Speakers at the conference called for policies that support entrepreneurs.
Speakers at the NACO 2025 Summit in Ottawa this week were virtually unanimous in their calls for the new government to revolutionize the country’s innovation economy.
The two-day conference hosted by NACO Canada, the National Angel Capital Organization, kicked off the day after the new Liberal government was elected, and against the backdrop of the country feeling threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump.
While speakers often varied in their assessments of the current situation, there was a broad consensus that the confluence of a crisis and a new government form the perfect opportunity to bring in meaningful reforms.
“Trump gave us a gift,” said Joe Canavan, Principal at Canavan Capital. “We are now in a crisis and crises offer opportunities for radical change.”
Canavan said Canada has lost ground since the twenty-teens when innovation was a focus and the economy was “on fire” with some even talking of Silicon North.
“And then we decided to blow it up,” he said, citing higher personal taxes as a factor that made investing in startups less appealing. “Risk and reward got out of whack.”
He added that foreign venture capital left Canada, and, “Once it’s gone, it doesn’t easily come back.”
Nonetheless, Canavan said Canada could attain Innovation Nation 2034 status if government introduces focused, national, top-down policies to drive entrepreneurship. Mentioning Singapore as a model, he said the government should reduce the regulatory burden on business, offer tax rates competitive with those in the U.S.; and commit to keeping top research talent in Canada.
“Let people who want to bet, to take a risk, do it. And let people who want to make money do it,” he said. “Let animal spirits rise.”
Need to Highlight Urgency
Claudio Rojas, NACO CEO, agreed Canada is in crisis and said the country needs to behave as if it’s at war.
“We need to frontline this urgency,” he said. “If you’re a builder, it’s an exciting time because there’s an opportunity for change, and opportunity to shape what’s next.”
Rojas said the fact the new Liberal government is another minority makes him fear that politics might get in the way of making the necessary policy changes to foster growth. He stressed the value of a national entrepreneurship tax credit.
Economic policy has tended to focus on housing and energy whereas it needs to focus on developing dynamic companies with international reach, said Neil Desai, the Chair of St. John’s-based Solace Power.
He also took issue with a Canadian growth strategy that “puts the incubators, universities and accelerators at the centre of the ecosystem. Everywhere else I go in the world, it’s the companies that are at the centre.”
Senia Rapisarda, Managing Director of HarbourVest, said Canada has finally realized the need to diversify its economy.
“There will be pain but this is an opportunity for Canada to lead.”
She warned that 90 percent of the funding for Canadian companies at the growth stage comes from the U.S., and universities and pension plans in Canada see venture capital as too risky to invest in.
Several speakers emphasized that not every company can or should be a unicorn. Companies of all sizes are valuable because they create learning, jobs and, when they exit, new money for re-investment.
Other problems that need tackling include issues around business narrative and story. Rapisarda said this includes the widespread assumption in society that business and investing is “about rich people getting richer.”
Redefine National Identity
Daniel Debow, an angel investor and serial entrepreneur, said Canadians must redefine national identity.
He said Canadian self-definitions include not being American, and being a caring and diverse society. But Canada is also a nation of builders.
“It’s as Canadian as maple syrup to build a company,” said the man who sold one company to Salesforce, another to Shopify, and co-founded Creative Destruction Lab and Build Canada.
Debow said he sees opportunity in the present situation and that many great companies have been started during downturns because downturns tend to separate the wheat from the chaff. Government can help by buying Canadian.
Procurement was also an issue identified by Benjamin Bergen, the President of the Council of Canadian Innovators, as an area where government can help innovation-driven companies. He said procurement accounts for 15 percent of the government’s budget, and “strategic procurement” could boost the revenues of growing companies.
He added that he believes the environment for business is improving because “the language has changed” and 85 percent of Canadians voted for parties espousing economic strength. And the country needs change, he said, because the economic environment has been extremely challenging.
Said Bergen: “Now is the time for us to communicate to the political class that we have to reverse this trend to thrive in the 21st Century.”
NovAI Labs to tour Nova Scotia
The roadshow aims to educate SMEs about how to adopt AI tools.
