach

Calgary-based non-profit Top 7 Over 70 will hold its awards ceremony in Halifax in May next year. The group runs an awards program that celebrates the recent successes of adults over 70 and it is the first time the awards will be held in Atlantic Canada.

The public is now invited to nominate people over 70 in the region who are creating new work in the worlds of business, science, arts, culture, health, fitness, education, philanthropy and volunteerism.   

The contest began eight years ago when senior Jim Gray, a businessman and philanthropist, established a program to challenge stereotypes about seniors. Other award programs often celebrate lifetime achievements but this one aims to highlight new ventures started by seniors, the group said.

“These awards highlight that there’s lots of gas left in seniors’ tanks,” Ed Leach, who is the local president of Aging Pro Actively and chapter ambassador of Aging2.0 Nova Scotia, previously told Entrevestor. Leach is leading the local effort along with Rick Emberley, founder of Seasoned Pros.  

Leach said that including older people in the workforce makes sense.

“It’s being smart. It’s not about diversity and inclusion. With aging societies and labour shortages, it’s also economic.”

The group said that Statistics Canada figures show that Canada now has more people aged 65-plus than children under 15. And, by 2036, seniors could number between 9.9 million and 10.9 million. Half of the people born after 2007 will live to be 103, according to a 2009 article in The Lancet, led by Danish epidemiologist Professor Kaare Christensen. 

The event will be held at Halifax Convention Centre on Thursday May 14th.

You can find more information here.

7 Fathoms Makes a Splash on Dragons’ Den

7 Fathoms co-founders Terrence and Courtney Howell

7 Fathoms co-founders Terrence and Courtney Howell

Grates Cove, NL-based skincare company 7 Fathoms recently appeared on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, where they successfully pitched their business to one of the show’s investors.

The company is making skin and hair products incorporating the bioactives found in North Atlantic seaweed, one of the province’s most abundant natural resources.

On the show, the two founders, married partners Courtney and Terrence Howell, secured a partnership with investor Manjit Minhas. The founders asked for $100,000 for 12 percent and Minhas offered $100,000 for 20 percent, which was accepted. 

In the pitch, Terrence described himself as “a professional patient” after 40 years suffering with Crohn’s disease. He said he developed contact dermatitis after becoming allergic to the plastics in a medical device. Walking along a beach, he touched Laminaria digitata, a type of seaweed, and found it cured his dermatitis after three days.

The couple said the difficult conditions of the North Atlantic trigger seaweed to produce powerful protective compounds which they are now harvesting and using in their products.

During the pitch, the founders gave investors the chance to touch thick, glistening fronds of raw seaweed they had brought along and which dripped with raw, gelatinous compounds. 

The company is currently selling to health stores, health practitioners, and certain pharmacists. The five-year-old venture has worked with Bounce Health Innovation, the National Research Council, Natural Products Canada, and taken part in the Emergence incubator at PEI BioAlliance,

CVCA Says Region Booked $35M in VC in Q3

Atlantic Canadian startups raised about $35 million in venture capital in the third quarter of 2025, says Canada’s main VC body, which is small change compared to the total coming for the fourth quarter.

The Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, known as CVCA, on Wednesday released its VC data for the first nine months of the calendar year. It showed the four eastern provinces amassed a total of $96 million in VC funding in the January-September period. We subtracted the $61 million reported in the first six months to come up with the third-quarter total of $35 million.

Though we don’t know what the VC totals will be for the final quarter of 2025, we do know they will include two mega deals from Newfoundland and Labrador. In October, Spellbook, which makes AI products for law firms, announced a US$50 million funding round, then this week Colab Software, which makes AI-driven collaboration software for engineers, unveiled a US$72 million Series C round. Those deals alone will ensure the region will book more than C$170 million in the fourth quarter.

The latest CVCA report shows Nova Scotia accounted for five VC deals in the third quarter, worth a total of $33 million. There were also five deals in New Brunswick, though their total value was only $2 million. There were no deals reported in Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador in the third quarter.

Among the Nova Scotian deals, the largest was a US$9.1 million (C$12.6 million) round by Mara Renewables, the Halifax company that produces omega-3 products from algae. The investment came from S2G Ventures.

Halifax-based medical data provider Blue Charm Adherence raised a $4 million seed round co-led by Crédit Mutuel Equity of France and Invest Nova Scotia.

Other notable rounds that were publicly announced were: a $1.83 million pre-seed round by Voltai, a Dartmouth-based cleantech company developing ocean and renewable energy technologies; a $1.7 million round by Dartmouth-based RFINE Biomass Solutions, which upcycles spent coffee grounds; and a $1.1 million pre-seed round reported by Gia, a Halifax startup that provides AI-driven growth tools for consultants and boutique professional services firms.

The CVCA data and the two big deals from St. John’s show that Atlantic Canada will report at least $266 million in VC deals in 2025, which is the most since St. John’s-based Verafin closed its record-setting $515 million equity-and-debt deal in 2019. The top year for VC funding so far in this decade was 2021, when Atlantic Canadian startups raised $256 million.

The CVCA report also mentioned a couple of Atlantic Canadian funding bodies. The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation was named the second most active “government fund” in the first nine months, as it was involved in 10 deals worth a total of $5 million. Invest Nova Scotia placed eighth on this list, participating in seven deals worth $38 million.

For Canada overall, startups raised a total of $1.8 billion across 123 deals in the third quarter, bringing the year-to-date total to $4.9 billion from 386 deals. A statement from the organization said Canada’s venture market so far this year has been operating above pre-pandemic levels in total dollars invested, even though deal counts remain slightly lower.

“Canada’s venture investment ecosystem is finding its footing in a more disciplined cycle,” said David Kornacki, Director of Data and Product at the CVCA. “Investors are deploying capital with greater precision, favouring companies that demonstrate strong fundamentals and scalability. The rise in average deal size and stability in total dollars invested suggest a market that’s selective but confident.”

Templar Targets Electric Boat Market

A new company on Nova Scotia’s South Shore is setting out to electrify transportation on the water.

Based in Pleasantville, Templar Marine will produce a range of fully electric boats — from commercial craft and tour boats to water taxis — all completely emissions-free. The vessels are approved by both the U.S. Coast Guard and Transport Canada.

“We’ve seen what’s happened with electric cars and how quickly that market has grown,” said CEO Topher Kingsley-Williams in an interview last week. “As people who spend a lot of time on the water, we see no reason why electricity shouldn’t be more widely adopted in the marine sector.”

Templar Marine’s origins date back to 2017 in Kelowna, B.C., where entrepreneurs Mark and Jennifer Fry began designing their own electric boats after failing to find models that met their needs. Their company gained early traction but was forced to pause operations during the pandemic.

Recently, Kingsley-Williams and his father, Steven Williams, a naval architect, learned about the company and decided to make an offer for it. Kingsley-Williams is a serial entrepreneur whose previous venture, Moncton-based Porpoise, helped businesses collaborate with their employees on charitable initiatives. The pair purchased Templar Marine last month, loaded the assets into a truck, and moved operations to Nova Scotia.

“Our intention was to move everything to Nova Scotia, where there’s a rich boatbuilding tradition,” said Kingsley-Williams. “We want to use this [venture] as a platform to explore electrification across the entire marine industry.”

Templar’s website currently lists three models on offer: the Picnic 20, a simple pleasure craft; the Cruiser 26, a cabin-equipped cruising boat; and the Water Taxi T26. A fourth model, the Sedan 26, similar to the Cruiser but powered by lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, is coming soon.

Two demonstration boats are already on display in Pleasantville, and the company plans to begin production later this year or in early 2026 at Snyder’s Shipyard in Bridgewater.

Templar Marine is now building interest among potential customers, including operators exploring a water taxi service for Halifax Harbour and the Northwest Arm — an initiative that could help reduce traffic congestion on the peninsula.

Kingsley-Williams said the company has raised some capital already and hopes to raise more in order to have sufficient working capital. In addition to building boats, Templar is investing in R&D focused on electric drivetrains.

“One thing we’re exploring is how our drivetrain system can be retrofitted into existing workboats and fishing fleets in Atlantic Canada,” said Kingsley-Williams. “The real innovation we’ve developed lies in the drivetrain and the batteries.”

Martin ‘Tweaks” Genesis Programs in Year 1

Genesis CEO Ed Martin

Genesis CEO Ed Martin

Sitting at the centre of the region’s hottest startup market, Genesis has undergone changes in the last year that the guy in charge says are really a few “tweaks”.

Just after his first anniversary as Genesis CEO, Ed Martin spoke with Entrevestor in a phone interview and discussed the evolution of the innovation hub over the past 12 months. The changes have come about as the advent of artificial intelligence has accelerated the development of products and funding has dried up for early-stage startups – all of which led Genesis to modernize its programming.

“The essence of it all is it’s all basically the same; we’ve just made some tweaks,” said Martin. “We’ve done more work around ideation, so we have a new program called Startups 101.

“One reason we want to get more people thinking about startups is it’s never been easier to get started. You can spin out a basic MVP in a couple of days whereas it might have taken you months before.”

Martin’s CV shows he has the experience to lead founders in the early stages of startups – not to mention the later stages of their entrepreneurial journey. He founded Clockwork Fox Studios, creator of the popular education platform Zorbit's Math Adventure, in 2014, and sold the company to Carnegie Learning seven years later.  In 2022, Martin became the Director of the Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship, helping students and others in the university community launch companies.

Last November, Martin took the helm at Genesis, an organization with a clearly defined progression of programs. New entrepreneurs, many having come through MCE programs, joined Genesis by going through an introductory program called Evolution for about 10 weeks. The best graduates of Evolution went on to Enterprise, a three-year residency at Genesis during which participants ideally launched a product and gained customers.

That has changed so the progression now looks like this:

Startups 101

This two-hour virtual workshop teaches all the basics of launching a new business, and Martin says that all starts with “finding good problems” for the entrepreneurs to solve. It includes lean methodology with an emphasis on talking to lots of potential customers and other people. It also features a sprinkling of AI instruction and how to use large language models to develop tools quickly.

Martin emphasized this program is open to a broad range of people, not just students. “We really think there’s a lot of people interested in starting a business, especially the mid-career professionals who think startups are too much of a risk (to leave their jobs),” he said. “We help them to understand you can get going within that safety blanket of the full-time job.”

Evolve

Evolution has been replaced by a similar program called Evolve, and the big difference is in the emphasis. The main emphasis of Evolution was teaching founders to pitch, with the goal of helping them to raise the capital needed to grow the company.

“We’ve now moved away from the idea of ‘the pitch’ to focus on really deep problem validation . . . acute enough and repeatable enough to build a product around,” said Martin. Evolve works with the founders on deep market research and truly understanding the problem they have set out to solve. With so many founders attacking similar problems, Genesis aims to help its founders to understand their problem better than anyone else, said Martin.

Membership

Genesis used to celebrate welcoming founders into its cornerstone Enterprise program, then celebrate their graduation three years later. Martin said the organization wanted to get away from that focus on a three-year period and place all the emphasis on success. With AI changing methodology, he said, three years is a long time.

“We really opened things up at Genesis and now we just say, ‘Welcome to Genesis and you can access our community,’” he said.

There are still resident companies at the Genesis facility halfway up Signal Hill, but there are also co-working spaces for entrepreneurs who are in the centre sporadically. Overall, there are now about 45 companies enrolled in Genesis.

The Genesis AI Garage

This new component of Genesis isn’t so much a program as a part of what Genesis offers the St. John’s startup community. The AI Garage pairs recent AI grads with founders and alumni to build smarter, faster, more scalable technology, usually over a three- to four-month period.

Martin said Genesis aims to bring three benefits to the startup community through the AI Garage: first, to increase capacity by increasing the portion of the community involved in AI; second, to develop AI talent as more people grow familiar with using and developing the new technology; and third, to generate more startups as AI specialists at the Garage get their own ideas for companies.

One thing to bear in mind about Genesis is that it’s at the centre of the hottest startup community in Atlantic Canada, and Martin and his crew are determined to keep the party going. February will mark the fifth anniversary of Nasdaq announcing it was buying Verafin for US$2.75 billion – by far the largest exit ever in the region. Since then, new champions have emerged like Spellbook (which announced a US$50 million funding round last month) and Colab Software, which this week unveiled a US$72 million Series C round. Then there’s a gaggle of emerging companies coming up behind them, such as SiftMed, Trophi.ai, Sparrow BioAcoustics, and Swiftsure Innovations.

“It’s on fire,” said Martin of the Newfoundland and Labrador startup community. “Spellbook and CoLab are two unbelievably fast-growing companies. They are true Canadian success stories. I think any city across Canada would love to have a company like that and we have two of them right here in little old St. John’s.”

Startup Atlantic Exhibits at Elevate and SaaS North

Startup Atlantic at SaaS North

Startup Atlantic at SaaS North

Startup Atlantic, a network that unites the entrepreneurial ecosystem across the four Atlantic Provinces, has been travelling with a two-stop national showcase of Atlantic Canada’s innovation economy.

The Startup Atlantic Fall Tech Roadshow included about  75 delegates representing the region’s entrepreneurs, investors, accelerators and innovation leaders at two of Canada’s premier technology events -- Elevate Festival in Toronto and SaaS North in Ottawa.

With funding support from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), the delegation included 43 participants attending Elevate Festival 2025 in October, followed by 35 innovators attending SaaS North last week.

The goal was to reflect the region’s momentum as a national innovation powerhouse, with growing strength in biotech, ocean technology, clean tech, and defence innovation, as well as a collaborative, founder-first approach, the group said in a press release.

“By bringing our founders, funders, and ecosystem leaders together at major national events, we’re amplifying Atlantic Canada’s presence on the national stage and building the relationships that drive investment, talent, and growth back home,” said Lindsay Murray, Executive Director of Startup Atlantic.

Participants came from all four Atlantic Provinces, representing a cross-section of the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, including Propel, Volta, Invest Nova Scotia, Tribe Network, TechNL, NBIF, Genesis, Venn Innovation, Tidal Ventures, Sandpiper Ventures and Ignite.

At each event a group of Atlantic founders pitched their innovations to national investors and industry leaders.

Yash Mehta, Co-founder and CEO of Mantomo AI said: “Attending these conferences, particularly SaaS North, was a transformative experience. Every conversation, whether with a seasoned founder or investor, challenged me to see Mantomo AI through a new lens. The insights, candid advice, and tough questions not only sharpened our vision but reinforced the power of collaboration within the Atlantic tech ecosystem. These gatherings elevate our entire region’s capacity to innovate, learn, and lead.”

CoLab Closes US$72M Series C Round

CoLab Software CTO Jeremy Andrews, left, and CEO Adam Keating

CoLab Software CTO Jeremy Andrews, left, and CEO Adam Keating

St. John’s-based CoLab Software on Monday announced the closing of a US$72 million (C$100.9 million) Series C funding round, the largest VC financing in the region in the past two years.

Founded by CEO Adam Keating and CTO Jeremy Andrew in 2017, CoLab makes collaboration software for 3D modelling and in June launched its first AI agent, which it calls AutoReview. Since then, more than 47,000 engineers have joined the waitlist for the product, further accelerating CoLab’s revenue growth with the company saying it is on pace to nearly triple revenue in 2025.

The Series C round announced Monday was led by Toronto-based Intrepid Growth Partners, a growth-stage fund backing the next generation of AI market leaders. The other investors included returning funders Insight Partners (which increased its position with a super pro rata investment), Y Combinator, Pelorus VC, Killick Capital, and Spider Capital.

“Behind every feat of engineering, there’s thousands of design decisions,” said Keating in the statement. “And the most critical decisions in industry still happen slowly — in 20-person meetings, weeks apart. CoLab is changing that. We envision a world where skilled engineers collaborate with AI agents that can access their entire company’s collective knowledge, collapsing design cycles from months to hours.”

The funding announced Monday was the largest venture capital round closed by an Atlantic Canadian company since Dartmouth-based CarbonCure Technologies raised US$80 million in July 2023. The CoLab Series C round also comes one month after St. John’s-based Spellbook, which makes AI products for law firms, closed a US$50 million funding round. These two deals mean that Newfoundland and Labrador is set to account for about 70 percent of the venture capital funding announced in 2025.

A graduate of the Y Combinator accelerator in Silicon Valley, CoLab last year closed a US$21 million Series B funding round led by New York’s Insight Partners. That followed up on its previous US$17 million Series A round a few years earlier. Last month, CoLab was named to the prestigious Deloitte Tech Fast 50, a list of the fastest-growing tech companies in Canada, placing 19th after its revenue increased 1,730 percent over a four-year period.

CoLab said it sells its engineering software to some of the world’s most advanced hardware companies — from next-generation vehicles to renewable energy and medical technology. Its clients include Ford, Lockheed Martin, GE Appliances, Johnson Controls, and Schneider Electric.

These companies’ engineering teams spend months running through countless design iterations, reviews, and tests, using sophisticated tools to predict how every part will perform long before anything physical exists, it said.

AI is transforming this process, accelerating every tool engineers use — from generative computer-aided design that can instantly propose new design concepts to AI-driven simulation that can test those concepts in seconds. But the critical step that AI can’t replace is deciding what’s right, said CoLab.

“Even with faster tools, engineering still depends on human judgment — the knowledge, intuition, and trade-offs captured in design reviews. That’s where CoLab comes in,” said Mark Shulgan, Co-founder and Partner at Intrepid Growth Partners, who recently joined CoLab’s board. “The company is building the decision-making layer that connects people, data, and AI so teams can apply their expertise faster and more effectively than ever before.”

CoLab plans to use the capital to develop new AI agents, build integrations with other engineering and AI applications, expand partnerships, and scale go-to-market teams. It plans to make several major product and partnership announcements before the end of the year, said the statement. In an email, Keating said the company's staffing level, now at 165, is forecast to rise to 200 in January and more than 300 by the end of 2026.

In addition to soaring demand for AutoReview, the company said it found market pull from executive teams at major clients.

“We’ve had executive teams – not just engineering leadership, but CEOs, CFOs, and cross-functional leadership – asking us to build their AI strategies with them,” said Keating. “Many are already making seven-figure bets with CoLab. It's clear AI isn’t just an interesting experiment anymore – it’s a competitive advantage in their top-down strategy.”

Bennett To Headline InnovateNB Gala

Sandpiper Ventures Founding and Managing Partner Cathy Bennett will deliver the keynote address at this year’s InnovateNB Awards, scheduled for Nov. 27 at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre.

Bennett brings more than three decades of experience in sectors including construction, manufacturing, human resources, food service, industrial supply, and real estate. A former New Brunswick finance minister and past director with the Business Development Bank of Canada, she continues to play a leading role in advancing entrepreneurship and investment across Atlantic Canada.

Through her firm, Bennett Group of Companies, and her leadership at Sandpiper Ventures, she has been a prominent advocate for women in business and innovation. In her keynote, Bennett will speak about the role of innovation in driving economic growth and the importance of investing to strengthen the regional economy.

The InnovateNB Awards recognize individuals and organizations contributing to innovation throughout the province. Organized by TechImpact in partnership with the McKenna Institute, New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Envision Saint John, and Propel, the annual program spotlights achievements across a range of sectors, from startups to social enterprises.

Awards will be presented in nine categories: Startup of the Year, Scaleup of the Year, Social Impact Award, Innovative Workplace Award, Student Innovator Award, Indigenous Innovator Award, Women in Innovation Award, Collaboration Award, and Innovator of the Year.

Organizers say this year’s celebration will highlight both emerging and established innovators shaping New Brunswick’s economy.

Tickets for the event are now on sale here.

CanXP AI Launches Canadian-Trained SLM

CanXP Co-Founders Eric Hubacheck, left, and Vince McMullin

CanXP Co-Founders Eric Hubacheck, left, and Vince McMullin

CanXP AI has launched MaplePT, a small language model (SLM) trained entirely in Canada, marking what the company calls a step toward “sustainable, sovereign AI” that is accessible to all Canadians.

Built and hosted exclusively within Canada, MaplePT was developed using CanXP’s distributed, low-energy training framework. The company says the system matches competitive reasoning and alignment performance while running on consumer-grade graphics processing unit – an approach that reduces the need for billion-dollar data centres or foreign cloud infrastructure.

“Canada doesn’t need gigawatt-scale AI data centres that strain our grid and environment just to satisfy the compute demands of foreign markets,” said Vince McMullin, co-founder and CEO of CanXP AI. “What we need is capital investment into applied computing, usable systems, and efficient models that every Canadian—from academics to professionals—can use.”

Based in Saint John and Toronto, CanXP launched in September. The company was co-founded by McMullin and Eric Hubacheck, who leads partnerships and commercialization efforts. The 15-member team includes contributors and advisors across infrastructure, AI training, and product development, with legal support from Toronto law firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.

MaplePT is the company’s flagship model and part of a broader effort to build a Canadian federated AI network that connects models across research, education, and industry. Through the CanXP platform, organizations can deploy their own SLMs, keep them private or public, and contribute to a network governed under Canadian law and powered by clean energy.

McMullin said CanXP’s approach is a response to Canada’s reliance on large foreign tech firms. The company’s technology, he said, demonstrates that “we can support Canadians and Canadian businesses without involving U.S. big tech” or building “diesel-guzzling AI data centres in our backyard.”

CanXP’s roots trace back to early AI development work for General Motors before political and commercial shifts in the U.S. curtailed cross-border partnerships. “When U.S. companies pulled back, we decided to dig in and build for Canadians,” McMullin said. “Our goal is to make AI accessible to everyone—from students to professionals.”

The company said it has already attracted paying customers, including professionals and early enterprise adopters using its AI platform for research, writing, and privacy-sensitive applications. All data, McMullin emphasized, remains hosted within Canada to ensure compliance and residency.

CanXP operates on a subscription model, with tiers designed for students, professionals, and institutions. Enterprise licensing is also available for organizations requiring locally hosted AI solutions.

The company’s first publicly released model, MaplePT-Mini (v1), is available under an MIT license on Hugging Face and Docker Hub, accompanied by an open-access research paper. CanXP is now seeking partners across healthcare, education, legal, defence, and manufacturing sectors as it expands its network.

Current Investors include the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Business Development Bank of Canada, Golden Triangle Angel Network in Waterloo, and several smaller investors nationwide. CanXP is currently raising additional funding to extend its federated AI network.

“MaplePT proves that sustainability and sovereignty are the same fight,” said McMullin. “Canada can lead with models trained responsibly at home, governed by our laws, and accessible to every citizen and small business that wants to participate.”

UNB’s Summer Institute Celebrates Six New Ventures

The six companies that comprise the 2025 Summer Institute Cohort presented their work to the public last Friday, illustrating a range of new technologies.  

Now in its 12th year, University of New Brunswick's Summer Institute program teaches sales, marketing, and customer validation skills to companies making positive social and environmental impacts. 

