Marine Electrification Framework Needed: Industry

A boat running BlueGrid software, connected to an electric charger

A boat running BlueGrid software, connected to an electric charger

Earlier this month, top brass from the marine industry, including both international and regional players, met in Halifax to discuss the future of electrification and the role Atlantic Canada could play.

The verdict, according to moderator Brent Dancey of national research non-profit Oceans North, was clear: with Norway and the United Kingdom having emerged as early frontrunners in the marine electrification race, Atlantic Canada still has a good chance of becoming an internationally notable hub. But the industry badly needs a more structured framework within which to collaborate, both within Canada and internationally.

The technologies needed to start electrifying marine transportation — a sector that has historically grappled with hard-to-abate carbon emissions — are reaching the tipping point of commercial viability, said Dancey in an interview. Adria Jover of the U.S.-based International Electric Marine Association, which specializes in collaborating on international research projects, added that modernized standards around powertrains and charging systems are needed to help scale innovations faster.

“All the pieces are in place,” said Dancey. “The energy, and excitement and momentum’s there. I think we’re at that point where it’s got to be scaled up to really have an impact. It’s really taking projects off the paper and moving them into the harbour.

“There’s an opportunity for governments. The next thing we need to figure out is how to share risk and the value across some of these first projects. … You have Sue (Molloy)’s boat, you have different boats, but we’re ready for 10 boats on the water. That’s the next step.”

Sue Molloy is the CEO of Glas Ocean Electric, a developer of electric propulsion systems that can be retrofitted to existing boats. Her company, which last fall raised US$2 million or C$2.75 million of equity funding, is among several marine electrification startups generating buzz in the bluetech community.

Another is Halifax’s BlueGrid, which earlier this month revealed that a joint project with several partners has produced what is likely the first working vessel-to-grid energy transfer system in the world, eventually making it possible for boat owners to sell power back to local utilities.

And a third is Lunenburg, N.S.-based Veer Group, which said in December it had signed a €50 million, or about C$73.2 million letter of intent with a European backer to finance its first two hydrogen- and wind-powered container ships.

Dancey and Jover warned the standards and regulations that govern the maritime sector have largely not kept pace with technological advancement, either domestically or elsewhere in the world. For example, Jover said the classing societies that develop and enforce technical standards for ships usually require vessels to be certified by an inspector, but those inspectors were trained on combustion engines.

“The decisions need to be made, for safety purposes, for integration, on how to add these components,” said Jover. “Companies, regardless of their region or size, they need to decide what are the rules by which they want to play each other. This doesn’t come from the political spectrum or civil societies, this comes from the scientists, the engineers, the mathematicians, the physicists.”

The Oceans North meeting included delegates from startups, shipyards, government and Indigenous communities. According to Dancey, many of the attendees, particularly in government, had been working independently and were surprised to discover some of the advancements made by others. 

Nor is the leadership Dancey and Jover hope for from government limited to regulatory oversight. If the industry is to begin delivering larger scale projects, it will need an influx of cash to pay for them. Of the 10 largest equity funding rounds on the East Coast last year, only two were oceans companies, according to Entrevestor data. Only one, Glas Ocean, is working on decarbonization.

“This is a really risky, risky time,” Dancey said. “This transition can’t happen unless there’s profitable companies that are able to hire workers … to really scale. 

“When I talk to folks across the sector, it’s the same comment: ‘We need help to do this. There’s lots of funding at the university, there’s lots of new technology, but there’s a whole bunch of technologies right now that are ready to be unleashed.’”

Invest NS Seeks Mississippi Trade Mission Companies

Invest Nova Scotia is seeking bluetech, advanced manufacturing and electric vehicle companies to join a trade mission to Biloxi, Mississippi for the SEUS-CP Business Forum from Aug. 4 to 6.

The forum, its name being short for the Southeastern United States and Canadian Provinces, is primarily aimed at facilitating business development for small- and medium-sized companies, with an emphasis on procurement. This year’s agenda focuses on the roles of AI in the blue economy and advanced manufacturing, as well as on managing labour demand in those sectors.

“SEUS-CP is a trade education and business matchmaking event for businesses and investors, economic development professionals, state and local government officials, and entrepreneurs and academics,” says Invest Nova Scotia

Registration costs US$350 per person, not including a hotel room, and the deadline to register is July 15. There will be an information session June 13. You can learn more here.

MIMOSA Raises Capital

MIMOSA Diagnostics Chief Executive Dr. Karen Cross

MIMOSA Diagnostics Chief Executive Dr. Karen Cross

Eight months after it launched its product in the United States and four months after winning Health Canada approval, Halifax- and Toronto-based MIMOSA Diagnostics has closed a funding round for an undisclosed amount, led by California’s Kern Venture Group.

Also included in the round were Kindling Venture Partners, another California company, Vancouver’s Spring Impact Capital, Toronto-based Raspberry Investment Corporation and returning investors, the company said in a statement.

“We are immensely proud to have secured this recent round of funding, which signifies a major milestone in our commercialization journey,” said Chief Executive Dr. Karen Cross in a statement. “This investment reflects our current position in the US and Canadian markets, with investment from both Canadian and American groups.

“With these funds, we are excited to accelerate our market expansion efforts, reach new customers, and continue building our exceptionally talented team. This support from our investors will enable us to enhance our product offerings, scale our operations, and ultimately drive significant growth in the months and years ahead.”

Founded by Cross, a plastic surgeon, and General Leung, a magnetic resonance researcher at the University of Toronto, MIMOSA has developed technology to more quickly diagnose bedsores and similar wounds via a process called tissue oximetry, which essentially uses light to measure tissue health. As of March, the company had 250 commission-based sales reps in the United States.

MIMOSA Labs, its research arm, also announced the business’s first research deal with consumer razor company Henson Shaving, which plans to use the technology to showcase the benefits of its own product line.

“The MIMOSA Pro was created in my lab, and now, to be able to extend our service offerings to validating other technologies with MIMOSA Labs is a full circle moment,” said Cross.

Fisheries Department, Efficiency NS Fund Glas Ocean

Owned by Halifax tour company Ambassatours, the Alutasi was fitted with a Glas Ocean propulsion system.

Owned by Halifax tour company Ambassatours, the Alutasi was fitted with a Glas Ocean propulsion system.

The Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture and non-profit Efficiency Nova Scotia have announced a $6.5 million, three-year funding program to bolster electrification in the seafood industry, including through a demonstration study with Halifax-based Glas Ocean Electric.

Dubbed the Fisheries and Aquaculture Energy Efficiency Innovation Fund, the money is earmarked for research and development work that supports the decarbonization of the seafood sector, as well as to fund adoption of existing clean technologies by businesses. In addition, the Fisheries and Aquaculture Loan Board, a Crown lender, will offer a total of $10 million of debt financing to the selected companies.

Glas Ocean makes electrification kits for small- and medium-sized vessels and last fall said it was raising a US$2 million seed round. The company is receiving $198,000 to help develop its technology.

“The program will support new projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced by boats, buildings and other commercial fisheries and aquaculture operations,” says program organizers. “Funding is also available to support adoption of clean technology in the sector.”

Specifically, the government is looking for proposals that adapt existing electrification technologies for use by fishing vessels and fleets, upgrade existing equipment, involve the installation of new renewable energy systems or centre on research that could contribute to future emissions reductions.

Rise Eyes Partnerships, Manufactured Home Builders

Rise CEO Matt Daigle, left, and HGTV host Bryan Baeumler chat during a filming day in Halifax.

Rise CEO Matt Daigle, left, and HGTV host Bryan Baeumler chat during a filming day in Halifax.

Rise, the Fredericton B-Corp specializing in sustainable home renovation materials, has signed what CEO Matt Daigle hopes will be a series of marketing partnerships with the stars of home improvement TV shows.

In an interview Monday, Daigle said a recently announced deal with HGTV host Bryan Baeumler — who is also now a shareholder — is the first salvo in a new strategy of marketing Rise via reciprocal promotion deals. Daigle’s plan is for spokespeople like Baeumler to promote Rise, and in turn for Rise to sweeten the pot by promoting Baeumler.

The new marketing strategy comes as Rise, which curates and sells a range of eco-friendly products via its e-commerce shop, is also expanding its target market to include property developers and manufactured home builders.

“We’re a direct-to-manufacturer retailer, so we have the opportunity to be that single source for thousands of products, and offer volume pricing to those bigger players,” said Daigle, who added the company is in talks with several manufactured home companies. 

“It makes it appetizing for several of these builders and or property developers who are used to sometimes dealing with dozens of different people for different product lines. For us, it’s one product line, and you have the comfort of knowing that all these products have been vetted.”

Last June, the company hit break-even after recording $3 million of revenue in its second year of sales.The growth came in the wake of a pivot by Rise from offering an online database of information about sustainable building materials to a model whereby the company curates and sells a range of eco-friendly products via its e-commerce shop.

Since that strong second year, Daigle said a general softening in the home improvement market has had some effect on sales growth, However, he added Rise’s relatively specialized target market of environmentally-conscious consumers means its customers are often willing to spend money even in tighter economic times.

“We tend to deal with, not quite a premium customer, but a customer who’s after specific features and benefits from products,” said Daigle, adding he recently added another employee to his now four-person team. “Price does matter to them, but maybe not as much as making sure I have non-toxic paint in my house."

Four Funding Takeaways from AVF

Malcolm Fraser and Julia Rivard Dexter

Malcolm Fraser and Julia Rivard Dexter

Entrepreneurs and investors gathered at the Halifax Convention Centre last week for the Atlantic Venture Forum, in what organizers at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency described as a bid to foster bridge-building between the East Coast startup ecosystem and key players from outside the region.

The innovators that gathered on Argyle Street last week did so amidst a regional funding landscape that has been turbulent and sometimes difficult to read. Startups last year closed a respectable $265.8 million of equity funding, according to Entrevestor data. But the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association recently said the first quarter of 2024 saw the weakest venture capital total since the depths of the pandemic at $35 million. While market conditions themselves were not a major talking point among attendees, several panelists offered startups advice on how to first raise capital and then manage it.

“I joined the venture world in 2021, and at that time, deals were getting done in a week,” said Sarah Willson of Montreal-based Panache Ventures. “There was this grow-at-all-costs mentality. I feel like I was getting whiplash from all the deals we were looking at. We were seeing deals getting done at $1 million with a $50 million post (post-money valuation), with an idea on a napkin.

“Then we saw a dramatic shift to, ‘Do not grow at all costs, be very capital efficient, focus on extending your runway.’ Now, I think we’re seeing a bit of a stabilization.”

Here’s a look at four key takeaways from AVF for founders eyeing VC funding:

When VCs Evaluate Founders, Expertise Beats Dynamism

On Thursday morning, a panel of investors that included representatives from groups such as Montreal-based Luge Capital and Toronto’s Whitecap Venture Partners was asked whether they would prefer to back an excellent business idea or an excellent founding team. The response was unanimous: every investor who spoke said they would prefer top-shelf founders.

The deeper insight came in how the investors defined that excellence in a founding team. With the occasional exception of young entrepreneurs who can identify an unusual business insight and then prove it out with evidence, the investors generally said they favour founders with deep expertise. Not just in building companies — though that was also a recurring theme — but domain expertise, cultivated either through formal training or their own fascination with a problem.

“In terms of what an A-team is for us, the easiest one obviously is repeat founders coming back for a much larger swing,” said Matthew He of Brightspark Ventures. “Short of that, we often look for a few different profiles. In deeptech, for us a lot of times it is deep academia with industry-leading papers. You have asked questions, you have gone down the rabbit hole. You’ve actually transferred your IP out of whatever university you’ve been working with, and now you’re doing this horrific thing called founding a startup.

“The other side, and this is typically younger founders … it might be domain expertise combined with somebody who has asked a question very few people have asked before, and then pulled on that thread until they get to a logical conclusion and executed every step of the way.”

Data Rooms are Not Just Mandatory, They’re a Powerful Tool

Data rooms, the shared drives or digital storage spaces where startups provide financial documents and other information to prospective investors, are absolutely non-negotiable for founders raising capital. And several investors warned they are often surprised by how weak many startups’ efforts are.

“If you’re getting the same request for information through the diligence process form investors, that’s probably a good sign that it needs to go into the data room,” said Louis Delorme of Amplify Capital. “It could be as simple as a sample unit economics or a sample customer agreement.”

Beyond the mere necessity of having a data room, though, they can also be a tool for showcasing a company’s operating philosophy and key strengths.

“In my time, I’ve seen, let’s say conservatively 1,500-plus data rooms,” added He. “Out of those, there was one founder that really stood out as someone that weaponized their data room and really figured out what they could do with it.

“In a potential investment, we spend what, maybe 30 minutes on the first call? We get to know you, maybe look at your deck. We spend a bit more time with the team call … But all of that active time adds up to maybe three, four, five hours if we’re generous. The time we spend looking through your data room … that is way more than five hours. That’s a lot of what my job is. So when we see a data room that is treated as a folder, it’s a bit of a shame. It’s a missed opportunity.”

Strong Investor Relations Pay Long-Term Dividends

Building relationships with investors is a process that should begin long before a founder actually raises capital, the VCs advised. And once those financial backers join the company as shareholders, building a frank and trusting relationship with them can yield benefits far beyond just their money.

Panache’s Willson, for example, highlighted attending office hours with her and other VCs as a useful way to build relationships and gain more detailed insight into how to prepare for a process that can sometimes be opaque to first-time founders. And even investors who eventually pass on a given deal can still evolve into enthusiastic advocates for the company.

“I think a lot of times those conversations just end up going to waste,” said He. “I have met some entrepreneurs who have been incredibly effective at converting all the "no’s" into champions, just based on the strength of their character. And this generates a lot of what we call ‘the buzz,’ right? It’s like, ‘Okay, maybe I didn’t invest in XYZ Company, but I’ve had such a strong conversation with them I want to bring it to Laviva (Mazhar, of Luge Capital)'.”

Once prospective backers have officially become shareholders, every member of the Thursday morning VC panel emphasized the need for complete honesty and transparency. One reason is so investors can have confidence in a business's leadership and eventually consider re-upping their stakes, but another is to ensure they can most effectively help where needed. For example, Brightspark's He advised ensuring that board members are thoroughly briefed in advance of meetings so the time can be more productively used to collaborate on finding solutions.

“These are very long-term relationships, and absolutely in the final strokes of a closing, it gets a little heated sometimes, and that can maybe throw some people off," said Malcom Fraser, managing partner of Natural Products Canada-backed Nàdarra Ventures. "But we need to remember to come back from that to a strong relationship. Quick, consistent check-ins with an investor on a regular basis are what keeps that relationship strong.

“And you need it to be strong, because it’s a relationship that serves you into the next round and helps you find resources and tools that you need. That’s what our value-add is supposed to be as investors.”

“Optionality is Critical”

Asked how founders should manage the trade-off between rapid growth and managing runway during an unstable period in the VC market, Shoelace Learning CEO Julia Rivard Dexter said founders should focus less on meticulously managing cashflow than on ensuring the business is flexible enough to change course if needed.

“Always having optionality is so critical, especially in these markets today,” she said. “Understanding the parts of your business you really can control, and what you can do to manage through a longer period if you need to, and being ready to take advantage of opportunity.”

Shoelace itself is an example of this philosophy. Dreamscape, the company’s flagship reading game product, was built out with capital raised by selling a previous game for very young readers, Squiggle Park, to DreamBox Learning. Rivard Dexter said the game had virtually no customers at the time of the sale in 2020 and was bought by DreamBox because the Bellevue, Wash.-based company was looking to enter the reading game market.

“It’s hard to run your business and strategically plan if you’re trying to map to what the market is going to be and how VCs are going to behave, because so much of it is momentum … and there’s this domino effect when it comes to markets heating up and slowing down," said Willson.

“So I think somewhere in the middle is probably where it's important to focus in terms of growth, but sustainably, rather than at all costs.”

Propel Announces Companies Joining Validation

Virtual startup accelerator Propel has named six companies participating in its Validation program for very early-stage founders.

The course focuses on teaching new entrepreneurs how to validate their business ideas and follow lean startup methodology in preparation for Propel’s other, more advanced programming. The organization recommends Validation for companies earning less than $1,000 of monthly revenue.

“This is another exciting cohort of Validation companies,” said CEO Kathryn Lockhart in a statement. “Our coaching team looks forward to guiding their journeys and getting them on a path to customer success.”

There are actually eight companies in the current group, though two declined to be identified. Here’s a look at the six named companies:

Innovate Accounting

P.E.I.

Sandy Darrach-Leblanc and Aidan McGuire

HappyBean by Innovate Accounting is an AI-driven platform streamlining CRA business tax filing and payment.

KetoNewfs

N.L.

Mel Simmonds

KetoNewfs provides product development and co-packing services for small- and medium-sized enterprises, including the cannabis industry. Their expertise and network includes the fields of life sciences and biofood production, among others.

SkillConnect Eduservices

N.S.

Oluwatobi Towoju 

SkillConnect is on a mission to transform e-learning with practical, AI-proctored lessons on business tools and software.

TicketIO

P.E.I.

Erik MacInnis and Recko Jean

TicketIO is a platform for ticket sellers and customers to track and manage tickets, the provenance of which can be more securely verified than on other systems.

The BOX

N.S.

Aleksandr Sergienko and Iaroslav Verevki 

The BOX is a smart home system that uses high-amp sockets and offers a broad range of features.

CashLoop Technologies

N.S.

Ola Williams

CashLoop is developing point-of-sale and accounting software for small retail businesses — “micro-retailers.”

Tribe Network Seeks START Applicants

Halifax-based Tribe Network is looking for applicants to its START accelerator for Black founders running early-stage companies.

The 10-week program promises to teach founders core entrepreneurship skills like how to access funding, as well as identify and solve customer needs. The curriculum also includes a session on lean business plans. Participants also have access to mentorship and one-on-one coaching.

The accelerator will run from June until September, and graduates will have the chance to join Tribe’s BUILD program for later-stage companies, as well as apply for the organization’s Start Small Grant, which offers entrepreneurs up to $1,000 of funding.

“Gain access to resources that help build confidence and skills needed to elevate business success,” Tribe tells applicants. “This program is open to all Black entrepreneurs in Atlantic Canada with a focus on knowledge sharing and networking for business growth.”

You can learn more here.

Myomar Wins Health Canada Nod

Myomar Molecular CEO Rafaela Andrade, centre, and team

Myomar Molecular CEO Rafaela Andrade, centre, and team

Myomar Molecular, which is developing tests for monitoring muscle health, has won Health Canada approval, clearing the way for it to begin selling its product to customers through healthcare providers, such as physiotherapy clinics.

Chief Executive Rafaela Andrade said in an interview Wednesday the nod from regulators comes in the form of a Medical Devices Establishment License — a certification not of a specific product, but rather of Halifax-based Myomar as a company.

The process, which took a few months from the time Myomar submitted its application to receiving approval, makes it possible for Andrade’s team to begin commercializing their test, building on still-ongoing beta testing the business has been conducting with individuals via its website.

“We are excited to put the product in front of our first customers, which will be … any health professional that’s interested in assessing muscle health using our tests now will be able to partner with us,” said Andrade, who holds a PhD in molecular biology.

The first version of the test must be administered by Myomar, which involves the company arranging for the collection and transport of samples to its laboratory. So next year, Andrade plans to add an at-home kit to the product lineup.

In the meantime, Myomar recently finished moving into a new, larger space in The Labs, a wet laboratory facility owned by Invest Nova Scotia in preparation for producing and administering tests at a larger scale. The company also recently on-boarded a new software engineer and a head of operations, bringing its total headcount to seven.

An additional benefit of the Health Canada license, Andrade added, is that the quality control processes her team adopted will ease the path to additional regulatory approvals, since the requirements are often similar, even across jurisdictions.

“All the quality management systems that we are putting in place will be useful for further medical device licenses from Health Canada, and also the United States,” she said.

In March, Myomar closed a $1.1 million funding round, and the company is preparing for another raise later this year. The deal, which included a mix of equity and non-dilutive funding, was led by a Nova Scotia angel investor, with the Atlantic Canadian and Ontario divisions of the Women’s Equity Lab angel network also participating.

BlueGrid Builds Working Vessel-to-Grid System

An ABCO boat running BlueGrid tech and connected to an electric charger

An ABCO boat running BlueGrid tech and connected to an electric charger

Halifax-based BlueGrid and its partners have built what they believe to be the first working vessel-to-grid energy transfer system in the world, making it possible for boat owners to sell power back to local utilities.

BlueGrid, formally Rimot, was founded by CEO Andrew Boswell and CTO James Craig in 2016. The company partnered with Norwegian electric motor company Evoy and Lunenburg, N.S. shipbuilders ABCO on the vessel-to-grid system, extending a partnership that originated with a prior Ocean Supercluster research and development project.

Now, BlueGrid and the Supercluster have announced a new project, worth $2.3 million, with a roster of new partners including the Lennox Island First Nation in P.E.I., Britain’s RS Electric Boats and Dalhousie University, among others. The group is receiving $550,000 from the Supercluster, as well as funding from British government organization Innovate UK and plans to deploy vessel-to-grid systems on both sides of the Atlantic.

“As boats go electric … those vessels need reliable, accessible, affordable charging,” said Boswell in an interview. “And on the flip side, the electric grid is gong through its own transformation into renewables like wind and solar, as well as trying to step up to all this electrification.

“These two sectors don’t talk. They have no historical reason to ever have communicated, and yet they’re going to need to collaborate for this to work, because these are big vessels with big batteries and charging requirements. That’s where we come in.”

The maritime sector has been adopting electrification with increasing rapidity for smaller vessels, which tend to operate closer to shore and can be charged at night, Boswell said. MarketsandMarkets, a research firm, estimates the marine electrification industry could be worth as much as US$29.1 million or C$39.8 billion by 2030.

BlueGrid is not a hardware system — the company’s partners handle those elements of the energy transfer process — but rather software that standardizes how vessels connect to the grid and gathers data to model future energy use and storage needs. A version focused on helping organizations plan to implement electrification has been on the market for about a year, while the energy management features are soon to be commercialized.

Boswell and Craig had originally planned to sell software for a range of energy-related applications. After discovering what they saw as an opportunity to build a business at the centre of an emerging marine electrification ecosystem, they decided to focus exclusively on that one industry, with the aim of contributing to the emergence of international best practices.

“Essentially we bet the company on the marine electrification space and solving that one problem,” said Boswell.

The bet paid off. BlueGrid now has 12 employees and is raising equity funding for the first time, with a roster of partnership deals in the works to help scale the business. Boswell was coy about the exact structure of the company’s revenue model, but said co-operating with marinas and other types of infrastructure providers would play a key role.

“On the marina side, we are very connected to our partnerships, particularly with the electric propulsion system OEMs,” he said, using the industry abbreviation for original equipment manufacturers. “Working with (Evoy), that is critical to how we are expanding the number of boats and ultimately making their product better, and ours in the process.”

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Andrew Boswell will represent BlueGrid in the Battery Ecosystem panel at Entrevestor Live on Sept. 17 at Volta in Halifax. The panel, sponsored by Emera, wil be hosted by Emera VP Innovation Louise-Anne Comeau and feature Chris Burns, the Founder and CEO of Novonic Battery Technology. Click on this image for details:

2023 Funding Marked by Stealth Deals, Weak Angel Activity

Stealth funding deals proliferated in Atlantic Canada in 2023, while angel investment reached its lowest ebb in at least eight years.

Those are among the findings of Entrevestor’s 2023 Atlantic Canada Startup Data Report, with the unannounced stealth rounds emerging as a widespread phenomenon in the region for the first time. Of the 34 funding rounds worth over $1 million last year, 10 were never publicly revealed. We learned of them when founders completed our confidential surveys.

The decline in angel deals, in contrast, represents the continuation of a pattern that innovation economy observers have been warning about since at least the end of the last decade. In 2023, East Coast companies raised just $18.6 million of angel funding, down from $26.3 million the year prior.

Both trends are emblematic of a year of hard-to-define market conditions. A large portion of the founders interviewed by Entrevestor reported difficulty raising capital, but the final totals have proven fairly robust. Atlantic companies raised $265.8 million of equity funding, which was their worst performance in three years, but also their fourth strongest on record. One deal, Halifax-based CarbonCure’s US$80 million or C$105.7 million raise, accounted for more than 40 percent. But the number of companies posting six-figure raises or better grew by eight compared to the previous year’s total.