A new roadshow called NovAI Labs: Everyday AI for Everyday Business is being launched to help Nova Scotian small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) understand and adopt artificial intelligence.
It features a practical AI workshop designed to introduce SMEs to accessible AI tools that can help improve efficiency, reduce costs, and strengthen competitiveness—particularly in rural industries.
"AI is giving us powerful new tools — opening doors we’ve never seen before and creating opportunities for businesses to thrive in ways we could only imagine a few years ago,” said immediacy CEO John Leahy. “This is a wave that’s coming fast, and we have an incredible opportunity to ride it. Those who learn how to use these tools will lead the next generation of innovation and success."
Calls for More Angel Investing
Experts say more early-stage investment is needed to benefit the economy.
A recurring theme at the National Angel Capital Organization’s 2025 NACO Summit in Ottawa this week has been the need for funding at all levels of the startup lifecycle, but especially in the early stages.
Given that the get-together for angel investors took place just as a new, economy-focused government was elected, the two dominant themes at the conference were the need for ecosystem/economic reform and the need for more pre-seed and seed investment.
Throughout the two-day conference, speaker after speaker agreed that growth- and late-stage funding are important and often capture the headlines. But the early-stage investments are what establish the foundation for innovation-driven companies and position them for those eye-catching later investment rounds
“When I hear this debate, I often ask people, ‘Where should we invest in education?’” said Senia Rapisarda, Managing Director of HarbourVest. “’Should we invest in Grade 3? Should we invest in Grade 8?’ We have to invest throughout a child’s education.” The same, she said, applies to investing in companies.
Claudio Rojas, the NACO Chief Executive, came up with his own metaphor for the importance of the seemingly prosaic early-stage funding. He likened a successful corporation to a 90-storey skyscraper. At the opening, the owner will take the media and dignitaries to the 90th floor to show off the penthouse and the view, but the important part of the structure is in the foundation and the frame – the things that are never shown off. That is what early-stage financing is like.
The community of angels was celebrated for their critical role in the innovation sector, and in the economy at large. The speakers said more needs to be done to interest more wealthy people in investing in early-stage companies, both for their own financial rewards and for the good of the economy.
How big is the community now? Rojas said the angel networks that make up NACO currently account for about 4,000 angels, but there are a large number of multi-millionaires who could also become angels.
“The size of the angel market is unknown and probably unknowable,” said Colin Mason, the professor emeritus of entrepreneurship at the University of Glasgow, citing a quote from an earlier academic studying the community.
Mason said there were 539 angel deals across Canada in 2024, exceeding the number of pre-seed and seed venture capital deals (though the VC deals likely involved more money). He added that some authorities believe 90 percent of angel deals happen outside of established networks, which means there could be some 12 times as many angel deals as early-stage VC deals.
Pat Gouhin, CEO of the Angel Capital Association in the U.S., said his organization has 16,000 members who invest about $500 million to $1 billion annually in startups. But he said 20 million Americans could be accredited investors (those wealthy enough to make angel investments without jeopardizing their overall wealth). So there is huge potential for growth.
He also cited data from the Desert Angels network in Tucson, Arizona, that shows the economic impact of angel investment. And he stressed that Tucson was a “fly-over community”, meaning it is commonly thought of as one of those places investors see from the plane when they fly between San Francisco and New York or Boston. (So this data should resonate in a smaller jurisdiction like Atlantic Canada.)
The data shows that for every $100,000 of angel investment, 5.8 jobs are created and payroll of $458,000 is generated. What’s more, there is a resulting economic output of $2.1 million, or a factor of 21 times the original investment.
He added that Desert Angels has invested $41.3 million in the past 10 years, giving an idea of the economic impact of this one angel group.
Said Gouhin, “There is truly an economic impact here.”
Sums Capital Sold to NYC Company
Charli AI had acquired the Halifax platform for investor intelligence.
New York-based Charli AI has acquired Sums Capital, a Halifax-based company whose platform delivers intelligence for investors, to form Charli Capital, a new company offering insights on companies in public and private markets.
Charli said in April it had bought Sums, which was founded by Halifax startup veteran Peter Hickey, who had formerly been the CEO of medtech company Adaptiiv.