The three-month accelerator offers founders more than $6,000 for living costs, $2,000 for prototyping, as well as skills training and coaching. Since it began in 2014, the program has graduated more than 60 ventures.

The 2025 participating companies are:

DeepREM Labs is a science-backed sleep enhancement app that uses AI, biometric monitoring, and sound technology to improve sleep quality. It integrates with popular wearables like Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch, offering a natural, non-invasive alternative to sleep medications.

HUNGY is a full-stack platform that modernizes food relief operations by replacing outdated tools with an all-in-one system for managing food from intake to distribution. It streamlines workflows, reduces waste, and turns daily activity into actionable data that enhances funding, efficiency, and community impact. Hungy serves as the operating system for food relief, empowering organizations to scale their mission sustainably.

Mulli Swing Solutions is developing a sensor-embedded golf grip that tracks grip pressure and swing motion in real time. Data is sent via Bluetooth to an app, giving players and coaches visual feedback to bridge the gap between “real” and “feel.” Unlike other tools that focus on ball flight and club movement, Mulli targets a key blind spot—grip pressure—while preserving the natural feel of a traditional grip.

Rocket Rank automates SEO content creation to boost online visibility. It generates keyword-optimized articles with images and publishes them directly to platforms like WordPress, Webflow, and Notion. By streamlining keyword research, writing, and posting, it saves time and drives organic traffic growth.

SeaGreen Solutions is an environmental tech startup that is turning seaweed into carbon-negative biochar for agriculture. Their eco-friendly soil conditioner boosts crop yields by improving soil health while locking away carbon. Rooted in Atlantic Canada’s coastal ecosystems, Seagreen promotes regenerative farming and environmental resilience.

Wellobit  is a digital health company that helps users manage stress in real time by translating physiological signals into simple insights. Its app guides users through quick breathing resets and gamified wellness experiences led by mascot Zenny. Combining tech, behavioral science, and breathwork, Wellobit empowers professionals to build resilience and improve daily wellbeing.

Six East Coast Startups Make Foresight 50

Six Atlantic Canadian cleantech ventures have been named to the 2025 edition of the Foresight 50, an annual exercise to find the most investible cleantech companies in the country.

Calgary-based Foresight Canada, which bills itself as Canada’s largest cleantech innovation and adoption accelerator, released the list of 50 leading Canadian cleantech startups earlier this week. In a report detailing the group, Foresight said it chose the companies based on four criteria: the team; environmental impact; probability of success; and investment readiness.

David Sanguinetti, Interim CEO of Foresight Canada, said in a press release that the 50 companies are Canada’s most de-risked and scalable cleantech investment opportunities.

"These honourees represent some of the most exciting prospects coming out of Canada's cleantech ecosystem,” said Sanguinetti. “Their innovation is actively transforming traditional industries into new strengths, securing economic competitiveness, and creating positive change in our communities and daily lives.”

The organization said this year’s honourees collectively employ more than 770 full-time workers and have raised over $377 million to date. Since it began the Foresight 50 in 2021, the total honorees have raised more than $2.6 billion, the group said.

The Atlantic Canadian companies named to the 2025 list are:

Aeon Blue

Sydney

Lark Meadow and Deóis Ua Cearnaigh

Aeon Blue’s solution delivers sustainable e-fuels while simultaneously capturing carbon dioxide and generating high-value co-products.

DeNova

Dartmouth

Brianna Orr Stratton

DeNova offers a novel, sustainable microbial protein called Psomi to the aquafeed market, addressing the instability and environmental limitations of traditional protein sources like fishmeal and soy.

Lillianah Technologies

Dartmouth

Benjamin Slotnick

Lillianah has a scalable and affordable solution to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using phytoplankton.

pHathom Technologies

Halifax

Kimberly Gilbert and Andrew Ray

PHathom is pioneering a new approach to carbon removal by capturing carbon dioxide from coastal biomass power plants, converting it into stable bicarbonate and storing it safely in the ocean for tens of thousands of years.

Picketa Systems

Fredricton

Xavier Hébert-Couturier, Levesque, Maxime Dumont, and Zachary Andersen

Picketa has developed an on-site crop nutrient assessment solution called the Leaf Evaluated-Nutrient System, or LENS. It allows agriculturalists to save about 50 percent on their fertilizer costs while reducing about the same scale of carbon emissions.

Sustane

Peter Vinall

Halifax

Sustane has developed a process of turning the least recyclable plastics into ‘drop-in’ feedstock for plastic production.

Jason Trask Named New MCE Director

MCE DIrector Jason Trask

MCE DIrector Jason Trask

Jason Trask has been appointed Director of the Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship (MCE) at Memorial University.

Trask, a longtime entrepreneur with ties to the St. John’s startup community, previously served as MCE’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence from 2017 to 2022. He succeeds Ed Martin, who last year left the centre to become the CEO of Genesis, the main innovation hub in Newfoundland and Labrador.

A serial entrepreneur, Trask founded his first business at age 15 and has since launched or operated several companies in sectors including technology, real estate, and seniors’ care. His ventures have taken him across the Americas and Asia, and he has participated in accelerator and incubator programs such as Techstars in three different countries.

Most recently, Trask was a co-founder and chief executive officer of EcoBloc, a St. John’s-based startup that develops chemical-free pest control technology for agricultural, commercial, and industrial facilities. EcoBloc’s products are designed to replace chemical-based methods that can harm wildlife and contaminate soils and water systems. Trask remains a director of the company, offering support to the team as needed.

MCE, based at Memorial University, provides programs, mentorship, and resources to help students start and grow new ventures. In a statement announcing the appointment, the organization said Trask’s experience and previous work with students position him to “lead the next chapter of MCE’s growth and drive even greater student success.”

UNB’s Summer Institute Demo Day Approaches

The six companies that comprise University of New Brunswick's 2025 Summer Institute Cohort will present their work to the public this Friday, November 7.

Now in its 12th year, the Summer Institute program teaches sales, marketing, and customer validation skills to companies making positive social and environmental impacts. 

The three-month accelerator offers founders more than $6,000 for living costs, $2,000 for prototyping, and skills training and coaching. Since it began in 2014, the program has graduated more than 60 ventures.

The presentation will occur this Friday, November 7 between 2pm and 4.30pm at the Wu Conference Centre at 6 Duffie Drive in Fredericton.

Register to attend here. 

PolyUnity Partners with 3 St.John’s Groups

PolyUnity Co-Founder and CMO Stephen Ryan at the opening of the new HQ

PolyUnity Co-Founder and CMO Stephen Ryan at the opening of the new HQ

As it opened its new headquarters in downtown St. John’s on Monday, PolyUnity Tech announced a series of partnerships aimed at advancing healthcare innovation across Canada.

The company said Monday that it will collaborate with Fonemed, Polyamyna Nanotech, and the Genesis AI Garage, all based in St. John’s, to combine expertise in virtual care, antimicrobial materials, and artificial intelligence.

PolyUnity designs and manufactures medical products through its digital i3D.Health platform, which allows hospitals to design, approve, and 3D print items locally through a regulatory-compliant process.

“These collaborations showcase what’s possible when local innovation addresses global healthcare challenges,” said Stephen Ryan, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of PolyUnity. “By working together, we can help make healthcare safer and more effective.”

Through the new partnership, Fonemed will work on PolyUnity’s Virtual Care Pod and Mobile Care Kit – technologies designed in Newfoundland and Labrador for use in global healthcare markets. The products use locally produced antimicrobial materials and allow remote biometric assessments, including cardiac and pulmonary monitoring and imaging, enabling clinicians to diagnose and treat patients at a distance, the company said.

Fonemed is a virtual care company that provides around-the-clock nurse advice lines and telehealth solutions to clients across North America.

Polyamyna – which is developing antimicrobial and antiviral materials – is collaborating with PolyUnity to develop PolyAura, a new antimicrobial 3D printing filament that reduces bacterial presence by 99.9 percent on printed medical components, said PolyUnity. The material is being integrated into products such as device handles and workstations to improve infection control in healthcare environments.

The Genesis AI Garage – a new division of the innovation hub Genesis – will support PolyUnity’s use of artificial intelligence to streamline product design, manufacturing, and logistics. The partnership will focus on predictive analytics and automation to enhance efficiency and compliance in the company’s operations.

PolyUnity’s new headquarters marks a milestone for Newfoundland and Labrador’s health technology sector, which continues to expand its presence in national and international markets.

Maple Acquires NB’s Beyond ADHD

Toronto-based virtual care company Maple has acquired Beyond ADHD, a New Brunswick–based provider of virtual assessment and treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Maple announced the acquisition in a press release Tuesday, but did not disclose the price. It said the move expands Maple’s presence in the mental health space while keeping Beyond ADHD’s operations and team intact.

Beyond ADHD, headquartered in Grafton, NB, just west of Fredericton, was created to address what its founders saw as major gaps in ADHD care – fragmented services, long waits, and limited accessibility. The company offers a structured three-step virtual program covering assessment, diagnosis, and follow-up, while also supporting patients dealing with depression and anxiety. Care is delivered by licensed Canadian clinicians, the company says.

The company will continue operating as a subsidiary of Maple, with no interruption to patient services or staffing.

“Too many people struggle to receive ADHD assessment and support,” said Maple CEO and co-founder Dr. Brett Belchetz. “Adding Beyond ADHD to Maple improves access to timely, high-quality mental health care across Canada.”

Beyond ADHD founder and CEO Dr. Hanif Chatur said joining Maple will help the company reach more patients and strengthen the link between ADHD care and broader mental health and primary care systems. “We designed this platform with patients, not just for them,” he said. “With Maple’s scale, technology, and clinical leadership, we can accelerate our impact and continue delivering safe, consistent outcomes for patients.”

Chatur, a family physician and entrepreneur, is also the co-founder of ClinicGlide, a digital health platform that last month received funding from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation and TLT. ClinicGlide provides workflow tools designed to improve efficiency in medical practices.

Beyond ADHD has built strong partnerships with health and student insurance providers and serves more than 20,000 patients across Canada. As part of Maple, it will have additional resources to expand responsibly and continue developing evidence-based ADHD treatment programs, the statement said.

ADHD affects an estimated 1.8 million Canadians, but diagnosis and treatment remain inconsistent across the country, said the statement from Maple. Research shows untreated ADHD can lead to significant productivity losses and related mental health challenges – gaps Beyond ADHD aims to close through its virtual model.

Bright Breaks Exits

Bright Breaks Co-Founders Kiran Sachdev and David Howe

Bright Breaks Co-Founders Kiran Sachdev and David Howe

Halifax-based Bright Breaks, which streams wellness videos for its customers’ employees, has been acquired by Wellable of Boston for an undisclosed price.

The exit, announced Monday, will reward several local investors and is the latest chapter in the notable entrepreneurial journey of Bright Breaks Co-Founder and CEO David Howe.

Wellable, which provides employee wellness, rewards, and recognition solutions, has agreed to let Bright Breaks operate as an independent Halifax-based brand within the Wellable family. Howe said in an interview the acquisition will bring his team greater resources and experience as well as access to the Boston company’s customer base.

“The corporate wellness space is very competitive,” said Howe. “Wellable has been around for 14 years and they’re profitable. They grew by bootstrapping; they haven’t raised outside [equity] capital. Joining with them is very much a one plus one equals three scenario where we can tap into all their expertise.”

Bright Breaks sells corporations and organizations micro-breaks – videos of about seven minutes – that their employees can tune into for healthy breaks in their work day. These include such activities as meditation, stretching, dance, strength training, and mindfulness exercises. The platform also provides tips on finances, meal preparation, and other workplace wellness topics. A smart scheduler integrates with Outlook and Google calendars, automatically finding time for breaks without disrupting employees’ schedules.

The company said its approach is grounded in research showing that employees who take regular breaks for movement, stretching, or breathwork experience up to a 40 percent increase in productivity and lower rates of burnout.

Bright Breaks closed a funding round worth $2.5 million led by Build Ventures in 2023, and a $1.5 million round a year earlier. Its investors include Tidal Ventures, Concrete Ventures, Invest Nova Scotia, and Venture Grade.

With offices in Boston, San Diego, and Washington, Wellable serves organizations of all sizes with solutions designed to enhance workplace culture and employee health. The acquisition expands Wellable’s offerings by adding daily live breaks and a large on-demand library to its employee experience platform, the partners said.

Howe said that Wellable has been in business for 14 years while Bright Breaks has been in the wellness space for only five years. The Boston company has about 20 to 30 times as many customers, and thus the deal offers a huge re-selling opportunity for Bright Breaks.

Amanda Kuron, Wellable’s vice-president of content, said the acquisition aligns with her company’s goal of making wellness a seamless part of the workday. “By embedding micro-breaks throughout the workday, we empower employees to reset and recharge while fostering deeper motivation and connection,” Kuron said.

The Bright Breaks sale to Wellable is actually Howe’s fourth exit. He started and sold a landscaping business in university, then launched ToothbrushSubscriptions.com, which sold toothbrushes online. During this time, he met New Brunswick-born investor and startup specialist Dan Martell, who bet Howe $1,000 he couldn’t produce a profit of $15,000 in six months. Martell explained the stakes in the wager weren’t as important as the need for a young entrepreneur like Howe to learn accountability.

Howe lost the bet but the pressure taught him valuable lessons in marketing, pricing and growth strategies. He soon sold the toothbrush company to a competitor in New York.

After starting and selling a software company in California, Howe started a new venture based in Halifax that offered haircuts or hairstyling in people’s homes or places of business. Cribcuts gained traction until the pandemic hit and killed its business.

So Howe and co-founder Kiran Sachdev pivoted to offer online exercise and wellness videos, which evolved into the company they have now sold to Wellable.

“Startups are a long, hard, but rewarding journey,” said Howe on social media. “I could write a book on the last eight years about the highs and lows, lessons learned, and the hard-to-believe stories. But the book isn’t done yet, and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to continue all of our hard work as we start a new and exciting chapter with Wellable!”

Atlantic Fintech Growth Network Launched

Atlantic Fintech has launched the Atlantic Fintech Growth Network, a new program aimed at helping Atlantic Canadian fintech companies to expand into the U.S. market.

The initiative aims to provide startups with mentorship, strategic guidance, and introductions to key players in banking, payments, and financial technology, the Moncton-based organization said in a press release.

The first edition of the program, running until March, will focus specifically on U.S. market entry. Participating companies will receive regulatory advice, market insights, and networking opportunities with U.S. fintech institutions and investors.

Charles Potts, advisor at the National Fintech Organization (NFO) and former executive at the Independent Community Bankers of America, said the program addresses the challenges of international growth. “Expanding fintech innovation internationally requires not only market knowledge but also strong strategic partnerships and regulatory insight,” he said..

Atlantic Fintech said the program is unique in its use of senior executives embedded in the U.S. financial industry, enabled through partnerships with NFO and The Exchange. The Exchange is a peer-to-peer advisory network connecting executives across financial services, while NFO provides education and access to industry leaders for fintech growth.

“A program like the Atlantic Fintech Growth Network is a great addition to our U.S. go-to-market [strategy],” said Lori Weir, CEO of Four Eyes Financial, which is participating in the program. “Providing another avenue to connect with regulatory leaders in wealth management as we spread the word about how Four Eyes Financial is helping change the way trade surveillance and compliance is done globally,” she said.

The Atlantic Fintech Growth Network is supported by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Invest Nova Scotia, and Opportunities New Brunswick, reflecting a regional effort to position Atlantic Canadian fintechs on a global stage.

Atlantic Fintech leads initiatives to drive fintech innovation across the four Atlantic provinces, offering programs such as Fintech Concierge and Fintech Hub Atlantic Division, which focus on mentorship, market entry support, and ecosystem development.

Tenera Collaborates with ALIS

Halifax-based Tenera Care, a provider of location-based monitoring solutions for senior living communities, has integrated its product with Chicago-based ALIS (Assisted Living's Intelligent Software).

Tenera’s system uses wearable devices to track the movements of seniors in residential care homes. The company’s Real Time Location Service, or RTLS, helps long term care homes keep track of their residents, staff and assets with the goal of improving safety and operations.

The company said the system, which is used by homes across North America, analyzes data to improve workflow, care, and business outcomes. Tenera has said that residents can use its system to call for assistance, and it identifies situations where they may need help and automatically calls for them. The system also identifies trends in resident mobility, socialization and other factors.

The new collaboration uses a mobile interface that's designed to create better health outcomes for residents while capturing all aspects of care delivery. The company said integrating its data with the ALIS platform improves:  

* Health and Safety Outcomes: When an alert is triggered, caregivers can access the resident's health plan through the Tenera Care mobile app. Tenera also measures the time caregivers spend with the resident after responding to the alert. Location data provides resident health insights, including fall risk, depression risk and more.
* Real-Time Care Tracking: The location data reveals how much time caregivers spend with residents, allowing managers to better understand staffing needs while capturing billing data for care delivered.
* Improved Compliance: The mobile app and location tracking allow staff to document their work.

"This integration with ALIS solves a fundamental problem in senior living operations – the disconnect between care planning and care delivery," said Stephen Fitzgerald, CEO of Tenera.

"Communities can now see not just what care was scheduled, but what care actually occurred, when it happened, and how residents responded. This visibility eliminates guesswork in staffing decisions, ensures accurate service billing, and gives families confidence that their loved ones are receiving the care they need."

In March this year, Tenera announced it had closed a $7.4 million round that was led by Build Ventures and Export Development Canada. The round included $2.1 million in bridge funding to finalize product development and $5.3 million to support a Canadian and U.S. growth plan. The company previously announced a $750,000 raise in 2021.

Profitual Opens Second No-Pitch Competition

Following on the success of its first No-Pitch Competition, Fredericton fintech company Profitual is once again hosting the contest that assesses founders’ business models rather than their public speaking skills.

Entries for the company’s second No-Pitch Competition are open until the end of the month, and the winner of the $10,000 first prize will be announced Dec. 9.

Profitual, a financial intelligence startup that specializes in working with other young companies, asks participants to merely upload an Excel file of their financial model. The contest is open to startups across Canada with less than $1 million in annual recuring revenue.

Profitual will use its AI-driven forecast evaluator to analyze every submission against investor-grade benchmarks. The goal of the competition is to reward “founders who can compete on substance, not spin.”

Applicants with the top 5 models will be invited for a 15-minute virtual call to confirm eligibility.

The first No-Pitch Competition early this year attracted about 120 applicants and was won by Calgary-based Cashew Research, a startup offering AI-driven market research.

You can find more information and enter the competition here.

Hadamard AI Bags $31,500 at Genesis Pitch

Genesis CEO Ed Martin, left, with Hadamard AI Founders Nathaniel and Thomas Roberts

Genesis CEO Ed Martin, left, with Hadamard AI Founders Nathaniel and Thomas Roberts

Hadamard AI, founded by brothers Nathaniel and Thomas Roberts, was named the Genesis Pitch Champion last week, earning $30,000 and a place on the Pitcher Plant trophy.

Hadamard AI develops artificial intelligence-driven legal research tools, which allow users to conduct faster, smarter research with reliable, cited results. The audience at the sold-out event also awarded Hadamard the Community Choice Award, adding $1,500 to its winnings.

The company earlier this year was one of the Atlantic Canadian ventures pitching at the Web Summit Vancouver.

Organized by the Newfoundland and Labrador innovation hub Genesis, the 2025 Genesis Pitch drew a full house as five Newfoundland and Labrador startups competed for $45,000 in prizes at the grand finale of techNL’s Innovation Week. Innovation Week is a province-wide celebration of entrepreneurship and technological growth.

MedTemp, founded by Bradley Russell and Jamie Heath, took second place and a $10,000 prize. The company has developed a pharmaceutical logistics platform that ensures safe, reliable, temperature-controlled delivery of high-value biologic drugs.

Two additional awards recognized leadership and inclusion in the province’s innovation sector. The True Blue Award, sponsored by Bluedrop ISM, went to Adilya Dragan of Starluv Inc., which has developed an AI-powered resale marketplace that helps people to sell their clothes. The prize recognizes a woman founder working to challenge the status quo in technology.

The Genesis Belonging Award, sponsored by the Fry Family Foundation, was presented to Ramy Abdulzaher of Bonocle, a company developing assistive technology to make digital content accessible to people who are blind or have low vision. The award honours startups fostering inclusivity and equity in their workplaces and communities.

The other finalists at the Genesis Pitch were: Data Farms, which uses AI, sensor analytics, and soil science to provide farmers with real-time insights to maximize yields and minimize their environmental impact; and the edtech startup Lunisity, which aims to use AI to transform Assessment, Evaluation and Research workflows for student affairs teams in higher education. Its AI-powered tools integrate with existing campus systems to deliver real-time insights on student involvement and co-curricular engagement.

Judges for the event were Michele Romanow, Adam Keating, Holly Hill, Niraj Shukla, and Nick Warren.

Tribe Impact Report Highlights Further Growth

Tribe Network, the Halifax-based hub that supports Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) entrepreneurs, has released its 2024–2025 Impact Report which highlights another year of expanding influence in the country’s innovation economy.

The report says Tribe’s programs helped more than 500 BIPOC founders to develop and scale their ventures in 2024, bringing the total number to 1,300 since 2020. The organization also deployed over $290,000 in non-dilutive capital last year, helping companies in its network create 138 jobs and generate $1.2 million in revenue. Since 2020, these enterprises have created more than 400 jobs.

Tribe Network, founded to build an inclusive innovation ecosystem, provides business training, mentorship, and access to investors for underrepresented entrepreneurs. Its latest report emphasizes that diversity in entrepreneurship drives both social progress and economic growth.

“Tribe Network exists to build new systems where everyone belongs and no one is left behind,” said Tribe Founder and CEO Alfred Burgesson in the report. “Through coaching, capital, and community, we’re not just creating opportunities, we’re redesigning the landscape of entrepreneurship in Canada and beyond.”

Another key highlight of 2024 was Tribe’s investment in education, says the report. The organization awarded $120,000 in scholarships for Black and Indigenous students, part of its commitment to building long-term opportunities for underrepresented communities.

“The data in this year’s report shows that inclusion isn’t just a value – it’s an engine for innovation,” the report states. “When BIPOC founders are given access to networks, capital, and coaching, the results strengthen the economy for everyone.”

Over the past year, Tribe Network expanded its national reach through partnerships with organizations in other provinces, broadening its programming beyond Atlantic Canada. Its initiatives now include accelerator programs for early-stage founders, networking events, and investor-readiness training tailored to the unique barriers BIPOC entrepreneurs face.

The organization also underscored its focus on measuring social as well as economic outcomes — such as community impact, leadership development, and representation in the startup ecosystem — to ensure equitable participation in Canada’s innovation landscape.