Nova Scotia led the region with $172.4 million raised, followed by Newfoundland and Labrador at $75.7 million. New Brunswick companies raised $13.7 million and P.E.I. startups saw $4 million.

For very young companies, though, headwinds are stronger. Our research, backed by survey responses from 112 startups, suggests many young, Atlantic Canadian companies are simply not able to access the capital they need in order to scale.

It has now been more than five years since the First Angel Network closed its doors, and even longer since the pan-regional funding group was a force in raising capital for young companies. Longtime angel organizer Gerry Pond has also stepped back from his work with East Valley Ventures in New Brunswick, though others are continuing the group’s work.

Similar conclusions are inescapable even allowing for the existence of funding sources like the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, which is not an angel group, but tends to back rounds of about the same size. Even so, we heard from just nine companies that raised between $500,000 and $1 million in 2023, compared to about 20 similar raises the year prior.

Funding from public markets, meanwhile, had a terribly weak year. Of the half-dozen publicly traded innovation-driven companies that were operating in Atlantic Canada last January, two failed during the year and only two others, St. John's-based Kraken Robotics and Halifax's Sona Nanotech, managed to post a return for their shareholders.

In fact, if an investor had placed $10,000 in an equally-weighted basket of the seven East Coast startup stocks at the beginning of 2023, they would have ended the year with just $6,617, losing just over a third of their money. (Other than Kraken and Sona, the other four companies in our frazzled investor's portfolio would have been video game technology specialist Swarmio Media, advanced materials-maker Meta Materials and drug-discovery companies Appili Therapeutics and IMV.)

Now in its 10th year, our Startup Data Report delves into such metrics as the number of new companies founded, employment figures, revenues and funding. We plan to launch our full 2023 report June 20 in a presentation at the Wu Conference Centre at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. You can learn more here.

Planetary Readies for Second Year of Testing

In the wake of successful testing with Dalhousie University last summer, Dartmouth climatetech startup Planetary Technologies is preparing to repeat the collaboration in the coming months.

Founded in Ottawa in 2019, Planetary is developing a process to reduce ocean acidification by releasing alkaline rock or sand into the water, accelerating a chemical reaction that already occurs naturally and enhancing the ocean’s ability to act as a carbon sink. The testing with Dalhousie was conducted with the help of a cold water outflow pipe owned by Nova Scotia Power.

Chief Executive Mike Kelland and CTO Greg Rau originally planned to process waste rock from mining operations into two byproducts: hydrogen, which could be sold, and an alkaline substance that could be added to the ocean. While the technology for that process is still part of Planetary’s intellectual property portfolio, Vice President Kelsey Cuddihy said it has taken a backseat to the work in Halifax Harbour.

“The ocean is the world’s largest carbon sink,” said Cuddihy in an interview. “Over time, it’s been accepting more and more carbon dioxide. Since we’ve been producing so much, the oceans have been accepting too much carbon, to the point that it’s actually starting to become more acidic. … The earth has a beautiful, natural geological cycle that will occur, in which rain will wash down on rocks that will (erode) into the ocean, and they’ll act kind of like an antacid.

“Because it’s so acidic at this point, that process is way too slow. It takes many thousands of years, and we don’t have that much time. The process of ‘ocean alkalinity enhancement’ is to find an alkalinity source … that we can add into the ocean ourselves and help speed up the process.”

The ocean acidification to which Cuddihy referred has been steadily worsening since the 1980s, according to researchers at the University of Hawaii and elsewhere. Adding alkaline substances, like some types of rock, shows promise for increasing the ocean’s pH level, thereby counteracting the effects of the carbon.

The collaboration with Dalhousie came about because researchers at the university had already been independently studying the same possible solution to ocean acidification.

Last year’s trial was relatively small in scope, lasting from the end of August until November. This year’s will last longer, from mid-July until December.

Planetary has also been running consultations with the help of $35,000 from cleantech industry group EfficiencyOne’s HCi3 Fund for climatetech innovation, receiving input from fishers, First Nations groups and other stakeholders. The HCi3 funding package recently completed, but Cuddihy said the consultations will continue in lockstep with the research and development work.

“A lot of people’s livelihoods depend on the ocean, so we expect people to be concerned and raise questions, and we want that to happen,” said Cuddihy. “We’re doing lots of monitoring above and beyond what’s currently required.”

Planetary tracks water quality at a range of locations around the outflow pipe, monitoring for potential signs of a problem, such as mineral buildups and water clouding. Dive teams also conduct surveys to monitor the ecological health of the surrounding waters.

And last month, the company cracked the top 20 finalists for the US$100 million Carbon Removal XPRIZE startup competition, building on a prior, $1 million interim award from 2022.

Inspired by the Orteig Prize that Charles Lindbergh won for completing the first transatlantic flight in 1927, the Carbon Removal XPRIZE is funded by Elon Musk’s foundation and drew more than 1,133 entrants.

So far, Planetary’s team includes 17 people, and Cuddihy said that figure is likely to reach about 25 by the end of this year. A funding round is currently in the works, with a lead investor already on board in the form of Vancouver-based Evok Innovations, a climatetech-focused venture capital shop.

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CarbonCure Launches in Emirates

A CarbonCure system at a Gulf Cryo facility in Abu Dhabi (Photo: CarbonCure)

A CarbonCure system at a Gulf Cryo facility in Abu Dhabi (Photo: CarbonCure)

Halifax-based cleantech star CarbonCure has formally launched its technology in the United Arab Emirates, a market worth tens of billions annually and forecast to grow strongly, on the back of deals with several large companies in the region.

CarbonCure, along with its business partners — Emirates Beton Ready Mix, Tremix and industrial gas supplier Gulf Cryo — marked the occasion with a signing ceremony at the UAE government’s Make It In The Emirates Forum.

“We are immensely proud to bring our solution for high quality, lower carbon concrete to the Emirati market, making a positive impact on the environment and advancing sustainability in the construction sector,” said CarbonCure CEO Rob Niven in a statement. “Targeting embodied carbon is especially crucial as the UAE and the entire Middle East region experiences rapid development and urban growth.”

Funded by some of the most prominent names in innovation, including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, CarbonCure last year made history with the largest venture capital raise ever recorded in Nova Scotia at US$80 million, or C$105.7 million at the time.

Earlier this year, CarbonCure said about 50 million cubic yards of concrete have now been produced using its technology, with 800 systems having been licensed to clients across 35 countries.

Niven and his team aim to help sequester 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually by 2030 with the help of their technology for using carbon dioxide emissions to cure the concrete. CarbonCure’s systems report real-time data back to the company, and the team estimates they have averted about 400,000 tonnes of emissions, with about a third of that coming in the past year.

Technow Named BIOTECanada Chairman

Oliver Technow

Oliver Technow

Oliver Technow, the CEO of Charlottetown drug manufacturer BIOVECTRA, has been named the new chair of industry group BIOTECanada.

Technow, who leads a company that is among the largest and fastest-growing players in the Prince Edward Island bioeconomy, as well as being Chair of the P.E.I. BioAlliance, has spent more than three decades working in the life sciences. That time has included four years as BIOVECTRA’s President, followed by nearly five so far as its Chief Executive.

“Oliver brings unique expertise and leadership to BIOTECanada’s board of directors,” said BIOTECanada Chief Executive Andrew Casey in a statement. “His deep industry knowledge and strategic insight will greatly benefit the organization as we continue to call for investment in the sector, the modernization of regulatory decision-making, and support for a healthy biotech ecosystem leading to increased research, development, and company growth.”

Founded in 1987, BIOTECanada is headquartered in Ottawa and has more than 200 member companies from across Canada and internationally.

BIOVECTRA, meanwhile, was sold to Miami-based private equity firm H.I.G. Capital for US$250 million in 2019 and provides contract drug development and production services to other businesses. The company last fall opened a new manufacturing facility in Charlottetown — a mammoth, $77 million plant designed to produce up to 70 million doses per year of mRNA vaccines, such as those used to prevent COVID-19. It is the first such factory in Canada.

The company also recently inked a deal with pharma startup Acuitas to use the Vancouver-based company’s system for delivering vaccines and other medications via minuscule particles of lipids, which are a class of organic compounds that includes substances like fats and waxes.

“We have invested over the last four years a little more than US$160 million (C$218 million),” Technow said during Entrevestor Live last year. “Our business is extremely investment heavy. We need to continue to grow facilities and capacity in order to stay competitive.”

Pilot X Readies Courier Marketplace

Pilot X Technologies Co-Founders Kendall Darling and Ranajay Sarma

Pilot X Technologies Co-Founders Kendall Darling and Ranajay Sarma

A Halifax courier startup is aiming to improve on conventional delivery apps with the help of a marketplace model.

Pilot X Technologies Co-Founders Kendall Darling and Ranajay Sarma originally conceived of the app as a delivery service that would hire independent contractors, similar to ride share apps. Now, they are preparing to launch a revamped website that will also allow existing courier businesses and moving companies to advertise their services and set their own prices, including by offering custom quotes.

Such businesses often advertise on Facebook marketplace, but Darling and Sarma’s customer discovery work has suggested many buyers are distrustful of social media transactions. Pilot X’s solution is to thoroughly train and vet couriers on the platform, including by requiring criminal record checks and vehicle history reports.

“Security was one of the concerns that a lot of customers stated,” said Darling in an interview Thursday. “We wanted to make it much easier, where they can approach and have vetted drivers, trained drivers, but also local moving companies, transportation companies that they know and trust.”

Darling and Sarma became friends during the pandemic. Darling was working remotely and living in Toronto to be closer to his girlfriend while she attended graduate school. With a degree in business, he had been running Pilot X by himself, without the benefit of a technical co-founder. Sarma, freshly armed with a computer science degree, was keen to help.

Darling said a key goal of Pilot X is to offer a fairer alternative for gig economy drivers who, collectively, have often complained of low pay and difficult working conditions. Canada, the United States and the U.K. have all seen widespread delivery driver strikes in recent months.

“Our slogan states that we believe better is possible,” he said. “Not just for consumers … but also with the drivers, we can play a very pivotal role. We’ve kind of seen it with Uber, DoorDash, other gig workers, where they’re not being fairly treated. They’re not being fairly compensated.

“And that is a very key part of what we’ve been doing. (Pilot X drivers) are fairly treated. They have training, they also have the ability to get sick pay and vacation pay.”

The company, which won the Halifax-based Tribe Network's Innovate and Elevate pitch competition earlier this month, has been partnering with small and medium-sized businesses as an entry point into the retail market. Darling added that he and Sarma plan to focus on scaling their driver roster in Halifax first in response to strong early demand. Other regions will come later.

“We categorize (deliveries) into ‘small,’ ‘medium’ and ‘large,’” said Darling. “For small and medium items, we … would set those prices. But as it goes to larger items and larger pickups, those prices are set by the drivers and the transportation companies that we have on our site. It gives the users a diverse range of pricing options to choose from."

Dal Announces 17 Launch Teams

Dalhousie University and national research commercialization accelerator Lab2Market have announced the 17 teams participating in their latest Launch accelerator for researchers looking to commercialize their work, as well as a new summer entrepreneurial program dubbed Collide Launch.

Dal Innovates, the school's entrepreneurship hub, said in a statement 47 teams have now graduated from the Launch program since it came to Atlantic Canada in 2020, with the inaugural Collide Launch cohort being offered in response to strong demand for accelerator services and accepting teams from a broader range of disciplines.

Lab2Market Launch is a 12-week bootcamp that offers a $10,000 stipend for each participant, as well as $3,000 payments for achieving business milestones and up to $5,000 in funding for project costs, with Collide Launch following a similar structure.

“Lab2Market Launch has established itself as the go-to program for Canadian graduate students, postdocs and researchers and this year, we are pleased to offer Collide Launch to support undergrads and students in broader fields of study,” said Dalhousie Vice President of Research and Innovation Alice Aiken in a statement. 

“The innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem at Dalhousie is thriving and we are delighted that both Lab2Market Launch and Collide Launch have a full complement of motivated student teams ready to launch their next ventures.”

Here’s a look at the participating teams:

 

COLLIDE LAUNCH

Athlete Aid   

Issac Hierlihy, Morgan MacKinnon  

St. Francis Xavier University, University of New Brunswick  

Athlete Aid is developing a subscription-based injury triage mobile app for minor sports athletes.

Daku Tech   

Jake Young, Limysh Kalapala  

Dalhousie University   

Daku Tech is developing personal locator beacon technology to enhance safety for fishers and facilitate swift search and rescue operations during emergencies.

Head First Network   

Lauren Mackay, Fraser MacKay, Sam Peach  

Dalhousie University   

Head First Network is developing a solution to equip student athletes with the tools and knowledge to manage and prevent concussions to foster safer sports practices across Canada.   

Mxpert   

Barath Sundar, Malik Rahey   

Memorial University   

Mxpert is developing an AI-powered platform to help auto repair shops boost operational efficiency and customer relations by automating customer engagement, with enhanced bookings, reminders and targeted marketing.   

Pucktive   

Eddie Cobbold, Charlie Cobbold  

Dalhousie University, George Brown College  

Pucktive is an innovative protective hockey apparel brand focused on making cut-resistant products to protect hockey players from injuries that can occur in exposed areas, such as the neck and wrist.   

SOASIS   

Lihui Qiao, Junwen Hu  

NSCAD University   

SOASIS plans to offer a physical pod that uses AI technology to deliver a holistic experience to people looking to take a short break or meditate to improve their mental health.   

Willow   

Aaron Burlacoff, Noah Burlacoff  

Dalhousie University, Huron College at Western University   

Willow will use innovative technologies to streamline estate planning services that include robust security measures for legally compliant digital wills.     

 

LAB2MARKET LAUNCH

Atlantic Echo Solutions 

Len Zedel Mohammad, Reza Mousavi 

Memorial University 

Atlantic Echo Solutions is developing acoustic methods to remotely measure sound speed in the ocean which is critical for all sonar and acoustic system applications such as high-resolution ocean bathymetry mapping and seismic surveys.   

Bliss Bioproducts Inc.   

Roksana Saleh Louis, Anthony Odo  

Dalhousie University, St. Francis Xavier University 

Bliss Bioproducts will be creating high quality, cost-effective, organic food and plant-based products.   

BoviSense AI   

Shubhangi Mahato, Hariesh Annadevara Sivakumar  

Dalhousie University   

BoviSense AI uses facial recognition systems and AI to support farmers with tailored insights for enhanced cattle welfare and productivity.

CoaTech Solutions  

Pooya Nikbakhsh, Shahzad Karim  

Dalhousie University 

CoaTech Solutions is developing a uniform and durable protective coating for mold surfaces, with the aim of reducing downtime in tire production while also minimizing resource loss. 

BravoZulu   

Lynette Peters, Colin Peters 

Dalhousie University 

BravoZulu is creating a digital wellness solution that connects veterans and families through art and craft.  

GamBit  

Hamid Maymand, Brynn Harris-Shanks  

Dalhousie University 

GamBit aims to make video gaming more inclusive and immersive through brain-computer interface technology. 

SensoFluidix 

Alireza Zabihihesari, Ali Doostmohammadi  

Dalhousie University, York University 

SensoFluidix is developing highly sensitive synthetic receptors designed to integrate into ready-to-use kits, cartridges, and microfluidic sensing platforms to capture samples in harsh conditions for environmental, biomedical, and mining industries.   

NexaPowder Inc 

Elham Afshari Sara Mirzaei Mazraeh 

Dalhousie University   

NexaPowder Inc. focuses on sustainable advancement in metal 3D printing and crafting top-quality spherical metal powders from recycled materials to reduce energy consumption, costs, and emissions, while meeting industry demand. 

OEEE  

Hamid Jafarzadeh, Mohammadali Hemati  

Memorial University  

OEEE is using satellite imagery and artificial intelligence for rapid detection of oil spills to mitigate environmental damage and protect marine ecosystems. 

OceanAM 

Foroozan Forooghi, Mohsen Keshavarzan 

University of New Brunswick 

OceanAM is developing a fish-inspired remotely operated vehicle (ROV), specifically designed for underwater maintenance of offshore structures and ships.   

Strong Growth Continues at Kraken

St. John’s-based Kraken Robotics has extended its run of strong sales growth, the company announced Wednesday, reporting its best-ever financial results for the first quarter with revenue up 175 per cent compared to the same period last year.

About three quarters of its $20.9 million of revenue came from product sales and the balance from its service business, the marine robotics-maker said, with the strongest growth on a percentile basis also coming from the product side.

Kraken has had a busy few months, including appointing a new chairman, Peter Hunter, and raising a total of $37.6 million across two “bought deal” public offerings — a deal structure whereby investment bank Cormark Securities and its partners purchased the stock directly, rather than merely facilitating its sale to other investors. The first $17.5 million was announced in April and the remaining $20.1 million last week.

“We are off to a strong start to 2024 with strength across all areas of our business, record Q1 revenue, and solid adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), margins of 20 per cent,” said CEO Greg Reid in a statement. “Our balance sheet has been strengthened as we pursue and execute on multiple sizeable subsea defense and commercial programs.”

The company’s revenue guidance is for $90 million to $100 million for the year and EBIDTA of $18 million to $24 million, driven by demand from the defence and offshore energy sectors.

“Kraken expects to use the net proceeds to facilitate its long term strategy … further strengthen the company’s balance sheet in anticipation of upcoming customer and partners' decisions and source selection on additional large, new program and contract opportunities, and for general corporate purposes,” the robotics-maker said previously of its capital raises.

Kraken shares, which trade on the TSX Venture Exchange and have been mostly flat this year, closed at $1.01 Wednesday.

Train With Me Wins at Volta Pitch Competition

Sports- and fitness-focused social media startup Train With Us won Halifax startup hub Volta’s quarterly Virtual Pitch Competition on Wednesday.

Founded by athletics entrepreneur David Rafuse, who holds a degree in kinetics from St. Francis Xavier University and owns personal coaching business Blended Athletics, Train With Us will eventually be a website and app that lets users create or join communities and organize groups for in-person events, like runs or fitness classes.

Rafuse, along with the founders of five other companies, delivered three-minute pitches and received feedback from a panel of judges. Presenters were graded on the quality of their presentations, rather than their companies, because the event was aimed at giving early-stage founders a chance to refine their pitching skills.

“(Pitching) was an incredible experience, and I’m grateful for the opportunity,” said Rafuse in a social media post. “I look forward to officially launching the ‘Train With Us’ platform/app in the months to come!"

Here’s a look at the other startups that pitched:

BSKL

Halifax and Bain-Saint-Paul, Que.

Gab Grenier, CEO and Jonah Larsen, CTO (pitching)

BSKL develops AI plugins for video editing software, giving users the ability to incorporate new AI technologies into their work without the cumbersome process of having to transfer their files between programs.

The Directeur

Halifax

The Directeur is developing software to automate parts of the legal and tax compliance process for the rest estate sector.

SkillConnect

Halifax

Tobi Towoju

SkillConnect is developing an AI-based digital learning and upskilling platform for professionals, with step by step guidance and the chance for users to practise with real-life scenarios.

SpeechMD

Halifax

David Krish

SpeechMD is developing interactive AI transcription software for doctors and veterinarians.

Sayfaya Cleaning

Hussain Abdullah

Nova Scotia

Sayfaya is an on-demand car cleaning service that will travel to the customer’s doorstep.

Invest Nova Scotia, ACOA Seek Oceans Companies

Invest Nova Scotia, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and their partners are seeking oceantech companies to co-exhibit with a Canadian government contingent at the OCEANS 2024 conference in Halifax this fall.

Slated to be held Sept. 23 to 26, the conference is organized by a coalition of ocean industry groups and will also include talks from Clearwater Chief Executive Ian Smith, among others.

Co-exhibiting costs $1,725, including tax for companies from within Atlantic Canada, and includes a dedicated booth space.

“Invest Nova Scotia is the organizer of the Canada Pavilion for OCEANS 2024 Halifax which takes place at the new Halifax Convention Centre, in the heart of Canada’s largest city on the East Coast,” says the group. “The Canada Pavilion will include 24 exhibitors, with companies from Atlantic Canada and across the country.”

You can learn more here.

Entrevestor Live Returns Sept. 17

We're thrilled to announce that Entrevestor Live -- the only conference dedicated exclusively to Atlantic Canada's greatest startup successes -- will return for a fourth year this autumn, packing a superb program of speakers into a single afternoon. 

The half-day conference, which will be hosted by startup specialist Permjot Valia, will take place Sept. 17 at Volta in Halifax. 

Entrevestor Live showcases the best and the brightest in the Atlantic Canadian startup and innovation community. This half-day event highlights the startups that have significant global sales and demonstrates how entrepreneurs can grow market-leading companies within the East Coast ecosystem. It presents the best of the best of the East Coast startup community and destroys the misimpression that Atlantic Canada has only early-stage startups. 

As well as spotlight sessions with Dash Hudson of Halifax and Eigen Innovations of Fredericton, we'll feature Halifax-based XPRIZE finalists and take a look at the city's battery technology ecosystem. We'll hear from the founder of Communitech, and an Atlantic Canadian entrepreneur who launched, led and exited a San Francisco biotech company. 

We're proud of the quality of program we staged in the first three years of Entrevestor Live, but 2024 may be our strongest year yet. 

We're still filling in a few slots, but we have the main elements nailed down. The event will begin with a light lunch, to be followed by this program:

Chair and Host: Permjot Valia

Valia will bring both an international perspective and intimate knowledge of Atlantic Canada to the role of hosting Entrevestor Live. As well as being a Co-Founder of Dartmouth-based Nava Develop and the Founder of MentorCamp, he is a Co-Founder of Flight & Partners, an FCA-authorised fund manager based in London. An investor in more than 60 startups, he is a lively and insightful speaker.

Session 1

Atlantic Canadian XPRIZE Finalists

XPRIZEs are a global phenomenon, inspiring innovators to develop the most exciting technology in the world to address some of the planet’s most critical problems. Breakthrough Energy Fellow Jennifer Wagner, who oversaw CarbonCure’s successful NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE bid in 2021, will moderate a discussion with Marc St-Onge of Smallfood, and Mike Kelland of Planetary Technologies. Smallfood is a co-finalist in the $15 billion Feed the Next Billion XPRIZE while Planetary is a finalist in the $100 million Carbon Removal XPRIZE, having already won a US$1 million milestone award in the competition. These three executives bring a wealth of knowledge about reaching the top of the world’s biggest innovation competition.

Session 2

A Fireside Chat with Rachael Craig

Rachael Craig once worked out of the original Volta location while being employed by Brilliant Labs. She now returns to detail how she has gone from a desk at Volta to leading and exiting a Silicon Valley biotech company. Craig was a Co-Founder and CEO of San Francisco-based MotionHall, which developed software that provided data to help biotech companies accelerate deals in drug discovery. Recently, London-based information provider Clarivate Plc bought the assets of MotionHall for an undisclosed sum. Find out how one Nova Scotian went from a desk at Volta to a Silicon Valley exit within a decade.

Session 3

Spotlight on Eigen Innovations 

Headquartered in Fredericton, Eigen uses AI to help machines manage large amounts of data and identity the causes of quality control issues at factories via machine vision. A member of Intel’s Partner Alliance Program, Eigen’s machine vision technology now processes about 600 million images daily for a range of global clients. CEO Erin Barrett will detail this company’s success in working with some of the world’s largest manufacturers.

Session 4

Novonix and the Battery Ecosystem

Moderator: Louise-Anne Comeau,  VP New Energy Markets and Innovation, Emera

Sponsored by Emera

Halifax is becoming a major hub for battery innovation, led by Novonix Battery Technology Solutions, which is a global leader in battery-testing equipment and R&D services. Startups play a key role in this cluster, both in the development of next-generation batteries and the software that will optimize their use. This session will feature Novonix Founder and CEO Chris Burns and Andrew Boswell, Co-Founder and CEO of BlueGrid, which helps electric-powered boats become storage centres for electricity grids.

Session 5

Spotlight on Dash Hudson

Moderator: J.P. Furey, Partner at Grant Thornton

Sponsored by Grant Thornton

Dash Hudson is a social media management platform that equips brands with intelligence and speed to stay ahead of the curve. With blue-chip clients like United Airlines and Harrod’s, it helps companies of all sizes optimize the ROI on their media spend. CEO Thomas Rankin and Vice-President of Operations Jill Hennigar will discuss the company’s meteoric rise to becoming one of the world’s leading social media management companies.