Sums Capital was an early-stage investment platform specializing in streamlining investor transparency, reporting, and portfolio management for private companies.
Charli AI said in a statement the acquisition would enhance its ability to deliver advanced, AI-powered financial insights, streamlining capital flow and decision-making across both private and public markets.
“The acquisition of Sums Capital marks a transformative step in redefining financial intelligence,” said Kevin Collins, CEO of Charli AI. “By combining Charli AI’s advanced intelligence with Sums Capital’s private investment expertise and investor network, we’re delivering the first end-to-end solution that brings transparency, automation, and actionable insights to a market where investors have long lacked visibility—especially to private company in depth analysis.”
The company said the acquisition of Sums Capital brings a sizeable network of private investors and integrates the target company’s advanced investor reporting platform with Charli AI’s autonomous, AI-driven financial analysis.
The merged company aims to redefine how startups, investors, and financial institutions approach investment intelligence, portfolio oversight, and capital engagement, said the statement.
Moving forward, Charli AI said it will operate under its new name: Charli Capital. It aims to be the market intelligence platform that sets the standard for industry-wide analysis across both public and private companies.
The price of the deal was not revealed.
NACO Calls for New Investment Environment
The organization released three pillars of an improved ecosystem.
NACO Canada CEO Claudio Rojas
The National Angel Capital Organization kicked off its 2025 NACO Summit on Tuesday with a call for Canada to improve its innovation economy by revolutionizing the way entrepreneurs are funded.
NACO Chief Executive Claudio Rojas opened the two-day conference by announcing that the 4,000 investors aligned with the country’s angel networks invested a total of $137 million in 2024, an increase of 19.4 percent from the previous year.
However, he added that more needs to be done to ensure that investment in entrepreneurs becomes recognized as a mainstream asset class, to both reward investors and ensure Canada can compete in a rapidly changing world.
Rojas told the roughly 500 people attending the conference: “Our hope is that we can continue to develop bridges and help the new government understand the importance of innovation [in the Canadian economy].”
He made a few references to the newly elected government, and the national discussion on the modernization of the Canadian economy as the country confronts aggressive protectionism by the U.S. government. The angel community should use the current situation to launch a three-point program to modernize the financing of innovation-driven companies. It would comprise:
A National Entrepreneurship Tax Credit
Rojas envisions a federal tax credit similar to the mechanism now offered by several provincial governments. He suggested it be called an entrepreneurship tax credit because entrepreneurs would be the main beneficiaries, and that it could offer tax relief to institutions as well as individuals.
“By creating an interprovincial tax credit for investments in Canadian private companies, it would incentivize more private capital to flow into entrepreneurial ventures,” said a NACO briefing paper on the proposal. “A mechanism like this would elevate early-stage ventures into a recognized, policy-supported asset class, prompting private wealth advisors and institutional players to engage in the innovation economy.”
Larger Average Deal Size
While total angel funding increased in 2024, the average deal size shrank by 8 percent to about $255,000. The smaller deal size restricts the ability of truly ambitious companies to execute their business plan effectively.
To ensure these companies gain the money they need, NACO is proposing an Entrepreneurship Capital Catalyst Initiative, which would bring matching funds to pre-institutional funding rounds.
Improving Liquidity for Founders and Investors
NACO refers to this as “momentum of capital”. It involves finding mechanisms that would allow founders and investors to sell their shares in growth-stage companies rather than waiting more than a decade for an exit to occur. The creation of secondary markets would allow investors in successful companies to gain capital and re-invest it in young companies that need their capital and guidance.
“We need a culture that celebrates entrepreneurship, . . . that ensures Canada is the easiest place in the world to launch, grow and sustain companies – not next year, not next week but now,” said Rojas.
Also on Tuesday, NACO released its annual statistics for angel investment in 2024, compiled by University of Glasgow University Professor Colin Mason. The Scottish entrepreneurship professor, whose research has often brought him to Atlantic Canada, was honoured with a lifetime achievement award by NACO.
The NACO report for 2024 said:
● 539 deals were completed across the country, a 30.2 percent increase over 2023.
● Women's representation among angel investors remained strong at 36.2 percent in 2024, but was down from 38% in 2023.