Highlights of the report include:

  • The organization held 58 events or workshops in 2024, bringing the total since 2020 to more than 130;
  • The number of members in the Tribe Network grew by 700 in 2024, standing at 2,000 at the end of the year;
  • The number of mentors engaged increased by 50 percent to 150;
  • Tribe spent $560,000 on programming and support for entrepreneurs in 2024, bringing the total to almost $1 million since 2020;
  • And the startups supported by Tribe raised $1.6 million in 2024, and have raised a total of $4.5 million since 2020.

The organization concludes it has had an economic impact of $25 million since its inception five years ago.

Tribe Network’s annual Impact Report serves both as a performance review and as a call to action for continued investment in inclusive entrepreneurship, the group says. By connecting racialized founders to opportunity and resources, the organization aims to build a more diverse and resilient innovation economy across Canada.

“Our horizon is clear: By 2030, Tribe Network aims to unlock C$1 billion in economic impact through the success of our members, partners, and communities,” said Burgesson. “Our ambition is to build pathways that multiply opportunity and create lasting change.”

NBIF’s Breakthru Returns

The New Brunswick innovation Foundation is bringing back Breakthru, its legacy startup competition.

Organizers are offering $200,000 in equity investment and in-kind support to help entrepreneurs turn ideas into ventures.  The Grand Prize will provide $100,000 in equity investment and two runners-up will receive $50,000 in equity investment.

The three companies will enter due diligence with NBIF. Each investment provides the startup with the critical funding and support needed to execute on its business objectives, organizers said on LinkedIn.

To qualify, proposed ventures must be in the early or pre-seed stage of development, meaning the business is still in concept, prototype, or market validation phase and has not yet raised significant external capital or achieved meaningful commercial revenue.

Organizers said business ideas must have a strong business case, real market demand, financial and commercial potential, a clear innovative and competitive edge, a capable team and economic impact for New Brunswick.

Before the pandemic, Breakthru was big news and a passion project of then-CEO Calvin Milbury. It was held every second year and awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars to the top three startups, which had all gone through months of preparation and mentorship. Since 2019, there have been several smaller-scale events with the Breakthru name.

In March this year, NBIF awarded a $50,000 investment at the Breakthru Accelerating Cleantech pitching event. The pitching competition winner, which received a $50,000 investment from NBIF, was AgroGene Solutions, which was founded by four researchers at Universite de Moncton and provides monitoring services for beekeepers.

Applications for Breakthru close Friday, November 28.
Apply here.

LeBrun Named to InnovateNB Hall of Fame

Entrepreneur and social innovator Marcel LeBrun has been named the 2025 inductee to the InnovateNB Hall of Fame in recognition of his decades-long impact on New Brunswick’s technology and innovation sectors.

The honour will be presented during the InnovateNB Awards ceremony on Nov. 27 at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre, where innovators from the province’s private, public, and post-secondary sectors will also be recognized.

LeBrun’s career spans more than 30 years and includes leadership roles that helped shape New Brunswick’s digital economy. He began at NBTel, the provincial telecommunications utility that later merged with regional peers to become Bell Aliant, where he contributed to the province’s early digital technology strategy.

In 1998, LeBrun co-founded iMagicTV, one of the first companies to commercialize Internet Protocol television (IPTV) technology. The company was among the earliest to demonstrate how broadband networks could deliver television content—a concept that would later become standard in the telecommunications industry.

LeBrun went on to co-found Radian6 in 2006 with technologist Chris Newton and former NBTel colleague Chris Ramsey. Within three years, Radian6 had become a leading global provider of social media analytics, serving half of the Fortune 500, including Dell, GE and Procter & Gamble. The platform played a key role in Procter & Gamble’s 2010 “Old Spice” campaign, which became a landmark in real-time social media engagement.

In 2011, Salesforce acquired Radian6 for nearly $350 million, marking one of the largest technology exits in Atlantic Canadian history.

Since the sale, LeBrun has dedicated much of his time to mentoring emerging entrepreneurs and strengthening the region’s startup ecosystem. Through his work with Propel ICT and other innovation hubs, he has supported dozens of founders in building and scaling new ventures.

LeBrun has also turned his focus to social innovation as the founder of 12 Neighbours, a Fredericton-based initiative that builds tiny homes and provides supports such as entrepreneurship training and counselling for people experiencing homelessness. A related effort, Neighbourly Homes, expands on that model by developing transitional housing that emphasizes dignity and autonomy.

The InnovateNB Hall of Fame recognizes individuals whose achievements have significantly advanced innovation in New Brunswick. Previous winners of the honour were entrepreneur and investor Gerry Pond and the founders of Q1 Labs.

To learn more about InnovateNB and to buy tickets to the gala, please visit this website.

Laberge’s New Company Closes US$10.5M Round

Zach Laberge with the Omen pickup truck in San Francisco

Zach Laberge with the Omen pickup truck in San Francisco

Fifteen months after exiting his first Halifax-based company, Zach Laberge has closed a US$10.5 million (C$14.7 million) seed funding round for his new startup Omen, which uses AI in the maintenance of heavy machinery.

The surprising thing about this raise is not just that Laberge, the founder and CEO of Omen, just turned 20 this month. It’s that he closed the round in only four days.

Now based in San Francisco, Laberge launched Omen to install specially designed sensors in heavy machinery and use artificial intelligence to tell whether the machines are about to encounter problems If so, the machines themselves can take action to ensure there’s no downtime.

For example, if a component is wearing out, Omen will not only notify the human operator; it will also order the part itself.

“Last summer, I was thinking there is automation for machines that can drive them, but wouldn’t it be great if machines could think for themselves, order their own parts, tell you when they’re about to break down?” said Laberge in an interview in Omen’s new office.

Says the company’s messaging: “This isn't just better maintenance; it's a fundamental shift in how industrial equipment operates . . . Every machine is different. Every failure is preventable.”

Laberge started his first company Frenter in Halifax in 2020, while he was still a high school student. He soon attracted investors and non-dilutive financing. After a pivot, the company developed technology that let heavy equipment operators and rental companies track and manage their fleets in real time with the help of GPS and telematics data, remotely monitoring the security and general utilization of heavy equipment.

In early 2024, Laberge moved to the Bay Area, and as he went through the process of selling Frenter he began to work on the new company, talking to both investors and prospective clients. They liked the idea. Not only did he gain customers right out of the door, but he was able to raise a US$3.2 million pre-seed round “immediately.” He said one of the investors presented him with a term sheet and others came in within a couple of days. 

It was a similar story with the seed round in the past month, he said. San Francisco-based venture capital firm CRV led the round, which was joined by about 10 other VCs as well as angel investors from the C-suites of General Motors and Bridgestone.

There were several reasons for Omen’s ability to raise so much money so fast. Laberge and his five team members have shown an ability to move quickly. (They had their first product out within a month of conception.) He established good relationships with funders – both those who backed him previously and others in his network. And the company had early traction.

But he can’t ignore the fact that it’s easier for good companies to raise capital in the Bay Area than in most other markets in the world.

“I love Nova Scotia for getting started,” he said, adding that he would have been lost among all the other entrepreneurs if he had started out in a place like Toronto. “But I think in Canada – and I would include Nova Scotia – the fundraising environment is terrible.”

Now he has a few years of runway, Laberge said Omen is focusing on growing the business and increasing revenues. The company has six customers so far, none of which have annual revenues of less than US$2 billion. Its market now comprises general contractors, rental companies, manufacturers, and military operators, and it has customers as far afield as Japan, he said.

Recently, Omen moved into new, airy headquarters south of Market Street in San Francisco, and just refurbished an R&D lab a few doors down. The small team includes an engineer who is leading the development of the next generation of sensors. The company’s assets include a new pickup truck that serves as a mobile office and workshop when servicing customers in California.

While Omen’s growth plans include aggressive selling, Laberge has no immediate plans to increase the size of the team. He noted that talent is more expensive in San Francisco than in Canada, and you have to hire good people who work efficiently.

EDC Backs Growth of Maritime Launch

Maritime Launch Services has secured a $10 million senior credit facility from Export Development Canada to support the continued development of Spaceport Nova Scotia in Canso and advance toward its first orbital launch.

The financing agreement includes an initial $5 million advance, with the remainder available through drawdowns tied to ongoing construction and development milestones. The funds will be used for the next phase of the spaceport’s buildout, including launch pad and infrastructure work.

Maritime Launch President and CEO Stephen Matier said EDC’s commitment represents a key milestone in establishing Canada’s capability to conduct orbital launches. “EDC's support helps us advance the buildout of Spaceport Nova Scotia as we prepare for orbital launch operations,” he said. “Together, we’re demonstrating that Canada can achieve sovereign launch capability.”

In August, Maritime Launch agreed to sell a stake to Montreal-based Reaction Dynamics Lab and collaborate on an all-Canadian orbital launch set for the summer of 2028. The Reaction Dynamics deal has a total value of $1.7 million, and the companies said it will lead to a rocket designed and built in Canada being fired into orbit from Canada for the first time. The two companies began collaborating with each other last year.

Located near Canso, N.S., Spaceport Nova Scotia is being developed to provide satellite launch services for both Canadian and international clients. The project is expected to generate economic benefits in rural Nova Scotia through job creation, investment attraction, and the growth of a local supply chain.

EDC President and CEO Alison Nankivell said the financing reflects the agency’s focus on projects of strategic national importance.

She said: “This critical infrastructure will help Canada achieve sovereign launch capability for satellites, which will support needs such as defence and security, telecommunications, and weather monitoring.”

Five Startups Compete at The Genesis Pitch

Five Newfoundland and Labrador startups will compete for more than $45,000 in prizes at The Genesis Pitch, taking place Oct. 29 at the St. John’s Convention Centre.

Organized by Genesis, the province’s technology incubator, the event marks the largest prize pool in its history, including a $30,000 top prize and the Pitcher Plant trophy. The competition is part of techNL’s annual Innovation Week, which highlights innovation and entrepreneurship across the province.

The five finalists represent a cross-section of emerging technologies being developed in Newfoundland and Labrador:

  • Data Farms – Founded by Heather Zurel, Data Farms is developing tools to improve agricultural productivity and sustainability through data-driven insights. The company aims to help farmers make more informed decisions using analytics and precision technology.
  • Hadamard – Led by brothers Nathaniel and Thomas Roberts, Hadamard is focused on computational solutions for complex analytical problems. The startup’s work applies advanced mathematics and computing to support fields such as engineering, research, and industrial design.
  • Lunisity – Co-founded by Girish Verma and Nico Heinken, Lunisity is working on an education technology platform designed to enhance student learning experiences through personalized and interactive tools. The company is targeting both institutional and independent learning environments.
  • MedTemp – Founded by Bradley Russell and Jamie Heath, MedTemp is developing technology to support healthcare staffing and workforce management. The company’s platform aims to match medical professionals with temporary placements efficiently and securely.
  • Starluv – Founded by Adilya Dragan, Starluv is creating a digital platform that connects users through shared experiences and interests. The company is focused on building a community-centered network with tools for discovery and connection.

 

The Genesis Pitch provides founders with the opportunity to present their ventures to investors, industry leaders, and members of the public. In addition to cash prizes, the competition offers exposure to potential partners and supporters within the province’s tech sector.

Genesis, based at Memorial University in St. John’s, supports early-stage technology startups through funding, mentorship, and business development programs. The organization said the competition reflects its role in helping entrepreneurs move from concept to commercialization.

The Genesis Pitch begins at 1 p.m. on Oct. 29 at the St. John’s Convention Centre. You can find more information here. 

NACO Calls for National Investment Strategy

NACO Chief Executive Claudio Rojas

NACO Chief Executive Claudio Rojas

NACO Canada has released a new report urging a coordinated national approach to mobilize up to $15 billion in private investment and strengthen Canada’s innovation economy.

Titled A Unified Capital Strategy for a Sovereign Innovation Economy, the report outlines a four-part policy framework aimed at improving access to early-stage financing and reducing barriers faced by entrepreneurs. NACO – the umbrella group for angel investors in Canada – argues that fragmented provincial programs and gaps in early-stage capital continue to limit the ability of Canadian startups to scale and compete internationally.

“When founders spend less time raising, they have more time building,” said NACO Chief Executive Claudio Rojas in a statement. “A unified capital strategy is about empowering our nation’s innovators with the capital they need to compete globally.”

The report calls for four interconnected measures that together would form what NACO describes as a “unified engine for national prosperity.” These include:

  • A National Investment Tax Credit, which would increase the supply of early-stage risk capital by encouraging more investors to make initial investments in startups.
  • A Sovereign Capital Catalyst Initiative, intended to align capital deployment and ensure companies can access funding at all stages of growth.
  • A Strategic Capital Gains Deferral, to encourage successful entrepreneurs and investors to reinvest their proceeds into the next generation of startups.
  • An Entrepreneurial Capital Investment Program, designed to strengthen national infrastructure and connect founders with capital more efficiently.

 

Together, these measures could generate between $10 billion and $15 billion in private investment and create up to 72,000 high-value jobs over five years, according to the report.

The report draws on evidence from British Columbia’s investment tax credit program, which delivered nearly $3 in tax revenue for every $1 in credits issued. It also points to international models in the U.S., U.K., and Israel, which invest a larger share of GDP in venture capital compared to Canada.

Despite recent growth in venture funding, NACO says systemic weaknesses in early-stage financing continue to undermine productivity and global competitiveness. Achieving venture capital intensity on a par with countries like Estonia or Israel, it says, would “radically transform the structure of Canada’s economy.”

The organization is urging federal policymakers to use the upcoming 2025 budget as an opportunity to implement a unified capital strategy. “As global competition for innovation capital and talent accelerates, Canada must act decisively,” the report concludes. “To maintain economic independence and remain a magnet for talent and investment, we must move beyond fragmented provincial programs toward a coordinated national approach.”

NBIF, TLT Invest in ClinicGlide

Fredericton-based ClinicGlide Technologies, which uses artificial intelligence to improve efficiency in healthcare, has raised six figures of funding from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation and TLT East Ventures.

NBIF said on LinkedIn last week that it had invested $200,000 in the company, which uses agentic artificial intelligence to automate patient interactions and reduce administrative workloads in healthcare settings. The NBIF announcement follows a similar post by TLT, which said the two investment groups are co-leading the funding round. TLT did not specify the size of its investment.  

ClinicGlide was co-founded by Scott MacIntosh, an entrepreneur and healthcare technology architect with more than 25 years of experience in digital transformation, and Dr. Hanif Chatur, an emergency physician and digital health innovator with more than two decades of experience building new models of care. The company’s AI platform automates multi-channel patient communications, streamlines appointment scheduling, and reduces repetitive administrative tasks for hospitals and clinics.

MacIntosh is the former CEO of the Fredericton-based tech consultancy SwiftRadius, which was acquired by Deloitte in 2014.

NBIF said the investment will support ClinicGlide’s continued AI development, integration with healthcare platforms, and company growth. The company’s technology is already being used to automate front-end workflows, resulting in as much as a 50 percent reduction in administrative load for healthcare providers.

“The ClinicGlide team’s vision for a smarter, more connected healthcare system makes this an exciting investment for NBIF,” said NBIF Chief Executive Jeff White in the post. “With Scott’s experience as a founder in digital transformation and Hanif’s recognized sector expertise, they’re building a valuable solution with global potential and strong roots in New Brunswick innovation.”

TLT East Ventures said the investment aligns with its mission to support entrepreneurs who drive job creation and economic growth in Atlantic Canada. Led by former investment banker Michael Brown, TLT launched earlier this year and has already invested in Eigen Innovations, SnapTrade and Profitual, all of Fredericton.

MacIntosh said in an email the company’s early traction reflects growing demand for automation tools that can improve efficiency in healthcare operations.

“We are incredibly excited by the early validation from partners like NBIF and TLT as we continue to finalize the remaining commitments for this pre-seed round,” he said. “There is a relentless need to improve healthcare operations, and we are happy to be a part of the solution. This round enables us to connect to more healthcare operational systems sooner, and accelerate the build of our sovereign healthcare AI solutions.”

MacIntosh said ClinicGlide is first to market with its Clara AI Booking Agent, which automatically books appointments within the popular Jane.app electronic medical records (EMR) system. The company is now developing similar tools for hospitals, medical offices, and health authorities.

He added that the new capital is being directed primarily toward two priorities: expanding integrations with additional EMR and scheduling systems, and accelerating development of the company’s sovereign AI capabilities tailored for healthcare environments.

Site 20/20 No. 6 in Deloitte’s Fast 50

Dartmouth-based Site 20/20 has landed on Deloitte’s prestigious Technology Fast 50 list of Canada’s fastest-growing startups for the third straight year after accelerating its revenue growth.

The global accounting firm announced its 2025 list of fast-growing Canadian companies (based on revenue records over a four-year period) on Tuesday, and it included two Atlantic Canadian companies making the roster for the first time: St. John’s-based CoLab Software and Charlottetown-based SpryPoint.

Site 20/20 placed sixth on the list of meteoric Canadian startups in 2025, with revenue growth of 6,721 percent in the past four years.  CoLab claimed the 19th position with revenue growth of 1,730 percent, while SpryPoint recorded four-year revenue growth of 616 percent to capture 40th place.

What’s most impressive about Site 20/20’s performance is it produced its best growth results ever even though it’s operating off a much higher base. In 2024, the company was 31st on the list with revenue growth of 686 percent. In 2023, it captured sixth place on the back of 2,392 percent revenue growth over four years.

The company received a shot in the arm in August 2024 when it closed an investment deal with New Mountain Capital and Energy Impact Partners, both based in New York. The amount of funding was never revealed. A statement on the site of New Mountain Capital last year said Site 20/20 since its inception has had revenues of more than $250 million.

Led by CEO Mitch Hollohan, Site 20/20’s flagship product is the Guardian SmartFlagger, a piece of equipment designed to replace the human “flaggers” who direct traffic at construction sites. It includes a portable stoplight and a barrier that can be lowered to block traffic flow.

Hollohan founded the business in 2015 and launched the Guardian in 2017, under a revenue model whereby Site 20/20 leased the equipment to customers on an hourly basis. A single worker can control up to four of the machines using an iPad and video-monitoring software.

Founded by CEO Adam Keating and CTO Jeremy Andrew in 2017, CoLab makes collaboration software for 3D modelling and has recently offered customers new, AI-based tools. A graduate of the Y Combinator accelerator in Silicon Valley, CoLab closed a US$21 million, or C$28.6 million, Series B funding round led by New York’s Insight Partners in May 2024. That followed up on its previous US$17 million Series A a few years earlier.

SpryPoint was founded in 2011 and sells cloud-based enterprise software for utility companies. The company’s website says it focuses on “delivering innovative and efficient technologies to enable exceptional customer service and to optimize operations.”

In March of this year, SpryPoint CEO Kyle Strang announced the company had received a growth-focused credit facility from CIBC Innovation Banking.

Along with its Fast 50, Deloitte each year names 15 startups to its Companies-to-Watch list. No Atlantic Canadian companies made this list in 2025.

The participants in the Technology Fast 50 are required to give Deloitte access to audited financial statements and must already have revenue at the beginning of the four years. The 2025 winner was Neo Financial of Calgary, which also won in 2024. Its four-year revenue growth in the 2025 competition came in at 1,279 percent.

Ashored Wins $200K in TELUS Competition

Ashored Innovation CEO Aaron Stevenson

Ashored Innovation CEO Aaron Stevenson

Ocean technology company Ashored Innovation has been named one of five grand prize winners in the national TELUS #StandWithOwners competition, receiving a $200,000 prize package in cash and in-kind services.

The Debert, NS-based company was recognized for its development of a “rope-on-demand” fishing system designed to reduce the risk of marine animal entanglement in traditional trap gear. The system allows ropes used to retrieve crab or lobster traps to remain coiled around a device on the ocean floor until an acoustic signal triggers their release. This approach helps protect whales and other marine life from becoming ensnared in vertical fishing lines.

Ashored was founded by Aaron Stevenson, who began developing the technology following a 2017 North Atlantic right whale mortality event linked to fishing gear entanglements. The company’s acoustic-release buoy system retrofits existing traps and is now used across three continents for both commercial fishing and scientific research related to underwater noise and environmental change.

“This incredible recognition celebrates Canadian businesses driving innovation and positive change – and we’re proud to represent the ocean technology sector and sustainable fishing community on this stage,” Stevenson said in a social media post announcing the award.

Each of the five grand prize winners receives $75,000 in direct funding, $80,000 in advertising and business exposure, $35,000 in technology from TELUS and Samsung, and $10,000 in TELUS Health wellbeing support.

In addition to the five grand prize recipients, TELUS recognized 15 other small businesses with $20,000 each in funding and technology support. Three of those winners are based in Atlantic Canada:

  •  Newbornlander, a St. John’s social enterprise founded by Constanza Safatle Ferrari, employs newcomer women to produce ethically made baby products.
  •  Pollen Nation Farm, owned by Chef Nathan Hornidge and Amanda Oake in Little Rapids, NL, operates an Indigenous-owned honey farm and culinary destination promoting food security and sustainability.
  • And  SudDrop Laundry Services, founded by Jayrell Diggs in East Preston, NS, provides a tech-enabled laundry service that partners with local laundromats and emphasizes community impact.

 

Since its launch in 2020, TELUS’s #StandWithOwners program has distributed more than $6 million in funding, technology, and promotional support to Canadian small businesses, the company said.

“Businesses like these embody the spirit of Canadian entrepreneurship while making a meaningful difference in their communities,” said Katherine Emberly, Senior Vice-President and President, Small and Medium Business at TELUS.

Further Acclaim for Infusd Nutrition

Infusd Nutrition co-founders David Giffin, left, and Jack MacDonald

Infusd Nutrition co-founders David Giffin, left, and Jack MacDonald

Halifax-based supplement startup Infusd Nutrition has capped off a busy stretch with a series of national and international recognitions highlighting its role in the food technology sector.

Over the past 10 days, the company has participated in the MISTA Growth Hack in San Francisco, where it showcased products co-developed with multinational partners Givaudan and Danone. The collaboration focused on demonstrating new approaches to functional food and beverage formulation – emphasizing nutrient density, improved taste, and clean labeling, the company said.

Soon after returning from California, Infusd was in Moncton to receive the Innovator of the Year Award from Food and Beverage Atlantic, an organization that supports the region’s food and drink producers. The award recognizes companies advancing innovation and growth within Atlantic Canada’s food sector.

The company’s run of achievements continued this week in Halifax, where it was named to the Canadian Food Innovation Network’s Foodtech Frontier 25, a list recognizing the country’s most innovative emerging food technology companies.

Founded in 2023 by lawyer Jack MacDonald and chemical engineer David Giffin, Infusd Nutrition is developing technology that makes fat-soluble nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids and certain vitamins, water soluble – a process that could improve the absorption and usability of nutrients in foods and beverages, the company said. The company’s technology is based on intellectual property developed over five years through research at institutions including Dalhousie University.