Session 6

A Fireside Chat with Iain Klugman

Iain Klugman founded and led Canada’s premiere startup hub. From 2004 to 2021, he was the CEO of Communitech, the central startup hub in Kitchener-Waterloo. Having served as a board member and/or advisor to such groups as Volta and ACOA, he is intimately familiar with the East Coast startup community. Now the CEO of the NorthGuide consultancy, his decisive opinions always sow the seeds of lively discussion.

In-person tickets cost $80, and we're offering an early-bird discount until June 30 so you pay only $70.The conference will be livestreamed online and virtual tickets cost $65. Order yours today. 

Supercluster Backs Supply Chains, Propulsion, Climatetech

Canada’s Ocean Supercluster has announced a trio of new projects worth $14.2 million: one developing electric propulsion technology, one to help optimize maritime supply chains and one to study kelp’s role in carbon sequestration and marine biodiversity.

The first project, dubbed the Canadian Electric Propulsion Acceleration Coalition, or CEPAC, is the largest of the three with a planned cost of $7 million. Of that, $2.7 million is coming from the Supercluster and the rest from a private sector group led by Photon Marine Canada, a Victoria, B.C.-based maker of electric motors for speedboats.

Other project partners include Halifax’s BlueGrid, the product name for the company Rimot, which is developing technology to let boats act as energy storage on a grid. Other Nova Scotian partners are Rosborough Boats, also in Halifax, and ABCO Industries, the Lunenburg shipyard. Joining from British Columbia are Malahat Solutions, VoltSafe and Mostar Labs.

“Vessel and energy data plays a major role throughout the design, operations, and commercialization elements of the project,” said BlueGrid CEO Andrew Boswell in a statement. “Insights from customers’ existing conventionally powered vessels will be captured and used to inform everything from infrastructure deployment to hull designs, and then the new electric vessel data will be used to optimize performance to charging.”

The Verifying Ocean Climate Impacts Project, meanwhile, is led by Vancouver-based veritree, which sells a platform for tree-planting organizations to document their work and analyze their environmental impacts. Collaborating with veritree will be Canadian Kelp, a seaweed farm and packaged goods-maker on Vancouver Island. The Supercluster is contributing $2.1 million of the $5 million projected project cost.

The two companies will aim to build a technology platform for kelp farms to better track their climate impacts, such as with the help of specialized cameras.

And the $2.2 million Optimizing Maritime Supply Chains project will be led by OceanSync, another Halifax company that is commercializing a potential solution to a longstanding challenge for the marine industry: that of obtaining reliable weather data.

The OceanSync sensor suite gathers meteorological data like wind speed and barometric pressure, which an edge computing device then pre-processes before uploading it to the cloud every 10 minutes via satellite internet, usually provided by aerospace unicorn Starlink.

The other project partners will be Everstream, which sells a supply chain analytics software suite called BlueNode, and Bespoke Global Logistics & Strategies. The companies will collaborate to develop a “Modal Optimization Tool” — software that will advise companies about how to optimize their supply chains for sustainability and climate resilience. The Supercluster is contributing $875,000.

“Supply chains are a crucial part of any business and essential for the health of our global economy, yet they face ever-increasing risk from natural disasters, geopolitical factors, and other disruptions,” said BlueNode Vice President of Public Sector and Trade Jon Bovit.

“Together with Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, we’re taking supply chain and trade intelligence further to enable global organizations to understand how to get their raw materials and products to customers safely and quickly while optimizing for speed, security, and sustainability.”

eOceans Nominated for Earthshot Prize

Christine Ward-Paige, CEO of eOceans

Christine Ward-Paige, CEO of eOceans

A Nova Scotia research startup is in the running for an international environmental prize worth more than C$1.7 million.

Halifax-based eOceans has been chosen by McGill University to compete in Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, which awards five grants of £1 million each: one for “protecting and restoring nature,” one for clean air initiatives, one for climatetech projects, one for the circular economy and one for oceans.

The winners will be selected from a field of 15 finalists, all of which will also join a year-long fellowship to help them scale their work. McGill is the prize’s Canadian partner.

Founded by biology PhD Christine Ward-Paige, who previously consulted for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, eOceans is an app for scientists to crowdsource oceans research data, such as for monitoring fisheries health, or tracking sharks and rays. Users can sign up for free and record their observations when they visit marine environments.

“At eOceans, we believe that every community, organization, team, business, etcetera should have equal access to a million-dollar team of scientists, and that they should be able to unite within and across interests to scale their power,” said Ward-Page in a social media statement.

End-users join under a fremium model and are enrolled in several research projects by default, with the option to join more. Researchers, meanwhile, also have access to a suite of analytics features and a dashboard for creating new projects. Since eOceans launched in 2018, its roughly 3,300 users have conducted more than 41,000 surveys for 170 projects.

“As an official nominator of the Earthshot Prize, McGill University is committed to supporting impactful solutions addressing environmental issues,” said Ward-Paige’s team in a press release. “eOceans was selected as one of McGill University’s nominations for the 2024 Earthshot Prize for its potential to mobilize citizens to study and monitor oceanic events.”

Ward-Paige has previously advocated for the oceans sector to adopt a definition of the blue economy that focuses more closely on ocean health, arguing that the blue economy and ocean economy are best understood as separate concepts. In particular, she proposes viewing the blue economy as including activities that bolster ocean health and community wellbeing, particularly in data-driven ways — an oceanic analogue to the green economy.

“How we define the blue economy matters to how it is tracked and also how we prioritize and invest in it,” she said last year. “We needed to define which activities are blue."

STEED’S, Pilot X Victorious at Innovate and Elevate

Pilot X Technologies Co-Founders Kendall Darling, left, and Ranajay Sarma (Photo: Kendall Darling, LinkedIn)

Pilot X Technologies Co-Founders Kendall Darling, left, and Ranajay Sarma (Photo: Kendall Darling, LinkedIn)

A combined bed and bottle feeder for puppies and a transportation and courier marketplace were the victors of Thursday’s Innovate and Elevate virtual pitch competition from Halifax-based Tribe Network.

STEED’S Baby Bottle Bed Founder Rosalind Steed won the category for new ventures, Start, for her waterproof dog bed with bottle feeders mounted in the sides. And Pilot X Technologies Co-Founders Kendall Darling and Ranajay Sarma won in the Build stream for growth-stage companies with their transportation business, which caters to users looking for services like couriers and movers.

Founded in 2021, Tribe Network provides startup support services and financing to entrepreneurs from the BIPOC community, meaning Black, Indigenous and People of Colour. Innovate and Elevate, an annual event, this year saw a group of eight startups deliver three-minute pitches to a panel of judges, with the winners taking home $500 Visa gift cards and a credit for business advisory services related to intellectual property.

In her pitch, Steed said her target markets include owners of sick or injured dogs that struggle to nurse their young, owners whose dogs have unusually large litters, and shelters facing staffing constraints.

The STEED’S bed is designed to feed up to eight puppies simultaneously and track their milk intake. The bottles can be removed for cleaning, or to allow the product to be used as a conventional dog bed.

Steed holds global patents on her design and is eyeing licensing agreements, as well as distribution deals with pet stores.

Pilot X Technologies, meanwhile, promises to pair users with service providers logged onto the platform for deliveries, offering more aggressive delivery timelines than conventional parcel or moving services with a target of two hours.

Darling said the company had more than 4,000 visitors to its website in the first 36 hours after its launch and has now on-boarded “dozens” of customers and drivers, as well as signing delivery partnership agreements with several local retailers. The company was also a finalist for the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia’s 2023 Business of the Year award, and has been accepted into the Vancouver-based League of Innovators’ Batch 12 accelerator cohort.

Here’s a look at the other six companies that pitched:

CleanEnv

Utomi Frances

CleanEnv is developing a biomass converter to generate electricity from food waste.

Commons Social Network

Sidney Idemudia and Daniel Idemudia

Commons Social Network is a platform for users to discuss and organize social events and gatherings.

Fin.AI

Gideon Ogbonna

Fin.AI is an AI assistant for loan applications, designed to help speed up turnaround times by automating elements of the risk assessment process.

Gáamai Hair

Aaliyah Lahai

Gáamai Hair is developing biodegradable, sustainably manufactured hair extensions made to mimic a range of human hair textures.

Kacy’s Delight

Nancy Naadei Katie-Sass

Kacy’s Delight sells fresh, African-style pastries, snacks and deserts.

Lunch Buddies

Sharon Ishimwe, Alyona Korpusova and Garth Smedle

Lunch Buddies is an online platform for users — particularly professionals who may feel isolated from working remotely — to find people to have lunch with.

Genesis Extends Evolution Deadline

Genesis, the Newfoundland and Labrador startup hub, has extended the deadline to apply for the Summer 2024 cohort of its 10-week Evolution accelerator to June 7.

Genesis bills Evolution as a “pre-incubator” course meant to prepare young companies for longer programs, such as its own, three-year Enterprise incubator. Evolution promises to help entrepreneurs clarify their businesses’ value propositions, find product-market fit and find mentors.

The accelerator culminates in a public pitch competition for the cohort’s standout performers, and covers topics such as assessing market size, customer acquisition strategies and developing revenue streams.

To be eligible for Evolution, companies have to be technology-focused, have already identified a pain point that their tech is meant to solve, have less that $1 million in annual revenue or be pre-revenue, and have not yet produced a minimum viable product.

Entrepreneurs can learn more and apply for Evolution here.

Life Sciences NS Names Grant CEO

Industry group Life Sciences Nova Scotia has named a new CEO: Doris Grant, previously its Vice President of Business Development and Strategy.

Grant has worked in the industry for nearly 30 years and held private sector, public sector and academic roles — including 14 years at Dalhousie University, and most recently, a stint as Nova Scotia Health’s Senior Director for Innovation. She replaces outgoing CEO Sean Awalt, who Life Sciences Nova Scotia said in a statement is stepping down to pursue another opportunity.

“It was an easy decision to come here (to Life Sciences Nova Scotia) because I had that industry, academia and health system expertise that I wanted to bring and leverage for this organization, to be able to lift our ecosystem and do the good work that has to be done,” said Grant in an interview Tuesday.

Grant added she believes the quality of the talent and ecosystem available to life sciences entrepreneurs in Atlantic Canada are competitive advantages for the region, and that she hopes to foster growth and interconnectedness in the industry during her tenure.

“Our vision for this organization is to have a thriving, resilient, connected life sciences ecosystem,” she said. “That is what we believe in, and that is what we want to build, across the province and beyond.

"We're fortunate to be able to work with our Atlantic Canadian neighbours, and even beyond, to really position life sciences in this country."

Hope Blooms Plans Green Mobile Music Studio

A Halifax social venture is giving youths the chance to participate in community development initiatives while enjoying a taste of entrepreneurship.

Launched in 2008, Hope Blooms works with teenagers in the city’s historically diverse North End to operate 10,000 square feet of organic food gardens and a commercial kitchen, which they use to produce and sell a roster of packaged goods products. The income associated with their work goes towards funding community development initiatives designed to benefit the same young people.

Earlier this month, a team from Hope Blooms won startup hub Tribe Network’s Youth Climate Pitch Competition for their plans to fund a mobile music studio powered by clean energy and built with income from selling an upmarket hot chocolate product.

“All of the enterprises have about five or six kids as groups,” said Kolade Boboye, Hope Blooms’ Creative Director of Youth Impact Business, who led the pitching delegation to Tribe. “I work with those groups of youth and help work out their idea, help with decision-making, creating design.

“They get to experience what it's like firsthand to have a business. How many 15-, 14-year-olds can be like, ‘I’ve been working on a business and learning from a business in real time?’”

Boboye originally joined Hope Blooms — itself founded by current Executive Director Jessie Jolymore — as a youth client. He participated in a pitch by Hope Blooms on the popular angel investing reality show Dragons' Den in 2013, which led to a $40,000 donation. Now he has rejoined the organization as one of its leaders, this time equipped with a business degree from St. Francis Xavier University.

The Hot Cocoa Boys, as the group working on the music studio have dubbed both themselves and their product, formed in 2021 and previously succeeded in fundraising to build a community basketball court. Other products produced by the Hope Blooms kids include salad dressings made from fresh herbs and looseleaf teas, with the income going toward a scholarship program that has given out more than $250,000 of funding.

“We’ve always been very actively working towards our campus being net zero,” said Boboye. 

Products from Hope Blooms are now sold in a range of retail outlets in Nova Scotia, including every Atlantic Superstore location in the province, and alumni have gone on to study at institutions as prestigious as Stanford and New York University. About 30 kids work on the social ventures year-round, and over 100 participate in summer programs.

The Hot Cocoa Boys, for their part, are more than halfway through raising the funds they need to build their sustainable music studio, and Boboye said he hopes to have construction finished in 2025 at the latest.

“It was one of those moments where, the time is now,” he said, recalling the team’s decision to pitch at Tribe. “Everything finally got to a point where our ideas and processes were finally ready to be out there.

“It’s a great opportunity and great learning experience for the youths, that they can see firsthand this cleantech being used.”

Atlantic Startups Raised $35M of VC in Q1

Atlantic startups have posted their weakest first quarter fundraising performance since the depths of the pandemic, according to new data from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, though Newfoundland and Labrador is a bright spot.

East Coast companies closed just $35 million of VC deals in the first three months of this year, according to the organization’s Canadian Venture Capital Market Overview, equalling their performance for the same period in 2021. The vast majority of that funding — $30 million — was associated with a quartet of deals in Newfoundland.

The regional total represents a decline from $57 million for the same period the year prior and a tepid recovery from the low of $16 million raised by Atlantic companies in the second quarter of 2023.

The drawdown is not mirrored nationally, with the $1.3 billion total funding raised by startups Canada-wide exactly equalling last year’s first quarter figure. But it does reflect a VC market that remains tight worldwide, with analysts at PitchBook forecasting less than three percent annual growth in assets under management through 2028.

“As we transition into the second quarter of 2024, we see that the Canadian venture capital sector is not only weathering global market fluctuations but is also capitalizing on emerging opportunities, particularly in life sciences and Al,” wrote CVCA Chief Executive Kim Furlong. “This approach is demonstrated in the first quarter's increased deal sizes, as investors are focused on supporting resilient companies with demonstrated financials.

“Early-stage investments remained strong, venture debt financing remained stable, the average deal size surged to C$10 million and the quarter also witnessed strong exit activity already accounting for 50 percent of the total exit value of 2023.”

In addition to the four deals in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia posted three deals worth a combined $3 million, and New Brunswick companies closed three deals worth $2 million.

Across all three Atlantic provinces where startups raised capital in the first quarter, there were only two sectors represented: life sciences and IT.

In its report, the CVCA said the Newfoundland funding totals were led by St. John’s-based Spellbook’s US$20 million, or C$27 million at the time, Series A raise.

The second quarter, however, is shaping up to be stronger. CoLab Software’s US$21 million, or C$28.6 million raise, announced last week, brings the total equity funding raised by East Coast startups since the beginning of April to more than $30 million.

AVF Announces 32 Participating Companies

The Atlantic Venture Forum, or AVF, has announced 32 showcase companies that will be highlighted at the two-day conference this June.

The AVF will be held June 5 and 6 at the Halifax Convention Centre. Backed by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the event aims to attract investors and influencers from outside the region, offering founders an opportunity to meet funders without leaving the East Coast. 

"The Atlantic Venture Forum features some of Atlantic Canada’s most promising technology companies," say organizers. "The Showcase provides early and growth-stage companies with unparalleled visibility to leading private equity and venture capital investors from across North America.

"A video presentation in our digital data room, on-site recognition, next-level networking tools, generous networking breaks, and a company profile in the event app are just a few of the ways emerging tech companies can leverage a spot in the Showcase."

Here are the participating companies:

ASETS-CA, Fredericton

Atrio Sports, Halifax

AzSpecd Solutions, Halifax

The Black Arcs, Fredericton

b-line, Halifax

CandidateHub, Riverview, N.B.

CleanBands, Charlottetown

Cotex Technologies, Halifax

CropMind, Fredericton

Decell Technologies, Halifax

Dispension Industries, Halifax

GALAXIA Mission Systems, Halifax

Get It Picked, Halifax

Greenlight Analytical, Halifax

Hexsor Scientific, Liverpool, U.K.

InVerte, St. John's

LaunchPal, Halifax

Meddai Medical, St. John's

Metacrust, St. John's

MOC Biotechnologies, Halifax

https://seafarerai.com/ Neurodyn, Charlottetown

Nucliq Biologics, St. John's

Parados, Fredericton

Profillet, Halifax

Pure Paint Laboratories, West Hants, N.S.

Rayleigh Solar Tech, Halifax

RAYMEX Lift (Axtion Independence Mobility), Halifax

RFINE Biomass Solutions, Halifax

SeafarerAI (Port Watch), Clifton Royal, N.B.

SoundBlade Medical, Halifax

Stethophone (Sparrow BioAcoustics), St. John's

Virtual Hallway, Halifax

Zen Energy, Halifax

CoLab Software Raises C$28.6M

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 has raised a US$21 million, or C$28.6 million, Series B funding round led by New York’s Insight Partners, with plans to use the money for a commercialization push and “big swings” on AI.

The raise comes on the back of tenfold revenue growth since CoLab raised its Series A in 2021, CEO Adam Keating said in a statement posted to social media. The latest deal also included Y Combinator, which the company graduated from previously, as well as returning investors like Mark Dobbin’s Killick Capital and Newfoundland and Labrador pre-seed fund Pelorus VC, Keating added.

In a separate statement, CoLab said it will use the money to hire 30 to 40 new employees. It now has nearly 100 staff, according to LinkedIn data.

“We’ve experienced such an aggressive market pull in the last 12 months that we can no longer keep up -- so we need to expand to help more engineering teams and keep leading the way with our (development team),” wrote Keating.

He added that the St. John's maker of collaboration software for 3D modelling has plans to offer customers new, AI-based tools that only recently became feasible with existing technology, and which part of the raise will also go towards funding.

“Some of the big bets we dreamed of in 2017 are now no longer dreams,” said Keating. “With the power of AI, they are actually quite achievable — we believe now is the time to go get it.”

CoLab has become a star of Newfoundland’s IT ecosystem since Keating co-founded the business with CTO Jeremy Andrew in 2017, and its US$17 million Series A was one of the largest funding rounds in Atlantic Canada that year.

More recently, Keating’s team has inked sales deals with blue chip automotive and heavy equipment players like Ford and Komatsu.

The Ford deal, for example, involves the carmaker using CoLab’s system in its Ford Pro department, which makes fleet management software and hardware. Ford Pro’s design team, based in Europe, saw its overall work timelines cut by around 30 percent when it implemented CoLab’s technology, Keating has said previously. Ford credited the newfound ability for its teams to collaborate remotely and across time zones with much of that improvement.

“By applying machine learning and generative AI, we can enhance and extend the value of CoLab’s core platform for mechanical engineering teams,” said CTO Andrews. “We’re excited to accelerate delivery of these solutions, as a result of this funding round.”

CoLab’s latest round also brings the total equity funding raised by startups in Atlantic Canada since the beginning of April to in excess of $30 million, which is more than the entire fourth quarter of last year. The trend reversal comes amidst a VC market that remains tight nationally and globally, with analysts at PitchBook forecasting less than three percent annual growth through 2028.

Volta to Host Pitch Competition May 28

Halifax startup hub Volta will hold its next quarterly Virtual Pitch Competition May 28.

The competitions offer budding founders the chance to practice giving a three-minute pitch to a panel of judges. Winners are chosen based solely on the quality of their pitches, not the quality of their companies.

Victorious entrepreneurs will receive a $500 Visa gift card. 

Volta says on its website that applicants should emphasize the unique elements of their product or business idea in their initial application, with their ideas’ technological elements being of particular importance.

The competition will be streamed online beginning at noon on the 28th. You can can register for free here.

NovaResp Raises $3M

NovaResp CEO Hamed Hanafi

NovaResp CEO Hamed Hanafi

NovaResp, the Halifax developer of technology for treating sleep apnea, has raised a $3 million seed extension round that CEO Hamed Hanafi expects to fund the company through completion of its clinical trials.

The deal builds on a $2 million round NovaResp closed in Dec. 2022 and is led by board member Dr. Neil Smith, along with returning investors Concrete Ventures and  Invest Nova Scotia. Another board member, Raj Sodhi, joined alongside several new backers, including the government-backed Ontario-based Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation.

NovaResp is testing artificial intelligence software compatible with any continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP machine — the medical equipment used to treat sleep apnea by forcing air into the user’s lungs. Hanafi’s system aims to predict sleep apnea events, during which a person stops breathing, and add air pressure proactively instead of reactively. The more targeted approach means the system can use less pressure, making patients more comfortable and more likely to actually use their machines.

“If our value is proven on a high number of patients, then all of a sudden our valuation would be much, much, much bigger,” said Hanafi in an interview Wednesday. “So we thought, ‘Okay, we do need to test it properly on a high number of patients … and to do so we needed more cash.'"

Hanafi raised the latest tranche of funding on the advice of Dr. Smith, a surgeon who specializes in treating sleep problems and runs a national chain of private sleep clinics. NovaResp still had plenty of runway when Smith approached Hanafi last year, but Smith wanted the company to aim for about two years of cash in the bank.

“Dr. Smith called me as our board member and said, ‘Listen, the patient results from home (testing) look good...Instead of you spending the next year in a state of running out of money, why don’t we raise the amount you need to last another two years and finish the studies?’” recalled Hanafi.

By the time the new funds are close to running out, he added, he hopes to be in talks with CPAP manufacturers to license the software.

NovaResp’s clinical trials will be run out of the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, including a 50-person trial for which several people have already signed up, along with a larger, 200-person trial.

“The point of these clinical trials is to prove the value,” Hanafi said. 

The company has 11 full-time staff, Hanafi added, and four or five interns, depending upon the time of year.

UpBeing Aims for Responsible Alternative to Social Media

UpBeing Co-Founders Sean Kortschot, left, and Sam Daviau

UpBeing Co-Founders Sean Kortschot, left, and Sam Daviau

A Halifax startup is aiming to create an online platform that leverages the positive, community-oriented aspects of social media without relying on manipulative engagement-boosting practices or monetizing users’ personal data.

Chief Executive Sam Daviau described UpBeing Tuesday as “social, but not social media,” quoting from ads the company is running, ironically, on social media. He and CTO Sean Kortschot co-founded the business in 2021.

“We use a lot of the same things that get people to go on to social media, and then use the engagement that we’ve created through that social network to benefit those people,” said Daviau. “We’re trying to improve their wellbeing.”

UpBeing users post regular “check-ins” through which they share information about their mood, energy levels and other factors that can influence physical and psychological health. Data from the check-ins is shared with other people the user has chosen in advance, such as loved ones and business partners, whose check-ins are, in turn, also visible.

Speaking at Halifax innovation hub Volta, Daviau said UpBeing employs user acquisition techniques similar to social media sites like TikTok to grow via users’ personal networks of contacts. But unlike conventional social media, UpBeing contains no videos, text posts, comment sections or other material callibrated to keep users scrolling.

Importantly, Daviau said UpBeing’s engagement metrics are more in line with traditional social media than with health and wellness apps, which tend to have weaker performance. About 63 percent of UpBeing users continue engaging with the platform for at least three weeks after signing up, and three quarters of users who join go on to invite someone else. Growth from those network effects has been particularly strong in the last couple months.

Daviau’s now seven-person team launched its app in March as a minimum viable product. So far, he said the user reception has been largely positive, with the exception of a few technical glitches.

“Our active users use the app every single day, multiple times a day,” said Daviau.

In addition to users’ self-reported experiences, the app’s “My Wellbeing” metric is also based on data from sources like calendars and fitness tracker wearables, all of which UpBeing uses to help identify patterns in how users’ moods and energy levels fluctuate.

“We don’t do behaviour-tracking,” Daviau said. “All your behaviours are piped into the app (from other platforms) …  We also pipe news sentiment, weather, things like that.

“And then it’s correlated to your own (self-reported) data to give you insights. Sometimes insights include your loved ones, sometimes they just include yourself.”