● And cumulative angel investment tracked by NACO since 2010 has now surpassed $1.68 billion.
Altheda Working on Anti-Aging Products
The Halifax company is now working on a $500K funding round.
Altheda Wellnes CEO Chris MacLean
Halifax-based Altheda Wellness Innovation is hoping to launch a flagship product this year that can help delay mental decline in older people.
Founded by a team with an eight-figure exit on its résumé, Altheda is developing a range of products that forestall the ill effects of aging, so people can enjoy a better quality of life while living longer. It is now focused on a product – tentatively called NeurOcean – made from marine materials that can delay the onset of forgetfulness in old people.
The company has been funded so far by its four co-founders – Chris MacLean, Mel Kelly, Peter Ford and Matthew Allain – with support from family and friends. To finance more clinical trials and develop revenues, the company is now working on a funding round with an initial target of $500,000.
“Altheda is a healthy-aging company,” MacLean, the company’s CEO, said in an interview Tuesday at the NACO Summit in Ottawa, where he is meeting with potential investors. “We [society] have become really good at adding to the number of years we live, but not to ensuring a quality of life near the end. . . . There’s a gap now between health-span and life-span. We’re helping to narrow that gap.”
He added the global average for that gap between “health-span and life-span” is now about 10 years.
The Altheda team was involved in the development of Panag, which announced in November 2018 its sale to Tetra Bio-Pharma for as much as $27million. The merged company encountered difficulties during the pandemic, and eventually MacLean and his partners coalesced around the idea of making anti-aging products using natural materials.
Altheda has quickly produced about 15 products, some of which it is licensing to partners in return for royalties. In particular, it is focusing on battling the effects of aging in five key areas: brain, eyes, bladder, skin and the immune system (including the gut).
The product that may be called NeurOcean has already gone through successful clinical trials in Japan, and has been shown to slow the progress of forgetfulness and even improve memory for female patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease.
Altheda has submitted this product to Health Canada, seeking Class 3 approval that would allow it to be sold in Canada as an over-the-counter product. If successful, the company would work with a Nova Scotian seafood company, whose biological waste would be a key ingredient for the product. It would be sold by an existing partner and Altheda would receive revenues.
MacLean said this business arrangement would allow early revenues as the company develops its own sales team and manufacturing capacity.
So far, the Altheda team comprises the four co-founders. MacLean is responsible for the business side of the operation while Kelly, Ford and Allain focus more on the scientific and pharmaceutical end of things. The CEO spoke with pride of their ability to move products through the regulatory process quickly and inexpensively with the goal of bringing in revenue before too long.
The company will hire its fifth team member next month when it brings aboard a Chief Operations Officer.
Infusd Closes US$2M Funding Round
The Halifax startup's process allows fat-soluble ingredients to dissolve in water.
Infusd Nutrition co-founders David Giffin, left, and Jack MacDonald
Halifax supplement startup Infusd Nutrition has closed an oversubscribed funding round of more than US$2 million (C$2.8 million), with which it hopes to increase sales and work on product development.
The funding round was led by NextGen Nutrition Investment Partners of France with investment from Nourish Ventures, a unit of Griffith Foods of Toronto, and Agthia Ventures of Abu Dhabi, the company said in a statement Monday. The company had previously raised an undisclosed amount of angel funding in its first year of 2023.
Infusd was founded by lawyer Jack MacDonald and chemical engineer David Giffin, and based on intellectual property developed over five years at post-secondary institutions such as Dalhousie University. It has developed a process to make fat-soluble nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids and many vitamins, water soluble.
“This investment will allow us to scale up our customer-focused resources to service the incredible demand we have been seeing for our solutions,” said MacDonald in a statement. “I'm thankful to our entire team who work hard every day to ensure Infusd continues to deliver value to our partners."
The company says its technology transforms hundreds of popular fat-soluble and insoluble ingredients into water-soluble material at high concentrations with proven stability. These ingredients include Omega-3, botanical extracts, fat soluble vitamins and insoluble branded material. The technology enables the creation of both liquid and powdered products for ready-to-drink, ready-to-mix, and food fortification applications.