In June, Infusd announced it had closed an oversubscribed funding round of more than US$2 million (C$2.8 million). The investment was led by NextGen Nutrition Investment Partners of France, with participation from Nourish Ventures, a unit of Griffith Foods of Toronto, and Agthia Ventures of Abu Dhabi. The company said the funding would support sales growth and continued product development.

MacDonald and Giffin have said their goal is to make nutrients more accessible and functional across a range of products – from beverages to supplements – as consumers and manufacturers seek more effective and transparent nutrition solutions.

The recent awards and partnerships, the company said, reflect growing recognition of both its technology and its role in Canada’s expanding food innovation ecosystem.

Axis Accelerator Seeks Applicants

The Axis Accelerator at University of New Brunswick Saint John is seeking applicants for its six-month program for business-to-business startups from across Atlantic Canada looking to grow their revenues and prepare to raise capital.

The program will begin in the spring and requires three to five hours per week from participants. It is aimed at positioning the founder of a company as its lead salesperson, as well as bolstering lead conversion and developing a scalable sales strategy. For 12 months after the end of the accelerator, participants will continue to have access to coaching, mentorship and office space.

Launched as a pilot through the Faculty of Business in Saint John in early 2023, the accelerator currently has places for 10 founders. This year alone, 29 founders from 19 companies have gone through the Axis Sales Accelerator, said the organizers.

Anyone interested in the program can complete a form here to sign up for a 30-minute, virtual discovery call.

NBIF Names Armali VP of Investments

The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) has appointed Daniel Armali as Vice President of Investments, effective immediately.

Armali joins NBIF after relocating from Montreal and brings more than 15 years of experience in venture capital, fund investment, and multi-asset portfolio management. He will lead NBIF’s investment team and work with startups, portfolio companies, and limited partners to advance the organization’s mandate of supporting the growth of New Brunswick’s innovation economy.

“This is an important new role for NBIF and Daniel’s reputation and character make him a tremendous addition to our leadership team,” said NBIF Chief Executive Jeff White in a statement. “He brings extensive experience across public and private markets, including direct and limited partner investment, as well as the creation and raising of private venture capital funds. His insight and collaborative approach will bring real value to our founders and investors and take our NBIF investment strategy to the next level.”

A CFA charterholder with an MBA, Armali has held senior roles in both public and private markets. He previously served as a partner at a venture capital impact firm, at BDC Capital where he managed $850 million in fund investments and oversaw a portfolio of 22 venture funds, and at the Bank of Canada where he worked on its internal pension fund’s multi-asset portfolio.

“NBIF has built a strong engine for translating innovation into growth,” said Armali. “I’m excited to work with founders, investors, and the NBIF team to build on that energy and shape a future economy defined by innovation and strong returns for the province.”

NBIF is an independent, pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital organization that invests in the creation and growth of New Brunswick technology companies, funds complementary venture capital firms, and supports local accelerators and incubators.

Grant Named Managing Partner of Cuna del Mar

Cuna Del Mar Managing Partner Donald Grant

Cuna Del Mar Managing Partner Donald Grant

Cuna del Mar, an impact investment fund focused on regenerative aquaculture, has appointed Halifax lawyer and entrepreneur Donald Grant as its new Managing Partner.

The appointment of Grant, who previously served as the fund’s Vice President, marks a strategic shift for Cuna del Mar as it aims to take a more active role in promoting regenerative aquaculture globally. Regenerative aquaculture is a system of marine farming that cultivates food while restoring and enhancing ecosystems by such means as growing diverse species and restoring natural habitats.

Grant is best known in the Atlantic Canadian startup community through his previous positions as the first Executive Director of the Ocean Startup Project and an executive with Dartmouth-based Leeway Marine.

“Under Don’s leadership, Cuna del Mar seeks to transition from a pioneer to a global catalyst, ready to democratize this knowledge and accelerate technology, practices and models to support coastal economies,” said Cuna del Mar Founder Christy Walton in a statement.

For the past 15 years, Cuna del Mar has invested in developing open ocean aquaculture technologies and farming models that balance economic viability with environmental responsibility.

In his new role, Grant will oversee Cuna del Mar’s portfolio of companies, which includes The Center for Aquaculture Technologies, a Prince Edward Island research organization that the fund bought in 2019. Other portfolio companies include Onda, SalmoGen, Innovasea, Open Blue, Blue Ocean Mariculture, and Santomar. These companies collaborate on initiatives such as the revitalization of the Totoaba species in Mexico’s Gulf of California.

Grant said he plans to strengthen collaboration among policymakers, investors, and industry leaders to advance regenerative aquaculture. “Our food and ocean systems are under strain,” he said. “We believe regenerative aquaculture can revitalize species, rebuild ecosystems, and feed communities while creating economic opportunities.”

Lockhart Leaving Propel for McKenna Institute

Kathryn Lockhart

Kathryn Lockhart

Kathryn Lockhart, CEO of Propel, the regional virtual accelerator for tech-enabled companies, has announced she is joining the McKenna Institute at the University of New Brunswick as Executive Director, effective Nov. 10.

Lockhart has headed up Propel for more than five years and seen significant change in that time. Now, she is joining the McKenna Institute, an entrepreneurial centre based at UNB, which is working to promote digital progress in New Brunswick. 

“Over the past few years, I’ve witnessed the remarkable transformation of Atlantic Canada’s tech sector. From early-stage founders with big ideas to thriving companies leading in sectors like AI, digital health, clean technology, and advanced manufacturing, the energy and talent in this region are undeniable,” Lockhart wrote on LinkedIn.

“For us at Propel, the root of all this progress has been one constant: supporting founders in their earliest days and helping them validate customers, refine their sales strategy, and build the confidence to scale … I’ve been fortunate to work alongside an extraordinary team at Propel- smart people who care deeply about founders, communities, and impact. It's a team that has become family.

“As I begin this new chapter with the McKenna Institute, I’m particularly excited to help advance New Brunswick’s innovation agenda. By making bold decisions and investing in digital transformation, we can create an unfair advantage right here in New Brunswick and much of that work can start now, building on the great foundation that has been laid.”

In a statement, the McKenna Institute said that Lockhart, a UNB alum, has a proven record of helping technology companies grow and thrive. “Her passion for collaboration and inclusive innovation will help shape the next chapter of the Institute’s impact across New Brunswick and beyond.”

The institute also thanked Adrienne Oldford, who has led the McKenna Institute since its founding in 2021. She will continue to support the institute as an advisor and member of the Legacy Board.

The Chapman Group will be leading the search for Propel’s new CEO. The job posting is here.
 

GIT Opens New Facility and Lands EDC Funds

The opening of GIT's new facility

The opening of GIT's new facility

Dartmouth-based GIT Coatings, which creates biocide-free, graphene-based marine coatings, has opened a new facility and received an additional $5 million in funding from Export Development Canada. The money was presented during the opening of the company’s new global headquarters on Wilkinson Avenue last week.

The new premises will help the company, officially called Graphite Innovation & Technologies, deliver advanced nanomaterial marine coatings by boosting its capacity to 1 million litres. The venture’s coatings are currently applied to about 500 vessels across 20 countries, enabling shipowners to reduce fuel consumption, cut CO₂ emissions, and eliminate toxic copper and silicon oil release into oceans. The company said its products have so far prevented the release of around 250,000 tonnes of CO₂ and copper pollution.

“Today is a proud milestone for our entire team and for Canada’s ocean and clean-tech communities,” said GIT Chief Executive Mo AlGermozi in a statement.

“This world-class site lets us manufacture at scale, accelerate R&D, and serve customers in every major shipping market … With 95 percent of our revenue coming from exports, we’re proving that Canadian clean technology can compete globally while creating high-quality jobs at home.”

GIT manufactures a suite of graphene coatings designed to prevent corrosion and prevent the buildup of organisms like barnacles and algae, called biofouling in the industry, which shipping lines have historically prevented with poisons called biocides.

Graphene, in contrast, is a carbon-based material that is 200 times stronger than steel and efficiently conducts heat and electricity, while being safer for the environment than conventional solutions. It also serves to reduce friction, indirectly cutting ships’ fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, the company has said.

GIT Coatings was founded nine years ago. It has teams in global shipping hubs in Singapore, Germany and Greece. Its deals include coating the fleets of Hong Kong shipping giant Pacific Basin and Helsinki-based Finnlines.

The $5 million funding from Export Development Canada is designed to further expand GIT’s global market presence and export capabilities.

The company previously worked out of 1 Research Drive in Dartmouth, where economic development organization, Invest Nova Scotia, houses a production incubation centre for local companies. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency also helped fund GIT’s expansion.

Business Hall of Fame Recognizes Young Entrepreneurs

Cat Adalay (left) with Aurea co-founder Rachel Carr.

Cat Adalay (left) with Aurea co-founder Rachel Carr.

Cat Adalay, founder and CEO of Dartmouth-based Aurea Technologies, is one of four emerging entrepreneurs to be recognized this week by the Nova Scotia Business Hall of Fame.

Aurea is the cleantech company behind the Shine and RISE turbines, portable wind energy systems designed for outdoor recreation, emergency preparedness, and defense applications. Lightweight, collapsible, and powerful, these systems enable clean energy access wherever the grid doesn’t reach, the company said.

“We’re not just catching the wind - we’re turning it into power, freedom, and possibility. That’s what innovation means to me: taking something invisible and making it useful,” Adalay said.

Since founding Aurea in 2017, Adalay has raised over $5 million, launched award-winning products, and built a growing team based in Atlantic Canada.

Held at Halifax’s Nova Centre on Wednesday, the annual fundraising event hosted by Junior Achievement Nova Scotia, honoured individuals who have inspired current and future business leaders.

In keeping with Entrevestor’s focus on innovation-driven companies, we have featured Adalay first, but three other emerging entrepreneurs were also recognized Wednesday evening. They are:

Tia Upshaw, founder and CEO of Blk Women in Excellence

An award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, and community advocate, Upshaw has built a nationally recognized organization dedicated to empowering Black and Brown women through entrepreneurship. The platform provides free training, coaching, mentorship, and access to business tools for women across Canada. Upshaw is also the host of Tuesdays with Tia on CTV Morning Live, a segment that highlights the power of diverse entrepreneurs and community voices in Atlantic Canada.

Sheena Russell, founder of Made with Local

Made with Local began with Russell hiring a table at a farmers’ market in 2012, selling bars made with Canadian family-farm ingredients. Since then, the company has experienced rapid growth, and now sells in over 3,000 retailers across Canada. Russell aims for Made with Local to become one of the world’s most sustainable food companies with the help of her team of 20.

Tareq Hadhad, founder and CEO of Peace by Chocolate

Hadhad came to Canada in 2015 as a Syrian refugee. The multi-award-winning entrepreneur and his family relaunched the family chocolate business in Nova Scotia to recreate the chocolates they once exported across the Middle East. Now that their chocolates are distributed across Canada, they look to offer more employment opportunities as their business grows. Author Jon Tattrie wrote a book about the family’s story. A feature film, Peace by Chocolate, also based on the family’s story, was shown in theaters in 2022.

Four lifetime business achievers were also honoured Wednesday night. The inductees were: Mike Brien, President and CEO of Rockland Capital, Jim Mills, CEO of Office Interiors and Thane Stevens, President of the Stevens Group of Companies. Posthumous recognition went to George E.M. Lewis, who was born in Economy N.S. of Scottish immigrant parents, and who went on to be involved in multiple businesses. He was recognized in the Who's Who of Canada in 1924.

Full Disclosure: Cat Adalay is the daughter of Entrevestor’s founders.

Elle, MD Lands $100K from Invest NS

Dr. Jennifer Johnston and Jeff White of NBIF in June

Dr. Jennifer Johnston and Jeff White of NBIF in June

Elle, MD Biotechnologies has secured an equity investment of $100,000 from Invest Nova Scotia, matching the amount it received earlier this year from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation.

Invest Nova Scotia, the provincial economic development and venture capital agency, announced the investment in a press release on Tuesday.

Based in New Minas, NS, and headed by Dr. Jennifer Johnston, the company focuses on enhancing reproductive autonomy by developing a safe, user-controlled contraceptive that’s free from pain, procedures, and hormones. Johnston, who founded the company in 2022, is a family physician and assistant professor at Dalhousie University School of Medicine.

“This investment will support Elle, MD Biotechnologies as it completes proof-of-concept preclinical safety and efficacy studies as well as biocompatibility and chemical testing,” said the Invest NS statement.

In June, NBIF invested $100,000 in Elle, MD after Johnston won the 2025 Fueling Female Founders Pitch Competition. First prize in the competition was a $100,000 investment from NBIF with a chance for a matching investment from Invest Nova Scotia.

Invest NS also said it has supported Elle, MD through its Accelerate Program and Early-Stage Commercialization Fund.

ImmigrateAI Global Wins at G20 YEA Summit

Canadian winners celebrate in South Africa

Canadian winners celebrate in South Africa

Halifax-based ImmigrateAI Global has won third place in the Global Business Competition at the G20 YEA Summit in South Africa.

The company has won a package of $5,000. What’s more valuable, founder and CEO Max Medyk told Entrevestor, is the recognition and partnership requests the company has since received.

“This was the first time a Nova Scotia company did this on the G20 stage,” he said. “It's about validation of our business model and networking opportunities with global leaders. It also provides a strong talking point for future business development and potential investment.”

The venture has launched an AI platform designed to simplify immigration paperwork for healthcare professionals, skilled tradespeople, and international talent. The lawyer-designed platform is said to streamline visa applications, provide cost competitiveness, and cut refusal rates.

In an interview with Invest Nova Scotia,  Medyk previously said he has navigated immigration systems in Ukraine, the U.S., Canada and New Zealand and saw the challenges for himself. 

“Only a small fraction of applicants use lawyers or consultants,” Medyk said. “Not because they don’t want help, but because it's either unaffordable or they don’t realize how risky it is to go it alone.”

Medyk began his venture in 2020 through content creation, accruing 400,000 followers across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. He then built a platform explaining complex policies and procedures.

“There’s a disconnect between the support people need and what’s realistically available to them,” he said. “That’s where we saw an opportunity to bring in AI.”

The company’s software helps users prepare applications by checking their profiles against immigration regulations, noting red flags, and creating a list of supporting documents, he said.

The innovation is particularly useful in the post-secondary education sector, he said, as universities lose millions of dollars because of student visa refusals.

The company said its product is now in use in 140 countries.

“Instead of paying $2,000 for a lawyer, an immigrant can pay $100 for this AI software,” Medyk said.

The venture recently launched PR Compass, a platform geared toward immigrants already in Canada – particularly those in healthcare, construction, and other high-demand sectors – who are attempting to gain permanent residency. 

“If you’re a nurse, your time is better spent caring for patients,” Medyk said at the time in a press release.

Spellbook Closes US$50M Series B Round

Spellbook CEO Scott Stevenson, left. and Keith Rabois of Khosla Ventures

Spellbook CEO Scott Stevenson, left. and Keith Rabois of Khosla Ventures

Spellbook, which makes AI products for law firms, has closed a US$50 million (C$70 million) Series B round led by Khosla Ventures, one of the top venture capital firms in Silicon Valley.

Based in St. John’s and Toronto, Spellbook announced the funding Thursday, saying the deal values the company post-money at US$350 million, or C$490 million.

Khosla Ventures and Palo Alto-based Threshold Ventures are investing in the company for the first time. The other investors are returning backers iNovia Capital, Bling Capital, Moxxie Ventures, Path Ventures and Jean-Michel Lemieux.

"Spellbook is using technology to make law faster, better, and more transparent," said Keith Rabois, Managing Director of Khosla Ventures, who will join Spellbook's board of directors. "It’s the Shopify and Square democratization story for lawyers.”

In an interview from the company’s headquarters in St. John’s, Co-Founder and CEO Scott Stevenson said the company has recently been more than tripling revenues at an annual rate, and the funding sets the company up for further growth. Spellbook is now used by nearly 4,000 law firms and in-house legal teams across 80 countries, which the company says is more than any comparable AI contract-review product. Its customers include such blue-chip companies as Nestlé and eBay, as well as the British-American law firm Kennedys Law.

About 115 people now work at Spellbook, and Stevenson believes that number will double in the next year or two. He also said he is devoting a lot of time to enhancing the top level of management, both by upskilling existing staff and hiring top talent. 

“It’s a huge moment of validation,” he said of the latest funding round. “When we started as Rally seven years ago, almost no investor would talk to us … and now one of the most successful investors in the entire world has looked at our metrics and seen what we’re doing.”

The company last raised capital at the very end of 2023, when it closed a US$20 million round led by iNovia Capital of Montreal. Its first fundraising exercise was a $750,000 round in 2019.

Spellbook said it will use the new capital to expand beyond contract review into the full scope of transactional work and scale its go-to-market teams to capture more of the $1 trillion transactional legal services market. It also aims to enhance AI capabilities with deeper contract intelligence grounded in real-time market data.

The company attributes its rapid growth in large part to the speed with which customers can roll out Spellbook. It says its competitors require multi-month enterprise rollouts whereas Spellbook works instantly within existing workflows and right in Microsoft Word.

Stevenson said Spellbook is now moving beyond its basic contract-review product with new features. It is beta-testing Market Comparison and Preference Learning features, and intends to release them to all clients in the coming months.

The company also said it is continuing to invest in Spellbook Associate, which it calls the first AI agent that can handle multi-document transactional drafting.

Throughout the interview, Stevenson emphasized that large language model AI is having the same impact on the legal profession that spreadsheets had on accounting a few decades ago. The main beneficiaries so far have been the large firms, he said, and Spellbook helps to spread the benefits to smaller firms.

"We're at the spreadsheet moment for lawyers," said Stevenson in the statement.  “With $30 trillion running through contracts annually in the U.S. alone, even small efficiency gains create massive value. This funding accelerates our mission to make contracts move at the speed of commerce."

MarineNav, Precision Design Win Naval Tech Challenge

Two Atlantic Canadian companies have been recognized for developing advanced technologies to improve naval operations through the 2025 Naval Technology Innovation Challenge.

Supported by the Dartmouth-based COVE, Thales Canada, and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the annual program funds and supports small and medium-sized enterprises creating new technologies for the Royal Canadian Navy.

MarineNav of Panmure Island, PEI, and Dartmouth-based Precise Design Engineering Solutions were selected for projects that enhance fleet readiness, safety, and efficiency, said ACOA in a press release. Each of the companies will receive $187,500.

“COVE is helping SMEs turn innovative ideas into operational capability,” said COVE Chief Executive Melanie Nadeau in a statement. “These collaborations deliver practical solutions that enhance fleet readiness, reduce risk, and position Canada at the forefront of maritime innovation.”

MarineNav partnered with Ontario-based Voyis to advance automated hull inspections using its autonomous remotely operated vehicle, Mobula. The system replaces traditional inertial navigation with visual reference markers, allowing precise flight paths along ship hulls while maintaining safe distances from sensitive areas such as propellers, the release said. The approach produces highly detailed, millimetre-accurate 3D hull models. All positioning technology development is taking place on Prince Edward Island.

Precise Design, working with Tronos and the Nova Scotia Community College’s SEATAC facility, is introducing aerospace-grade additive manufacturing techniques to naval applications. The project focuses on reducing long lead times and supply chain bottlenecks by integrating computer-aided design, material traceability, workflow optimization, and quality inspection. The result is a process for rapidly producing certified, high-precision parts to support ships operating in remote or time-sensitive conditions.

The Naval Technology Innovation Challenge is part of a broader effort to foster collaboration between Canada’s naval sector and its innovation community, ensuring the country’s fleet remains ready for future challenges.

“Our work, along with our partners who we are collaborating with on this project, will demonstrate how additive manufacturing can address some of the Navy’s most pressing sustainment challenges,” said Precise Design President and CEO Bruce Stover. “Our intention is to create a framework that includes and establishes a system of processes and procedures, which eliminates the uncertainty associated with replacing critical components.”

Alaagi Focuses on Getting to Market

Sheheryar Khan in the lab.

Sheheryar Khan in the lab.

Sheheryar Khan speaks very fast in a voice full of excitement and a fair bit of incredulity. Less than a year after the Saint Mary’s University student founded Alaagi to make biodegradable, seaweed-based food packaging, the company is celebrating important milestones and working on new products

The company has secured over $12 million in commercial letters of intent, including pilots with Sobeys and High Liner Foods, received four purchase orders and won $165,000 in non-dilutive funding, the Halifax-based cleantech company recently disclosed.

Alaagi has also been named among the top 100 global startups by the Nestlé and UNESCO Youth Impact: Because You Matter program, meaning the nascent venture will head to Paris next year to learn about regenerative agriculture, climate change mitigation, and sustainable packaging. Alaagi, along with Square Roots, was also part of the SMU-based winning team at the Enactus World Cup in Bangkok.

“It’s exciting and also a lot of pressure …. People have high expectations,” said Khan, who is also CEO and who has just graduated from SMU with a BSc and DipENG.

To date, Khan has been working in a SMU lab with volunteer team members Tyler MacLean and Vaishali Sachdeva. He’s now looking to hire SMU students and professors who have expertise in chemical engineering to help develop more products. His current bioplastic film is soft and pliable and great for food packaging. He needs harder and more rigid bioplastics in order to exploit other markets.

“This (making compostable packaging from seaweed) is a relatively new technology. Everyone (the competing startups) is in the R&D phase and in a race to be first in the market,” he told Entrevestor.

Khan said there are companies in the U.S., U.K. and India that are also using seaweed to create bioplastics. He began trying to develop his own seaweed-based plastic after realizing that plastic pollution is a major health issue for the planet.  He said many bioplastics are made of foodstuffs such as sugar cane. Growing and harvesting such crops on land is costly and can end up diverting food to bioplastic production. So, he turned his attention to seaweed, which is plentiful in the oceans and is often seen as an invasive species, with governments even paying for its removal.

“I was prototyping in the kitchen in Halifax I share with my brother and annoying him,” he recalled. “This went on for months.”

Finally, he came up with a soft, flexible bioplastic that has a shelf life of two years and biodegrades into sugar molecules in sunlight within six months. He figured it would be good for food packaging.

His mentor Jason Turner, manager of the student engagement team at SMU's Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre, advised Khan to start a company to commercialize his research. He did so, naming the new company Alaagi, which means Change in Greek, and establishing the new venture at SMU.

Then it was time to start entering pitch contests. This proved challenging for Khan. He is from Dubai where people tend to be reticent. Learning to pitch his technology and business has been a steep learning curve, he said.

He lost his first pitch contest because “No one understood what I said. On stage, I used macaroni packaged in our plastic as a prop. After I lost, I asked the judge what I did wrong. He said everyone thought I was selling macaroni, not packaging.

