Dalhousie University has announced the startup cohort for its second annual Design2Build accelerator -- an eight-month program meant to help deep tech entrepreneurs develop and manufacture their products.
The accelerator is split into three modules, with each lasting two or three months. The first module focuses on product design, the second on building a product and the third on scaling manufacturing.
“Our product has the potential to change the way that children with asthma use their puffers,” said Sara Fedullo, CEO of cohort company HOLLO Medical, in a press release.
“Increased compliance and correct puffer use will have a dramatic impact on the quality of life of young children who suffer from asthma. We knew we needed support to take our idea from design to product and the BUILD program feels custom built for our needs.”
Dalhousie’s ideaHUB, which runs a suite of accelerators that includes Design2Build, says on its website that the program is particularly well suited to entrepreneurs who are ready to start prototyping but lack access to the facilities or materials they need to execute their ideas.
For help with access to supplies and services, accelerator companies will also be able to apply for up to $10,000 of funding from Nova Scotia venture capital Crown corporation Innovacorp.
This year’s cohort includes several startups that have drawn buzz in other parts of the Atlantic Canadian ecosystem.
Last week, HOLLO Medical won the people’s choice award at the climactic pitch competition of another ideaHUB accelerator, Ready2Launch, for its spacer device for asthma inhalers that is small enough to fit in a child’s pocket.
Drinkable, which has also done business under the name Drinkable Water Solutions and is developing a graphene-based sensor to monitor water quality, scooped a $5,000 prize at the same competition.
And in August, Parados founder Pascal McCarthy told Entrevestor he was preparing for a beta test of his data analytics platform for tracking and preventing head injuries in sports, likely beginning this fall.
Here’s a look at the other companies in the cohort:
Majid Nasirinejad
Depro Labs is selling an automated plant-watering system that uses artificial intelligence to provide just the right amount of water for houseplants.
Marlee Armour
The Swim Buddy is a flotation and visibility device meant for use in open water.
Myomar Molecular
Rafaela Andrade and Dylan Deska-Gauthier
Myomar is developing technology for tracking msucle health via chemicals in people's bloodstreams.
Solas Ultraviolet
Sean MacIsaac
Reused Plastic
Spencer Pieczonka
Shifting Shap3s
Ghazaleh Afrahi and Mary Shalmani
Neuro Amel Technologies
Hayam Mahmoud-Ahmed and Estelle Cochingyan
Neuro Amel says it is "building a 24-hour personalized rehabilitation tool that reduces clinical backlog while enhancing patient recovery with live biofeedback and remote monitoring."
Sebastiaan Ambtman, Jarret Stuart and Fernando Saenz
OceanSync is building automated weather monitoring devices to be deployed on ships, where they collect and relay environmental data in real time. This improves shipping route optimization, situational awareness and safety.
HeAIZe Optics and Photonics
Hao Guo and Alexey Tikhomirov
HeAIZe is developing spectroscopy technology that allows clinicians and transplant surgeons to obtain accurate measurements of various biomarkers critical to organ diagnostics.