In addition, the company says its product is effective for clean-label requirements across a range of food and beverage products. It enhances the performance, stability, and cost-effectiveness of natural colors, flavors, and natural preservatives, said the company.
"Infusd addresses functionality and clean-label needs in major, fast growth categories like functional beverages, sports nutrition and VMS [vitamins, minerals and supplements],” said Jim Cali, General Partner at Next Gen Nutrition. “Addressing solubility challenges unlocks the full potential of new ingredients and provides opportunities for new format extensions of strong legacy ingredients."
With a staff of six people in Nova Scotia, Infusd said it is working with customers to develop applications for the food, beverage, nutritional supplement, and sports nutrition categories. Its technology debuted commercially at SupplySide West in late 2023, with initial commercial orders being filled earlier this year.
With a robust supply chain in place, the company said proceeds from the round will support sales, technical support and new product development. Infusd recently announced a partnership with Symrise, a global ingredient company, which sees a suite of functional health ingredients being brought to market under Symrise's Active Living portfolio.
In an email, MacDonald said: “We plan to add sales and R&D staff and accelerate our commercial efforts.”
Project Zero To Tackle Chronic Homelessness in N.B.
The new project sees the charity started by Marcel LeBrun working with multiple partners on transitional housing.
Last week's announcement of Project Zero
Project Zero, a new initiative working to solve homelessness in Fredericton, has been launched by the charity 12 Neighbours, the creation of former Radian6 co-founder Marcel LeBrun.
Marcel LeBrun was co-founder and CEO of social media monitoring venture Radian6. The company was bought by Salesforce for US$276 million in cash and US$50 million in stock in 2011. The deal was a transformative one for the Atlantic Canadian startup ecosystem, drawing previously unseen levels of investment and attention to the region’s young companies.
Since then, Lebrun has made tackling homelessness a focus of his energies and resources. 12 Neighbours is already known for its tiny homes community, which comprises 96 tiny homes in Fredericton.
The new idea, Project Zero, is focused on building Neighbourly Homes, a rapidly deployable, transitional housing model. Neighbourly Homes communities will be arranged in small, private courtyards, each with 14 individual sleeping units, shared bathrooms, showers, and 24/7 admin facilities. Built warmly for Canadian winters, the Neighbourly Homes factory can produce one unit per day at a cost as low as $7,500.
The new housing communities are intended to create especially low-barrier housing options for the nearly 200 individuals still experiencing homelessness and living unsheltered in wooded areas across Fredericton -- and many more throughout the Maritimes, needing appropriately matched housing, the group said in a press release.
“Supportive housing is the number one evidence-based investment that communities can make to reduce crime, alleviate healthcare pressures, reduce homelessness, and create long-term taxpayer savings,” said LeBrun in the release. “This proven solution pays for itself and benefits everyone."
12 Neighbours will begin construction immediately while also working with community partners and government to identify appropriate temporary locations and establish operational funding, the group said.
"Housing is life or death," said Mike Bindas, who was previously homeless. "My tent caught on fire here in Fredericton last winter, which was a close call for me. Housing is not just shelter—it’s safety, dignity, and a chance to rebuild your life. I'm thankful for my home at 12 Neighbours, and I look forward to seeing everyone have a safe housing option."
Richard “Mayor Al” Smith added: "No one should have to resort to living in the woods in winter. If my wife and I had something like this when we were homeless for five years, we would have avoided many health issues and returned to work much sooner. … I’d like to see these all across Canada because everyone should have a warm place."
The new initiative is launching with a donation of $1.5 million from Le Brun, his wife Sheila, and Dave and Paula O’Leary of Shift Auto Group. Local businesses and residents can make a tax-receipted donation of any size here.
In 2023, LeBrun, and Radian 6 Chief Marketing Officer, David Alston, spoke at Entrevestor Live regarding their entrepreneurial experience.
The entrepreneurs advised founders to think big. The pair said founders of East Coast startups too often try to “start small,” focusing their business development efforts on local markets in hopes of dialling in their product offerings before targeting more profitable sales opportunities.
“Go after the most lucrative, most important market, wherever that is,” LeBrun said at the time. “It’s not about having an operation in every country, it’s about being in the places where the market leadership will be declared.