“But I kept entering pitch contests and I got better. Obtaining this experience in Canada has been huge for me. It has exposed me to so many opportunities. Eventually, I got comfortable on stage. The losses have been painful, the wins, joyful.”

Khan said that during the past year he has been focused on sustaining his business. Now, he must build it.

He is hiring people, and seeking co-founders who can help him pursue his B2B model with grocery chains and other corporations.

The new graduate and entrepreneur had expected to become a chemical engineer working in research. Now, he wants to encourage other scientists to consider entrepreneurship.

“Science students tend to run away from pitches and business but I’d like to persuade science and engineering students to combine their knowledge with entrepreneurship,” he said.

“Many do amazing work in the lab and write amazing reports, but being a bridge between entrepreneurship and science can make real change in the world. The archives are full of amazing solutions that no one has ever worked on.”

Tribe and GEN Launch Startup Huddle Halifax

Startup Huddles are held around the world.

Startup Huddles are held around the world.

Halifax-based Tribe Network, a support organization for Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs who identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Colour, has got together with the Global Entrepreneurship Network to launch Startup Huddle Halifax.

A global program created by GEN, Startup Huddle allows founders to present their ventures, share their challenges, and receive constructive feedback from peers, mentors, investors, and community members, Tribe said in its newsletter.

Founders will get six minutes to present their biggest challenge, followed by 20 minutes of feedback from the room.

Startup Huddle Halifax runs on a rolling basis. If applicants are not selected for the October 30th session, applications will be considered for upcoming sessions, Tribe said.

The first huddle will be held on October 30, between 6:00 and 8:30 PM at Tribe Network at 1717 Barrington Street, Halifax.

Apply as a founder here

 Audience members apply here

CDL Recognizes Ledwell for Mentorship

Lauren Ledwell

Lauren Ledwell

Lauren Ledwell has been named CDL-Atlantic’s Mentor of the Year in the group’s Prime Stream.

A CDL-Quantum alumna from the first cohort in 2017 to 2018, Ledwell returned as a mentor in 2022 and has since contributed across CDL-Atlantic and CDL-Vancouver, the group said on LinkedIn. Last year, she helped founders in three different streams, mentoring nine companies, including five female-founded ventures in CDL-Atlantic Prime.

She is passionate about cleantech and medtech. She was recently named CEO of PEI BioAlliance, replacing long-term CEO Rory Francis. She is also Investment Principal at the women-focused Sandpiper Ventures, and a board member with the PEI IT Alliance and Venture for Canada.

Ledwell previously held senior roles at Manulife, RBC, and Maple Leaf Foods, and served as CEO of discoverygarden.

She co-founded the Atlantic chapter of Women’s Equity Lab. Ledwell holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management and has completed executive education at Ivey Business School and BI Norwegian Business School.

Voltai Closes $1.83M Pre-Seed Round

Voltai, a Dartmouth-based cleantech company developing ocean and renewable energy technologies, has closed an oversubscribed pre-seed financing round of $1.83 million.

The round was led by Invest Nova Scotia. Other participants included an angel investor group headed by Mahir Sahin, a former advisor to Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory X (formerly Google X) and founder of Cloudberry Ventures.

Voltai is developing electrostatic generators designed to capture kinetic energy from ocean waves and vessel movement. The company says its technology converts that energy into electricity without creating drag, making it suitable for use on moving vessels. The generators are intended to help the shipping and offshore industries reduce fossil fuel use, lower emissions, and cut operating costs.

“Harnessing the energy potential of waves has long posed significant challenges,” said Invest Nova Scotia Investment Principal Jen Fuccillo in a statement. “Voltai’s electrostatic generator, with its unique energy conversion mechanism, addresses these challenges head-on to make wave energy conversion efficient and cost-effective.”

Founder and CEO Maja Maher said the financing will allow the company to advance product development and prepare for commercialization. “This funding allows us to fast-track our development and bring scalable solutions to a sector that urgently needs them,” she said.

The company said the angel group led by Sahin will also provide strategic support, connecting Voltai with international technology networks and contributing expertise to its growth strategy.

With the new capital, Voltai plans to move quickly toward scaling its technology. The company is also laying the groundwork for a seed round aimed at expanding its presence in the global maritime energy market.

Voltai focuses on developing renewable energy solutions for the maritime sector. The company’s work aligns with broader efforts to decarbonize shipping and offshore industries, which face pressure to meet net-zero emissions targets.

10 Deeptech Startups Join ideaBUILD Cohort

The Emera ideaHUB has announced the launch of its Fall 2025 ideaBUILD cohort, welcoming 10 deeptech startups focused on creating physical solutions for a healthier world.

The ideaBUILD program is designed to support companies as they journey from prototype concept through to a functional, operational prototype, the group said in a statement. 

For the following 10 months, participants will engage in a program that features:

  • A 12-week bootcamp focusing on product desirability, feasibility and viability;
  • Technical feasibility assessments;
  • Engineering support from lead engineer Danielle Maltais and co-op students;
  • Access to state-of-the-art prototyping facilities;
  • And $10,000 in non-dilutive funding towards prototyping efforts.

"These companies are building physical solutions in the health, oceans and agriculture sectors that will tangibly improve human health and environmental sustainability. It’s a privilege to be a part of their journey and see their ideas come to life," said TalisApud−Martinez, Associate Director at ideaHUB.

The Fall 2025 ideaBUILD cohort includes:

Able Mama: Able Mama designs smart, body-conscious parenting tools that support moms with disabilities and postpartum recovery needs. 

Blue Frontiers: Blue Frontiers innovates modular underwater camera and buoy systems enabling reliable, affordable marine monitoring for research, security, and citizen science applications, advancing coastal conservation worldwide. 

LimbRise Recovery Solutions: A hands-free, spring-loaded mobility aid offering a safer, more comfortable alternative to crutches. 

medNOVA DIAGNOSTICS: Based in Antigonish, NS, Mednova is transforming medical diagnostics through innovative AI-powered at-home testing solutions that address Canada's growing healthcare access crisis by combining  advanced microbiome analysis with artificial intelligence to deliver accurate, affordable health insights directly to consumers. 

Nimbus: Customizable, high-performance earplugs that protect hearing without compromising comfort or situational awareness. 

Nova Rescue Tech: Nova Rescue Tech Inc. is an ocean technology startup developing a next-generation enhancement to traditional Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs). The company is focused on improving maritime safety through a novel technology designed to strengthen beacon reliability in life-threatening situations, ensuring faster and more dependable distress signalling when it matters most. 

Ranchflow AI: Halifax-based Ranchflow AI gives ranchers and dairies real-time visibility into animal health, feed efficiency, and emissions using smart collars and an easy dashboard. V1 collars are already live in Nova Scotia with pilots expanding across Canada. The result is earlier treatment, better feed decisions, and a measurable return per head. 

SEEYA: SEEYA designs toys dedicated to vision health, inspiring children to play and explore through creative, eye-healthy games and activities. 

SURF Robotics: SURF Robotics is developing affordable, long-range subsea robots that bridge the gap between expensive open-ocean gliders and limited-range AUVs, giving researchers and scientists an accessible way to collect high-quality ocean data. By leveraging modern manufacturing methods, they make ocean science easier to start and scale. 

Techleft Solutions: Techleft of St. John's is using technology to prevent blister packaged medication non-adherence for seniors living in their homes and at the same time, providing peace of mind to the care team.

The cohort is supported by Emera, Invest Nova Scotia, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and Dalhousie University.

Deadline coming for 2 Invest NS Programs

Two Invest Nova Scotia programs for startups – GreenShoots and the Early-Stage Commercialization Fund – have deadlines for applications on Monday, Oct. 6.

Offered by Invest Nova Scotia and the Greenspring Bioinnovation Hub, GreenShoots offers instruction and funding to early-stage companies in the agriculture, agri-food, bioeconomy, cleantech, and related sectors. Successful applicants receive grants of up to $40,000. You can find more information and applications here.

The ESCF provides financial support of up to $50,000 to projects with ready or near-ready prototypes, approaching market deployment. The fund is intended for Nova Scotia researchers in IT, life sciences, or other areas of technology development whose research has market potential. Further information and applications are available here.

O’Keefe Graham Joins Imaginal Ventures

Erin O'Keefe Graham

Erin O'Keefe Graham

Erin O’Keefe Graham, formerly Director of Dalhousie University’s Emera IdeaHUB has joined Halifax-based Imaginal Ventures as joint Managing Partner alongside Founder Dorothy Spence. The partnership arose from their shared commitment to helping purpose-led ventures scale and thrive. 

Following more than 20 years in Toronto and New York, O'Keefe Graham relocated to Halifax in 2021, hoping to apply her skills in building B2B brands honed while consulting to Toronto tech startups and global enterprises like John Deere and Astra Zeneca.

Begun in 2017, Imaginal has helped more than 300 ventures in diverse sectors. The group said its clients have included well-known regional names such as Marc St-Onge, founder of Ascenta Health; Julia Rivard Dexter, who designed Shoelace Learning, and Karen Cross, of MIMOSA Diagnostics.

Like many service groups and businesses, Imaginal is currently focusing on AI. It is launching a new AI-driven platform, the Conscious Business Operating System, supported by an AI Implementation Coach.

But O’Keefe Graham said advisory work will remain in-person.

“We know most organizations remain unprepared to navigate AI on their own; even those who are experimenting are doing it in pockets,” she told Entrevestor. “Most crucially though, people thrive on human connection. It’s how we derive meaning from our work …That's why teams need in-person coaching that fosters trust, innovation, and growth.”

Writing on LinkedIn, the two managing partners said: “Like any venture, these (purpose-led) founders will face the challenge of progressing beyond seed – after all, nine out of ten startups fail to progress to Series A, and the percent who transition from seed to A has dropped in the past five years from more than 50 percent to 20 percent or less.

“Like any venture, they’re targeting product-market fit and results that matter for customers, partners and investors. Unique to purpose-led founders, they want to attract investors and customers who share their values, so they need to build with greater intention: products and relationships built on purpose.”

Having also been an angel investor for the last ten years, O'Keefe Graham is bullish about the region: "while we remain severely undercapitalized, we also have a lot of bootstrapping and seedstrapping founders who want to build a sustainable business,” she said. “We need founders who can grow efficiently and effectively without filling up the cap table." 

Boeing Invests $1.4M in Bluedrop

Boeing said Monday it is investing $1.4 million in Bluedrop Training and Simulation to support the Halifax-based company’s CV-22 Osprey program.

The funding is being made under Canada’s Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) program and is tied to the federal government’s purchase of Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon aircraft. It will allow Bluedrop to advance its simulation technology for the CV-22 Special Mission Aviator Ramp Trainer (SMART).

Bluedrop Training develops training programs, mainly for the defense and aerospace industries. It employs virtual, augmented, and mixed reality training solutions to improve safety and efficiency for complex, high-risk scenarios. 

Bluedrop will integrate the CV-22 SMART into the global Distributed Mission Operations network. The system provides full-mission simulation training for front and rear crew members, enabling them to carry out joint missions with both flight simulators and the SMART trainer. It will also allow crews to rehearse procedures and complex scenarios without the expense of live flights.

All development and integration work will take place at Bluedrop’s Halifax facility, with field testing scheduled at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.

Boeing Canada President Al Meinzinger said the investment demonstrates the company’s commitment to Canadian industry. “This investment in Bluedrop achieves these goals,” he said in a statement.

Bluedrop has supplied Boeing programs for more than a decade, including work on the C-17 Globemaster and CH-47F Chinook aircraft. CEO Derrick Rowe said the partnership has supported the company’s growth and expansion of its workforce.

The investment follows Ottawa’s decision in 2023 to acquire the P-8A Poseidon to replace the CP-140 Aurora patrol aircraft. A study by Doyletech estimated the purchase will generate more than 340 jobs and about $34 million in annual economic benefits in Atlantic Canada. Boeing says more than $237 million in ITB credits have already flowed to 16 Atlantic companies through past programs.

Oliver Technow Wins 2025 Bloom Burton Award

Oliver Technow, winner of the Bloom Burton Award

Oliver Technow, winner of the Bloom Burton Award

Toronto-based Bloom Burton, a healthcare services company, has named Oliver Technow, former CEO of Charlottetown-based BIOVECTRA, the winner of the 2025 Bloom Burton Award, which recognizes a remarkable contribution to the healthcare sector.

“We are privileged to celebrate Oliver Technow and the success of BIOVECTRA, a crown jewel for Prince Edward Island and all of Canada,” said Brian Bloom, Chairman and CEO of Bloom Burton in a statement.

“During Oliver’s tenure from 2015 to 2024, he secured investment from H.I.G. Capital, attracted top international talent, and expanded the company to nearly 700 employees, across eight facilities, in two maritime provinces. In 2024, BIOVECTRA was acquired by Agilent for US$925 million, a partnership that continues to champion the company’s Canadian roots and capabilities.”

Every year, the Bloom Burton Award honours a scientist, inventor, executive, entrepreneur, industry leader, or policy maker who contributed to Canada’s innovative healthcare industry. Nominees were accepted from any of the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic/imaging, research instrumentation, consumer health, services or digital health sectors. Equal consideration was given to contributions across any stage of development, from discovery to commercial-end markets, the group said.

All finalists --Technow, Mark Nawacki of Searchlight Pharma, and Ali Tehrani, formerly of Zymeworks -- were celebrated at the 2025 Bloom Burton Award Gala in Toronto this week. Each finalist also received a $25,000 cash prize.

Kraken Robotics Is Now a Unicorn

The term “narwhal” was probably never more appropriate than when it’s applied to St. John’s-based Kraken Robotics, given its work with undersea technologies.

The publicly listed company’s shares have been on a roll lately, and its market capitalization this month rose above $1 billion. That means the company can now be considered a unicorn, or, as some people call Canadian companies with a 10-figure valuation, a narwhal.

According to Google data, Kraken now has a market cap (the total value of all its shares) of C$1.4 billion. At current exchange rates, the company is worth US$1.01 billion, which means it is a unicorn in both Canadian and U.S. dollars. (If you really wanted to split hairs, you could argue that only private companies can be unicorns, but the important thing is that we have another Atlantic Canadian tech company worth $1 billion or more.)

Kraken Robotics develops advanced subsea sensors, batteries, and robotic systems for underwater exploration, surveying, and security. Its primary technology includes high-resolution synthetic aperture sonar (SAS), which provides detailed imagery and mapping of the seabed.

Its stock surged 18 percent on Sept. 10 after the company announced a new US$13 million order for its SAS and SeaPower subsea battery systems from international defense clients in the United States, Norway, and Turkey. That boost to the share price lifted the company into unicorn territory.

That piece of good news came after Kraken in July sold $115 million of shares to investors on the TSX Venture Exchange in an oversubscribed funding round. The expanded pool of shares, and demand from investors has driven the company’s value higher this year.

At Entrevestor, we don’t report on the stock market or make recommendations on buying or selling shares. But we do monitor the innovation community and Kraken’s success is important on several levels.

Just as Verafin energized the Newfoundland and Labrador tech community when it exited in 2020 in a US$2.75 billion sale to Nasdaq, Kraken’s status sets an example to other entrepreneurs in its orbit. It builds talent within the economy, and it sparks ideas for other startups.

What’s exceptional about Kraken is that it is a unicorn in a cornerstone industry for Atlantic Canada. The region – especially Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador – has decided that ocean industries will be a central pillar in its economic development. Being able to state that we have a home-grown unicorn in this sector is another sign that the region produces great oceantech companies.

Enactus Saint Mary’s University Wins Globally

The victorious SMU team

The victorious SMU team

Enactus Saint Mary's University, representing Canada, has won the international Enactus World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand.

Enactus Canada is a charity that focuses on inspiring post-secondary students to initiate and operate socially and environmentally positive enterprises. Currently, more than 2,000 students at over 76 campuses across Canada are engaged in Enactus projects, the group has said.

Enactus Canada's winning projects Square Roots and Alaagi address two major Canadian challenges, Enactus said on LinkedIn. Square Roots runs a franchise that uses surplus produce from farms and Alaagi is developing seaweed-based bioplastic alternatives.

Second place went to Enactus Zimbabwe, followed by Enactus Germany and Enactus Tunisia. This year’s contest saw 1,800 people, including over 750 students from 29 countries, come together, organizers said. This year’s event was special as it marked Enactus' 50th anniversary and 25 years of Enactus World Cup.

It is the second year in a row that students from Saint Mary’s University have taken the national title and then gone on to the international contest.  

BrainGym Aids Healthcare Workers

AIR CEO Jackie Kinley

AIR CEO Jackie Kinley

Halifax-based mental health technology company AIR (the Atlantic Institute for Resilience) has received encouraging feedback from a digital pilot with Shannex, a provider of living options and care for older adults.

Supported by a CAN Health Network commercialization project aimed at improving workforce mental health, the initiative helped employees strengthen their emotional well-being, CAN Health said in a statement. Participants reported a 22 percent average increase in overall resilience, and 95 percent said they learned skills helpful for managing stressful situations.

“The medical system isn’t built to identify mental health risks early and too many employees slip through the cracks. AIR is a non-clinical, evidence-based solution that identifies employees at risk, builds real skills for resilience, and keeps people well and working,” said Jackie Kinley, company founder and CEO.  

AIR’s skill-building software, known as the BrainGym, allows frontline workers to take a proactive approach to mental health. The aim is to allow individuals to manage their well-being before challenges become complex mental health concerns.

Participants use the BrainGym in their own time with the support of a resilience coach. Employees in the Shannex test spent almost 1,000 hours in AIR’s BrainGym, with each person spending an average of 9.2 hours on the platform.

AIR first partnered with the CAN Health Network a year ago, forming an agreement that allows AIR to collaborate with health organizations across Canada.

AIR was founded in 2014 by Kinley, a psychiatrist. She aimed to develop programs to boost resilience among workers.

Resilience is the capacity to not only endure but to grow through challenge and adversity, Kinley told Entrevestor in an earlier interview.

“Resilience can be developed. It has several aspects, including mental, emotional and social. Emotional resilience enables us to respond, not react. It helps us know our limits and when we need to slow down and relax.

“Low resilience puts people at risk of illness and injury. And we know the immense costs this assumes in human, social and economic terms.”

The company said statistics show that one in four employees report being highly stressed, with almost two-thirds saying their work is their primary source of stress. Post-pandemic, high levels of stress, burnout, turnover, and disability costs are impacting many sectors.

Kinley said resilience training can return people to their earlier, healthier selves.

“We are born well. We’re born wired a certain way, but we pick up habits of mind and behaviour that don’t serve us; they hinder our performance.”

AIR’s beachhead market is long-term care facilities and health care organizations in Eastern Canada and the United States.

The company has completed Propel’s Traction and Growth program for scaling companies and Invest Nova Scotia’s Accelerate program.

Check Out My New Startup-Focused Novel

Some big news for me personally: my next novel, Presidio Biotech, is on the way. It’s a thriller set inside a San Francisco startup — and this time, the plot pulls in a couple of Atlantic Canadian companies we’ve covered at Entrevestor.

The story follows EdenTouch, a young bioprinting company led by British biologist Emily Fairfield. When her co-founder turns up murdered, suspicion falls squarely on Emily and her lead programmer, Jake Spracklin. What follows is one wild night through San Francisco and Marin County, as cops and hired muscle close in. The two must clear their names while piecing together the truth — before it’s too late.

Early readers tell me the book hits the mark. “It was fun and fast-paced. Congrats on another great book!” wrote one. Another called it “a page-turner.” And one message landed in my inbox simply saying: “Just finished your book. What a thriller!”

For those unfamiliar with our side hustle: Carol and I moonlight as novelists. My previous books form The Haight Mystery Series, set in San Francisco’s 1960s counterculture. Those novels follow SFPD homicide detective Jimmy Spracklin, a hard-drinking cop juggling murder cases and the disappearance of his daughter into the Haight-Ashbury scene. Click on this image (which features a review from one U.S. reader this month) to learn more about the series:

This new book jumps to present-day San Francisco. To get the science right, I turned to a few Halifax startups. Corey Yantha at Dispension Industries, and Kevin Sullivan and Karan Chowdry at 3DBioFiBr, were generous with their time as I dug into bioprinting and biometrics. Their companies even earned a place in the novel, alongside some fictional startups I created for the story.

That kind of generosity is part of what makes the East Coast startup community stand out, and I’m grateful to them for lending their expertise.

The Kindle edition of Presidio Biotech is now available for pre-order on Amazon, with the print version coming Oct. 27.

If you’re in Halifax on Oct. 8, Carol and I will be at the Central Library as part of the Booked for Murder panel, a showcase of local crime writers. Carol will talk about her latest psychological thriller, The Pet-Sit, and I’ll be discussing Presidio Biotech and the Haight series. Admission is free.

GSTS Lands Contract with National Defence

GSTS Chief Executive Richard Kolacz

GSTS Chief Executive Richard Kolacz

Global Spatial Technology Solutions (GSTS), a Halifax-based maritime artificial intelligence company, has secured a contract with the Department of National Defence under the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security program.

The funding will support further development of GSTS’s OCIANA Predictive Maintenance (OPM) platform, which is designed to anticipate equipment and system failures on naval and other vessels. The system uses artificial intelligence to process real-time operational, environmental, and vessel data, enabling maintenance to be scheduled before breakdowns occur.

GSTS said OPM aims to reduce unexpected downtime, improve equipment reliability, and lower lifecycle costs, ultimately boosting the readiness of military assets.

“This test drive moves OPM from the lab to the water and is a key step toward operational use,” GSTS Chief Executive Richard Kolacz said in a statement. “By supporting DND’s evaluation in real-world conditions, we aim to show that earlier detection and faster planning can cut unplanned downtime.”

The company said the solution has applications beyond naval platforms, with potential use for coast guard and merchant fleets. It could also be adapted for air and land systems.

According to Wissen Market Research, the global maritime predictive maintenance market is projected to reach US$3 billion by 2034, growing at a compound annual rate of 21.8 percent.

OCIANA integrates vessel sensors with ocean and weather data to deliver predictive insights. For naval ships and submarines, which have thousands of interconnected systems, GSTS said the technology could generate substantial savings while raising operational availability.

GSTS develops AI solutions for maritime and logistics industries, providing decision-making tools for shipping companies, ports, commodity owners, and security organizations.

The value of the contract was not disclosed.

Adopt AI Series Planned for NB

TechImpact and the McKenna Institute at the University of New Brunswick are launching a new conference series aimed at accelerating artificial intelligence adoption in New Brunswick.

The inaugural session, Adopt AI: Manufacturing & ICT, will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Saint John Trade & Convention Centre in Saint John on Oct. 28. It is the first in a six-part series that will take place in cities across New Brunswick over the next six months.