Use cases vary depending on a person’s demographics, Daviau added, citing the examples of neurodivergent users who have found the app helpful for communicating when they are struggling with speech and entrepreneurs using the app to inform how they collaborate with business partners.

UpBeing also allows users to join groups that display aggregate user data for a larger collection of people, such as the LGBTQ community, who represent around half the app’s user base.

Daviau emphasized that he plans for the app to always be free to end users, though they will be able to purchase subscriptions to access more features, as will organizations looking to create and manage their own communities. One such deal will be on display later this month when the Collosalcon comic book convention in Ohio runs an UpBeing community for its members.

Seven Pitch at Volta, CDL Investor Day

Seven companies pitched at Halifax startup hub Volta’s spring Investment Day event Tuesday, which it hosted in collaboration with accelerator Creative Destruction Lab Atlantic.

The event gave pre-vetted seed-stage and Series A companies the chance to pitch to an audience of funders and industry players from both inside and outside Atlantic Canada, followed by opportunities to meet with investors.

To be eligible, startups had to be headquartered in Atlantic Canada and capable of demonstrating traction, such as evidence of having validated their business models, early adopter users or even paying customers.

Here’s a look at the companies that pitched:

Acuicy

Allison Murray and Dawne Skinner

Halifax

Acuicy sells business intelligence software to help customers build net-zero supply chains faster and at lower cost.

Drinkable

Matthew Mizzi

Halifax

Drinkable has developed a device that is smaller than a smartphone and tests water for about a dozen common contaminants, such as lead, arsenic and uranium.

Parados

Pascal McCarthy, Patricia Chareka

Fredericton

Parados’s software analyzes video of workers performing a variety of different movements to assess the risk of someone experiencing a workplace injury.

SailTimer

Craig Summers

Halifax

SailTimer is building a hardware and software system to crowdsource and analyze maritime weather data to help commercial ships operate more efficiently, such as by conserving fuel.

Sandbox ERP

Robert Chambers

Halifax

Sandbox is a suite of software tools that can be used to build ERP, or enterprise resource planning, environments. The software’s purpose is to help small businesses replace spreadsheets with cloud-based databases and consolidate their data.

UpBeing

Sam Daviau

Halifax

UpBeing is a social app that lets users share check-ins about their wellbeing, such as their mood and energy levels.

Veristart

Craig Hannam and Ajay Pande

Halifax

Veristart is working on software to make cloud-based keys for construction equipment, solving the security problem that results because each vehicle of a given model usually has an identical physical key.

Atlantic BIOCON May 28-30

Atlantic BIOCON, the industry gathering for life sciences, will be held at the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University this May 28 to 30, with presenters from the startup community including Aruna Revolution and Dispersa, among others.

The event is being hosted by the Greenspring Bioinnovation Hub, with backing from Ignite Atlantic, Innov, which is the applied research arm of the Collège Communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick, ResearchNB and the Verschuren Centre industrial fermentation hub. Originally organized by ResearchNB, Greenspring took over the conference in 2021.

Prominent innovation economy figures like Malcolm Fraser, Managing Partner of Natural Products Canada-backed Nadarra Ventures, Beth Mason, CEO of the Cape Breton-based Verschuren Centre, and Paul Richards, who heads up Invest Nova Scotia's agtech and biotech operations will also feature on the programme.

“You will have the opportunity to extensively network with regional, national and international bioeconomy leaders, including through facilitated B2B meetings, tour local bioeconomy facilities, hear insights and valuable lessons from an engaging program of speakers, and more,” say organizers.

You can learn more here.

Ocean Startup Project Seeks Idea Challenge Applicants

The national industry group Ocean Startup Project is looking for applicants to Ocean Idea Challenge, which offers young companies up to $7,000 of funding, as well as training and support services.

The Idea Challenge is a milestone-based accelerator program for entrepreneurs working on customer discovery and product-market fit, and for top-performing companies. It feeds into the more advanced Ocean Startup Challenge, which offers $25,000.

“This is not just about the prize money; it’s about embarking on a journey to deeply understand the challenges within the ocean ecosystem and iterating solutions that can make a real difference,” says the Ocean Startup Project.

The deadline to apply is June 9, and participants will be selected by June 13, before going on a customer discovery sprint in July and August. Companies selected to advance to the Ocean Startup Challenge will be notified Sept. 5.

You can learn more here.

Join Us in Fredericton June 20

It's with great pleasure that we announce that Entrevestor's 2023 Atlantic Canada Startup Data Report will be launched June 20 in a presentation at the Wu Conference Centre at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.

We're delighted to team up with the university's J Herbert Smith Centre for Technology Management & Entrepreneurship in hosting this event, which will feature a light lunch followed by presentations. 

The event will feature our latest findings on the startup community in Atlantic Canada, followed by a special analysis of how high-growth companies fit into the broader economy from economist David Campbell of Jupia Consultants.

Now in its 10th year, our Startup Data Report is the benchmark study of the region’s innovation economy. Based on our annual survey, as well as hundreds of interviews, the study delves into such metrics as the number of new companies founded, employment figures, revenues and funding. We believe it provides the most authoritative research into the most dynamic segment of the Atlantic Canadian economy: its innovators.

The launch will be held from noon to 2:00 p.m., and you can register for free here.

CareerBeacon Announces Bursaries

Moncton-based online recruitment and talent management website CareerBeacon has announced a set of 10 bursaries worth a combined $25,000 for first-year post-secondary students, including $10,000 earmarked specifically for students in the trades.

The YearOne bursaries are a joint project with clothing brand East Coast Lifestyle and residential heating company Wilsons. Last year, the program received about 800 applications.

“Seeing how impactful it was to the winners last year, we immediately knew we wanted to do this again,” said CareerBeacon CEO Yves Boudreau in a statement.

Co-founders Boudreau and Benoit Bourque started their company in 2014 to make backend software for online jobs boards. The company adopted the CareerBeacon name after buying the job board in 2022.

Last month, the company launched a revised interface for posting jobs, including a range of analytics features for tracking metrics like view data.

"The bursary ... aims to foster talent in Atlantic Canada by reducing the financial barriers to higher education," the organizations said in a press release. "The three partners are dedicated to nurturing the educational and career ambitions of the region’s youth."

The deadline to apply is June 30, and you can learn more here.

Planetary Cracks XPRIZE Top 20

Halifax-based Planetary Technologies has cracked the top 20 finalists for the US$100 million Carbon Removal XPRIZE startup competition, building on a prior, $1 million interim award the company won in 2022.

Founded in Ottawa in 2019, Planetary has developed a system to convert alkaline rocks left over from mining operations into a substance called bicarbonate, which it plans to release into marine environments to counteract ocean acidification and chemically extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Inspired by the Orteig Prize that Charles Lindbergh won for completing the first transatlantic flight in 1927, the Carbon Removal XPRIZE is funded by Elon Musk’s foundation and drew more than 1,133 entrants.

“It takes a village (and then some) to solve the world's biggest challenges,” wrote Planetary CEO Mike Kelland in a social media statement.

“I'm so excited to be part of this incredible group of carbon removal innovators and to be moving on to the next phase of this competition.”

Planetary’s process is the brainchild of Chief Technology Officer Greg Rau and creates hydrogen as a byproduct, which the company sells, as well as carbon credits. The company’s inclusion in the top 20 shortlist comes less than a month after it cracked the top 100.

“It is an incredible honour to be included, but I want to highlight the geographic and pathway diversity of this top 20 group,” wrote Omar Sadoon, Planetary’s Director of Procurement. “(There are) so many different countries … Then you look at the variety of solutions being brought forward for each of the four categories (Air, Rocks, Land and Oceans) and it becomes clear that climate innovators are just beginning to battle test an array of solutions in the fight against climate change.”

Planetary was also one of the five startups chosen to pre-sell carbon credits to Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District under its Mission From Mars program.

The pre-purchase deals will involve MaRS receiving the credits gradually over the course of the next three years, as the companies work to implement their nascent technologies. Although MaRS did not reveal the value of the individual purchase agreements, it said in a statement it is buying credits worth a total of 84 tonnes of carbon dioxide, roughly equivalent to the production of 19 passenger vehicles.

Nor is Planetary the first East Coast company to make a strong showing in an XPRIZE. In 2021, fellow Halifax startup CarbonCure Technologies was one of two businesses to split the first prize in the initial Carbon XPRIZE, which offered US$20 million to the winners.

CarbonCure's system for curing concrete with carbon dioxide is also being used by Brisbane, California-based Heirloom Carbon Technologies, another of the current top 20, to demonstrate its technology for the judging panel of 70 internationally recognized climatetech experts.

Founded in 2020, Heirloom has developed a system for using limestone to sequester atmospheric carbon. And last year, the two companies jointly said they had successfully sequestered atmospheric carbon dioxide in concrete in what they described as a world first.

Frenter Signs Integration Deal With Ontario’s Texada

Frenter CEO Zach Laberge

Frenter CEO Zach Laberge

California- and Halifax-based Frenter has signed a deal to incorporate its maintenance and analytics software for heavy equipment into Ontario-based Texada’s equipment business management platform.

Founded in 1984, Texada sells SaaS software for heavy equipment rental, sales and service companies. The integration deal is the second such agreement Frenter has finalized in less than two months, following a similar announcement with Texas-based Boom and Bucket.

Chief executive Zach Laberge launched Frenter nearly four decades later, in 2020. Its product lets 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.

“It’s fun to start to see the vision that we set out to do many years ago,” said Laberge last month. “I used to talk about wanting to build out our ecosystem, wanting to build out all these tools. Now we’re actually starting to see it.”

Frenter’s now 15-person team deployed its first units last fall, with the help of a $1.4 million raise that was led by Silicon Valley’s 1517 Fund and included returning investor Jason Calacanis of Uber fame, as well as Nova Scotia telecom magnate Bill Barrett, Saint Mary’s University’s Venture Grade student investment fund and others.

Propel Announces 12 Traction and Growth Startups

Virtual startup accelerator Propel has announced 12 businesses joining the spring cohort of its Traction and Growth accelerator for scaling companies.

Traction and Growth is meant for startups with more developed operations than those in Propel’s earlier-stage Vision and Validation program. To be eligible, entrepreneurs must have monthly revenue and be working on their business full-time.

“This is an exciting stage for these founders, as they continue to build and shape their companies to their fullest potential, with a laser focus on the customer,” said CEO Kathryn Lockhart in a statement. “It’s terrific to see such a wide range of solutions from across Atlantic Canada.”

Like all of Propel’s programming, the Traction and Growth Accelerator is open to applicants from across Atlantic Canada. Here’s a look at the latest cohort companies:

atlantiq AI Automation Solutions

Nurul Bin Ibrahim

Newfoundland and Labrador

Atlantiq AI sells AI “employees” for small businesses that need to fill staffing gaps, but prefer not to hire a full-time employee.

Cynapse Technologies

Viraf Sarkari, Apurva Roy Choudhury, Romasha Roy Choudhury

P.E.I.

Cynapse is a dashboard app that helps organizations track their key performance indicators.

HCRS Technologies

Michelle Haylock, Paul Terrio

Nova Scotia

HCRS is working on using augmented reality to give information to workers, such as step-by-step directions for tasks.

trippl

Shelley Montreuil, Maureen Adams

P.E.I.

Trippl is an online travel-booking platform that hopes to compete with incumbent players by charging lower commissions.

Canada Gaming Computers

Adam Meftah

P.E.I.

Canada Gaming Computers makes high-performance gaming PCs.

Get It Picked

Ramandeep Singh

Nova Scotia

Get It Picked is an on-demand delivery service launching in Nova Scotia as its beachhead market.

Floqer

Shivam Mahajan, Deep Dave, Zak Ahmed

Nova Scotia

Floqer makes sales software that emphasizes automation and data analysis, such as via web scraping.

Starluv

Adilya Dragan

Newfoundland and Labrador

Starluv is an online marketplace on which users can buy and sell pre-owned clothing and accessories.

Parados Cerebral Solutions

Pascal McCarthy

New Brunswick

Parados’s software analyzes video of workers performing a variety of different movements to assess the risk of someone experiencing a workplace injury.

Sayfaya Cleaning

Hussain Abdullah

Nova Scotia

Sayfaya is an on-demand car cleaning service that will travel to the customer’s doorstep.

Steady Innovation Corporation

Daniel Genest

Newfoundland and Labrador

Steady Innovation Corporation matches contractors with clients in an end-to-end solution from bidding to payment.

Hermetik Trading Technologies

Brendan MacNeil

New Brunswick

Hermetik is developing trading strategies for cryptocurrency, with a particular emphasis on disciplined risk management.

Wilkinson Launches Venture Camp

Venture Camp Founder Vivienne Wilkinson

Venture Camp Founder Vivienne Wilkinson

A young St. John’s founder is launching an entrepreneurship camp to teach kids the basics of running a startup, with the help of counsellors hired from Memorial University’s business school.

Vivienne Wilkinson, aged 13, is the creator of Venture Camp, a startup-focused summer camp that will run this August 12 to 16. The program will teach 10- to 15-year-olds the basics of how startups are created, such as idea validation and the basics of finance, before culminating in a pitch competition with a $1,000 prize.

In an interview Tuesday, she said she became interested in launching a summer camp after looking for one to attend and finding little of interest.

“There are a lot of organizations that want to help founders of businesses, but it’s limited if you’re under 18,” she said. “I noticed there weren’t many camps that I would want to do, or that were interesting business-wise, or for people who would rather not do sports-based activities.”

Venture Camp will be held at the Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship, and Wilkinson said if it proves popular this year, she hopes to make it an annual event.

“One of the business goals of venture camp is creating and becoming the next generation of entrepreneurs, so there will be a wave of young people who have the skills and the entrepreneurship experience to start businesses,” she said.

Nor is this Wilkinson's first foray into business. Her mother, Andrea King, is Director of Media and Government Relations at Nasdaq and previously held a similar role at Verafin, until it was sold to the New York finance giant for US$2.75 billion.

Wilkinson recalled a prior venture in which she, her sister and King collected sea urchins from beaches and used them to make unique Christmas decorations they sold in local markets and gift shops. The ornaments proved popular enough that the trio sold them for several successive years.

"It actually worked pretty well," said Wilkinson. "We made some money from it. It was a fun business idea."

Aging Proactively Completes Tourism Pilot

Aging Proactively President Ed Leach

Aging Proactively President Ed Leach

At the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia, a newly completed pilot project has been innovating in the field of human resources, with the help of a group of longstanding startup community members.

Aging Proactively is the Canadian affiliate of the Boston-based International Age-Friendly Institute. The non-profit is led by President Ed Leach (who with late wife and collaborator Mary Kilfoil introduced the lean startup methodology to Dalhousie University),  as well as IT executive John Hamblin, and social entrepreneur David Upton, previously of consultancy Common Good Solutions.

The project with the the Tourism Industry Association, TIANS, began two years ago this August and gave member companies the chance to pursue the designation of a Certified Age-Friendly Employer, or CAFE, according to a set of strict criteria from the Age-Friendly Institute. Many of the largest tourism-related businesses in Nova Scotia, such as Events East, Coach Atlantic and Ambassatours, are now certified.

“It’s wrapped in and around the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives,” said Leach in an interview. “When you're young, you're visible. As you age, you become invisible, and there are no significant programs. … We’re on a mission to change that.”

With a population that is living longer and retiring later, Leach said hiring older employees can be a winning move for both companies and workers.

In 2022, the average retirement age in Canada was 64.6 — about a four percent increase compared to 1998. And while people are retiring later, they are also living longer, with the country’s average life expectancy reaching 82.6 years in 2022. Not only does working in their later years give employees a way to supplement their income, but Leach said it also offers a potentially helpful way to stay physically and mentally active, as well as socially connected.

For employers, meanwhile, older workers offer a workaround for labour markets that appear set to continue tightening as the ratio of working-age people to seniors decreases. Already the ratio has halved since the 1960s, sitting at about 3.4 working-age people for every senior, data from Statistics Canada shows.

“There is a flawed approach to aging and supporting older adults and the increasing volume of services that will be needed to support older Nova Scotians,” said Leach.

“I see it as an upstream problem … What can we do to increase the ‘health span’ of Nova Scotians while at the same time addressing the current labour shortage? One of the things we can do is to deploy and fund more programs like CAFE, which focus on retention of older workers by addressing their needs for a more flexible career, and recruiting currently retired older adults back to the workforce.”

And in many jobs, seniors’ prior work experience can offer valuable skills. For example, Ambassatours hires significant numbers of former teachers as tour guides for their communication skills and knowledge of Nova Scotia.

Now, Leach hopes the tourism sector will prove a strong foundation for the CAFE program to continue expanding. Employers that have already been certified will also have monthly check-in calls with Aging Proactively to monitor their progress.

Lab2Market Validate Seeks Applicants

Dalhousie University and the University of New Brunswick are looking for applicants to their 16-week Lab2Market Validate startup program this fall.

Aimed at scientific researchers looking to evaluate the market potential of their work, the program offers participants $15,000 of funding, along with training that places a particular emphasis on customer discovery and feedback. Participants are expected to work on their projects full-time.

“The number one reason that entrepreneurs fail at starting a business is that there is no market need for what they are building,” says Dalhousie. “The Lab2Market Validate program is designed using the world's best methodologies and frameworks to help our participants run viable experiments with the market to gain actionable data.”

Dalhousie’s Lab2Market programs are part of a national suite of accelerators and incubators. Newfoundland and Labrador’s Memorial University offers similar Lab2Market programming for bluetech research and the University of New Brunswick hosts an annual cybersecurity cohort.

You can learn more and apply here. The deadline is June 1.

Springboard Receives $9.8M from ACOA

Springboard Chair Michael Maguire, left, chats with Cabinet Minister Gudie Hutchings and CEO Daryl Genge.

Springboard Chair Michael Maguire, left, chats with Cabinet Minister Gudie Hutchings and CEO Daryl Genge.

Springboard Atlantic, an industry network that aims to foster the commercialization of research, including by helping young businesses develop intellectual property strategies, is receiving $9.8 million of operating funding over the next three years from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

The funding package, which includes an additional $5.2 million from Springboard’s member organizations for a total of $15 million, was announced Friday at an event held at The Labs — a facility owned by Invest Nova Scotia that provides laboratory space for startups.

“I don’t think there’s any other growth potential in Atlantic Canada that’s greater than our technology community and our research community,” said CEO Daryl Genge. “We’re very focused on supporting the growth of the economy in areas that are priorities to Atlantic Canada.”

Founded 20 years ago, Springboard has helped organize collaborative research projects worth more than $6 billion, Genge added.

One of the organization’s flagship services of late has been its IP Advantage program, which provides training and funding to East Coast companies to pursue intellectual property protections for their innovation. Startups can apply for funding of up to $50,000 and have up to 90 percent of their costs covered, with an additional $25,000 available to execute the strategy.

“If you are a small startup or industry looking for someone to help you move your innovation forward, to act as the engine room for your research and development advancement, Springboard makes that possible,” said Springboard Chair Michael Maguire.

The organization will hold two events honouring its 20th anniversary this month, one at the Université de Moncton May 7 through 9, and one in Newfoundland close to the end of May, with more details to come.

Evolution Accelerator Applicants Sought

Genesis, the Newfoundland and Labrador startup hub, is looking for applicants to the Summer 2024 cohort of its 10-week Evolution accelerator, which will start in June.

Genesis bills Evolution as a “pre-incubator” course meant to prepare young companies for longer programs, such as its own, three-year Enterprise incubator. Evolution promises to help entrepreneurs clarify their businesses’ value propositions, find product-market fit and find mentors.

The accelerator culminates in a public pitch competition for the cohort’s standout performers, and covers topics such as assessing market size, customer acquisition strategies and developing revenue streams.

To be eligible for Evolution, companies have to be technology-focused, have already identified a pain point that their tech is meant to solve, have less that $1 million in annual revenue or be pre-revenue, and have not yet produced a minimum viable product.

Entrepreneurs can learn more and apply for Evolution here. The deadline is May 17 and the program costs $250.

AlterBiota to Double Staff Following Equity Round

AlterBiota CEO Mark Masotti

AlterBiota CEO Mark Masotti

Concrete additive-maker alterBiota will aim to grow its staff from nine people to 20 or more by the end of this year with the help of a $4 million equity funding round led by Invest Nova Scotia.

Chief Executive Mark Masotti, a chemical engineer who previously headed up Mitsubishi Canada’s business development operations for infrastructure projects, said in an interview the company has created a process for converting wood fibre into a concrete additive. It allows concrete producers to use less cement while sequestering carbon already stored in the wood in a more permanent way, the company says.

The funding package includes $1.5 million each from Invest Nova Scotia and BDC Capital's Climate Tech Fund, and another $1 million from angel investors.

“Anything in concrete takes a long time to scale, so our objective is to be something that is ‘for the masses,’” said Masotti. “(AlterBiota’s additive) can be used in any concrete product by any producer to achieve some level of decarbonization.”

AlterBiota uses a process called pyrolysis — essentially decomposition driven by high temperatures — to transform wood fibres into a substance known as biochar, which is further processed into hydrous Bio Graphene Oxide, or hBGO, a liquid that can be added to the concrete.

Masotti emphasized that alterBiota’s core technology largely combines processes that are already widely used for other applications, as well as relying on off-the-shelf equipment, making the system more readily scaleable.

He began developing the technology in 2018, doing the early work with the help of a lab in his basement while he was on parental leave. By 2021, he was ready to incorporate and moved to Cape Breton, where the company is now headquartered.

The relocation was spurred partly by the availability of funding for very early-stage companies in Nova Scotia, he added, but the single most significant factor was the Verschuren Centre bioprocessing hub near Sydney.

“We would not be in Cape Breton if it weren’t for the Verschuren Centre,” Masotti said. “Invest Nova Scotia and ACOA attracted us to Nova Scotia, but the deal was sealed for us when we met the Verschuren Centre.”

Led by CEO Beth Mason, the Verschuren Centre gives startups access to industrial fermentation and bioprocessing infrastructure. In September, the facility received a $1 million federal grant to help expand its operating capacity by a factor of 15. A bioprocessing cluster has been showing signs of emerging around the centre, with companies like Dispersa and Cotex Technologies relocating some or all of their operations to the area.

Crucially for Masotti, the Verschuren Centre did not ask for equity in alterBiota, instead charging a fee for the use of the facility.

Last summer, the company piloted its additive with several local concrete producers, with more testing planned for this year.

“We are making sure that we’re very comfortable with our approach and our product before we get too far ahead of ourselves,” said Masotti. “We’re at the stage now where we don’t have to find ways to scale from the bench. We’ve already scaled up from the bench to a commercial-scale asset (the Verschuren Centre).

“This allows us to produce enough material that we can seed the market — send out large enough volumes to customers in order to … run full programs with our product and get a good sense of how it works.”

Potential Motors Raises $2M

Potential Motors CEO Sam Poirier

Potential Motors CEO Sam Poirier

Potential Motors, the Fredericton maker of control software for off-road electric vehicles, has raised $2 million as CEO Sam Poirier looks to scale the company’s technical capacity in anticipation of major production deals with manufacturers.

The raise includes returning investors Brightspark Ventures of Toronto, Build Ventures of Halifax and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, as well as a new backer, Ontario’s Farpointe. In a statement, Potential said the funding is packaged as an extension of its 2020 seed round, which it previously added to in 2022. The total value of the round is now about $8.5 million.

In an interview Wednesday, Poirier said he is preparing for several existing testing deals with off-road vehicle manufacturers to transition into larger-scale agreements.

“We’re starting to have those conversations now with some of the companies,” said Poirier. “So that’s really what the financing is around — how do we set ourselves up to be successful in those?”

The answer to that question, for Poirier, is partly to onboard new employees with experience working with automotive mass production. Potential so far has 12 staff, and he plans to increase that figure to 14.

He cites the example of Scott Kunselman, who joined Potential as a strategic advisor in January and was formerly the Chief Engineer behind the popular Ram brand of pickup trucks, as well as Senior Vice President of Engineering at what was then called Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the truck’s maker.

Founded in 2018 by a team of engineering students from the University of New Brunswick, Potential is developing software that manages tasks like modulating how much power is sent to an off-road EV’s wheels, how the vehicle responds to steering input and the behaviour of adjustable suspension systems.