“What we see a lot of times is people go (to market), and their first few customers are the friendly customers. They had a connection here or a connection there. They have this kind of fear, saying, ‘I’m not sure I want to go there yet because I’m not ready.’ But if you can go there early, just go there honestly, and not pretentiously.”
Founded by LeBrun, Chris Newton and Chris Ramsey in 2006, Radian6 was at one time the preeminent social media monitoring company in the world. Its technology tracked hundreds of millions of conversations every day across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and online communities, and it was used by half of the Fortune 500, including Dell, GE, Kodak, Molson Coors, Pepsico, and UPS. The company was profitable by 2009 and employed about 350 people at the time of the Salesforce buyout.
The exit became a windfall for many Atlantic Canadian investors. Crucially for the ecosystem, the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation turned two separate investments totalling $326,973 into a return of $9.25 million, which it subsequently used to back other startups.
Planetary Wins $1 million XFACTOR Award
The award recognizes the company’s work in enhancing ocean alkalinity.
Jennifer Wagner, Mike Kelland and Marc St-Onge on the Entrevestor Live XPRIZE panel.
XPRIZES are global, multi-year innovation competitions with prizes in the eight or nine figures. The Carbon Removal prize is funded by Elon Musk’s foundation.
Planetary's XFACTOR award recognizes the company's work in seawater restoration; a process that enhances the ocean’s natural ability to absorb carbon dioxide and rebalance its chemistry for the benefit of marine life and the climate, the company said in a press release.
“This recognition reinforces what we know deeply: that climate action can be collaborative, science-led, and rooted in restoration,” said CEO Mike Kelland.
Founded in Ottawa in 2019, Planetary’s process reduces 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 ocean is the world’s largest carbon sink,” Vice President Kelsey Cuddihy told Entrevestor in an earlier 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.”
Ocean acidification has been 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.
In 2022, Planetary won an earlier $1 million from the XPRIZE organizers, a contest which is inspired by the Orteig Prize that Charles Lindbergh won for completing the first transatlantic flight in 1927. The company has also received funding from Vancouver-based Evok Innovations, a climatetech-focused venture capital shop.
Last year, Kelland told the audience at Entrevestor Live that focusing on large-scale, deeptech innovations is challenging but can make good business sense.
“Doing something that’s ridiculously ambitious is sometimes easier than not,” said Kelland during the Entrevestor panel on XPRIZE finalists. “That sounds really counter-intuitive, but you don’t have a lot of competition. … Everybody thinks you’re a little bit crazy, but also, it's inspiring, and people will want to join your team.”
Several other Atlantic Canadian companies have demonstrated success at previous XPRIZE contests by taking a similar approach: CarbonCure, which uses carbon emissions to cure concrete, was the 2021 co-winner of a Carbon XPRIZE, bagging US$7.5 million. SmallFood, which is developing algae-based food that mimics conventional protein sources like fish, along with its partner Terra Bio, was a finalist for the US$15 million XPRIZE: Feed the Next Billion.
This year’s biggest Carbon XPRIZES went to: Houston-based Mati Carbon, the Grand Prize winner, receiving a $50 million award to further advance its enhanced rock weathering (ERW) operations. Runners-up NetZero, Vaulted Deep, and UNDO Carbon were selected to receive $15 million, $8 million, and $5 million, respectively.
Nucliq Test Focuses on Gut Microbiome and Women’s Health
The gene sequencing venture is now raising funds, aiming for $1.5M.
Nucliq Co-Founders Purvikalyan Pallegar and Nikitha Kendyala
St. John’s-based gene sequencing firm Nucliq Biologics is launching a new product that measures how a woman’s gut microbiome influences her hormonal health.
The new product, launching May 14 at innovation hub Genesis, is called GutCheckVivo. It follows the success of Nucliq’s first product GutCheck, which assesses an individual’s gut microbiome and advises clients on how to address any issues, such as by improving diet and sleep and reducing anxiety.
The gut microbiome comprises the microbes such as bacteria, viruses and fungi present in a user’s intestines. GutCheck asseses microbiome by testing stool samples. It is based on medicine’s growing awareness of how important gut health is to overall physical and mental health, particularly for diseases such as ulcerative colitis.