Each conference will focus on a key industry sector, including manufacturing and ICT, tourism, agriculture, fisheries, food and beverage, and health and life sciences. Organizers said the goal is to help businesses move from general awareness of AI to practical applications.

The program for each session includes keynote presentations, panel discussions, and case studies, as well as workshops that provide participants with sector-specific tools and action steps. Attendance at each event will be limited to fewer than 100 participants.

Tickets for the Saint John event are priced at $100 and include a full day of sessions, networking opportunities, and lunch. Organizers are also inviting AI solution providers, sponsors, and speakers to participate. Exhibitor booths are available for $500, with expressions of interest due by October 1.

More information and ticket sales are available here.

Volta Creates AI-Focused Network

Halifax AI innovation hub Volta has launched Builders Network to foster regional AI potential.

The initiative is designed to connect AI specialists, entrepreneurs, and innovators with opportunities to apply their skills to real-world challenges that will shape the region’s economic future, Volta said in a statement.

“In Atlantic Canada, we don’t lack for talent — we produce it,” said Matt Cooper, Volta CEO. 

“The opportunity is to organize that talent intentionally, so builders have a way to learn from each other and apply their expertise to challenges that matter."

Builders, including technical specialists, entrepreneurs, and innovators within organizations, are invited to share their solutions and ideas as case studies that highlight the challenge, the AI-driven approach, and the outcomes achieved, the group said.

Those interested in contributing can learn more here.

Alaagi, Nimbus, Qalam Win at Dal Demo Day

Dal's Jennifer Bain, centre, with Nimbus CEO Melina Markotjohn and Alaagi CEO Sheher Yar Khan

Dal's Jennifer Bain, centre, with Nimbus CEO Melina Markotjohn and Alaagi CEO Sheher Yar Khan

Halifax startups Alaagi Inc. and Nimbus along with Montreal-based Qalam Health Solutions captured the top prizes at the Dal Innovates Demo Day on Wednesday.

The highlight of Dal Innovation Week, the event featured live presentations by 14 startups that went through Dalhousie University’s Collide Launch or Lab2Market Launch accelerators. These programs are for teams of researchers or students from a range of universities who need to assess the market for their ideas and move toward the early stages of commercialization. 

Alaagi and Nimbus were the co-winners from the Collide Launch program, while Qalam was the sole winner from Lab2Market.

Led by Sheher Yar Khan of Saint Mary's University, Alaagi is working on replacing single-use plastics with compostable, seaweed-based packaging that is engineered for the meat and seafood industries. With pilot commitments from such companies as Acadian Seaplants and Cascadia Seaweed, Alaagi is now advancing toward scaled manufacturing and regulatory certification.

Nimbus, founded by Dal’s Melina Markotjohn, is developing customizable, high-performance earplugs that protect hearing without compromising comfort or situational awareness. It is now working on a proof-of-concept prototype and running initial user tests to guide design improvements.  

Qalam Health is empowering surgeons to detect bone cancer tissue on bone margins during surgery to prevent bone cancer relapse. The company’s founder and CEO is Haitham Shoman of McGill University.

In the Lab2Market competition, the second prize went to Tangify from Concordia University while SWIM Alert from Dal captured third place. (Details below)

Shell Tech from Dal took home the third-place prize in the Collide competition.

The Demo Day event allotted a prize pot of $9,000 for each of the Collide and Lab2Market competitions, for a total prize pot of $18,000.

The celebration also featured displays by companies in programs offered by the Emera IdeaHUB, which specializes in deeptech and hardware. Attendees at the Demo Day voted on the People’s Choice award and the winners were Equlantic and SpectrAlign, which both won $2,000 in in-kind services.

The following are descriptions of the teams (other than the three big winners) participating in the event:

Collide Launch

 

Clarify Student Resources

Jeremiah Philips, Kavin Kadam

Dalhousie University

Clarify is bridging learning gaps with an AI education platform, offering personalized learning for students. It aims to develop a prototype of its platform to pilot over the next year, and to be fully integrated into educator workflow in the next school year.            

 

EZ Breathe Heat Pump Cleaning

Ben McQuaid

University of Prince Edward Island

EZ Breathe Heat Pump Cleaning provides subscription-based heat pump and air system cleaning for better air quality, lower energy bills, and longer system life.

The company has secured the PEI market with 800+ customers and will be expanding into New Brunswick in Q4 2025 and Nova Scotia in Q2 2026.

 

LimbRise Recovery Solutions

Richard Hetherington

University of Prince Edward Island

LimbRise is working on a hands-free, spring-loaded mobility aid offering a safer, more comfortable alternative to crutches. The team has completed its first prototype. 

 

Mector

Shima Soltani

NSCAD University

This team is developing a smart case to be installed on a cellphone that enhances its capabilities for dementia care, helping individuals communicate with their family caregivers early in the disease and supporting patients with daily challenges in their living space.

Mector is preparing to build 100 prototypes and test them with families affected by dementia in the early stages of the disease. 

 

NovaBrew Solutions Inc.

Rob Marot, Andrew Swift

Dalhousie University

NovaBrew is boosting craft brewery efficiency with an enterprise-level platform that streamlines forecasting, scheduling and inventory.  This fall, four breweries will pilot NovaBrew as it completes its first-generation product and prepares for a 2026 launch. The team has been accepted into Invest Nova Scotia’s Accelerate program, which includes a grant of $40,000.

 

SEEYA

Jewell Tan

NSCAD University

SEEYA is combating childhood myopia with educational toys that promote healthier screen habits and outdoor play. The company is gaining traction through winning design awards and validating its potential as a health-focused toy innovation. Next, the company is looking towards partnerships to scale SEEYA from prototype to production.     

 

Shell Tech

Shawn Ray, Jake Young

Dalhousie University

Shell Tech aims to protect shellfish hatcheries from losses with AI-powered larvae monitoring. Shell Tech is currently piloting its larvae monitoring platform with two of the largest hatcheries in North America.

 

Storelx Inc.

Selim Fahmy, NourElDeen Fahmy

Memorial University of Newfoundland

This company is connecting people who need storage with those who have it – an online marketplace for extra space. Storelx relaunched in January 2025 as Canada’s first peer-to-peer storage marketplace, already live with more than 20 listings and first paying customers in St. John’s and the Toronto area.

             

Lab2Market Launch

 

Outport Reviews

Bennett Newhook

Memorial University of Newfoundland

Outport aims to boost customer acquisition for law firms using AI to automate five-star reviews and build brand visibility. It has retained one client and built a pipeline of prospects that is growing Outport's broader suite of business tools.

 

SWIM Alert

Catherine Evans

Dalhousie University

This company’s mission is to help communities efficiently manage algae blooms and invasive species using a proprietary detection platform and satellite imagery. The company is partnering with organizations and will be piloting its product across Atlantic Canada in 2026.

 

Tangify Farming Solutions

Mariana Toro Ramirez, Manuel Sandoval

Concordia University

Tangify is transforming beef production with an AI-powered, image-based weight monitoring solution that provides real-time growth data to help cattle farmers optimize resources and drive sustainable results.
 

Video Presentations

The following companies’ founders were unable to attend Demo Day, but their founders provided videos that were aired for the audience:

 

Collide Launch

 

CM Marine Safety Equipment

Ben Collings Mackay

St. Francis Xavier University

CM Marine is building a lifejacket for fishermen by fishermen, with added safety features and comfort in mind.

CM Marine is manufacturing a test batch of lifejackets and beginning the safety certification process with UL solutions. It has received a provisional patent.

 

Beta Carbon

Japhet Machipisa

University of PEI

Beta Carbon aims to transform wastepaper biomass into high-value carbon-based products like biochar. It will be launching a six-month pilot with wastewater treatment partners to prove product quality, performance, and setting a path to scale the company.

 

Malus Ecolife Inc.

Ghazaleh Afrahi

Dalhousie University

This team is developing a scalable solution that transforms bio-waste into high-value products: soil-enhancing bio-char and renewable bio-oil. Malus Ecolife received Productivity and Innovation Voucher Program funding and will be presenting its research at the Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference in Montreal.

 

Emera IdeaHUB

The following companies are participating in IdeaHUB programs and hosted displays at the Demo Day:

 

OROSeng Design & Fabrication Ltd.

Jules Jager

OROSeng designs and builds custom products for small-scale utilization of renewable energy. The systems incorporate a range of energy harvesting technologies, such as electric generators and solar panels to redirect energy into operating IoT devices, autonomous vehicles, lighting systems, etc. 

 

Cavlom Enterprise Inc

Anthony Ighomuaye

Cavlom is building the future of clean transportation and energy access in underserved communities. It converts gasoline rickshaws into electric vehicles and equips them with battery-swapping and vehicle-to-home (V2H) systems—turning everyday transport into mobile power solutions.

 

Equlantic

Isaac Bahler, Dylan Moore, Gregor Deveau, Rowan Norrad, Will Myrer     

Equlantic is developing a modular, autonomous sensor system that delivers real-time, high-precision carbonate system data to support accurate, cost-effective measurement, reporting, and verification for marine carbon dioxide removal and other ocean-based industries. The company’s integrated platform is being designed to unify multiple standalone sensors and enable one‑step data offload. 

 

SpectrAlign

Antony Shruti Predhep, Christian Moya-Garcia, Jacqueline DeJarnette     

SpectrAlign is creating a no-radiation imaging solution that improves spinal assessments and streamlines triage for back pain, aiming to make precision spinal care more accessible.

 

EcoMarine Technologies Inc.

Lu Liu   

EcoMarine Technologies is a Nova Scotia-based ocean technology startup developing advanced electric propulsion and robotic systems for marine applications. The core innovation—a high-thrust, compact axial flux motor—is designed to enable more efficient, autonomous, and low-emission underwater operations.

 

iFormit Solutions Inc.

Abdul' Onabanjo

Utility meters are often hard to reach and harder to understand. iFormit is reimagining that with i-MeterMirror, an AI/ML-powered, multi-protocol device that brings meter data to fingertips or in-home displays, enabling smarter usage, cutting utility costs by over 30%, and helping stabilize the grid automatically.

 

Nifty Vector 

Joseph Howse, Matt MacDonald

Nifty Vector develops hardware and software for 3D motion tracking in critical domains, including medical devices, medical research, healthcare training, and aerospace training. The company's founders have 20 person-years of experience as consultants in these domains. Solutions are designed to deliver a unique combination of accuracy, robustness, compactness, and configurability.

Sensor Globe Closes Pre-Seed Round

Members of the Sensor Globe team

Members of the Sensor Globe team

Halifax-based aquaculture technology company Marin X Inc. – better known as Sensor Globe – has closed a pre-seed funding round co-led by Invest Nova Scotia and Calgary-based Tall Grass Ventures.

The company, which did not specify the size of the round, said that Cork, Ireland-based Hatch Blue and other strategic investors also participated in the round.

The funding will allow the company to accelerate development of its monitoring platform, expand its analytics capabilities, and grow its presence in key aquaculture regions, it said in a statement.

“For us, this is about more than funding,” said CEO Sheamus MacDonald in a LinkedIn post. “It’s about validating the work our team has been doing to help farmers improve fish welfare, reduce risk, and bring new technology into everyday operations.”

Founded in 2023, Sensor Globe has developed sensor-based technology that provides real-time insights into fish welfare during high-risk operations such as crowding, transfers, and handling. The system measures environmental and welfare indicators, giving farmers information intended to reduce deaths, improve operational efficiency, and help meet welfare compliance standards.

The technology is already in use in commercial aquaculture operations in Norway and other major salmon-producing regions. Sensor Globe says the platform generates data that can support decision-making and improve transparency across the aquaculture value chain.

“Aquaculture is the world’s fastest-growing food production sector, but farmers face pressure from regulators, consumers, and insurers to improve fish welfare and reduce environmental impacts,” the company said in announcing the deal. Traditional monitoring tools, it added, are limited in capturing data during the most stressful points in fish farming.

MacDonald said the investment will be used for continued R&D on its analytics offering as well as commercialization growth in Norway. “With this backing, we’re positioned to accelerate product development, strengthen our analytics, and expand both our team and footprint across key aquaculture regions,” he said in the statement.

The company’s founding team combines backgrounds in fisheries, aquaculture operations, seafood sustainability, sensor engineering, and artificial intelligence-driven analytics. The company now employs seven people in Halifax and Norway.

Aquaculture has become a critical source of protein worldwide, with salmon among the most valuable farmed species. As the industry grows, companies are under increasing scrutiny to demonstrate higher welfare standards and minimize losses. Sensor Globe said its technology is intended to allow farmers to act proactively by providing continuous, real-time data rather than relying on post-event observations.

Gia Closes $1.1M Pre-Seed Round

Gia Co-Founder and CEO Tukan Das

Gia Co-Founder and CEO Tukan Das

Gia, a Halifax startup that provides AI-driven growth tools for consultants and boutique professional service firms, has raised $1.1 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed financing round.

The round was led by Panache Ventures, with participation from Success Venture Partners, OMERS Ventures, East Valley Ventures, and a group of Atlantic Canadian angel investors, the partners said. All the investors had previously invested in LeadSift, the first company headed by Gia Co-Founder and CEO Tukan Das. Das and his partners exited LeadSift in 2021 by selling it to IDG.

The financing coincides with Gia’s public launch. The company has developed an artificial intelligence–based platform aimed at easing the business development and administrative burdens that often challenge independent consultants and small agencies.

“What Shopify did for e-commerce and Jobber did for home services, Gia is building for knowledge entrepreneurs,” said OMERS Ventures Partner Brian Kobus in a statement. (OMERS was an early investor in both Shopify and Jobber.) “Consultants deserve the same access to enterprise-level tooling that has historically been out of reach because of pricing and complicated onboarding.”

In an interview, Das said his former investors were interested in backing his new company because they remembered how he and LeadSift Co-Founder Sreejata Chatterjee rescued their startup when things looked bleak.

“One of the things I’ve heard is that we were written off and left for dead [at LeadSift]," said Das. “To go from there and to turn it around and give a positive return to our teammates and investors, I think that said a lot to our investors – that earned us some street credibility.”

It also helped that Gia got immediate buy-in from customers during its soft launch, he said. Das said the product is now being used by about 50 customers, and 30 percent of them were referred by existing customers. He added they so far have secured customers through “founder-led sales”, and about 40 percent of the deals are closed in one call.

“The global freelance consulting market is valued at $647 billion in 2025 and projected to more than triple to $2.1 trillion by 2033,” said Success Venture General Partner John Gleeson. (Now living in San Francisco, Gleeson studied at Dalhousie University and worked previously for the Halifax startup Affinio.) “Yet even the most successful freelancers struggle with the growth and admin tasks that come with building their business. Gia is building the backbone that supports them.”

With a pre-seed round in the bank, Das said his six-member team now aims to build on their “small but very engaged group of customers” and ensure Gia is helping them grow. They want to move beyond founder-led sales, and will begin marketing through intermediaries. They also hope to add some enhancements to the product based on customer feedback.

In time, he hopes to add a lot more clients.

“The goal is to empower a million people to start their own professional services business,” said Das. “We are swinging for the fences.”

H2A Canada Seeks Students Focused on Social Innovation

The University of New Brunswick is seeking current UNB students and postdocs to take part in H2A Canada, a partnership between UNB’s J Herbert Smith Centre and Harvard University’s HealthLab Accelerator (H2A).

The program, which runs from October to April, provides opportunities for students who are keen to drive social impact by offering a platform for them to turn their ideas into meaningful ventures, organizers said in a statement.

The J. Herbert Smith Centre is the Fredericton university's entrepreneurship hub. There, participants will gain access to:

  • Tailored mentorship & skill-building workshops
  • Connections with student entrepreneurs worldwide + networking events
  • A chance to pitch before Harvard Venture Board
  • Potential funding support of up to $1000 for prototyping

 

H2A in the U.S. is known for small, tight-knit cohorts, which include students from across Harvard University’s undergraduate and graduate schools. H2A Canada marks an expansion of the program internationally, following similar initiatives in Brazil and Africa, the group said..

This is the program’s second year in Canada. In its first year, H2A Canada supported 10 teams working on ventures such as reducing food waste, improving sleep quality, and making smart home devices more accessible through gesture recognition, the university said.

The deadline to apply is September 30, 2025

You can find more information here.

An info session is being held this Thursday, Sept. 25 between 12 and 12:45 pm at H224, Old Head Hall, UNB Fredericton Campus.

Discovery Garden Acquires U.S. Competitor

Charlottetown-based Discovery Garden, which specializes in the digital preservation of cultural artifacts, has acquired its U.S. competitor Born-Digital for an undisclosed price.

The two parties are treating the transaction as a merger, with both parties retaining their employees and culture, but the combined entity will continue to be called Discovery Garden, headquartered on P.E.I., and led by Discovery Garden CEO Gerry Lawless. Born-Digital Founder Noah Smith will become CTO of the merged company. The deal closed Sept. 5.

Discovery Garden was created to help GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) clients use the open source Islandora system to digitally preserve artifacts, such as old newspapers, photographs and films. Mark Leggott, the librarian at the University of Prince Edward Island, developed Islandora with help from the community and $2.5 million in financing from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s Atlantic Innovation Fund.

"This merger is a strong commitment to the future of digital repositories purposely built for organizations in the GLAM sector," said Lawless in a statement. "By combining our custom Islandora development depth with Born-Digital's product innovations and customer-centric approach, we're strengthening and investing in the larger cultural heritage ecosystem. We know these institutions need solutions informed by and for the community, and not generic platforms adapted to fit our sector."

Based in Hadley, Mass., Born-Digital has also been working with the Islandora system for more than a decade, and has been especially strong in digital products, consulting and support services. The American company has developed Aurora, a subscription-based product that helps GLAM clients preserve their artifacts in the cloud. The addition of this product will help Discovery Garden offer a broader suite of products to clients.

Aurora provides a full-featured repository with hosting, maintenance, and support for a single monthly fee, eliminating the need for in-house IT teams. The merged company intends to pair Aurora’s standardized service with Discovery Garden’s expertise in large, customized projects.

In an interview, Lawless said the current administration in the U.S. has cut funding to several institutions that use Islandora, so many of the Discovery Garden clients are reluctant to undertake big projects right now. However, Aurora has a lower price point than other services, and the company is hoping it will be an attractive option to some clients.

“Now that we do have a U.S. office – and the U.S. is by far our biggest market –  we want to get much more in-market,” he said. “We’re excited about Aurora and plan to attend more conferences in the U.S.”

Leading up to the acquisition, Discovery Garden has experienced revenue growth of 20 to 25 percent in each of the last two years, and the company was profitable. The merged company now employs 26 people, and envisions adding six to eight employees in the next 12 to 18 months.

Said Noah Smith about the merged company: “We've spent 10-plus years solving the same problems as competitors, and now we're excited to have the opportunity to do it together going forward."

Last Week for InnovateNB Nominations

The organizers of the InnovateNB Celebration and Awards 2025 are reminding New Brunswickers that there is one week left to submit nominations for the annual innovation awards.

The awards program recognizes individuals and organizations contributing to innovation across the province. This year’s ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 27 at the Saint John Trade & Convention Centre.

The deadline for nominations is Sept. 29, and you can find more information here.

The event is organized by TechImpact in partnership with the McKenna Institute, New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Envision Saint John, and Propel. According to organizers, the program is intended to spotlight achievements in a range of fields, from startups to social impact initiatives.

Nominations are open in nine categories:

  • Startup of the Year
  • Scaleup of the Year
  • Social Impact Award
  • Innovative Workplace Award
  • Student Innovator Award
  • Indigenous Innovator Award
  • Women in Innovation Award
  • Collaboration Award
  • Innovator of the Year

Anyone can submit a nomination by identifying a candidate and explaining why they merit recognition. Organizers say all eligible nominees will then be asked to complete a short package, which will be reviewed by a selection committee.

In addition to the nomination process, tickets for the November celebration are now on sale here.

The InnovateNB Awards were launched to highlight contributions to the province’s innovation ecosystem and to provide a platform for recognizing diverse forms of achievement, from entrepreneurial ventures to community-based initiatives.

InteractiveNB Launches Scaffold Program

InteractiveNB has introduced a new program to support video game developers in New Brunswick and help them expand into global markets.

The Market Access Scaffold Program, announced this month, will provide four months of mentorship, business training, and access to international industry expertise for members of InteractiveNB, the industry association for the province’s interactive digital media sector.

The initiative is being delivered in partnership with the Scaffold Institute and is supported by funding from the Canada Media Fund. It is intended to help small studios scale and compete in a global industry that generates billions of dollars annually.

InteractiveNB President Jade Yhap said the program is designed to address challenges faced by local developers, who often leave the province in search of opportunities. “For too long, we've watched our incredible talent leave New Brunswick, or struggle to find the resources they need to thrive here,” he said.

The Scaffold Institute has run similar programs in Western Canada that helped gaming companies secure more than $5 million in financing, the group said. Its executive director, Matt Toner, said he sees strong potential in the New Brunswick sector. “The talent stack in New Brunswick is early-stage but impressive,” he said. “We are going to do some great things together.”

The Canada Media Fund, a national agency that finances and promotes Canadian audiovisual content, is supporting the program as part of its effort to reduce barriers for creators. “This partnership is a direct investment in the creativity and potential of New Brunswick talent,” said Jessica Lea Fleming, the fund’s director of growth and inclusion.

InteractiveNB said the video game industry is considered a growth sector in Canada, contributing jobs and economic value across several provinces. Organizers say the program will help New Brunswick retain talent, attract investment, and build a stronger digital media ecosystem.

The program is available exclusively to InteractiveNB members.

Invest Nova Scotia Accelerate Names New Cohort

Invest Nova Scotia has announced the 12 startups that will join the second cohort of its Accelerate 2025 to 2026 program.

The milestone-based program is designed to help Nova Scotia founders get investment-ready. It is delivered virtually and participating companies each receive up to $40,000 in non-dilutive, non-repayable funding to address key technical and business milestones, the group said on LinkedIn. Participants also receive business and technical expertise to help fuel their growth.

The new participants include:

Alaagi – Sheheryar Khan – Halifax
Compostable seaweed-based packaging for cold-chain seafood and meat logistics

Bean AI – Vansh Sood, Pankrit Jindal – Halifax
AI cooking assistant that eliminates cooking decision fatigue

CleanGreen Septic Services – Michael Huskilson - Halifax
Develops and operates networks of low-cost, rapidly deployable septage processing infrastructure

iNav4u – Brenda Robinson, Olivier Hendrikx – Oxford
Digital operating system for yachts, unifying navigation, maintenance, compliance, and safety

Nifty Vector – Matthew J. MacDonald, Joseph Howse – Terence Bay
Hardware and software for precise 3D motion tracking in medical devices and VR

NovaBrew Solutions – Andrew Swift, Rob Marot – Halifax
AI-driven software for automating craft brewery forecasting, production scheduling, and inventory control

Novastorms Data Analytics – James Butler, Yigit Aydede – Windsor Junction
AI software for on-premise insights from an organization’s proprietary data

Nova Scotian Sustainable Resources – Brian Adams, Chris Burns, Jeff Dahn – Halifax
Low-cost and flexible mineral extraction and conversion technology for battery critical minerals 

Pilot X Technologies – Kendall Darling, Ranajay Sarma – Halifax
AI-powered logistics marketplace connecting businesses, consumers, and drivers for on-demand transportation

SudDrop Laundry Services – Jayrell Diggs -– East Preston
On-demand laundry pickup and delivery service for households and businesses

Tala Technologies – Marc Cormier, David Kalliecharan – Halifax
Distributed energy storage orchestration software for renewable energy generation growth and energy grid resilience.