Road-going vehicles rely on similar technology, but the reduced traction and uneven terrain of off-road environments presents unique challenges. Potential’s core innovation is an AI solution that adjusts the vehicle's suspension and torque settings in response to conditions ahead, using data from sources such as the vehicle’s cameras.

In December, Potential announced a testing deal to integrate its technology into vehicles made by Minnesota-based CFMOTO Powersports, which sells ATVs and other off-road vehicles. And in April, the company said it had logged more than 3,000 hours of real-world testing of its system, much of it under the deal with CFMOTO.

An advantage for Potential in having positioned itself as a specialist in off-road technology, Poirier said, is the business is now well-positioned to capitalize on what he sees as a broader sea change in the automotive AI market.

Autonomous technology for public roads is not advancing as quickly as some industry leaders hoped. Tesla, for one, had planned to bring self-driving taxis to market by 2020. Poirier sees the success of all-terrain vehicle-makers like electric truck company Rivian and Tesla’s Cybertruck as evidence of consumer interest shifting to what some observers have called the “adventure market” — Jeep being one of the earliest examples of the category.

“As we talked to these different OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), we were finding more and more that … the autonomy side, they’re almost getting regulated towards it,” he said. “But the other side, which is what drives a lot of people to actually buy their vehicles, is this new set of capabilities that allow somebody to go out and adventure, and explore.”

Simmonds Strikes Gold in New Book

It must be a decade ago that Ross Simmonds began espousing his DREAM mantra in his marketing seminars. It stood for “Distribution Rules Everything Around Me.”

Years have passed and Simmonds is still preaching about the importance of distribution, now in his new book Create Once, Distribute Forever. The book establishes concisely and effectively that distribution is the key to state-of-the-art digital marketing.

Simmonds, for those of you who don’t know him, is the Founder of Halifax-based Foundation Marketing and a bit of a legend in tech/marketing circles. He’s a wonderful and witty speaker, an insightful mentor, and literally has the coolest Twitter/X handle in existence (@thecoolestcool). He’s even a congenial Philadelphia Eagles fan. (We knew there had to be at least one somewhere.)

Order Create Once Distribute Forever by Clicking Here

His lucid prose brings out his congeniality, but more important it delivers an impactful message to anyone interested in reaching potential clients. Simmonds’ sweet spot is B2B SaaS marketing, but his methodology extends well beyond that narrow focus. It pertains to all marketing. Personally, I found a ton of useful information for the marketing of my novels.

At no point in his book does Simmonds diminish the importance of quality of content in digital marketing. He simply believes it’s more important to get that content out there to more people using proper channels and techniques. And as the title suggests, he believes in repackaging and recirculating content again and again, in various forms and on various channels.

“Today, I can reach millions of people and earn millions of dollars without dropping a penny on paid media because of the distribution channels I’ve built,” he writes.

Create Once, Distribute Forever is a step-by-step guide to maximizing the return on each piece of content. A dedicated fan of Sherlock Holmes, Simmonds has devised what he calls his Sherlock Homeboy Method of marketing. In other words, you become a sleuth researching the best way possible to capture an audience, then you attack those channels doggedly.

“Don’t assume you know where your audience is spending their time,” Simmonds advises, adding the marketer should reverse-engineer marketing channels to discover where they can reach their target audience.

The holy grail for Simmonds is to unlock the content-market fit.

Once you discover the best channels, find ways to use and re-use the content you’ve created, he says. For example, say you wrote a blog. You published it, and it had a few hits, and your friends liked it when you pushed it out on Facebook.

That, says Simmonds, is only the beginning.

Put pithy quotes from the blog on other social media channels, linking back to the original article. Use the blog as the basis of a YouTube video. Take clips of that video for Facebook and Instagram stories. And don’t feel you can only post this stuff once. As the title says, you create the content once but you can use it FOREVER to capture the people who missed it the first (second, third, fourth, etc.) time. 

“Content marketing remix is the act of taking one asset and turning it into multiple, slightly adjusted assets,” writes Simmonds. “The written word is extremely versatile. And a long-form blog post could become a shorter blog post, which in turn could become the basis for status updates on all of your social media channels and platforms that operate in short-form text posts.”

The strengths of this book are its detail and its practical application. Simmonds takes his readers through each distribution channel – from emails to social networks to Medium and Reddit – discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each, and how to use them to your advantage.

If there’s a shortcoming to the book, it’s that Simmonds mentions these tactics can generate a lot of money, but I was left wondering how. Was it that they drove sales for a product? Did they bring clients to his marketing company? Or did the content itself generate revenue when crafted and distributed properly? I get that real marketers and social media specialists already know the answers, but I would have liked the point fleshed out.

I’m picking nits here, because this is an overwhelmingly splendid book.  It shows how to market content properly and sounds a call to action to get out and do it.

EmployNXT, qualiTEAS Draw Accelerator Plaudits

EmployNXT Chief Executive Shubhra Singh

EmployNXT Chief Executive Shubhra Singh

Two East Coast businesses, Halifax’s EmployNXT and St. John’s-based qualiTEAS, will participate in events hosted by startup support organizations outside Atlantic Canada in the coming weeks.

EmployNXT, which sells an AI system that matches employers with job applicants in a manner designed to guard against bias or discrimination, is part of the latest cohort of Calgary-based Movement51’s Founder Lab accelerator.

Co-founded by CEO Shubhra Singh, Purvasha Dewanjee and Rajat Budhiraja, EmployNXT works by matching job applicants with employers based partly on skills testing, with information such as applicants’ race and gender concealed to prevent it from influencing hiring decisions.

And Movement51 is a non-profit that aims to back female and gender-diverse founders, with Founder Lab being the organization’s hybrid digital and in-person accelerator for early-stage companies that are actively looking to raise a round of pre-seed funding. The program lasts 10 weeks and culminates with a demo day in Alberta.

“The Founder Lab program offers invaluable resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities that will propel EmployNXT's growth and success,” said the company in a statement. “We're excited to connect with like-minded innovators and continue our mission of empowering job seekers and employers alike.”

QualiTEAS, meanwhile, was founded by a group of Memorial University grad students in 2018 and has developed technology for inspecting industrial infrastructure for corrosion, such as can generate leaks and greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector.

The company is one of 18 finalists that will present May 7 at a national security-focused pitch competition from Cap Vista, a deeptech investor owned by Singapore’s Ministry of Defence. The pitch competition will cap off this year’s edition of Cap Vista’s accelerator program, which ran for two months in February and March.

In March, qualiTEAS was also one of 12 alumni from the national Ocean Startup Project accelerator to receive $5,000 each of follow-on funding.

Tribe to Host Youth Climate Pitch Competition

Tribe Network, the Halifax-based startup house focused on supporting BIPOC founders, will award $15,000 at the finals of its Youth Climate Pitch Competition on May 9.

Slated to be held at Tribe’s offices on Barrington Street at 1:00 p.m., the event is being hosted under a partnership with the Halifax Climate Investment, Innovation and Impact, or HCi3 Fund. Entry is open to competitors aged 16 to 30, with their ideas to focus on renewable energy generation, energy efficiency or clean transportation. Competitors will also have received coaching on their ideas and pitches.

Grade 10-12 students will compete for a $5,000 prize, while a separate category for young professionals will offer $10,000 to the winner.

HCi3, for its part, is a subsidiary of cleantech industry group EfficiencyOne, as well as one of seven non-profit organizations that make up the Low Carbon Cities Canada, along with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

You can learn more and reserve a seat here.

Kraken Robotics Raises $17.5M

St. John’s-based Kraken Robotics has announced a $17.5 million equity funding deal with a syndicate of investors led by Toronto’s Cormark Securities, with plans to spend some of the money in expanding its manufacturing capacity and physical capital.

The raise was a “bought deal” public offering, meaning investment bank Cormark and its partners have purchased the stock directly, rather than merely facilitating its sale to other investors. Kraken said in a statement it expects the deal to close around May 16, and the investment banks have the right to purchase shares worth up to the equivalent of 15 percent of the funding package within the following 30 days.

The announcement comes just days after Kraken appointed Boston lawyer and private equity veteran Peter Hunter as its chairman, as the company continues to see strong revenue growth, particularly from its subsea batteries.

“Kraken expects to use the net proceeds to facilitate its long term strategy … further strengthen the company’s balance sheet in anticipation of upcoming customer and partners' decisions and source selection on additional large, new program and contract opportunities, and for general corporate purposes,” said the robotics-maker in a statement.

Earlier this month, Kraken posted record revenue figures for the second quarter in a row, revealing it brought in $28 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, which was a 218 percent increase over the same quarter the year prior.

Seventy percent of that revenue came from product sales and 30 percent from Kraken’s service business. The company’s revenue guidance for 2023 is now $66 million to $78 million of revenue, with earnings of $12 million to $17 million, and it expects to make between $90 million and $100 million of revenue in 2024.

Kraken’s shares, which trade on the TSX Venture, have stayed mostly flat since the funding announcement, closing at $1.02 Monday.

13 Companies Join Accelerate

Invest Nova Scotia has announced the 13 companies joining the latest cohort of its Accelerate startup program.

Now in its fourth year, Accelerate offers participating startups four months of business and technical training and $40,000 of funding. It is completely virtual and aimed at companies that have already established market opportunities for products based on science or engineering-related intellectual property, as well as having completed or nearly completed a proof of concept or prototype.

Here’s a look at the companies:

AGTECH

Aruna Revolution Health

Rashmi Prakash and Gurleen Bajwa

Halifax

Aruna has developed compostable menstrual pads made from natural fibres extracted from food and crop waste.

CLEANTECH

Acuicy

Allison Murray and Dawne Skinner

Halifax

Acuicy sells business intelligence software to help customers build net-zero supply chains faster and at lower cost.

Lab 4

Nifemi Oguntuase

Dartmouth

Lab 4 hopes to offer sustainable access to key minerals through lithium-ion battery recycling

HEALTHTECH

KardioDiagnostix

Dr. Robert Chen and Dr. Santokh Dhillon

Halifax

KardioDiagnostix uses AI to help primary care providers assess cardiac murmurs for heart defects.

Resolve Health Data

Chris Crowell

Halifax

Resolve is developing software to help solve the problem of unstructured — disorganized — data in healthcare.

Think Self Management

Michelle Lehman

Halifax

Think Self Management is a digital hub for chronic disease self-management tools and resources.

OCEANTECH

Clearbot

Sidhant Gupta

Halifax

Clearbot uses unmanned, solar-powered boats to automate some types of dangerous marine work.

GC Lipid Tech

Dilan Jaunky

Sydney, NS

GC Lipid Tech plans to use genetically enhanced algae as an ingredient for sustainable fish feed.

Integrative Nanotech

Hunter King

Halifax

Integrative Nanotech has developed nanotechnology-enabled hydrogen sensors for leak detection systems to improve safety and reduce product losses, such as for the energy sector.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Essential Recruit

Daniel Morka and Dare Obadina

Halifax

Essential Recruit is a customer relationship management software tool for the human resources industry, with a focus on using AI for recruiting.

Jybe Financial

Michael Tiller

Halifax

Jybe is a buy now, pay later platform that aims to help consumers save on monthly digital subscriptions.

ROCarbon Labs

Megan McCarthy

Halifax

ROCarbon sells digital measurement and verification technology for the carbon credit market.

Vergo

Christian Browne

Halifax

Vergo is working on a computer vision system to spot suboptimal workplace safety practices.

Halifax Cleantechs Pre-Sell Carbon Credits to MaRS

Three of the five startups chosen to pre-sell carbon credits to Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District under its Mission From Mars program are based in Halifax -- Carbon Run, Planetary Technology and Gaia Refinery.

The pre-purchase deals will involve MaRS receiving the credits gradually over the course of the next three years, as the companies work to implement their nascent technologies. Although MaRS did not reveal the value of the individual purchase agreements, it said in a statement it is buying credits worth a total of 84 tonnes of carbon dioxide, roughly equivalent to the production of 19 passenger vehicles. 

“This purchase may seem small, but as one of the first charitable organizations in Canada to do this, it is expected to have an outsized impact by supporting the initial development and adoption of this crucial technology while also creating awareness of its need and potential,” says the organization.

“MaRS will also share learnings from the purchase process with corporate and ecosystem partners with the aim of building domestic demand for Canadian carbon removal solutions and the carbon credits that result from their deployment.”

Carbon Run is the brainchild of CEO Luke Connell, Dalhousie hydrologist Shannon Sterling and freshwater ecologist Edmund Halfyard. The trio have developed a system for adding natural limestone to rivers with the goal of increasing alkalinity, which can produce a chemical reaction that helps trap carbon to eventually be sequestered in the ocean.

"I’m thrilled about the exciting prospects that lie ahead with CarbonRun’s new approach to carbon dioxide removal," said Sterling in a statement last fall. "By enhancing the natural capacity of rivers to drawdown carbon, our solution has the potential to play a pivotal role in our arsenal against climate change.

"River-based carbon dioxide removal offers valuable advantages: it is remarkably swift and easily quantifiable, delivers tangible ecological benefits, and can empower local communities in the process."

Founded by CEO Genny Shaw and CTO Tammy Cai, meanwhile, the Saint John-based Gaia is developing carbon sequestration technology that combines two processes, direct air capture and biomass conversion. Direct air capture is the process of using vertical panels to filter greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, and biomass conversion refers to using plant material to store greenhouse gases.

Shaw said during a phone call that part of what makes Gaia's technology innovative is that the two processes assist each other, making the system more efficient.

And Planetary Technology has developed a system to convert alkaline rocks left over from mining operations into a substance called bicarbonate, which it plans to release into the marine environment to counteract ocean acidification and chemically extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Helmed by CEO Mike Kelland, the company was announced as one of 100 finalists for the US$100 million Carbon Removal XPRIZE, which is funded by the Elon Musk Foundation and will award its grand prize in 2025. Planetary and the other finalists were chosen to receive the award from a field of 1,133 entrants.

"Planetary's latest submission to the XPRIZE competition was no joke, with many hours of review, scrutiny, and diligence going into it," wrote Director of Procurement Omar Sadoon in a social media statement. "That's why it's an incredible honor for our Planetary team to be called amongst the best in the world as a carbon removal solution."

Sparrow in Ukraine

Sparrow Bioacoustics CEO Mark Attila Opauzsky.

Sparrow Bioacoustics CEO Mark Attila Opauzsky.

As Ukraine’s healthcare system grapples with the effects of the war, its cardiologists are receiving a helping hand from an unlikely source: St. John’s-based Sparrow Bioacoustics.

Led by CEO Mark Attila Opauzsky, Sparrow has been piloting its Stethophone app with a group of Ukrainian cardiology clinics since last year. And earlier this month, Stethophone was used by doctors from non-profit FRIDA Ukraine during a two-day aid trip to the contested Sumy Oblast region.

The app was recently approved by U.S. regulators as a Class II medical device, similar to products like blood pressure cuffs. In Ukraine, it has so far been used mainly by doctors, but Opauzsky said in an interview he expects his 38-person staff will roll it out for private citizens in May and June.

“We were trying to decide where we would start to release the product first, and we wanted to do some good right away,” he said. “We also wanted a group that we could pilot with, and so we went through the Ukrainian health authority approval process over a year ago.

“It’s a country that is sophisticated. It has an extremely high ratio of doctors to people, it has a very high rate of cardiovascular disease, and because of the disruptions, people aren’t able to get to the doctor’s. People aren’t getting diagnosed early enough.”

According to the European Society of Cardiology, 772 out of every 100,000 Ukrainian men and 440 out of every 100,000 women were dying of cardiovascular disease even before the Russian invasion. Those rates are more than triple Canada’s.

And the World Health Organization has found that in the past two years, the Ukrainian health system has grappled with major service disruptions, especially in the regions where the fighting has been heaviest.

“In some cases, we were finding things that nobody knew they had,” said Opauzsky. “So brand new pathologies were being discovered."

He added the company will soon move into "the next phase, where we’re going to be really trying to push it out more into the public itself, in particular to individuals who have been displaced or haven’t had a chance to get to the doctor in a while.”

Stethophone uses a combination of a device’s microphone and software processing to amplify relevant audio. Its purpose is to offer patients a way to self-monitor and document their symptoms in detail, for later analysis by a physician.

The process is possible thanks to the sophisticated microphones found in modern iPhones and most mid- to high-end Android devices. And because many manufacturers source parts from the same suppliers, Opauzsky said there is significant standardization across brands. If the quality of a recording is poor, Stethophone will prompt the user to collect more audio, and if the quality of the microphone is completely untenable, the system will warn its user.

“We’ve benchmarked it against the gold standard digital stethoscopes and similar tools,” he said. “And in every case, we’ve come out either as good or in some cases better, in terms of what the doctor can actually hear when they hold the phone to someone’s chest.”

Atlantiq AI Wins Clients, Launching App

Nurul Ibrahim

Nurul Ibrahim

Amid an upswell of AI startups focused on finding new uses for large language models, St. John’s-based atlantiq AI hopes to distinguish itself by offering software that automates day-to-day tasks for small businesses, like lead generation.

Founder Nurul Ibrahim is a Memorial University physics student, and his graduation this spring coincides with the release of atlantiq’s mobile app in about two weeks.

In an interview Thursday, he said his goal is to automate tasks for which small employers would otherwise need expanded staffs. For example, atlantiq AI can conduct account research for salespeople, as well as manage digital marketing campaigns.

“I think that’s our unique proposition,” said Ibrahim. “It’s not just about chat, it’s about actually getting things done."

Atlantiq's software interacts directly with systems such as email servers and customer relationship management software, with users entering their credentials via sign-in pages from platforms like Google.

To date, Ibrahim and his team offer AIs for customer service, sales and marketing, with a focus on the e-commerce, financial services, education and tourism industries. They have signed eight clients since the business was created last year, with letters of interest from about another 30. So far, Ibrahim’s team has customized their offering for each client, but when the app launches, it will be sold under a more standardized freemium model.

“Let’s say you have a sales prospect — it searches through all the data on LinkedIn or on any other platform, and then it sends a personalized email to the prospect,” said Ibrahim. “Then it also carries out the conversation … so you don’t have to worry about these things. If there are any issues, it will address it to you.”

Atlantiq was one of six finalists to compete in the final round of Newfoundland and Labrador startup hub Genesis’s Pitch Showcase for companies from its Evolution accelerator.

“The problem (for many small businesses) is workforce, so they’re just stuck in this slow growth cycle,” said Ibrahim. “They cannot just hire more employees, because they need to make more money. But to make more money, they would have to hire more employees.

“Our solution is we give them virtual employees … that can also scale up and complete more difficult tasks as needed. They can all communicate together, like real employees, and they can strategize to get to one goal together.”

Mendonça Takes Helm at Ocean Startup Project

The Ocean Startup Project has a new Executive Director: Memorial University biologist Paula Mendonça, who was previously seconded to the bluetech industry group from her role as the school’s Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Mendonça succeeds Don Grant, who led the organization from 2020 until his departure for a role in the private sector last year.

“Paula's unparalleled expertise and her exceptional track record in innovation make her the perfect leader to steer our ambitious Project,” said steering committee chair Jeff White, who is also CEO of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation.

“Her passion for ocean technology and commitment to fostering a dynamic and collaborative ecosystem resonate deeply with our goals. We are confident that Paula's leadership will be instrumental in launching us into a new era of ocean innovation and success.”

Mendonça also previously led the creation of the Lab2Market Oceans Validate program for very early-stage companies, and one of her first roles on the job will be to oversee the inaugural Lab2Market Oceans Discover accelerator.

Chick Pick, Solyntek Receive $50K from NBIF

Two companies that graduated from the University of New Brunswick’s Energia Ventures startup program this month, Chick Pick and Solyntek, are receiving $50,000 each from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation as part of its backing for the accelerator.

Energia, which is based in Fredericton at UNB’s J. Herbert Smith Centre for Technology Management and Entrepreneurship, is aimed at energy, cleantech, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence companies.

Founded in 2022 by electrical engineers Ryan Whitney and Frederik Pare, Chick Pick sells technology to help poultry hatcheries sort chicks via machine learning and computer vision technology. The business originally began as a university project, with a pilot project now underway.

Solyntek, meanwhile, is a Montreal-based workplace safety startup that aims to use AI to identify and mitigate hazards. Led by CEO Iskander El Amri, its technology relies on a combination of video from security cameras and computer vision. For example, it can act as an early warning system for coal storage fires.

“Solyntek’s innovative AI-powered Danger Zone Detection Solution offers a cutting-edge approach to construction site safety,” says the company. “By integrating AI and computer vision technologies, the system constantly monitors construction sites, detecting any instances of danger zone intrusion (by workers).”

NS Oyster Farm Taps Outside-the-Box Funding Partner

Emily Mercy, Blake Bunting and Elliot Warner

Emily Mercy, Blake Bunting and Elliot Warner

A Nova Scotia oyster farm is retooling its business model with the help of a novel financing method.

Sober Island Oysters is aiming to borrow $100,000 from investors on Goparity Canada, a British Columbia-based impact investing platform that lets individual citizens pool their funds in increments of as little as $10 to back private debt deals. The money will go towards transitioning the operation into growing more mature oysters that will eventually be sold as food and away from cultivating the very young oysters it sells to other hatcheries.

The funding model is possible thanks to Goparity’s regulatory status as an exempt market dealer — a type of securities dealer permitted to sell certain private market investments to retail investors. The practice is relatively uncommon in Canada, and Co-Founder Emily Mercy said in an interview Tuesday she believes her business is the first exempt market dealer in the country to focus on the impact investing space, thanks to its licenses in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

“The reason why myself and my co-founders started this business is because we found that … we wanted to [help businesses] sustainably and according to our values, but generally we lacked options to do so, and the options that did exist weren’t super transparent,” said Mercy, who participated in a Volta pitch competition last year. “You can invest in an ESG fund, or invest in a green bond or something, but you don’t really get to see how the investment is doing good beyond just the label that it’s given.”

By transparency, Mercy is referring to the convention in impact investing of aiming to quantify a business’s social and environmental impacts in ways analogous to tracking its financial performance, which is meant to to ensure founders cannot simply claim to be doing good without providing evidence.

For Sober Island Oysters, which was founded by Trevor and Michelle Munroe in 2005, one component of its ESG pitch involves the benefits of oysters for stabilizing shorelines, such as during storms — a topic that became particularly relevant for the Monroes in 2022, when Hurricane Fiona destroyed much of the young oyster crop the couple were growing. The more developed oysters they plan to begin cultivating are hardier and better able to resist extreme weather, and will cover 3.5 hectares of water of the Sober Island farm's nine total.

Oysters also filter pollutants, naturally occurring or otherwise, from the water, and sequester carbon from  the surrounding environment using their shells, which can be up to about 12 percent carbon.

Mercy co-founded Goparity Canada in 2021 with software engineer and business graduate Elliot Warner and mechanical engineer and computer scientist Blake Bunting, after the trio began collaborating with a more mature, Portuguese startup of the same name. The Portuguese Goparity later bought into Goparity Canada. And if finding enough backers for a given funding package on the Canadian platform proves problematic, Mercy and her co-founders can choose to bring the deal to investors on the European side.

Goparity Canada has since grown to include four full-time employees, with another due to arrive in the coming weeks, as well as three part-time staff.

“You don’t have to be super rich or have any professional experience in this space, you can just participate and invest in your own community,” said Mercy. “We saw we had really aligned values, and an aligned vision for the finance space.

“My co-workers and I had an understanding of the Canadian financial market, and [Portuguese Goparity] had this product, this platform. We felt that if we partnered together, we could … bring this type of accessible, transparent impact investing to Canadians.”

AVSS Wins FAA Nod

A drone equipped with an AVSS parachute

A drone equipped with an AVSS parachute

Rothesay, New Brunswick-based Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions has won approval from the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration for its parachute systems to be used as a “means of compliance” for drone operators to meet legal requirements related to safety equipment.

In particular, AVSS said in a statement its system can be used to comply with the FAA’s “flight over people” rules for small, unmanned aircraft. The company has been pursuing the means of compliance certification since 2020.

The process was developed under a partnership with Ottawa-based Biokinetics — a private research institution focused on the science of impacts.

“This AVSS (means of compliance) is a major step for the US market and will directly benefit AVSS’s parachute recovery system end users and manufacturers," said the company in a statement. "Instead of applying for a waiver … pilots simply need the required drone and parachute combination from AVSS.”