Theranib – Paola Marcato, Concettina La Motta – Halifax
Therapeutic targeting ALDH1A3 to stop cancer metastasis and improve patient outcomes

LuminUltra Acquires French Company

Fredericton-based LuminUltra Technologies, which specializes in biological tests, has acquired GL Biocontrol, a French provider of microbial testing and risk management services for municipal and industrial water systems.

Headquartered in Montpellier, GL Biocontrol says it has worked with more than 500 municipalities and industrial operators across Europe. The company has been a key player in advancing microbial monitoring practices in France, particularly through the adoption of second-generation adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, testing, it says. Its services cover areas such as drinking water safety, Legionella prevention, and water reuse.

The acquisition – the terms of which were not disclosed – will allow GL Biocontrol to maintain its brand and operations while gaining access to LuminUltra’s broader product portfolio, infrastructure, and scientific resources. GL Biocontrol’s Montpellier office will also serve as LuminUltra’s European headquarters, offering the New Brunswick company a beachhead for further European expansion.

“France has long been at the forefront of water technology and microbiological innovation,” said LuminUltra CEO Pat Whalen in a statement. “This acquisition brings together two science-led organizations committed to advancing that leadership.”

GL Biocontrol combines diagnostic testing with software tools, technical consulting, and training to help clients manage microbial risks. Its work includes risk assessments, system mapping, and developing control strategies to safeguard public health and infrastructure.

“With the evolving European Drinking Water Directive and the rise of water safety plans, utilities need faster, more dependable tools,” said Celia Martinez, president of GL Biocontrol. “We’ve positioned second-generation ATP as a frontline indicator, helping operators anticipate risks, optimize control strategies, and protect water quality over the long term.”

With this deal, LuminUltra has now made eight acquisitions in eight years in keeping with its strategy to expand its portfolio of microbial risk management solutions. In July 2024, LuminUltra bought the legionella-testing assets of Genomadix Inc, along with rights to develop and commercialize further assays and test methods in water, energy and food and beverage markets.

The company said GL Biocontrol strengthens its position in Europe while providing a base for further growth in the region.

Whalen said the addition of GL Biocontrol fits with LuminUltra’s long-term plan to expand internationally while maintaining a focus on microbial safety. “This acquisition reinforces our long-term vision,” he said. “With GL Biocontrol now part of the organization, the company is better positioned to invest in R&D, expand globally, and raise standards in microbial risk management.”

Freshr Lands $233K from Food Innovation Network

Freshr CEO Mina Mekhail

Freshr CEO Mina Mekhail

Halifax-based Freshr Sustainable Technologies, which makes natural food packaging, has received $232,861 from the Canadian Food Innovation Network.

The money will help Freshr collaborate with Cooke Aquaculture to pilot FreshrPack, an antibacterial coating solution that is applied on film packaging to extend the shelf life of fresh proteins by 15 to 30 percent. Made with naturally derived anti-bacterial components, FreshrPack slows down bacterial growth, reduces chemical spoilage and improves water retention, the innovation network said in a statement. 

The testing will involve integration of FreshrPack-coated skin packaging film rolls into Cooke’s salmon packaging operations. It's intended the project will demonstrate how sustainable, high-performance packaging can reduce food waste in large-scale seafood processing. 

“Early results indicate that FreshrPack can be integrated into existing packaging lines without any changes to workflow, capital expenditure, or staffing,” said Mina Mekhail, CEO and Founder of Freshr. 

This year, the Guelph-based Canadian Food Innovation Network awarded a total of $1,177,496 to five Canadian foodtech startups through its Foodtech Next Program. Industry partners match the funding, bringing total investment to $2,354,992.

The other four beneficiaries this year included:  FoodPM, a division of UDP Software Inc. (BC); Gastronomous Technologies Inc. (Ontario); Knead Technologies (Alberta) and uDesign Solutions Inc. (Ontario).


 

Benson Wins Falling Walls Atlantic

Annika Benson, third from left, captured first prize at Falling Walls Lab Atlantic.

Annika Benson, third from left, captured first prize at Falling Walls Lab Atlantic.

Dr. Annika Benson and her device for improving brain surgery outcomes are heading to Berlin in November.

Benson, a PhD researcher at Dalhousie University, captured the top prize at the Falling Walls Lab Atlantic competition at the Halifax Central Library on Monday evening. Her prize will be a fully paid trip to Berlin in early November, where she will compete against 100 other innovators in the global finals of the Falling Walls competition.

Falling Walls Lab is an international pitch competition that challenges students and early-career professionals to present their ideas in just three minutes. Fifteen people competed in the event on Monday.

The Atlantic Canadian winner has returned from Berlin with a prize in each of the last two years. Last year, Dal student Dina Rogers won the Science Breakthrough of the Year award in the Emerging Talents category with a novel method of deconstructing waste, allowing plastic constituents to be re-used.

Benson pitched a hand-held ultrasound device that can detect tumor tissues during brain surgery, to make sure all of a tumor has been removed during the procedure. She told the audience that there are currently no convenient and precise methods to make sure all of a tumor is removed, but her handheld device has demonstrated it can to do so.

In an interview, Benson said the device has emerged from work at the ultrasound lab at Dalhousie University – the same lab where Jeremy Brown developed Sound Blade, a device that uses sonic energy to cut tissue. Brown’s company Sound Blade Medical  closed a US$16.5 million (C$23.8 million) Series A funding round earlier this year.

“I’m very excited just to be able to talk about this [project] on a larger stage,” said Benson, who has been working on the project for eight years. “I’m used to just talking about it with ultrasound people.  . . . I’m also excited to see what other people are working on.”

The $250 second prize went to Blaine Fiss, also of Dalhousie. Fiss is a postdoctoral fellow working on a process that uses solar energy to break down “forever chemicals”, which are known for their extreme durability due to a strong carbon-fluorine bond.

Jayda Kruger, a Dal student studying marine biology and ocean science, took home the $100 third place prize for her work on eco-friendly concrete. Kruger has developed a method of injecting concrete with micro-organisms, which have captured CO2. The concrete can then be used for marine barriers that can defend against coastal erosion and become a foundation for such sea life as seaweed and barnacles.

 

Disclaimer: Peter Moreira of Entrevestor was a judge at the Falling Walls Lab Atlantic competition.

Genesis Offers Startups 101

St. John’s-based innovation hub Genesis is offering new and aspiring tech founders the chance to put their business ideas to the test in a two-hour, interactive virtual workshop.

The workshop  helps participants shape and refine their concepts, explore how AI tools can support research and validation, and connect them with the resources available to founders in Newfoundland and Labrador, organizers said on LinkedIn.

Sessions are held monthly and provide a starting point for anyone interested in tech entrepreneurship. No experience or fully formed ideas are needed. 

The next workshop will be held this Wednesday, September 17, from 12 to 2 PM or from 6 to 8 PM. It costs $15 for members of the public and is free to Memorial University students.

Register here.
 

2025 Tech Forward Awards Finalists Named

Halifax-based Digital Nova Scotia, the industry association for the province’s tech sector, has announced the finalists for its 2025 Tech Forward Awards. The awards received nearly 200 nominations this year, the most in the event’s history.

Launched in 2016 and rebranded the Tech Forward Awards in 2022, the annual event aims to recognize the people and companies driving innovation, inclusion, and growth in the province.

Across eight categories, the 2025 finalists reflect the breadth of Nova Scotia’s tech sector, organizers said in a statement.

“Choosing finalists from a record number of nominations was no easy task, and that’s a great problem to have,” said Owen Sagness, CEO of Digital Nova Scotia. “It speaks to a sector that is growing in both talent and ambition …"

Winners will be revealed at the Tech Forward Awards ceremony on November 20 at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel.

The finalists are:

Talent Champion Award – Sponsored by Humankind Global Recruitment. Recognizing a company or organization excelling in tech talent acquisition and retention, promoting Nova Scotia as a desirable career destination. 

● REDspace Inc 

● BeResponsive Media

● Maplewave 

Tech for Good Award – Sponsored by CGI 

Celebrating organizations that use tech to drive positive social, political, environmental, or economic change. 

● One North End Community Economic Development Society 

● DeepSense 

● iFormit Solutions Inc

Thinking Forward Award 

Recognizing individuals who dedicate their time to mentoring and inspiring future talent, encouraging careers in technology. 

● Titilayomi Damiro 

● Rita Orji

● Arad Gharagozli 

Provincial Spotlight Award – Sponsored by Invest Nova Scotia 

Honoring companies outside of the Halifax Regional Municipality that have made a notable impact on Nova Scotia’s tech landscape. 

● Good Robot Brewing Company

● Nova Social Media & Marketing

● 45Drives

Best of Tech 2024 Award – Sponsored by Compugen 

Recognizing organizations that have achieved remarkable growth, developed innovative products, or secured major deals this year. 

● MOC Bio Technologies Inc

● DeepSense

● Palladium MC

One to Watch Award – Sponsored by Dash Hudson 

Highlighting emerging talent from underrepresented communities who are making waves in the tech industry. 

● Irene Saliendra

● Vansh Sood

● Simran Arora

Role Model Award - Sponsored by BDC 

Honoring individuals from underrepresented communities in tech who are driving diversity and inclusion, inspiring others to overcome barriers. 

● Ezinne V.C Onwuekwe

● Jennifer LaPlante

● Nadia Ivanova

Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award - Sponsored by Nova Scotia Power

Recognizing organizations that lead diversity and inclusion initiatives in Nova Scotia’s tech sector, creating welcoming and equitable workplaces. 

● Tribe Network

● Turtle Island Technology Solutions Inc.

● Sea Change CoLab Consulting Inc.

Tribe Marks First Accelerate Tech Cohort

Halifax-based Tribe Network, a support organization for Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs who identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Colour, is celebrating the first cohort to complete its Accelerate Tech program.

Twelve ventures completed the 2024 to 2025 cohort of the program for founders and ventures at various stages of development.

Organizers say the program offers:

  • 1:1 milestone-driven coaching with seasoned startup advisors and product experts
  • Workshops and peer learning designed to sharpen your strategy
  • Capital readiness support and curated introductions to investors
  • A national network of founders, funders, and mentors
  • Real accountability to help founders hit key startup milestones

 

The founders and companies in the first cohort are:

Samuel Oladimeji, Vedesi Inc 

An agency focused on web and product design and development, website creation, brand strategy, and digital marketing.

Yasir Gafar, Spokesfan Inc.

Cloud-based analytics platform that integrates with eCommerce sites to collect customer referrals and reviews.

Mukisa Kakembo, Fem Entity 

Creating an interconnected platform to transform the wellness industry.

Ebuka Amaefula, Owlya

An all-in-one AI-powered assessment platform that provides tools for conducting secured online assessments.

Sochukwuma Aham-neze, Kweeqpay

A web-based escrow payment solution designed for secure online transactions.

Rillwan Shokunbi, Cropmind Inc.

AI-powered computer vision models for detecting and analyzing trees, flowers, and fruits in orchards.

Lumi Oyelowo, Paytrybe

A mobile application designed to make remittance and bill payments seamless for African immigrants and international students in Canada.

Kendall Darling, Pilot X

On-demand pickup and moving services connecting customers with drivers and moving companies in under 5 minutes.

Abdul' Onabanjo, iFormit Solutions Inc.

Producing IMID-Connectors that transforms traditional non-AMR meters into smart meters.

Simone Le Gendre, EduHaus Inc.

Educational app that enhances STEM education through generative AI and educational psychology.

Collins Chukwuma, ScanSolve 

Leveraging AI and machine learning to interpret user queries for a personalized learning experience.

Mariah Pelley-Smith, Creative DAM

Meeting clients' need for customized documents after brand changes, overcoming limitations of existing tools.

Blue Charm Closes $4M Seed Round

Blue Charm CEO Greg Patey

Blue Charm CEO Greg Patey

Halifax-based medical data provider Blue Charm Adherence has raised $4 million in a seed funding round to enhance its patient engagement tools and attract more customers.

The financing was co-led by Crédit Mutuel Equity of France and Invest Nova Scotia, both of which are investing in the company for the first time. Blue Charm’s original early-stage investors also participated in the round.

The new capital will support product development, user growth, and expansion of services for pharmaceutical partners, said the company.

“This seed round enables us to expand our capabilities, working toward the goal of making health more accessible, meaningful, and actionable for individuals across Canada and beyond,” said CEO Greg Patey in a statement.

Patey, who founded Blue Charm in 2020, was previously one of the co-founders of STI Technologies, which helped drug companies distribute samples efficiently. It was sold to the American multinational QuintilesIMS in February 2017, reportedly for $200 million.

His current venture helps pharmaceutical companies understand what patients experience when taking their medications, and rewards patients who complete questionnaires. The company recruits people suffering from specific conditions, such as severe asthma or diabetes, who also have valid prescriptions. These volunteers complete surveys over the course of their treatment, and are paid for their participation.

In an interview, Patey said the new funding will help the company build out the product and develop a team that can attract and support corporate clients as well as the people who participate in the surveys. In particular, he mentioned that the company aims to develop cutting edge data analysis so the healthcare industry gains a deeper understanding of patients’ experiences with different medications and why some people neglect to take their meds properly.

“I would argue that in healthcare this is one of the biggest problems in the world in terms of the non-adherence to medication,” he said.

Blue Charm currently employs 14 full-time people, along with seven contractors, and Patey expects to add 10 staff members by the end of 2026. He said this seed round should give the company about two years of runway, after which its board will evaluate its capital requirements.

Patey began to work on this round in March 2023 with a trip to California to meet investors. Unfortunately, it was the same month that Silicon Valley Bank collapsed so the funding environment was terrible. He began efforts again in February 2024, and a contact in Montreal connected him with Crédit Mutuel, which he said immediately became interested in the Blue Charm mission.

When asked if it could help the company’s growth to have a key investor based in Europe, Patey said, “It’s less about having a European investor and more about having a great partner. They understand what we do and that’s why they’ve invested.  . . . The partnership is everything in this situation.”

 Patey is typical of the founders in Nova Scotia who are currently closing seven- or eight-figure funding rounds because he is a serial entrepreneur in the life sciences sector. Asked about how Blue Charm compares with his experiences with STI Technologies, he said the two journeys have been very similar.

“It’s about the same at this point, from a growth point of view,” said Patey. “But I can think of other things that were moments in time when we won a big deal and hit the hockey stick, as they say. That took probably eight or nine years. We’re on the same pace for that now. But we have several things in the pipeline right now that could take place this year and help to take us to the next level.”

CropMind, QuickFacts Accepted into US Programs

Two Atlantic Canadian startups have been accepted into international programs for startups.

CropMind of Fredericton was named this week to the latest cohort of Techstars, joining the Build in Tulsa Techstars program. And Halifax’s QuickFacts has been selected to attend InsurTech NY’s InsurTech Match program in New York on Sept. 17–18.

CropMind was co-founded by Damilare O. Odumosu and Rilwan Shokunbi, both of whom are graduates of the Masters of Technology, Management and Entrepreneurship program at University of New Brunswick. They’ve developed a company that helps farmers of such crops as apples and grapes to predict early in the growing season what their total crop will be.

Earlier this year, CropMind closed a $500,000 funding round, led by the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation and BKR Capital. The company also graduated recently from the Accelerate Tech program offered by the Tribe Network. 

Co-founded by Christy and Jeff Barsalou, QuickFacts offers a platform that lets insurance brokers view packages from competing insurers side by side for easy comparison. The company says it can reduce the time brokers spend searching for information by 10 to 20 times. It also says the platform offers brokers more depth of information than competitors.

“This opportunity means a lot for QuickFacts as we continue to bring our solution to the U.S. market,” said Christy Barsalou, the company’s CEO, in a LinkedIn post. “I’m excited to foster conversations with carriers, brokers, and mentors about how we can support agencies and make their work easier and faster.”

The company, a member of the Atlantic FinTech community, raised $2 million in August 2024, the Barsalous identified New York as the beachhead for their coming U.S. expansion.

Atlantic Canadian AI Ventures Heading to ALL IN

At least 30 Atlantic Canadian companies specializing in artificial intelligence will participate in a trade mission to Montréal later this month, led by Digital Nova Scotia.

The companies will take part in ALL IN 2025, billed as Canada’s largest AI event, scheduled for Sept.24-25. The two-day gathering is expected to attract more than 4,000 participants and over 200 speakers from around the world. The agenda includes workshops, curated content streams, and networking opportunities aimed at connecting companies with potential partners and investors.

Digital Nova Scotia CEO Owen Sagness said the mission is designed to highlight the region’s growing AI sector on a larger stage. “Atlantic Canada is home to some of the country’s most innovative AI talent, but we often don’t get the spotlight we deserve,” he said in a statement.

The trade mission is being organized with support from the Atlantic Trade and Investment Growth Strategy, a collaboration among the four Atlantic provinces and the federal government. Additional backing is coming from Invest Nova Scotia, Opportunities New Brunswick, Volta, Venn Innovation, TechNL, and PEI Business Inc.

The organizers said the trip is intended to help participating companies gain international exposure, seek partnerships, and showcase Atlantic Canada as an emerging hub for AI development.

Applications are open for Atlantic Canadian companies interested in joining the delegation. Details are available here.

The companies that have agreed to attend so far are:

New Brunswick

Urai AI

NorthBound Advisory 

Parados

Nezz  

No Code Engineering    

White Pine Medical  

ISPIRE  

Climative    

the Black Arcs 

Patchell Brook Equity Analytics

TOOL-GO

FITIV 

Nova Scotia

ARKEN

immediac

Kindred AI

Palladium MC

MIMOSA Diagnostics 

LaunchPal 

AI-First Consulting

ResolveHD

Judy Intelligence

Hivo App 

Newfoundland and Labrador

ClearRisk

trophi.ai

Enaimco 

Weevva Systems

NutraForge

Seafair Capital 

atlantiq AI

Sparrow BioAcoustics

RFINE Closes $1.7M Equity Round

In a challenging funding environment, Halifax-based RFINE Biomass Solutions has closed an over-subscribed equity funding round worth $1.7 million.

Creative Destruction Lab Atlantic posted on social media that RFINE – which upcycles spent coffee grounds into nutritious food ingredients – closed the round recently, having originally set out to raise $1.5 million. RFINE graduated from the CDL program in 2024.

“This milestone strengthens RFINE’s position to accelerate commercialization and scale its innovations in sustainable food technology,” said the post from CDL Atlantic. “With the raise complete, the team is now advancing toward new growth opportunities and further non-dilutive funding.”

Founded in 2022 by Quinn Cavanagh and Gordon Neal, RFINE works with coffee shops and other java vendors to retain and reuse their spent coffee grounds, which traditionally would be tossed away. Countless tons of these coffee grounds are thrown out each day around the world.

The RFINE system processes and stabilizes the spent coffee grounds, making sustainable ingredients that have ample shelf-life and can be used in food for humans or animals, the company says.

RFINE was able to close this funding round in a difficult environment, as several funding organizations are reporting that venture capital funding in general has dropped recently, and early-stage financing is especially scarce. The Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association’s most recent report showed that annual pre-seed and seed funding for Canada in the past four years averaged $133 million and $813 million respectively. However, in the first half of 2025, pre-seed funding amounted to $39 million while seed rounds totaled $258 million. Funding in these brackets would have to increase dramatically in the second half to reach the average of the previous four years. 

At Entrevestor, we’ve noticed that young companies are finding it especially hard to raise funds. In calendar 2024, we found that Atlantic Canadian startups launched in 2022-24 raised a mere $6.1 million in equity funding, or 4 percent of the private capital raised by all startups in the region. The recent RFINE raise is an example of one company bucking this trend.

One final thought on this raise: it continues the trend of Nova Scotian companies outside of the IT sector successfully courting investors. According to the CVCA, Nova Scotia is the only province in Canada in which IT is not the most active startup sector in terms of fundraising. The major rounds announced this year have mainly been in life sciences – Mara Renewable landing $9.1 million in funding and Sound Blade Medical raising US$16.5 million. RFINE’s $1.7 million round is another example of a non-digital company finding success with investors.

Crowell, Roisman Imach Finalists in National Competition

Two Atlantic Canadian women are finalists for the 2025 edition of the Top Women in Tech, a national competition presented by Toast and Betakit.

Jane Crowell, who is the CEO of Particle, and Alicia Roisman Ismach, the head of Atlantic FinTech, are among the 25 finalists for the competition, which recognizes female leaders in the Canadian technology industry, according to social media posts.

Roisman Ismach has been the Head of FinTech at Atlantic FinTech since 2021, championing companies throughout the region that produce digital products for the financial industry. After becoming the entrepreneur-in-residence at Moncton-based Venn Innovation in 2018, she began working with fintech companies throughout the region, founding the region’s fintech organization that now works with more than 140 companies.

Halifax resident Jane Crowell is the CEO of Particle, which is developing a platform that helps startups to raise capital through integrated investor outreach. The platform’s features help in such areas as legal onboarding, investor relations, share purchase and compliance.

The Top Women in Tech competition is hosted by: Toast, which is a recruitment group with the mission of overcoming the challenges facing women in the tech community; and Betakit, a news site that covers startups and tech across Canada.

The region is also represented on the Top Women in Tech judging panel. Erin O'Keefe Graham, the CEO of Neighbourhood Consulting and the former head of the Emera IdeaHub, is one of nine judges in the competition.

Planetary Inks C$43M Deal with Frontier

Dartmouth-based Planetary Technologies has signed a US$31.3 million (C$43.2 million) agreement with Frontier to remove 115,211 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere between 2026 and 2030.

Blue-chip companies that back Frontier will pay Planetary to scale up its ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) operations in one of the world’s largest OAE projects to date.

Frontier works with some of the world’s largest companies to encourage the development of carbon-capture technology. By paying for carbon-capture agreements while the technology is still being developed, Frontier helps young companies grow through the difficult stages of getting to market.

“This offtake with Frontier buyers allows us to demonstrate that ocean alkalinity enhancement can safely and effectively remove CO2 beyond small-scale trials,” said Planetary CEO Mike Kelland in a statement. “We’re eager to show how it can be rolled out responsibly.”

Planetary’s process involves adding dissolved alkaline minerals – such as calcium oxide and magnesium oxide – into coastal waters. This accelerates the ocean’s natural carbon cycle by converting dissolved CO₂ into stable bicarbonate ions, which remain stored in the ocean for more than 10,000 years, the company says. The company uses existing infrastructure, including power plant cooling water discharges, to integrate its process without building new large-scale facilities.

In 2023, Planetary signed a smaller deal with Frontier to remove 937 tons of CO2 with its technology. It now has a facility in operation in Tufts Cove in Dartmouth.

The Frontier statement said Planetary this year completed a pilot project verifying for the first time that tons of CO2 could be removed from the atmosphere using OAE. With the new funding, the company aims to initiate its next phase of operations, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2026.

OAE has drawn interest because of its potential for large-scale, low-cost carbon removal, said Frontier. Scientists estimate it could remove billions of tons of CO2 annually at costs that could fall below $100 per ton. Frontier has funded a range of approaches to clarify the viability of OAE, supporting trials on land, in freshwater systems, and now in a coastal environment through Planetary.

“Ocean alkalinity enhancement can remove CO2 from the atmosphere extremely cheaply and efficiently,” said Frontier Head of Deployment Hannah Bebbington. “But expanding it beyond small-scale trials calls for ironclad measurement and safety protocols, alongside addressing community concerns. . . . This is the right project and team to pave the way forward for this promising pathway.”

One interesting note about Frontier is that its website says it now has more than 50 companies in its portfolio, and three of them are from the Halifax area.

As well as the recent deal with Planetary, Frontier in July awarded a US$1.75 million contract to pHathom Technologies to remove 510 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. The company’s technology captures CO2 emissions from coastal bioenergy plants, which are plants that transform organic material from plants and animals into useful energy like heat, electricity, or biofuels. 

Frontier also signed a deal in 2023 with CarbonRun to remove 57,000 tons of CO2, five tons of which have been delivered. CarbonRun adds crushed limestone to rivers to reduce their acidity, storing CO2 as dissolved bicarbonate in the river and ultimately in the ocean.

Genesis Seeks Founders for Evolve

St. John’s-based innovation hub Genesis is seeking founders to participate in Evolve, a seven-week program for early-stage tech founders.

Evolve is for founders who have an idea but no clear path forward, organizers said on LinkedIn.
The program allows founders to:

* Clearly define the problem their startup aims to solve.
* Understand who their customers are and what they want.
* Refine the idea based on real-world feedback.
* Discover strategies to attract first customers.
* Confidently position the startup for growth.

The program demands about three hours of each week. The cost is $200 but is free for Memorial University students.

Apply here.

Beauceron Releases Tool for Financial Companies

Fredericton-based Beauceron Security has launched its Cyber Wellness Score to help financial companies work with their customers to be more pro-active in preventing cybercrime.

The company in 2017 launched a cyber-risk scoring platform that allowed corporations of organizations to help employees assess their vulnerability to hackers and cybercriminals. That product now helps more than 1 million people understand their risks and take steps to become less vulnerable.

Last week, Beauceron launched its Cyber Wellness Score for financial companies so banks, credit unions, and fintechs can provide digital score cards for their customers and help them reduce their risks.  

“Financial institution fraud and cyber awareness efforts usually involve one-way communications to clients. Whether it’s email blasts, social media posts, website updates, or webinars, these approaches suffer from a lack of meaningful engagement and feedback,” said David Shipley, CEO and co-founder of Beauceron Security in a statement. “There’s a better way to make a more meaningful impact.”

The Cyber Wellness Score is designed to act like a fitness tracker for digital security, showing customers where they are vulnerable and offering steps to strengthen their defenses, the company said. By giving users a measurable score, Beauceron aims to make fraud prevention more tangible and encourage ongoing improvement.

The launch comes at a time when fraud is the dominant form of cybercrime. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that 83 percent of the US$16.6 billion in cybercrime losses in 2024 were due to fraud targeting customers. Shipley said research indicates people who do not believe they are at risk, or who think security is the sole responsibility of banks, are more likely to be victimized.

Unlike traditional anti-fraud tools that typically detect crime during or after an incident, Beauceron says its platform is designed to reduce risk before it occurs. The system combines awareness training, behavioral nudges, and measurement tools to help financial institutions by:

  • Showing customers where they are most exposed.
  • Providing personalized coaching to reduce risk.
  • Measuring the effectiveness of education efforts.
  • Tracking knowledge and attitudes as early indicators of fraud vulnerability.

Financial institutions can embed the Cyber Wellness Score directly into their online banking apps and portals. Customers who opt in receive tailored guidance and feedback, transforming fraud awareness from one-way messaging into an interactive experience.

Beauceron Security was founded in 2016 by cybersecurity professionals at the University of New Brunswick, and raised $3.1 million in equity financing in 2022. Its original platform introduced the Security Culture Score, which helps organizations understand not only what happens in awareness and anti-phishing programs, but why risky behavior occurs and how to improve outcomes.

Ocean Startup Project Names Cohort

The Ocean Startup Project has awarded $350,000 in funding to 15 Canadian startups in its fifth Ocean Startup Challenge, a national competition that supports early-stage oceantech ventures.

The winning companies, drawn from across the country, will each receive non-dilutive funding along with specialized support to help advance the development of their products. The 2025 cohort is tackling challenges in areas including decarbonized marine transportation, renewable energy, sustainable materials, and marine safety.

More than one-third of the companies are from Atlantic Canada. 

“Every year, we see the strength and creativity of Canadian ocean entrepreneurs grow,” said Paula Mendonça, Executive Director of the Ocean Startup Project. “This cohort of 15 companies showcases the breadth of talent across the country, and through the Challenge, we are connecting them with the support, expertise, and networks they need to succeed on a global scale.”

These are the startups selected for the fifth cohort:

  • Alaagi (Nova Scotia): Developing a food-safe, seaweed-based bioplastic film that is compostable, heat- and vacuum-sealable, and engineered for cold-chain seafood and meat packaging.
  • Atalanta Climate (British Columbia): Creating compact, fully electric carbon capture systems that use ocean-derived materials to cut energy requirements by up to 90 percent compared with conventional direct air capture.
  • atlantiq AI (Newfoundland and Labrador): Building on-premise AI agents that integrate into CAD software, helping ship design teams reduce time on manual quality assurance and information-gathering by up to tenfold.
  • CM Marine Safety Equipment (Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island): Designing a life jacket tailored to the needs of commercial fishers, aimed at reducing drowning fatalities at sea.
  • DeFort Bio (Nova Scotia): Developing biodegradable lobster band alternatives to replace environmentally harmful rubber bands.
  • Equlantic Aquatic Monitoring (Nova Scotia): Combining an automatic water-sampling device with a sensor integration system to deliver lower-cost, higher-coverage water quality monitoring.
  • FieldComplex (Quebec): Building a scalable, real-time underwater communication system that combines advanced modems with intelligent software to deliver secure, long-range data transmission – an “underwater Wi-Fi.”
  • FinShield (Ontario): Creating an AI-powered platform that integrates AIS and open-source intelligence to give NGOs and maritime authorities rapid insight into illegal finning.
  • FlowMotion Hydrokinetic (Ontario): Developing helical screw turbine systems to generate clean, predictable energy from tidal and river currents.
  • Flux Lines (Quebec): Designing battery barges that provide clean electricity to ships at berth or anchor, offering a scalable alternative to traditional shore power.
  • Mostar Labs (British Columbia): Creating LILYPAD, a modular floating charging platform for electric vessels, with advanced battery storage and smart management systems for coastal and nearshore environments.
  • RETSSOP (Nova Scotia): Developing an oil spill response solution that combines advanced imaging with high-performance absorbents capable of recovering more than 80 percent of spilled oil.
  • SeaFoam (British Columbia/Ontario): Producing regenerative building insulation made from seaweed and upcycled waste to help create carbon-negative homes.
  • Subvision Robotics (British Columbia): Building ZIMA, an autonomous UVC subsea rover that prevents ship-hull biofouling, reducing fuel costs and eliminating toxic cleaning methods.
  • Technologies Seanetik (Quebec): Creating robotic solutions for submerged hull cleaning as part of efforts to decarbonize maritime transport.

Launched in 2020, the Ocean Startup Challenge has supported more than 90 ocean-focused startups across Canada.

In addition to funding, participants in the program receive direct support from an executive-in-residence, access to mentors with expertise across multiple fields, curated exposure to market opportunities, and in-kind services. 

On Vacation Until September

As we do every summer, we're taking off the final week of August. 

We find there's little news to write about it in the week before Labour Day. And if something newsworthy does happen, there are few readers around to read about it. 

We're heading to the beach with a stack of good books -- forgive the shameless plug. We will be back in early September with more news. 

Falling Walls Applications Due Sunday

Atlantic Canadian students and researchers still have a few days left to apply for the 2025 Falling Walls Lab Atlantic Canada pitch competition, with the deadline set for Sunday, Aug. 24, at 11:59 p.m ADT.

The event will take place Sept. 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Halifax Central Library and will also allow participants to pitch live online. The competition is open to post-secondary students, researchers, and early-career professionals from across Atlantic Canada.

Falling Walls Lab is a world-class pitch competition and networking forum that provides a global stage for breakthrough ideas. Participants deliver a three-minute pitch showcasing their research, business model, or innovative initiative to a panel of judges. The goal is to highlight projects that “break down walls” in science, technology, and society.

Winners of the Halifax competition will not only receive regional recognition but also earn the chance to compete in the global finals in Berlin, Germany, where innovators from around the world come together to share ideas and collaborate.

Organizers are encouraging students to apply now and seize the opportunity to represent Atlantic Canada on the international stage. “High participation benefits everyone,” said Sandra Goodwin of Nava Develop, which is helping MSVU deliver the event. “When your students represent your institutions at competitions like this, the visibility supports recruitment and alumni engagement.”

The event is hosted by Mount Saint Vincent University and supported by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Invest Nova Scotia.

You can find more details and register here.

Tickets, Nominations Open for InnovateNB

Early-bird tickets are now on sale and nominations have opened for the 2025 InnovateNB Celebration and Awards, taking place Thursday, Nov. 27 at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre.

Now in its fourth year, InnovateNB is the province’s premier celebration of innovation, bringing together entrepreneurs, researchers, business leaders, and public-sector changemakers to recognize the people and ideas shaping New Brunswick’s future.

Presented by TechImpact, the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, the McKenna Institute at the University of New Brunswick, Propel, and economic development partner Envision Saint John, the event begins with a 5:00 p.m. networking reception, followed by a three-course dinner and awards ceremony from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. The program will also honour this year’s InnovateNB Hall of Fame inductee.

“InnovateNB celebrates the people turning bold ideas and technology into real solutions for our communities,” said Cathy Simpson, CEO of TechImpact, in a statement. “We’re shining a light on innovators who build, implement, and make a tangible difference across New Brunswick.”

Nominations are open across nine award categories, including the new Beacon Award for Women in Innovation and Leadership. Other categories include: Emerging Innovator; Inclusivity and Empowerment; Innovative Product or Service; Startup of the Year; Scale-up of the Year; Impact Innovation; Public Sector Transformation; and Innovation in Academia and Research.

Nominations close Sept. 29. You can nominate someone here.

Early-bird pricing for the celebration is available until Oct. 1 for both individual tickets and tables of eight. You can purchase tickets here.

MilAero Embarks on Major Expansion

Debora and Paul Greedy at the kickoff of the MilAero expansion last month.

Debora and Paul Greedy at the kickoff of the MilAero expansion last month.

Preparing for rising demand for its electronic assemblies, Dartmouth-based MilAero Electronics Atlantic is embarking on a major expansion estimated to cost more than $2.2 million.

Co-owners Paul and Debora Greedy announced last month that they were adding 8,000 square feet of manufacturing space to their existing headquarters, doubling the company’s operational facility.

The company’s expansion includes investment in new equipment and production capacity to better serve a growing roster of national and international clients.

“We’re adding 8,000 square feet of new manufacturing space at our existing Dartmouth facility, giving us more room to take on complex projects, invest in advanced equipment, and optimize our production flow, all without leaving the site we’ve called home for years,” said Debora Greedy in an email.

The Greedys were co-founders of the company in 2002 and took 100 percent ownership in 2022. Today, Paul Greedy leads the production, engineering and operations while Debora Greedy oversees compliance and security, administration and business development. MilAero is a CCIB Certified Indigenous Business as Debora is Mi’kmaq with ancestral roots in the Eel Ground First Nation (Natoaganeg) in northern New Brunswick.

MilAero manufactures high-performance electrical assemblies, with a concentration in aerospace and defence. Specifically, it provides build-to-print manufacturing, offering turnkey solutions or using customer-supplied material.

When it first announced the expansion in early July, it employed 50 people. That number has already risen to 55 employees, and the company expects to hire an additional 25 employees.

“Along with adding more space, we’re bringing in new equipment and technology that will let us work more efficiently and take on even more complex projects for our clients,” said Debora Greedy.

Though they have not yet completed the financials for the expansion project, they estimate the total cost in equipment and building expansion will amount to more than $2.2 million.

One of the main reasons for the expansion is the recent commitment by Canada and other NATO members to increase defence spending. The Greedys believe more investment in the sector means more opportunities for companies like theirs, and they want to have the capacity and capabilities to meet that new demand.

On the flip side, the overall environment for manufacturers is getting more challenging due to trade wars and rising tariffs in the U.S. MilAero has already begun to feel the pinch as the cost of materials from the U.S. has been rising.

Said Debora Greedy: “Pricing is beginning to climb, and that puts pressure on our production budgets. While we work hard to absorb what we can and find efficiencies, any sustained increases can affect timelines and competitiveness. It’s something we’re watching closely.”

AI2Market Launches for Region’s Students

Dalhousie University, ShiftKey Labs and Lab2Market are launching a new program called AI2Market to help students across Atlantic Canada develop AI-focused enterprises.

The new program is modeled on Lab2Market, which Dal co-founded with other universities in 2019 and has grown into a national program for research-based innovation. It’s being offered in collaboration with ShiftKey Labs, one of the “sandboxes” set up by the Nova Scotia government to help encourage innovation among post-secondary students.

“Students participating in the AI2Market program will be equipped with both AI fluency, critical thinking, and the entrepreneurial skills necessary to transform their ideas into market-changing innovations,” said Jeff Larsen, assistant vice president of innovation and entrepreneurship at Dal. “These innovators are not just preparing for an AI-driven economy; they will be actively driving the future of AI innovation in Atlantic Canada.”

The organizers stress that setting up an AI-driven company involves a lot more than just adding ChatGPT to a customer support desk. It calls for the use of artificial intelligence across an entire business operation. AI2Market will aim to assess the viability of a business idea then help the student-entrepreneurs to apply AI-driven components to their businesses and get their product to market.

Mirroring the Lab2Market model, the new program involves taking the entrepreneur through three phases of instruction:

  • Discover, in which participants learn the core components of AI and gain a full understanding of how speed is essential to strategy;
  • Validate, in which participants use AI-based tools for competitive research, trend forecasting, and rapid hypothesis testing;
  • And Launch, in which the student employs AI tools, machine learning fundamentals, data strategy, and AI-first product design to build lean, market-ready businesses.

AI2Market is open to students from any Atlantic Canadian university or college. Applications, which can be found here, must be submitted by Sept. 15.

Tribe Seeks Applicants for Out East

Tribe Network is seeking 2SLGBTQIA+ applicants from the BIPOC community for its new Out East program.

Offered in collaboration with the Canadian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, Out East is a first-of-its-kind entrepreneurship program for members of these two under-represented communities.

“You don’t need to code-switch,” said an announcement from Tribe, a Halifax-based support organization for BIPOC entrepreneurs. “You don’t need a pitch deck. You don’t even need business experience. All you need is the desire to build.”

The program offers Identity-affirming spaces, financial literacy training, practical workshops and tools, monthly office hours and access to a network of regional partners.

You can find out more information and an application form here. The deadline for applications is Sept. 4.

Climative Joins Mission for the Future Program

Fredericton-based Climative, a maker of AI-powered low-carbon plans for buildings, is one of three global cleantech companies named this year to the international LG Nova Mission for the Future program.

Hosted by the South Korean electronics giant LG, Mission for the Future is an international startup program that aims to help impact companies scale their products to help people and the planet. The latest cleantech cohort comprises three companies: Climative, Seattle-based BattGenie and Cleveland-based Proximal Energy.

Founded in 2014 as Simptek, Climative has an AI-powered platform that performs rapid, remote energy assessments of homes at scale. As of last October, the company said the platform had assessed more than 5 million homes in 682 cities, uncovering a potential 55 megatonnes of CO2 savings.

Now the company is one of three companies chosen from among more than 1,000 applicants to enter the cleantech category in the Mission for the Future program. It will give the company access the LG NOVA Mission Partner Network, which is intended to bring participants opportunities for partnership and investment.

Climative posted an opening this week for an operations manager. Anyone interested can learn more and apply here.

CVCA Data Shows Region Raised $25M in Q2

Atlantic Canadian startups raised about $25 million in venture capital in the second quarter of 2025, says Canada’s main VC body, largely because of an undisclosed deal in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, known as CVCA, on Wednesday released its VC data for the first half of the calendar year. It showed the four eastern provinces amassed a total of $61 million in VC funding in the January-June period. We subtracted the $36 million reported in the first quarter to come up with the second-quarter total of $25 million.

The report shows there was a single funding round reported in Newfoundland and Labrador last quarter, and it was worth $20 million. The CVCA released no information about the target of the investment other than that it was an ICT company. It’s obviously a stealth round as there was no public announcement of such a big round in recent months.

The other provincial totals for the second-quarter were: one deal worth $3 million in Nova Scotia; three deals worth $2 million in New Brunswick and no VC rounds in Prince Edward Island.

The numbers overall are disappointing. First, the region as of Canada Day was on track to raise $122 million for 2025. That would be the lowest VC total since the $90 million mark in 2020. According to the CVCA data, Atlantic Canadian VC funding peaked for the first five years of this decade in 2021 at $256 million, and has declined each year since, hitting $176 million in 2024.

Annual VC funding in the 2020s, according to the CVCA

Annual VC totals in Atlantic Canada, according to the CVCA

There have been a few bright spots on the funding front in the second half of 2025. Halifax-based Mara Renewables raised US$9.1 million (C$12.6 million) from S2G Investments in July. And in the public markets, St. John’s-based Kraken Robotics closed a $115 million funding exercise on the TSX Venture Exchange, hitting the top of a range it outlined in June.

The second disappointment is how few companies are receiving venture capital. According to the CVCA data, only five companies received venture capital in the second quarter. The problem created by so few companies receiving VC dollars is compounded by the weak angel funding the region has experienced in the past few years.

The CVCA report also mentioned a couple of Atlantic Canadian funding bodies. Invest Nova Scotia was named among the most active “government funds” as it was involved in two deals worth a total of $27 million. It participated in funding rounds by Halifax companies Sound Blade Medical and 3DBioFibr. Also, the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation was named among the most active investors in pre-seed rounds, investing in two such rounds.

For Canada overall, startups raised a total of $2.9 billion in the first half across 254 deals, marking the lowest first-half total since 2020, said the CVCA. It was a 26 percent decline in dollars invested compared with the previous first half.

Information technology dominated the league tables in terms of sectors, accounting for $1.4 billion in first-half VC funding or 48 percent of the national total. It was the most active sector in eight provinces, and Nova Scotia was the only province that did not have a single IT venture capital deal in the first half.  

“We are seeing more selective deployment of capital, especially at the critical earliest stages of investment,” said David Kornacki, Director of Data and Product at CVCA. “What stands out is the continued strength in life sciences, a rise in large venture debt transactions and the utilization of secondaries to provide liquidation for early investors. These shifts point to evolving investment strategies across a maturing ecosystem.”

MLS, Reaction Dynamics Outline Orbital Project

Maritime Launch Services has agreed to sell a stake to Montreal-based Reaction Dynamics Lab Inc. and collaborate on an all-Canadian orbital launch set for the summer of 2028.

MLS, which has built a commercial rocket launch pad in Canso, N.S., issued a statement Tuesday saying the agreements, which have a total value of $1.7 million, will lead to a rocket designed and built in Canada being fired into orbit from Canada for the first time. The two companies began collarating with each other last year. 

Under the agreements, Reaction Dynamics will buy $1.03 million of MLS shares over the next three years and in return will receive a discount on using the Canso facility to launch its orbital rocket.

“This is more than an investment or commercial launch agreement — it affirms that Canada’s space launch capability is real and ready,” said MLS President and CEO Stephen Matier in the statement. “With Reaction Dynamics, Canada is joining the ranks of our NATO allies and other nations that can launch their satellites to orbit, from their soil, on their terms.”

MLS went public on the TSX Venture Exchange in 2021 and finalized the land lease for its Spaceport Nova Scotia facility in Canso a year later. In August 2023, the company completed its first suborbital launch from the Canso facility a collaboration with York University students.

Reaction Dynamics manufactures hybrid rocket engines and launch vehicles, focusing on small satellite deployment. It has developed proprietary hybrid rocket fuel and engine technology that it says simplifies design and reduces costs.

Under the agreements announced this week, both companies have committed to a multi-year facility usage agreement granting the Reaction Dynamics project the exclusive use of a designated launchpad at Spaceport Nova Scotia. They intend to collaborate on regular launch operations, assuming the first orbital attempt is successful.

The details of the share sale call for Reaction to buy about $85,000 of new MLS shares on Sept. 30, and make similar purchases in each of 11 quarters after that. It will pay five cents a share in the first tranche and pay a price based on average market prices in the subsequent purchases. MLS shares on Tuesday rose 29 percent to 9 cents, giving the company a market capitalization of $42.2 million.

“Securing this Pathfinder launch is Canada’s bridge to true sovereign launch,” said Bachar Elzein, CEO of Reaction Dynamics. “With Aurora-1 flying this winter and our Aurora-8 orbital system coming online, Canada is not only entering the launch market—it is shaping the future of rapid, distributed, and allied-ready space access.”

IdeaBUILD Seeks Deep-Tech Applicants

The Emera IdeaHUB is looking for early-stage, deep-tech startups to apply for the coming cohort of its 10-month ideaBUILD program.

The next IdeaBUILD program will accept as many as 10 teams that are working on a physical product and start with a 12-week bootcamp. Its advisers and engineers will spend almost a year helping these teams assess their market and validate and build their first operational prototype.

Each team will receive $10,000 for prototyping materials.

Applications for the program, which can be found here, close Aug. 29, and the program begins in October. The accelerator is based in the Emera IdeaHUB on Dalhousie University’s Studley Campus, but participants do not need to be affiliated with Dal to apply.

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