Led by chief executive Josh Ogden, the 2017-founded AVSS’ first product was a parachute system to catch drones that had suffered engine failures, protecting both the equipment and anyone standing below them. More recently, Ogden's team also launched a Guided Delivery System, which helps drones deliver packages to remote locations.

Last fall, AVSS was one of three startups to win out of a field of 17 at Pitch the Press — a high-profile competition at the Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas.

Genesis CEO Michelle Simms Bows Out

Michelle Simms

Michelle Simms

Michelle Simms, the longtime CEO of Newfoundland and Labrador startup hub Genesis is stepping down from the role, she announced Tuesday.

Simms, who has worked at Genesis for 22 years and been Chief Executive since 2016, said in a social media post that she is leaving the role to pursue another, as-yet-undisclosed opportunity, with her last day on the job slated to be May 24.

“Undoubtedly, the greatest part of my job, and the hardest part to leave, are the people I have had the pleasure of working with,” wrote Simms. “Your passion is unmatched, and I am forever grateful to call you all colleagues. 

“Genesis has given me more than I ever could have imagined--I am leaving with a lifetime of cherished memories, friendships, and lessons. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who helped make the last 22 years such an incredible experience!”

At Genesis, Simms has presided over the growth of the organization as one of the core components of the Newfoundland startup ecosystem and led a team that worked with several of the most valuable innovation businesses in the province’s history.

For example, Verafin co-founders Jamie King, Brendan Brothers and Raymond Pretty relied heavily on Genesis’s services in their company’s early days. In 2021, they sold the company to Nasdaq for US$2.75 billion. And the same year, Mysa Smart Thermostats, which was incubated at Genesis under Simms’ tenure, raised a Series B round of more than $20 million.

Simms' announcement drew praise from her counterparts at other startup support organizations, as well as companies she has worked with, such as medical device-maker Granville Biomedical.

Said Brett Vokey, Founder and CEO of BreatheSuite, in a message to SImms: "It should not be understated the impact you've made on the NL startup ecosystem. Hundreds of companies have navigated their ways to market, establishing a great foundation for economy moving forward."

PolyUnity Renews Ottawa Children’s Hospital Contract

PolyUnity CEO Jacqueline Lee

PolyUnity CEO Jacqueline Lee

PolyUnity has signed a five-year deal with the Ottawa-based Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, or CHEO, building on a 2022 and 2023 trial that saw 460 damaged pieces of equipment repaired with the St. John’s startup’s 3D printing technology.

CHEO said in a statement that supply chain woes, including problems obtaining parts for existing equipment, is leading it to turn to innovation-focused businesses for solutions. The trial from the last two years was organized by the Early Adopter Health Network, which supports the commercialization of medical technologies and is part of the non-profit Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization.

“Our healthcare organizations are continuously asked do more with less,” said PolyUnity CEO Jacqueline Lee in a statement. “And this is why innovation becomes critical to delivering value-based healthcare services. We’re so proud of the 200-plus innovative products created in collaboration with CHEO’s team members and are excited to continue creating more solutions together.”

PolyUnity, which hired its 20th staff member last year, provides equipment and software for hospitals to 3D print medical equipment and components faster than conventional procurement methods, using a digital parts catalogue customized for each client.

The company was founded in 2018 by three Memorial University med students, now doctors, to 3D print medical simulation models. Initially, they planned to sell only the designs, not the printing equipment, with the switch to the printing technology itself coming in response to customer demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lee, who joined PolyUnity as its Chief Executive in 2021, has previously cited as an example the trays used to transport COVID-19 vaccines from cold storage units to frontline healthcare sites. PolyUnity had prototyped a solution and begun production within a few weeks of beginning work, and its trays were used throughout Newfoundland and Labrador’s widely praised vaccination program.

“Creating innovative solutions for supply chain issues and delivering replacement parts quickly for organizations like CHEO has a direct impact on patients,” said PolyUnity President Mark Gillingham. “And this work is especially meaningful to us at PolyUnity.”

Kraken Posts Record Revenue Once More

For the second quarter in a row, St. John’s-based Kraken Robotics has posted record revenue figures, revealing it brought in $28 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, a 218 percent increase over the same quarter the year prior.

Seventy percent of that revenue came from product sales, Kraken said in a statement, and 30 percent from its service business. The company’s revenue guidance for the full year is now $66 million to $78 million of revenue, with earnings of $12 million to $17 million.

The company also repeated a previous comment that it expects to make between $90 million and $100 million of revenue in 2024, and $18 million to $24 million of earnings, based on contracts it has already signed, mostly with the defence and offshore energy sectors.

“2023 was a very strong year for Kraken, with 70 percent growth in revenue and 166 percent growth in Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization),” said CEO Greg Reid. “We expect our strong growth trajectory to continue in 2024.

“In 2023, we made significant improvements in our business, including strengthening our technical and commercial depth, adding specific skillsets to our board of directors, and making significant investments in headcount and infrastructure. While not always apparent to external parties, these changes are positioning us to capture significant new business and improve our execution in the future.”

One area of particularly strong growth for Kraken has been subsea batteries, particularly from the Canadian Navy, which uses them for mine hunting. On Thursday, the company also announced it had received a new $6 million order for subsea batteries from “a customer that cannot be disclosed.”

Kraken stock traded down slightly on the TSX Venture Friday and currently sits around 96 cents, with a market cap of more than $198 million.

CDL Atlantic Open for Applications

Creative Destruction Lab Atlantic is looking for applicants for its two programs for the 2024-2025 season.

The Atlantic Canadian branch of the Toronto-based organization operates two programs each winter: the Prime Stream, which is open to companies in any sector; and the Oceans Stream for bluetech companies.

CDL is a nine-month, milestone-based accelerator that operates in six countries. The program, which does not charge founders a participation fee or take equity, is divided into a series of five meetings over nine months, with an emphasis on entrepreneurs setting and then meeting key growth objectives.

Participants are mentored by experienced entrepreneurs, who are encouraged to invest in the companies they’re working with. Mentors who participated in previous CDL Atlantic sessions have included figures like Clearwater Fine Foods billionaire and prolific investor John Risley and Jevon MacDonald, former CEO of Manifold and GoInstant.

The deadline to apply to the Oceans Stream is July 5 and the Prime Stream July 26. You can find more information and applications here.

Clean Valley Plans “Hardware-as-a-Service” Model

Clean Valley Founder Nicholas LaValle

Clean Valley Founder Nicholas LaValle

When Halifax’s Clean Valley CIC closes its current funding round, it hopes to have $1.5 million to help pay for up-front production costs as it looks to transition to a “hardware-as-a-service” revenue model.

“Instead of having our customer pay a large capital cost, they’ll pay much smaller, monthly, incremental fees,” Founder Nicholas LaValle said in an interview Wednesday. “And the reason why we see that as an important shift is because, rather than having one customer that we sell one system to one year, we have a contract to maintain (the system) for many years to come.”

Founded in 2018, Clean Valley has developed technology for growing algae in wastewater from land-based aquaculture pens. The algae can then be fed to oysters, after which the now-filtered water is circulated back into the pen. The algae- and oyster-growing systems are each housed in 20-foot shipping containers.

The company bills its technology as more sustainable than other water filtration methods, because its cyclical design does not rely on harsh chemicals and relies on processes that already occur in nature.

“It’s unfortunate, but a lot of people still don’t see farmed fish as a natural product,” said LaValle. “They would much rather go with fish that’s coming out of the ocean, because it’s deemed to be more natural. But we have no idea where that fish has been. … That fish could have been absorbing microplastics and living in oil its entire life.

“So we want to rebuild the trust between the average person and the fish farmer.

A rendering of a Clean Valley oyster hatchery

Clean Valley’s flagship trial with Portuguese aquaculture operator SEAentia — which had already been underway for nine months when the businesses renewed it for another six months last September — now looks set to continue indefinitely.

“We intend on turning that into our first commercial unit, that we can use to showcase what the need is and what value proposition we can give to fish farmers around the globe,” said LaValle.

Last November, Clean Valley secured a patent for its system. LaValle and his five-person team will manufacture some parts of the system in-house, outsourcing other components to suppliers in North America and Europe. The $1.5 million raise builds on a prior, $580,000 friends and family round. The company also recently received funding from national startup support organization Futurpreneur’s Black Entrepreneurship Startup Program, which aims to help Black founders overcome systemic obstacles and racial barriers.

LaValle has also had talks with several First Nations groups about potentially deploying Clean Valley’s technology in Indigenous-owned aquaculture operations, as well as about the possibility of using oyster beds as a protective layer for infrastructure like wastewater treatment plants.

“The multi-tropic biofilter is built off the principles of recreating the ocean, and doing it on land, to grow fish as cleanly and naturally as possible,” he said.

AVF Seeks Presenting Companies

The Atlantic Venture Forum, the annual conference for Atlantic Canadian startups, is looking for companies to pitch at the event in Halifax in June.

The AVF, which will be held at the city's Convention Centre on June 5 and 6, aims to attract investors and influencers from outside the region, offering founders an opportunity to meet funders without leaving the East Coast. 

The AVF’s industry advisory board, which decides which startups present in person, is focusing on companies in the following streams: 

  • Climate Tech & Sustainability
  • Health Technology & Life Sciences
  • Enterprise Solutions
  • Ag & Food Tech
  • Energy Transition
  • Fintech

The advisory board will select “presenting companies” to pitch in person at the event. Most of the remaining applicants will be offered the opportunity to join the "company showcase", which means they can submit a video pitch to be showcased in the event app. Both presenting companies and those in the company showcase will receive a free delegate pass for the two-day event.

The deadline to enter is tomorrow, Friday, April 19. You can enter and find more information and application details here.

DOT Moves to Larger Manufacturing Space

DOT team members Vince Sieben, left, Arnold Furlong, Lee Miller, and Roger Race

DOT team members Vince Sieben, left, Arnold Furlong, Lee Miller, and Roger Race

Dartmouth Ocean Technologies, or DOT, has moved into new office and manufacturing space on Brownlow Avenue in Dartmouth, as CEO Arnold Furlong looks to scale the company in response to strong demand for its environmental DNA monitoring tech.

One driver behind DOT’s expansion plans is a $1 million deal with the Department of National Defence to develop an environmental DNA, or eDNA, monitoring device to complement the company’s existing sampler device, which so far requires material be sent to a lab for analysis.

Environmental DNA refers to the process of using trace amounts of genetic material left behind by the organisms in a body of water to determine which flora and fauna are present. It represents a comparatively recent business track for DOT, but Furlong said in an interview that the technology is the company’s fastest-growing vertical.

“It’s a big move for us, as a startup that’s been developing technology for the last four years and a bit,” said Furlong, whose team now includes 10 people. “We’re starting to sell product around the globe, and we’ve just hired a couple more employees, so we need more space for both technology development and production work.”

Founded in 2019 by serial entrepreneur Furlong and Director of Innovation Roger Race, a biologist and engineer, DOT was originally created to build a fibreglass device dubbed the V-Wing, which is a wing that can be outfitted with sensors and towed behind a boat. The company now also sells alkalinity sensors, including a recent sales agreement with the University of Hawaii.

A key market for DOT is scientific research, Furlong added, with Fisheries and Oceans Canada having bought six of the roughly 20 environmental DNA samplers Furlong’s team has sold so far.

“It will tell you, ‘There’s whales, there’s dolphins, there’s fish, there’s kelp, there’s people, bacteria,' it will give you the whole genome picture,” he said, adding that another, simpler test offers the ability to check for the presence of specific organisms, if a researcher already knows what they are looking for.

Also emerging as a significant customer base are wind energy companies looking to track how wind farms impact marine biodiversity. Research from groups such as Britain’s Plymouth Marine Laboratory suggests the structures may act as artificial reefs, and with biodiversity tax credits becoming a persistent talking point in European politics, Furlong said renewable energy providers on the continent have shown particular interest in DOT’s offerings.

“As an example, a country might want to know the biodiversity before it puts a stretch of coastline up for lease,” he said. “A survey company might be hired to monitor what’s going on along that stretch of coastline if the energy company decides to go forward with putting a wind energy site in place.

“And ultimately, when it’s time to tear that wind energy site down in 30 or 40 years, is there more biodiversity after the fact, or is there less biodiversity?”

Tribe to Host Pitch Competition

Halifax-based Tribe Network will host a pitch competition, dubbed Innovate and Elevate, for Black founders from across Atlantic Canada on May 23.

Shortlisted entrepreneurs will deliver three-minute pitches with the help of six-slide pitch decks, and will receive feedback on their businesses and pitching skills. The winner will also receive a $600 Visa gift card.

“Designed for entrepreneurs at different stages of their journey, this challenge is split into two streams: ‘Start’ for those with new ventures and ‘Build’ for businesses at the growth stage,” says Tribe.

“This event is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to present their innovations to a broad audience, receive expert feedback, and undergo personalized pitch coaching—and you’ll be able to do so, virtually, from wherever you are most comfortable.”

The deadline to apply is May 5, and finalists will be announced May 10. You can learn more here.

Özge Yeloğlu Named Propel Chair

Özge Yeloğlu

Özge Yeloğlu

Virtual startup accelerator Propel has a new Chair, CIBC executive Özge Yeloğlu, along with three new board members.

Yeloğlu, who is now CIBC’s Vice President of Advanced Analytics and AI, previously held senior roles at Microsoft and is a Founding Partner of Atlantic Canadian female-focused venture capital shop Sandpiper Ventures. She replaces outgoing Chair Jeff White, CEO of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation. 

A native of Turkey, Yeloğlu was previously the co-founder and CEO of Halifax-based Toplog, which went through Propel's Launch 36 program more than 10 years ago.  

Joining Yeloğlu on Propel’s board will be Jennifer LaPlante, Chief Growth and Investment Officer for Canada’s Ocean Supercluster; Sreejata Chatterjee, who co-founded Halifax marketing startup Leadsift and is now Director of Product at its acquirer, Foundry; and Sean Power, CEO of music AI startup SOMMS.AI. Propel Director Jeff Thompson is bowing out of his role.

“We are thrilled to have Özge move into the role as Chair. Özge is a celebrated leader across the Canadian innovation landscape, particularly in the area of data analytics and AI and we will continue to benefit from her commitment to governance and charting strong pathways for founders,” said Propel CEO Kathryn Lockhart in a statement.

“We are grateful for the contributions of Jeff White and Jeff Thompson, who have played a key role in Propel’s growth and success to date.”

The announcement comes a handful of months after Propel received a $2.9 million grant from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, funding the organization through 2026 and building on $1.05 million Propel received from the Nova Scotia government in May.

Invest NS Announces Greenshoots Cohort

Provincial economic development agency Invest Nova Scotia has revealed the companies in its eighth GreenShoots accelerator cohort, all but one of which are receiving the maximum funding amount of $40,000.

GreenShoots offers agtech, biotech and cleantech companies funding and mentorship to develop their ideas. Cleantech made a particularly strong showing this time, with all but one of the biotech and agtech companies also offering ecological value propositions.

Launched in 2020, the competition is run by Invest Nova Scotia, the Greenspring Bioinnovation Hub and Guelph, Ont.-based Bioenterprise Canada, an innovation-focused industry group. To qualify, startups must have booked less than $1 million in cumulative sales and not have already raised more than $25,000 from Invest NS or its predecessor Innovacorp.

Here’s a look at the latest cohort:

BioLabMate – $40,000

Sarika Kumari and Sanjay Dubey

Sydney

BioLabMate replaces single-use plastic waste from research labs and medical facilities with ocean-based materials.

Genuine Taste – $40,000

Emily Farrar and Pooya Mamaghani

Sydney

Genuine Taste is developing a technique to cell-culture fat, which can be used to improve the taste of meat alternatives.

HOPE Pet Food – $40,000

Sofia Bonilla

Dartmouth

HOPE sells what it describes as nutritious and sustainable pet food with ingredients derived from insects, algae and fungi.

Profillet – $30,000

Greg Potter, Doug McNish, Ricardo Martinez, Steve George and Laura Hackl

Halifax

Profillet is developing affordable, whole-cut plant-based fish fillets.

Remote Operations Hub Opens in NL

Meagan Kay-Fowlow speaks last month. (Photo: Florian Villaumé)

Meagan Kay-Fowlow speaks last month. (Photo: Florian Villaumé)

Newfoundland and Labrador has a new government- and industry-backed innovation hub focused specifically on remote operations, meaning technology controlled from a different location.

In an interview, Co. Innovation Centre President Meagan Kay-Fowlow, who will run the industry hub on behalf of techNL, said she expects that her team will work with a range of industries, ranging from energy to healthcare.

“One of the main focuses for us is to … support established and growing companies to collaborate together,” she said. “We wanted to create a space for those companies to come together across different industries.”

In the context of that broader goal, she described remote operations as a key part of the centre’s programming.

“I joined late last July, but … this innovation centre has been in the ideation stages for over 10 years, so the ecosystem in the province has really seen the need for something like this,” Kay-Fowlow said.

A political scientist by training, she has held leadership roles at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, where she was a program manager at the Centre for Ethical, Social, and Cultural Risk, and McMaster University, where she was the assistant director of operations at the Institute on Ethics & Policy for Innovation.

She added that many of the industries in which Newfoundland startups have excelled in recent years, particularly bluetech, energy and healthtech, are increasingly turning to remotely operated technology to solve a variety of problems.

Kraken Robotics, one of the most valuable startups in Newfoundland history, with a market cap of more than $221 million, has built its business on the design and manufacturing of unmanned marine vessels for applications as diverse as oil and gas projects and minesweeping.

And the healthcare field is increasingly turning to remote technologies, including telehealth platforms and more complex medical technologies, techNL said in a press release when the centre was announced in 2022. St. John’s based PragmaClin, for example, is developing a tool for healthcare providers to remotely monitor Parkinson’s patients.

“Remote operations is not new,” said Kay-Fowlow. “We have a really strong group of businesses that have already been working in those areas for many years.

“There’s a gap in connectivity, so the ability to connect across those businesses, but there are existing businesses that are already doing work related to remote operations.”

The Co. Innovation Centre itself is a joint project between techNL, Energy NL, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster and Energy Research and Innovation Newfoundland and Labrador.

Located on Torbay Road in St. John's, it includes 20,000 square feet of office and light industrial space. Its creation, techNL has said previously, was inspired by a pair of reports in recent years from the Newfoundland government and management consulting giant McKinsey & Company that both recommended the creation of new initiatives to address a lack of communication and collaboration opportunities for entrepreneurs in the the region — particularly those from rural communities.

The provincial Way Forward on Technology plan and McKinsey’s Economic Growth Strategy for Newfoundland and Labrador both describe an innovation landscape in which communications are siloed between industries, and in which founders are grappling with a lack of flexible office space and a generally fragmented startup economy.

“What we would love to be able to do is also bring in a variety of (technological) assets that maybe are a bit too expensive for one business to procure, or they don’t need that product all the time,” said Kay-Fowlow, adding that innovation support programming for the Co. Innovation Centre is in the works.

Supercluster Seeks Indigenous Board Member

Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, the federal government organization that partners with the private sector to fund bluetech research and development, is looking for an Indigenous board member with expertise in the ocean economy, starting in May.

“The (Ocean Supercluster), with its network of ocean networks across the country is focused on driving Ambition 2035, a 5X growth objective for the ocean economy for Canada, to grow to $220 billion by 2035 and build an ocean economy that is sustainable, digital and inclusive,” said the federal funding apparatus in a statement.

“This will require a transformation of how we do business in the ocean and collaboration from coast to coast to coast including Indigenous communities across Canada.”

Meetings are held virtually 6 to 10 times per year, and in person once or twice annually. You can learn more here.

SayFaya Finds Early Traction

Sayfaya Founder Hussain Abdullah

Sayfaya Founder Hussain Abdullah

Halifax entrepreneur Hussain Abdullah believes he has found a gap in the car detailing market for a low cost, mobile offering and is building out his operation quickly on the back of a positive response from early clients.

Hussain is the Founder of SayFaya, an online platform that lets users book car detailing appointments, either with cleaners hired as subcontractors by the company, or alternatively with third-party service providers who sign up to be listed in the system.

The business launched in January, and in its first three months had a little over 70 clients. Hussain said market demand in Halifax would have allowed for that number to be much higher, but he did not yet have employees. That early traction has since led him to on-board three independent cleaners.

He said in an interview that he was inspired to found SayFaya after noticing the cumbersome sales models used by many detailers.

“I saw that there are these mobile detailers listing themselves on (Facebook) Marketplace, and they’re having a hard time scheduling appointments and closing deals on Messenger,” said Hussain. “Because there’s no trust. You wouldn’t call just anyone to your house and hand your car keys to them. Plus, the scheduling of the appointment is very tedious, from a customer’s point of view.”

A lawyer by training, Hussain is also the Founder of AllinBud, which sells its hand-made cannabis boxes in 120 stores across Canada, including the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission. In the past three years, AllinBud has sold more than 5,000 of its boxes at a price range of $45 to $70 apiece.

He is launching SayFaya in Halifax as its beachhead market, while he focuses on building out the company and securing funding, with expansion to come later.

SayFaya's flagship service, dubbed Rapid Auto Care, starts at $39.99 and takes a little under an hour. Customers can also pay extra for pet hair removal.

Cleaners working with SayFaya undergo mandatory training, and their first kit of cleaning equipment and supplies is provided for free.

“(The SayFaya cleaner) is going to come to your house, throw out all the garbage, vacuum the floor, vacuum the seats, clean the door panels, clean the glass interior, wipe off the dashboard and steering area — basically making it good enough for if you want to go on a date, or you have a customer,” said Hussain.

Early signs suggest the potential for growth is substantial, and not just from individual consumers, but also from business clients. As part of his customer discovery work, Hussain spoke with management at each of the car dealerships in Halifax’s Kempt Road area, which is effectively the city’s automotive district.

What he learned was that, while the dealerships employ their own detailers, they also bring in contractors when they need work done quickly or otherwise lack the resources in-house. In fact, some reported spending between $20,000 and $40,000 annually hiring outside detailers. Those same dealers were interested in using Sayfaya.

“The plan now is, one, to roll out an app, and two, onboard professional detailers and connect them with dealerships and other businesses, even truck owners,” said Hussain.

Spark Contest Seeks N.S. Business Ideas

The 2024 Spark Nova Scotia competition is open and seeking people with innovative business ideas to vie for up to $50,000 in startup funding. 

Training sessions start April 30 and run throughout May. They are open to people with a business idea for an innovative product or service. After training, entrants will have until May 24 to apply for the competition.  A total of $90,000 is available in each of three regions, with up to $50,000 of that amount possible for each regional winner.

“Anyone with a business idea should register for training. It’s free and it just might spark something,” said Erinn Smith, Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Association of Community Business Development Corporations in a statement.  

Spark is tailored for rural, coastal, and academic communities in three regions: Cape Breton; Northern N.S., and Southwestern N.S. Each area has distinct pitch competitions, judges, and funding pools. 

Spark N.S. is an initiative of Nova Scotia’s CBDCs, funded by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and the Government of Nova Scotia. 

Winners will be announced June 17 at the Nova Centre in Halifax. 

You can find more information and applications here. 

Tuckamore Tech Wins Genesis Pitch Competition

Tuckamore Tech, which is developing augmented reality technology for firefighters, placed first at Newfoundland and Labrador startup hub Genesis’ Evolution Pitch Showcase this week.

Founded by mechanical engineering student Tyler Yard, Tuckamore aims to let firefighters view a thermal camera feed via a heads-up display, creating a hands-free version of a type of device already used by firefighters to see through smoke and track a fire’s spread.

“This allows firefighters to perform their tasks without the distraction, bulk, or risks associated with a handheld device,” the company explains.

In addition to the first place Top Pitch award, Yard also took home the Top Student award.

Chosen by Genesis out of its broader Evolution accelerator cohort, the six companies in the Evolution Pitch Showcase delivered four-minute presentations, followed by two-minute question and answer sessions.

Genesis bills Evolution as a “pre-incubator” course meant to prepare young companies for longer programs, such as its own three-year Enterprise incubator. Evolution promises to help entrepreneurs clarify their businesses’ value propositions, find product-market fit and find mentors.

Meanwhile, Diane Howlett, the founder of NL Marine Organics, won the Belonging Award for a founder from an underrepresented group. She was not one of the six companies chosen as finalists for the Pitch Showcase, but that did not preclude her from winning the Belonging Award.

NL Marine Organics is commercializing a product called Liquid Fish, which is a fertilizer made from waste fish from aquaculture operations.  Howlett is a serial entrepreneur specializing in marine-derived bioactives.

Here’s a look at the other finalist companies:

AtlantiqAI

Nurul Ibrahim

AtlantiqAI plans to sell virtual AI “employees” for small businesses that need to fill staffing gaps, but prefer not to hire a full-time employee.

FixDen

FixDen is an online platform for tradespeople and customers to find each other.

Hadamard AI

Thomas and Nathaniel Roberts

Hadamard is an AI assistant for legal research.

Keen

Eamonn Casey and James Lanning

Keen sells next-gen payroll management and accounting software.

Weevva

Matt Creese

Weevva is an app for landlords and tenants to manage leasing agreements and share documents.

Lab2Market Oceans—Discover Launched

The Ocean Startup Project, along with Dal Innovates and the Transforming Climate Action research program are launching a new opportunity for researchers at Canadian universities called Lab2Market Oceans -- Discover. 

The three-day program will help researchers explore their ideas to identify how to create more value and impact with their research through potential commercial or collaborative research opportunities, organizers said in a statement. 

Seed Fund applicants will benefit from refining their ideas on how to create growth from the initial seed funding, the statement said. Participants will earn micro credentials upon completion of the program.

Sessions will run on April 29, May 1 and May 3. 

The call for applications is open until tomorrow, April 12, and is available to graduate students; post-doctoral fellows and faculty. 

Apply here.

Risley’s Project Nujio’qonik Wins Environmental Nod

John Risley speaks at Entrevestor Live last fall.

John Risley speaks at Entrevestor Live last fall.

John Risley’s World Energy GH2 has won the long sought-after environmental approval it needs to move ahead with a massive, 328-turbine wind energy and hydrogen production facility near St. George’s Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government on Tuesday gave its approval for GH2’s Project Nujio’qonik. Last fall, the province had delayed granting its sign-off, instead requesting more information about the hydrogen plant’s anticipated water use, among other topics.

World Energy GH2, of which Risley is Chairman, plans for Project Nujio’qonik to eventually generate about four gigawatts of electricity, which it will use to produce hydrogen for export to Germany as an alternative to Russian gas and later a potential means of greening carbon-intensive transportation businesses, including air travel.

“Industry at home and around the world has been closely watching this decision,” said Risley in a statement. “Following a thorough, highly regulated environmental review process, this decision demonstrates that the province is committed to climate action.

“The province recognizes and understands the competitive pressures created by the green hydrogen subsidies embedded in the US Inflation Reduction Act and the rapidly emerging global demand for green fuels. They are doing the right thing for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and for Canadians.”

World Energy hired Halifax-based engineering consultancy Stantec to lead the regulatory bid, and the Qalipu First Nation conducted a Traditional Land and Resource Use Study, based on the community’s historical knowledge of the local ecosystem.

The Qalipu First Nation is also one of two main project partners, along with the Town of Stephenville, where Project Nujio’qonik is based. While the Qalipu First Nation does not manage a physical territory, it has about 23,000 members across Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nujio’qonik is the Mi'kmaq name for St. George’s Bay.

“Our next steps are to update our plans, as may be required, to meet specific conditions outlined by the province, and to finalize the initial permits required to begin early works construction,” said CEO Sean Leet.

“In parallel with our early works activities, we will continue to progress FEED (front-end engineering design) activities, confirm orders for additional long-lead items, and advance and execute offtake agreements as we work toward a final investment decision in early 2025.”

Construction will be funded partly with the help of a $128 million credit agreement with Export Development Canada that World Energy announced in February. About 2,600 people will work on the project directly while it is being built.

CTA London Seeks East Coast Applicants

Canada House, London

Canada House, London

With Atlantic Canadian companies making up one-quarter of its latest cohort, the Canadian Technology Accelerator in London is hoping for even more applications from the East Coast in the future.

The Trade Commissioner Service in the British capital is now hosting an eight-week accelerator for fintech companies. The eight participants include Saint John-based Four Eyes Financial,  which makes regulatory compliance software for wealth management businesses, and Charlottetown-based PayTic, whose product streamlines the back-office operations of payment companies.

The Service, part of Global Affairs Canada, started the Canadian Technology Accelerator, or CTA, program about a decade ago in Silicon Valley to help Canadian startups raise capital and break into foreign markets. The programs are now offered at 12 hubs around the world. In London, each cohort of the CTA targets specific groups, such as the current fintech cohort or previous offerings of digital health or digital energy solutions.

“It’s a program that’s really aimed at companies that are in full commercialization mode . . . and companies that are highly scalable,” said Claudio Ramirez, the Manager of the CTA, during an interview at Canada House on Trafalgar Square.

“The DNA of the CTA program is really to generate sales. We think sales are the best way to raise capital and that’s because you’re raising money without diluting the equity in your company.”

While Ramirez and others want to receive more applications from Atlantic Canadian companies, the region has been well represented in recent cohorts. The participants from the East Coast include:

  • Liveable Cities (a division of LED Roadway Lighting), Halifax, which is adding sensors and IoT technology to lighting systems to improve the efficiency of municipal infrastructure;
  • Nu:Ionic, Fredericton, which is developing a proprietary method of generating hydrogen from natural gas, biogas, methanol or renewable ammonia;
  • Kognitiv Spark, Fredericton, which uses mixed reality systems to improve efficiency in industrial workplaces;
  • Mobia Health Innovations, Halifax, which sells software for cardiologists, ER doctors and medical offices for triage and scheduling;
  • And PragmaClin, St. John’s, which uses depth-sensing cameras and a proprietary algorithm to perform remote medical assessments of people with movement disorders.

The eight-week course comprises two phases. The first phase is virtual, with participants learning about the U.K. market, including regulations and IP laws. During this phase the participants are partnered with a few mentors who can help them navigate the British market. The second phase consists of a one-week visit to the market where cohort members are given the opportunity to pitch, to have B2B meetings and to network with potential clients and partners.

Ramirez said the Canadian companies aiming to do business in London are at a disadvantage to their British competitors, who already understand the U.K. market. So the program is designed to help “level the playing field” by helping the Canucks make contacts in the new environment.

Canadian startups tend to focus on the U.S. as their major export market because of size and proximity, and the London CTA can help them break into a new market.

“It’s difficult for a startup in particular to maintain a focus on more than one market,” said Ramirez. “The U.K. tends to be the second market that people focus on. For Atlantic Canadian companies it has special appeal because there is a direct air link.”

US Company Agrees To Buy Appili

Halifax-based drug discovery company Appili Therapeutics has agreed to be acquired by Richmond, Virginia-based Aditxt for C$16.8 million in cash, stock and assumed debt, though the acquirer has to raise US$20 million to close the deal.

Last week, the two companies jointly announced the sale agreement, which is denominated in U.S. dollars and will pay Appili investors 4.7 US cents in cash plus 0.0027 of an Aditxt share for each Appili share they now hold. Aditxt shares are currently trading at about US$3.11, so the deal values each Appili share at 7.6 Canadian cents, or a premium of about 69 percent to the current share price. 

The deal values Appili’s 121.27 million shares, which are currently trading for 4.5 cents, at C$9.2 million. On Dec. 31, Appili had long-term debt of $7.6 million on its balance sheet, which means the total value of the takeover would be C$16.8 million. 

Appili has been warning since last summer that, despite a US$14 million research and development deal with the United States Department of Defence, it was in rocky financial straits. In June, the company said it was unclear how long it would be able to continue as a going concern.

As is typical for buyouts of public companies, the sale is still subject to approval by Appili’s shareholders, whose permission management hopes to secure by the end of the second quarter. More unusually, the deal is contingent on Aditxt raising US$20 million of funding, though the company expects that to happen before the end of the third quarter. Aditxt's current market capitalization is about US$5.2 million, though it was worth about 10 times that amount a year ago.

“Appili’s programs can now leverage Aditxt’s proven research and development, operations, and commercialization expertise to accelerate the development of our three programs,” said Appili CEO Don Cilla in a statement. “As a NASDAQ-listed company, Aditxt will facilitate access to capital for Appili’s programs in this challenging economic environment.”

Both companies’ shares have traded relatively flat on the news. With the bid offering the equivalent of about 63 Canadian cents per share, plus the Aditxt stock, Appili investors stand to pocket about a 40 percent premium over the current share price.

Founded in 2017, Aditxt sells several medical technologies related to immunology, such as an immunotherapy to help reduce the likelihood of a transplant recipient’s body rejecting their new organ, as well as a test for measuring immune system activity.

Despite its cash-strapped status, meanwhile, Appili has been on a run of success on the regulatory and business development fronts. In September, it won United States Food and Drug Administration approval for its liquid formulation of the common antibiotic metronidazole. And in November, it announced it had secured a patent for its vaccine against the dangerous bacterial infection Tularemia, which is the subject of the company's research agreement with the U.S. Department of Defence.

“The ability of (Appili) to advance its programs in its pipeline is dependent on raising additional financing through equity and non-dilutive funding and partnerships,” said management in a December regulatory filing. “There can be no assurance that additional financing will be available on acceptable terms or at all. If the Company is unable to obtain additional financing when required, Appili may have to substantially reduce or eliminate planned expenditures.”

“This acquisition will enhance Aditxt’s portfolio of subsidiaries and create synergies with its existing programs, particularly precision diagnostics. Integrating Appili’s expertise and product lines would pave the way for a comprehensive approach to population health, from early detection and prevention to treatment,” said Aditxt. “The potential for collaboration within the Aditxt ecosystem can streamline patient care, from early detection through precision diagnostics to developing tailored treatment strategies.”

Swiftsure Lands $149K in Provincial Funding

Pasadena, NL-based medtech company Swiftsure Innovations has received $149,000 in funding from the Newfoundland and Labrador government to help finance its second clinical trial at the Cleveland Clinic.

The provincial government’s Industry, Energy and Technology Department issued a press release on Thursday saying the money would complement a $210,000 commitment from the company for a total project funding of $359,000.

Swiftsure’s flagship product is the SwishKit, which it describes as a method of washing and suctioning the oral cavity in mechanically ventilated patients. Medical teams can insert the device into a patient’s mouth, where it uses saline to rinse the person's oral cavity.

The system aims to reduce the risk of ventilator-acquired pneumonia by providing a safe and effective method for cleaning the nasal and oral cavities of patients on life support while minimizing secondary infection risk.

“The funding from the Department of IET will support our second clinical study at the Cleveland Clinic, providing Swiftsure the ability to generate clinical evidence required for widespread commercial adoption of our flagship product, the SwishKit,” said Swiftsure Founder and CEO Deanne McCarthy in the statement. “We believe the simple act of rinsing the mouth of patients on life support will improve objective and measurable patient outcomes, decrease healthcare costs, and enhance patient comfort.”

Last year, Swiftsure completed its first clinical trials at the Cleveland Clinic, which describes itself as “one of the world's largest and best healthcare systems.” The clinic is an international organization with 80,642 caregivers, 23 hospitals and 276 outpatient facilities in locations around the globe.

The Newfoundland company, which raised $2.3 million in equity funding in 2023, is now embarking on its second clinical trials at the facility as it works toward bringing its product to the market.

“This funding is a game-changer, empowering us to further validate the incredible potential of the SwishKit through robust clinical evidence,” said the company in a social media post over the weekend. “Our team is ready to dive into this next phase, leveraging this incredible support to showcase the undeniable value of the SwishKit.”

Potential Entering Commercialization

Potential Motors CEO Sam Poirier poses with an early prototype of the Adventure 1.

Potential Motors CEO Sam Poirier poses with an early prototype of the Adventure 1.

Potential Motors, the Fredericton-based maker of control software for off-road vehicles, has now logged more than 3,000 hours of real-world testing of its systems, including the first round of customer trials under its deal with manufacturer CFMOTO Powersports.

In its latest quarterly report — published voluntarily, since Potential is privately held — the company says it is entering commercialization. Chief Executive Sam Poirier and his team are in talks with six automakers, and two proof-of-concept projects are underway, one with an automaker and one with an off-road vehicle company. A third is scheduled to start in the second quarter.

The testing Potential has performed so far has been across 12 vehicles, ranging from motorcycles to SUVs, with the company gathering data on three continents to help train its artificial intelligence system across a range of conditions.

“Over a series of meetings with manufacturers across North America and Europe, I’ve been excited to discover just how much progress many of these companies have already made in their journey towards building software-defined vehicles,” wrote Poirier. “While the levels of advancement differ from company to company, global brands in the automotive sector - our biggest target area - are now looking at how they can integrate Terrain Intelligence into both existing and emerging software stacks and operating systems.

“This means companies are looking for immediate and longer-term applications of our technology.”

Founded in 2018 by a team of engineering students from the University of New Brunswick, Potential is developing software for off-road EVs that manages tasks like modulating how much power is sent to the wheels, how the vehicle responds to steering input and the behavior of adjustable suspension systems.

Road-going vehicles rely on similar technology, but the reduced traction and uneven terrain of off-road environments presents unique challenges. The Terrain Intelligence system to which Poirier refers is an AI that adjusts the vehicle's suspension and torque settings in response to conditions ahead.

The CFMOTO deal involves extensive testing at both Potential’s New Brunswick facility and CFMOTO’s own properties, and will allow CFMOTO to “evaluate” Potential’s Terrain Intelligence and Off-Road OS.

“We’re working on a suite of solutions for this global manufacturer of recreational off-road vehicles and side-by-sides, including applications of Terrain Intelligence and Off-Road OS, as well as a new use of computer vision that we can’t yet disclose,” said Poirier. “Each of these elements represents a first in the powersports sector.”

Last year, the company also launched its own off-road camper van, which it dubbed the Adventure 1, to demonstrate its technology. Sales are slated to begin this year, with a price point north of US$136,000.

TrojAI Could Double Staff in 12 Months

TrojAI Co-Founder and CTO James Stewart

TrojAI Co-Founder and CTO James Stewart

Veteran cybersecurity executive Lee Weiner’s appointment as TrojAI CEO reflects what management sees as a chance for the Saint John startup to become a central player in the artificial intelligence ecosystem, Co-Founder James Stewart said Thursday.

In an interview, Stewart said key decision-makers in both government and the large, private enterprises that are core to TrojAI’s business are increasingly aware of the security risks created by the proliferation of artificial intelligence. Stewart and fellow Co-Founder Stephen Goddard believe Weiner, an alumn of billion-dollar network security software-maker Rapid7, is the person to capitalize on that opportunity.

Weiner’s predecessor as Chief Executive was Stewart, who is now Chief Technical Officer. It was the three of them, Stewart added, who first decided Weiner should lead the company.

“We think in this area, and with our current positioning, we’ve got a shot at building a pillar AI company, cyber company. And that’s where Lee fits, because he’s been involved in such a pillar company with Rapid7.”

TrojAI’s announcement Wednesday that it had hired Weiner came packaged with news that it had raised a US$5.75 million, or C$7.77 million funding round led by Seattle's Flying Fish Ventures, a returning investor that also co-led a C$3 million raise from 2022.

It was also an investor in TrojAI that first introduced Goddard and Stewart to Weiner, who initially arrived on the scene to help with due diligence. The trio hit it off, and decided over the course of several months that Weiner would become the company’s CEO.

“I think, as a founder, our job is to build the best team,” said Stewart, reflecting on the surprise of TrojAI’s board when he revealed his intention to leave the Chief Executive post. “And that means hiring the talent that you need, even if that means stepping aside to make room for that talent.”

Weiner spent 11 years in product management roles at Boston-based Rapid7, which sells dashboards to help network administrators and other IT staff manage an organization’s cybersecurity processes, such as by monitoring for intrusion attempts. The company has a market capitalization of nearly US$3 billion and last year reported annual revenue of US$778 million, and by the time he left in May of last year, he had become Chief Innovation Officer.

Weiner will lead TrojAI from Boston, where the company plans to build out its second office, complementing its original, Saint John headquarters. He joins a team of 27 employees. Stewart added that figure could as much as double over the next year, but that a priority for TrojAI is growing the business in a way that is financially sustainable.

“You can hire too fast, or you can bring in too much money too soon, and then if you don’t have the product to support it, you can actually get caught out between (funding) rounds,” said Stewart. “Because to get to the next funding round, you have to achieve certain metrics.

“We’re being very judicious in our growth.”

TrojAI Raises C$7.8M

TrojAI, the Saint John maker of security software for artificial intelligence systems, has raised US$5.75 million or C$7.77 million and appointed a new CEO, veteran cybersecurity executive Lee Weiner.

The deal was led by Seattle's Flying Fish Ventures, a returning investor that also co-led a C$3 million raise from 2022, with Techstars and Halifax’s Build Ventures similarly upping their existing stakes. Also included in the total for the latest raise is $500,000 from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, and new investments from California-based Alteryx Ventures and Massachusetts-based Flybridge Capital Partners. The money is earmarked for product development, sales and marketing.

In a statement, TrojAI highlighted Werner’s experience taking cybersecurity businesses public. He previously spent 11 years as the product and technical head for Boston-based Rapid7, which grew from US$40 million to US$750 million in annual revenue during his tenure.

"Stephen Goddard and I founded TrojAI to address a critical need for security around AI deployments," said Co-Founder and newly appointed CTO James Stewart, who Werner replaces as CEO. "As we enter a new growth phase, it's the right time to add a seasoned leader to our executive team that has experience with rapidly scaling businesses.

“Lee's background and expertise will be instrumental as we continue our mission of securely enabling AI for the enterprise. We could not have found a better fit than Lee."

Founded in 2019 by Stewart and COO Stephen Goddard, TrojAI sells software to guard against cyberattacks hidden in the training data for artificial intelligence systems.

AI systems learn by being fed reams of information, such as photos, and searching for patterns, but sophisticated hackers can conceal malware in the same data. The company’s technology is meant to prevent both deliberate attacks and accidental damage caused by unforeseen edge cases — a service intended primarily for large corporations already using AI for real-world business applications.

“As the threat landscape is constantly escalating and evolving, integrating AI in a secure way is critical,” said Weiner. “This investment allows TrojAI to build on its strong foundation to help customers accelerate digital transformation.”

Council of Canadian Innovators Opens Halifax Bureau

Technology sector industry group the Council of Canadian Innovators has opened a bureau in Halifax, complementing its offices in Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies and British Columbia.

Founded in 2015 and comprising executives from major technology companies, the council says its purpose is to liase with government and the private sector, with a particular eye towards supporting high-growth companies. The organization has more than 150 member businesses.

In a statement, the group said its Halifax office is meant to both support innovators in the region and provide a jumping-off point for any of the CCI’s existing members who may want to do business in the region.

“(Executives) join CCI to actively shape Canadian public policy on innovation and connect with a national network of like-minded CEOs focused on building global businesses in Canada,” said the organization in a statement.

“At the national and provincial levels, CCI advocates for economic strategies that increase access to talent, capital and customers for homegrown firms, and policies that expand your freedom to operate on the global stage through modern marketplace frameworks.”

The organization’s programming includes direct advocacy, networking events for industry players and educational initiatives.

To be eligible to join the CCI, companies must be headquartered in Canada and be on a rapid growth trajectory.

Still Time To Complete our Survey

Are you an Atlantic Canadian founder who has been meaning to fill out the Entrevestor survey? If so, there’s no better day than today to get around to it.

So many founders have told us they intend to fill out the survey, but then the reality of running a startup gets in the way and they forget. We understand, but would like to ask again for founders to take three or four minutes to fill it out.

By completing our simple, 12-question survey, you’re helping to ensure we have the best information possible when compiling the report, which feeds through to the people making decisions on the support programs in the region.

You can find the survey by clicking on this image:

Our survey comprises a mere 12 questions and it's 100 percent confidential. We do NOT publish data on individual companies, only aggregated data. You can skip any question you would prefer not to answer.

For responses to be accepted, founders need to meet our three criteria for a startup: 1. An Atlantic Canadian-owned company; 2. Commercializing innovation; and 3. Making a product for a global market.

The responses are flowing in, but we need more – a lot more. So please take a few minutes today and get the completed surveys into us.

Frenter Signs Deal With Heavy Equipment Marketplace

Frenter CEO Zach Laberge

Frenter CEO Zach Laberge

California- and Halifax-based Frenter has signed a deal to incorporate its maintenance and analytics software for heavy equipment into Austin, Texas-based Boom and Bucket’s equipment rental marketplace.

The system will offer users estimates of equipments’ value based on its usage and maintenance history, tracked by Frenter, whose users in turn will be able to list their equipment on Boom and Bucket from within the Frenter platform. Buyers of machinery outfitted with Frenter’s hardware and software suite will also be able to access the information about their vehicles’ usage and maintenance history.

The two companies were founded the same year, in 2020. Frenter CEO Zach Laberge launched the business in Halifax, and though he recently relocated to San Francisco, many of the company’s operations continue to be based in Atlantic Canada.

He said in an interview Tuesday that the deal is the result of a multi-year professional relationship with Boom and Bucket CEO Adam Lawrence that grew out of their status as peer companies.

“Adam and I share similar investors in the States, and so I had known about him, and known what he was working on,” said Laberge. “They were at a similar stage — seed-stage — with us both raising in the mid-seven figures.”

Frenter deployed its first units last fall, with the help of a $1.4 million funding round that was led by Silicon Valley’s 1517 Fund and included returning investor Jason Calacanis of Uber fame, as well as Nova Scotia telecom magnate Bill Barrett, Saint Mary’s University’s Venture Grade student investment fund and others.

Laberge originally founded Frenter as an online platform for users to rent out small equipment like power tools. The business has since gone through a couple of pivots, made two acquisitions of other startups and raised a total of about $2.3 million across multiple funding rounds. Its current product lets 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.

“We tried to figure out how we could work together, and ended up realizing that it made a lot of sense … for us to let them have data and history, and the story behind each piece of equipment,” said Laberge. “For us, it basically unlocks this full supply chain. Frenter can help you source new equipment, because we know what the most efficient type of equipment you have is.

“We can also help you sell your inefficient equipment, and tell you what it’s worth, live, based on the amount of hours and work.”

Those value estimates, he added, are based on transaction data from Boom and Bucket’s marketplace.

So far, Frenter’s 15-person team has focused its efforts largely on equipment rental companies. Laberge is now also eyeing customers in the mining and forest sectors.

“It’s fun to start to see the vision that we set out to do many years ago,” said Laberge. “I used to talk about wanting to build out our ecosystem, wanting to build out all these tools. Now we’re actually starting to see it.”

Shoelace Eyes Textbooks, Canadian Market

Shoelace Learning CEO Julia Rivard Dexter

Shoelace Learning CEO Julia Rivard Dexter

Halifax reading game startup Shoelace Learning is aiming to leverage its traction in the United States to win more deals in Canada, as CEO Julia Rivard Dexter looks to consolidate on pandemic-era growth amid a saturated educational technology market.

Rivard Dexter said in an interview Thursday that Shoelace expanded rapidly during the lockdowns, as educators turned to digital solutions. With countless other companies having benefitted from the same edtech boom, though, the market has grown crowded and looks due for a “period of normalization,” she added.

For Shoelace, preparing to weather that market pullback means a business development strategy focused on educating teachers about the research underpinning the company’s offerings.

“I think, post-COVID, there has been this sense of, ‘Do we go back to the way we were before? How do we maintain some of the things that we’ve learned that were really valuable?'” said Rivard Dexter. “Making sure that research is at the core of everything we do is very, very important to us.

“The digital education sector got busy during the pandemic, so (the market is) at a point where we’re having to start to weed out the exceptional products from those that are mediocre.”

This year, Shoelace is part of three research projects. Run by scientists from Dalhousie University, the University of British Columbia and the University of Alberta, the first is a large-scale, seven-year study involving multiple technology platforms. The second and third are specific to Shoelace, with the company’s software being trialed by the Calgary Catholic School District and the University of Calgary.

More than 6 million children across 160 countries now play Shoelace’s Dreamscape reading game, with 85 percent of the company’s business coming from the U.S.

“In the States, traditionally, teachers have had more agency to innovate and try new things,” said Rivard Dexter. “And so it was easier for us to go to the U.S. market.

“Now that we have an established product with legitimacy, we’re looking at building relationships with the Canadian school districts to really move the needle for Canadian kids.”

Youth literacy in Canada has declined in step with a global downturn, according to a study of 12 member nations from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, released by the international group late last year. In fact, Canada posted its worst results since the OECD started tracking reading scores in 2000, though the country’s students still scored better than the OECD average. About four-fifths of Canadian 15-year-olds have achieved the minimum level of reading proficiency necessary to synthesize a text of moderate difficulty.

“We believe that without engagement, you can’t have deep learning,” said Rivard Dexter.

Now, Shoelace’s 17-person staff and roster of contractors are working on developing a system to scan and incorporate passages of school textbooks into reading games, making the content interactive to make it more accessible to kids who may be overwhelmed by dense school texts.

“Literacy is not just about reading, it’s about being able to apply your reading skills, like comprehension, to other subjects,” said Rivard Dexter, who said that teachers Shoelace works with often report that as many as about two thirds of their students are struggling with reading.

“What we see is … kids who were struggling during COVID, they’ve gone into the higher grades, still struggling while they’re being exposed to science content, to social studies, to history content.”

Genesis to Hold Pitch Competition April 9

Genesis, the Newfoundland and Labrador startup hub, will hold a pitch competition showcasing six companies from the latest cohort of its eight-week Evolution accelerator on April 9.

Chosen by Genesis out of the broader Evolution cohort, the seven companies in the Evolution Pitch Showcase will deliver four-minute presentations, followed by two-minute question and answer sessions, all of which will be ranked by a judging panel.

Genesis bills Evolution as a “pre-incubator” course meant to prepare young companies for longer programs, such as its own three-year Enterprise incubator. Evolution promises to help entrepreneurs clarify their businesses’ value propositions, find product-market fit and find mentors.

To be eligible for Evolution, companies have to be technology-focused, have already identified a pain point that their tech is meant to solve, have less that $1 million in annual revenue or be pre-revenue, and have not yet produced a minimum viable product.

The competition will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Newfoundland Time next Tuesday at Memorial University’s Faculty of Business Administration. You can register for free here.

NBIF Funds Universities With $910K

The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation has announced $910,000 of funding for two research institutions at the University of New Brunswick and a third at the Université de Moncton with an eye towards fostering technological innovation in the province.

The Marine Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence at UNB will receive $300,000, the school’s Nanocomposites and Mechanics Laboratory will receive $400,000 and the Université de Moncton’s Centre for Training in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, or CFRIA, is receiving $210,000.

“By supporting these research centres, NBIF is not just funding projects but investing in the future of New Brunswick’s industries and workforce,” said NBIF Chief Executive Jeff White in a statement.

“The funding, part of the NBIF Strategic Opportunities Fund, is matched by substantial federal funding and private contributions, reinforcing the collaborative effort between provincial, federal, and private sectors to advance technological development and application in New Brunswick.”

Located in Saint John, UNB’s Marine Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence is helmed by Mohsen Mohammadi and focuses on developing 3D printing technology for the marine industry, which has benefits such as corrosion reduction and faster production for time-sensitive components.

The university’s Nanocomposites and Mechanics Laboratory is led by Gobinda Saha and will use the funding to join Canadian Alliance in Cold Spray Technology, an industry group for companies working on applying coatings using kinetic energy to deform particles of plastic.

And the CFRIA, based in Shippigan, will use its funding to find ways to bolster local industries, such as fishing, with the help of robotics and artificial intelligence under the leadership of researcher Sid Ahmed Selouani.

NBIF itself is an independent non-profit with a mandate to foster technological advancement and economic growth in New Brunswick. In the past two decades, it has distributed more than $175 million of funding.

Supercluster Calls for Transport, Seafood Proposals

Canada’s Ocean Supercluster is seeking project proposals related to transportation in the maritime sector, as well as sustainable seafood.

The federal organization, which partners with the private sector to fund research and development work, is looking for proposals to improve the efficiency or resiliency of transportation in the marine industry, or contribute to its decarbonization. Its call for proposals related to the seafood industry, meanwhile, takes a more general focus of generating sustainable economic growth in the sector.

The supercluster will fund up to 42 percent of a project’s total cost, contributing a minimum of $300,000.

“This call for proposals is seeking to invest in a broad array of innovative solutions that will shape the future of marine transportation and, by extension, global trade,” says the Supercluster in its transportation-focused call-out. “The goal is to develop sustainable practices for ocean transport by creating renewable energy delivery systems for vessels and transitioning global fleets and ports to new, cleaner energy sources."

The deadline to apply is April 16, and you can learn more about the transportation initiative here, and the seafood initiative here.

Tribe, SMU Announce Scholarships for Black, Indigenous Students

Halifax-based Tribe Network, the industry group that supports racialized entrepreneurs in Atlantic Canada, has announced a new scholarship program under a collaboration with Saint Mary’s University to help Black and Indigenous students break into the fields of commerce, computer science and data analytics.

The initiative will include two streams, one for undergraduates and one for graduates. Undergraduate applicants must be planning to major in computer science or computing and information systems, and winners will be eligible for $5,000 per year for up to three years. Graduates, meanwhile, must be studying a discipline involving computing and analytics, and will receive $10,000 annually.

“This is a program that will empower students and create a pathway for underrepresented, racialized students to get access to quality education … and then internship opportunities, as well,” said Tribe CEO Alfred Burgesson in an interview.

“The beauty in a program like this is that it creates a pipeline of talent that can go into startups that we’re working with in the ecosystem.”

The deal represent’s the organization’s third partnership announcement with a fellow startup ecosystem player this year, complementing a joint-project with Volta to create an accelerator for BIPOC entrepreneurs and a funding deal with Emera to back Tribe’s grant program.

Between 2020 and 2023, Burgesson’s team administered about $400,000 worth of funding to support BIPOC founders, including $200,000 that went directly to young companies. Most of the organization’s members are either entrepreneurs or students, in about equal measure, the organization estimates. Industry professionals also represent a smaller, but still meaningful cohort.

“There’s a lot of talent within our region, within post-secondary institutions, and we think that by building a pipeline and pathway programs, this will benefit founders,” said Burgesson, himself a SMU alum.

He added that hiring recent university graduates is often an especially appealing proposition for startup founders, not just because they can alleviate pressure on employers in a tight talent market, but also because their work is often eligible for funding, such as from national research non-profit Mitacs. Nova Scotia’s Graduate to Opportunity program is another example.

“SMU also has a track record of producing quality talent through programs like MTEI (Master of Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation), we’ve had several people on our team come from that program, and we’ve seen the quality of those individuals,” he said.

Acuicy Joins Techstars Sustainability

Acuicy Co-Founders Dawne Skinner, left, and Allison Murray

Acuicy Co-Founders Dawne Skinner, left, and Allison Murray

Acuicy, the Halifax-based maker of business intelligence software for emissions reduction, is the only Atlantic Canadian company among 11 chosen to participate in this spring’s edition of Techstars Sustainability Paris, a cleantech accelerator from the globally-recognized startup house.

The accelerator began March 11 and will culminate in a demo day June 6. Since its creation two years ago, 60 companies have participated.

The announcement comes just weeks after Acuicy won the cleantech finals of the Atlantic Canada Cleantech Scale-up and Investment Challenge, a startup competition that aims to develop not just new entrepreneurs, but also new angels.

“Acuicy is the first fully automated software to generate tailored low-carbon solutions for each business with clear financial ROI and emissions reductions for a wide range of options,” said Co-Founders Allison Murray and Dawne Skinner in a Techstars statement.

“We do this using deep data and AI and we generate a dashboard so our customers can track progress towards their net-zero goals in real time.”

Murray and Skinner launched Acuicy in 2022 with the aim of aggregating business intelligence data related to greenhouse gas emissions and then using AI to reduce companies’ carbon footprints.

The duo previously worked together at Murray’s sustainability consultancy, Upswing Solutions, helping companies to develop business-wide sustainability and climate change strategies, while Acuicy aims to offer the specific actions needed to reduce emissions.

Symbodi Recognized by Fast Company

Symbodi Chief Exec Curtis Kennedy

Symbodi Chief Exec Curtis Kennedy

Fredericton-based Symbodi is the only Canadian company to make this year’s list of the 10 Most Innovative Companies in Wellness and Personal Care, as ranked by prestigious American business magazine Fast Company.

Incorporated in 2018 by Founder Curtis Kennedy, Synmbodi is best-known as the maker of the Vertiball, a portable back massager that requires no electricity and can be affixed to most walls. Its newer Vertigun device, a massage gun that is likewise wall-mountable and launched late last year, is the product offering highlighted by Fast Company.

Inspired by his experiences surviving a rare form of childhood cancer, Kennedy created Symbodi while he was a mechanical engineering student at the University of New Brunswick.

“At Symbodi we believe it’s the small (often overlooked) details in product design that have the ability to make the most fundamental difference in our daily lives,” wrote Kennedy on LinkedIn. “Our commitment to innovation continues to be driven by a shared passion for making products and technologies that help us feel our best, so we can be our best.”

Since its founding, the business has raised more than US$3 million, or just over C$4 million of equity funding from investors that include Arlene Dickinson’s District Ventures Capital and Halifax-based Tidal Venture Partners. It has sold its products to just under 250,000 people, and in 2022, was named to Deloitte Canada’s annual list of Companies To Watch, which uses a metrics-based approach to rank companies, with more than 3,000 percent sales growth over the preceding three years. 

Foodtech Atlantic to be Held in Digby

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and national industry group the Canadian Food Innovation Network will host a one-day conference in Digby, N.S. April 18.

Dubbed Foodtech Atlantic, the event’s theme this year will be “advancing innovation and sustainable solutions.” It will be held at the Digby Pines Resort from 8:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., with attendees expected to include food companies, investors and subject-matter experts.

Organizers say they plan to focus on three core topics: upcycling and waste reduction, and sustainable packaging and emissions. Speakers will include Acuicy Co-Founder Dawne Skinner, whose company sells business intelligence software for emissions reductions, as well as Mina Mekhail, whose Halifax-based Freshr Technologies has developed an antimicrobial packaging film to extend the shelf-life of fish and meats.

“This in-person event will bring together food companies, innovators, and industry experts who will share their stories, successes and lessons learned as they make progress towards a net-zero footprint, develop upcycled products from former waste streams, enhance the sustainability of their food operations, and ultimately, save costs,” says the Food Innovation Network.

It costs just under $45 to attend, and participants are invited to a pre-event networking session the day before. You can learn more and register here.

Atlantic BioCorp Will Fund Production Facility with Woodward Cup Prize

Dante Enewold, centre, poses with Memorial’s Ed Martin and Gillian Woodward (Photo: Rich Blenkinsopp, Memorial University)

Dante Enewold, centre, poses with Memorial’s Ed Martin and Gillian Woodward (Photo: Rich Blenkinsopp, Memorial University)

Atlantic BioCorp Founder Dante Enewold plans to use the $25,000 he won in last week's Woodward Cup pitch competition to build a production facility for his process that converts crab shells into chitosan.

Held Wednesday by the Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship in St. John’s, the Woodward Cup is named in honour of the late Newfoundland and Labrador logistics magnate Mel Woodward. The annual competition awards funding and in-kind services to Memorial University students who have launched startups during their academic programs.

The process that bagged Enewold the grand prize was inspired by his time spent working as a procurement officer in the fishing industry, where he saw large amounts of waste material accumulating from crab processing. Chitosan has applications in pharmaceuticals manufacturing, waste water treatment and as a food stabilizer, among other uses.

“Here were these piles of discards that everyone considered to be garbage, and I figured something could probably be done with it,” Enewold said in a Memorial University statement.

Just under a year after founding Atlantic BioCorp, Enewold has closed his first fundraising round, inked a deal with a supplier and is in talks with a potential customer in British Columbia.

The Woodward Cup’s runner-up, meanwhile, was a second oceantech startup. Invertable is the brainchild of cognitive and behavioural ecology PhD candidate Jessika Lamarre, who is developing an insect-based feed for aquaculture. She also won the $2,500 Fry Family Foundation Award for Women or Non-binary Leadership.

Most feed used in fish farms is made from wild-caught fish, whereas Lamarre’s is made from crickets and mealworms farmed using a specialized substrate.

“I had a hard time reconciling wanting to get the benefits from eating fish, but also contributing to the decline of wild fish populations that are already struggling,” she said. “The goal is essentially to continue benefitting from eating fish without having to harm wild stocks in the process.”

Lamarre plans to soon pursue regulatory approval from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, as well as a patent.

A second award sponsored by St. John’s-educated philanthropists Darryl and Marlene Fry, the Fry Family Foundation Entrepreneurship Award for an Early Stage Idea, went to Tyler Yard, Ben Thomas and Carl Thibault for their augmented reality startup Tuckamore Technologies, which helps firefighters navigate environments with poor visibility.

Rachael Craig’s MotionHall Exits

MotionHall Co-Founder Rachael Craig

MotionHall Co-Founder Rachael Craig

Rachael Craig, who was active in the early days of the Halifax startup ecosystem, now has a Silicon Valley exit on her résumé.

Craig was a Co-Founder and (until recently) CEO of San Francisco-based MotionHall, which developed software that provided data to help biotech companies accelerate deals in drug discovery. Last week, London-based information provider Clarivate Plc agreed to buy virtually all the assets of MotionHall for an undisclosed price.

The announcement said the buyer, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of almost US$5 billion, would acquire the “full intellectual property, clients and team” of MotionHall. Craig has been serving since December as Clarivate’s Senior Vice-President and Managing Director of Life Sciences and Healthcare Strategy Products, according to LinkedIn.

"Clarivate is well positioned to become a leading industry vertical artificial intelligence player,” said Craig in the statement. “Your healthier tomorrow is being built through the successful combination of deep life sciences industry expertise and mastery of frontier AI capabilities.”

Ten years ago, Craig was working in Halifax as Interim Executive Adviser for Brilliant Labs, the organization that teaches coding to high school students. It was common to see her at Volta, when the Halifax startup hub occupied a couple of floors above a mattress shop in Spring Garden Road.

In 2015, she teamed up with fellow entrepreneur Matthew Jewkes to form MotionHall in the Bay area.

They set out to develop software that helps people working in pharma, biotech, and life sciences venture capital find the right information about drug candidates to accelerate deals. The company uses data analytics and artificial intelligence to help deal-makers find innovations that will help them bring new drugs to the market.

Its backers include Village Global, a network-driven fund whose investors include Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg and Jeff Bezos, as well as First Star Ventures and Outlier Ventures.

MotionHall’s assets and team are now being taken on by Clarivate, which Reuters describes as “a global provider of data, analytics, technology and expert services to several sectors including healthcare.” Craig noted in a social media post over the weekend that the company has 14,000 employees.

The MotionHall website says the company has a team of 30 people.

"As part of our strategy, Clarivate will enhance existing products and introduce novel solutions utilizing AI, to streamline clients' workflows and accelerate speed to insight and action,” said Henry Levy, Clarivate’s President of Life Sciences and Healthcare. “Concurrent with this transaction, the team from MotionHall has joined Clarivate to progress our on-going commitment to provide exceptional value for our clients across the entire drug, device and medical technology lifecycle." 

Victory Receives $400K from ACOA

Victory co-founder Greg Hemmings, left, with Kyle Gulliver, MP Wayne Long and Isaac Barkhouse.

Victory co-founder Greg Hemmings, left, with Kyle Gulliver, MP Wayne Long and Isaac Barkhouse.

A Saint John electric vehicle startup has received just over $400,000 from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency as it looks to scale production of its high-performance motors.

Victory Advanced Technologies sells powertrains that can be retrofitted to existing vehicles by third-party shops. It aims to differentiate its products by offering higher performance options for custom sports cars and motorsport applications, such as rallies, chief technical officer Isaac Barkhouse said in an interview Thursday.

Barkhouse, an electric vehicle industry veteran who spent three years as CTO of Fredericton’s Potential Motors, founded Victory with Steve Belyea and Greg Hemmings in 2021. The trio were inspired by Belyea’s difficulties electrifying a classic car he owned, as well as the challenges Hemmings encountered in finding an electric motor durable enough to be installed in his sailboat.

“You fell into one of two traps: either the powertrains weren’t high-performance enough, or they took a long time,” said Barkhouse. “Our powertrain is designed for everything from motorcycles and scooters right up to trucks.”

The trio have achieved that, he added, by designing their electric motors and battery packs to be mixed-and-matched to produce different power outputs. For example, it is possible to combine two 150 horsepower motors to create a single 300 horsepower unit. The individual motors are also designed to be scaled up for higher power outputs.

That flexibility makes Victory’s technology well-suited for use by race teams in series or events that can benefit from bespoke solutions, such as those fielding rally cars, as well as for heavy equipment and marine applications. As particular examples, Barkhouse cited the Baja 1000 race in Mexico and the Dakar Rally, which runs from France to Senegal and has a reputation for being singularly punishing on machinery.

“One of the things that we can do is … come in and develop an electric powertrain for you based on what we already have,” he said. “We just scale up or down certain components to make the powertrain suit your needs.”

In keeping with the current bleeding-edge of electric vehicle technology, Victory also builds its motors without rare earth metals, which are environmentally damaging to mine and often tied to humanitarian concerns. The decision frontruns similar planned moves by industry giants like Tesla and General Motors.

The business is entering commercialization this year, with the ACOA funding earmarked for hiring more staff and scaling Victory’s Saint John production facility. So far, the team includes five full-time employees and a handful of part-time staff. Barkhouse said how many additional people he and his co-founders hire will depend on demand for their motors.

“The space that we have is going to be our initial factory, and we’ll grow from there, as opposed to buying a massive factory and trying to fill it,” he said.

LadderSpike Wins National Pitch Competition

LadderSpike COO Dale Kean, left, CEO Jordan Spencer and full stack developer Brady Smith

LadderSpike COO Dale Kean, left, CEO Jordan Spencer and full stack developer Brady Smith

As St. John’s-based LadderSpike looks to start delivering on its pre-orders this spring, the company has won a pitch competition at the Canadian Construction Association’s annual conference, bagging the top prize with its footing system for ladders.

The LadderSpike, which can be fitted to nearly any ladder, won Innovation of the Year for its ability to drive metal spikes into the ground for improved stability. The business was one of three finalists selected to pitch at the industry group's annual conference in Punta Cana, Mexico.

“This victory is not just for LadderSpike; it’s a win for safer work environments everywhere,” said the company in a social media statement. “March is (National Ladder Safety Month) and we couldn’t be happier to contribute!”

CEO Jordan Spencer founded the company in 2021 after working on oil and gas projects, where he witnessed the hazard ladders can pose in the workplace.

“In the trades, I worked right across North America,” said Spencer in December. “I worked in oil fields, I did some iron working and pipe fitting, and I was always forced to wait while five or six guys built a scaffold for me to do a simple job that I could do with a ladder.

“When COVID happened, the whole world shut down, so I lost my job. I went down to the shed, took my idea, and made a few first-iteration prototypes out of cardboard.”

Co-founder Dale Kean joined the company first as an investor, before later coming on board as chief operating officer.

Ladderspike is also in talks with several major North American ladder companies for licensing deals, as well as distributors, with a basic system costing $249.99 to pre-order through the company’s website. Spencer and Kean hired their first employee last year and plan to add another six or seven staff by next summer. 

MIMOSA Wins at Medtech Investment Challenge

MIMOSA chief executive Dr. Karen Cross poses with her company’s device.

MIMOSA chief executive Dr. Karen Cross poses with her company’s device.

MIMOSA Diagnostics, the Halifax- and Toronto-based maker of a medical device for non-invasively measuring tissue damage, was victorious at Wednesday’s medtech finals of the Atlantic Canada Healthtech Scale-up and Investment Challenge, besting four other finalists to take home $100,000 of investment, as well as the People's Choice award.

Founded by Dr. Karen Cross, a plastic surgeon, and General Leung, a magnetic resonance researcher at the University of Toronto, MIMOSA has developed technology to more quickly diagnose bedsores and similar wounds via a process called tissue oximetry, which essentially uses light to measure tissue health. The company’s win comes in the wake of it receiving Health Canada approval earlier this year.

The event capped off 12 weeks of training for founders of the 16 healthtech companies, with the first three months being run by Halifax’s Imaginal Ventures and the final four weeks of investor-readiness work led by Vancouver-based angel network Spring. Dubbed the Impact Investment Challenge, the last four weeks also saw prospective angel investors joined Spring’s portion of the program on a parallel track, which offered them an introduction to impact investing in exchange for committing funds to back the first place startup. Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub funded the program, but did not invest.

“We look below the surface of the skin,” said Cross. “We can see if the skin is healthy, and we can see that wound before it comes to the surface. This is quantitative technology, such that doctors and nurses in real time can make treatment decisions.”

MIMOSA’s Health Canada approval in January paved the way for it to launch north of the border about six months after it won U.S. Food and Drug Administration sign-off. The company’s technology is now used by more than 1,300 medical clinics, with institutions like the Mayo Clinic and Mount Sinai Hospital having signed on.

“About two weeks ago I told you we had commission-based sales reps,” Cross told investors. “Now, we have over 250 commission-based sales reps covering all 50 states.

“We have displaced our competitor with a major distributor, and we are also now targeting Veteran’s Affairs. We can sell into the VA and have our first trial starting next week.”

About the same time as the American approval, MIMOSA raised an undisclosed amount of funding via a convertible debenture, which is a hybrid debt and equity financing instrument, in a deal led by Toronto’s Archerwill Investments.

Now, Cross said MIMOSA is on track to double its sales this year and break even next year. And a data partnership with a large technology company is in the works.

Here's a look at the other four finalists:

AIMA
Vancouver
AIMA has developed a vaginal suppository that uses non-psychoactive cannabinoids to control period pain.

DeCell Technologies
Halifax
DeCell is best known for DermGEN, a natural scaffolding made from donated human skin, which can be placed over an ulcer to encourage the regeneration of skin cells and keep the wound clean to avoid infection.

PragmaClin Research
St. John’s
PragmaClin is building solutions to allow for remote medical assessments of people with movement disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease.

NeoCare
Halifax
NeoCare is building a device to non-invasively, painlessly and instantly detect diseases in newborns, including anemia, jaundice and hypoxia.

Youth Innovation Fair Coming to Miramichi

Brilliant Labs, an Atlantic Canadian charity that aims to foster coding and digital skills among youth, will host an innovation fair in Miramichi April 4, with the timing chosen to align with an eclipse that will happen on the 8th.

Slated to be held at the city’s Eco Centre, the event will invite students to share their technical or scientific solutions to global issues, as identified by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Proceedings will begin at noon and continue until 3:30 p.m.

“This year, as we mark a decade of Brilliant Labs, we're focusing on 'What IF' questions to drive innovation,” said executive director Jeff Wilson in a statement. “We encourage all Atlantic Canadian communities to support our young problem-solvers and consider your own ‘What IF’ dreams for innovation."

Participation is free. You can register here.

Profitual Joins NEXT AI

Profitual, a financial intelligence startup founded by a pair of former New Brunswick Innovation Foundation execs, is one of 40 companies nationally to be accepted into startup support organization NEXT Canada’s 2024 AI cohort.

NEXT, a non-profit, will offer cohort companies not just the usual accelerator curriculum and networking opportunities, but also access to AI scientists associated with the program. The accelerator begins this month and will run until September.

Fredericton-based Profitual is the brainchild of Raymond Fitzpatrick and Daniel Hoyles. The duo sell an artificial intelligence system that probes small and medium-sized enterprises’ financial records to generate models, revenue projections and other calculations, with a particular eye towards helping startups raise capital.

“Looking forward to working with the renowned ecosystem of mentors and staff to maximize financial intelligence for our customers with AI-enabled solutions,” said the company in a statement.

Fitzpatrick was previously NBIF’s director of finance and investments, while Hoyles was an NBIF investment associate and COO of cleantech startup Grey Island Energy. They left their previous roles to found Profitual in 2021, closing a nearly $1.2 million funding round the following year.

Now, their staff has cracked the double digits, according to LinkedIn data. And in an outside-the-box solution to business development beyond the company’s home territory, those employees in September began travelling to Toronto and working out of the MaRS Discovery District innovation hub on a rotating basis.

“In an effort to reach as many start-ups as possible to assist them with financial intelligence that revolves around forecasting, benchmarking, and reporting we knew it made sense to have a physical presence in the city with the highest cluster of start-ups in all of Canada,” wrote Fitzpatrick at the time.

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