“You are what you eat, and what your microbes eat,” Co-Founder Purvikalyan Pallegar, a molecular biologist, told Entrevestor.
“Feed your microbes, feed your bacteria,” said the scientist who co-founded NuCliq with his wife, cancer biochemist Nikitha Kendyala in 2019.
Until recently, the ability to assess an individual’s gut health was limited to medical tests for certain pathogens but the development of genetic sequencing is allowing entrepreneurs to offer personalized testing and health advice. Pallegar said the new test, GutCheckVivo, will be the first of its kind in North America.
As well as focusing on product development, the company is also participating in global research projects, including a new collaboration with Swasa Hospital in India, which will focus on the gut microbiome’s role in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
“At Nucliq, we strongly believe the gut-brain axis holds powerful clues and it's time we decode them using cutting-edge microbiome science,” the company stated on LinkedIn.
Pallegar said his company has benefitted from the innovation ecosystem in St. John’s. In 2020 Nucliq was a winner of Memorial University’s Mel Woodward Cup pitch competition, claiming the $25,000 first prize. The company also received a grant of $81,562 from the province to help develop GutCheck.
To date, Nucliq has been financed with angel funding but the company is now looking at raising $1.5 million to assist with scaling GutCheck and new product development.
The Nucliq staff currently numbers 13, with 80 percent of staff female. Eleven staff work from St. John’s and two are based in India, where both co-founders were born and raised.
Pallegar said the two co-founders came to Canada to study and are now also committed entrepreneurs.
“The future of medicine is in the microbiome,” said Pallegar.
Tidal Venture Partners Builds Portfolio
The fund is proud it wrote term sheets in five of the eight rounds it joined.
Halifax-based Tidal Venture Partners, an Atlantic Canadian early-stage fund, has released its annual report showing it has built up a portfolio of eight companies in two years.
The fund says that for every dollar it has invested, its portfolio companies have attracted an additional eight dollars in dilutive and non-dilutive funding. The total funding from parties other than Tidal is $21.75 million.
Tidal believes that what really shows its impact in the community is the fact that it wrote the term sheets for five of these eight rounds. Having a local fund in on a funding round leads to other investors from across the country also backing these early-stage companies. And the non-dilutive funding doesn’t happen without the equity investment, it adds.
“I would see term sheets as being absolutely catalytic,” said Managing Partner Ian Whytock in an interview on Tuesday. “Without term sheets, rounds are not closed. It shows we have had a catalytic effect.”
Whytock and Co-Founders Alex McCallum, Kevin Springer and Chris Crowell launched Tidal in late 2022 to address the lack of early-stage funding in the region. The report mentions that seed and pre-seed funding have continued to decline since then and there is an acute need for more investment into early-stage companies, both regionally and nationally.
Against that backdrop, Tidal has developed this portfolio of companies, which it continues to grow:
Bright Breaks, Halifax – This company has developed online exercise and wellness classes that enterprise clients’ employees can watch during work breaks, whether in the office or at home.
Floqer, Halifax – Floqer makes sales software that emphasizes automation and data analysis, such as via web scraping.
Huümans, Calgary and Halifax – Huümans helps small business owners find, manage and grow their cash.
Innerlogic, Halifax – A Techstars alum, Innerlogic is developing a software and AI suite to automate employee feedback for enterprise clients.
MIMOSA Diagnostics, Halifax – MIMOSA has developed a handheld tissue-imaging device capable of detecting skin injuries before they are visible to the naked eye.
Pressto, New York and Halifax – Pressto has developed an AI system for teachers. It offers personalized prompts for their students, as well as generating lesson plans, vocabulary and feedback tailored to each youth’s abilities and interests.
Symbodi Labs, Fredericton – Symbodi 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 is a massage gun that is also wall-mountable.
Wellnify, Halifax – Wellnify’s app aims to use gamification and community features to encourage people to exercise. For example, users join fitness challenges that encourage them to compete to exercise more. The app is typically sold as a white label product.
While data from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, or CVCA, show that funding levels across the country have declined, the Tidal annual report highlights that levels haven’t come down that much for growth-stage companies. The truly acute fall has been in seed and pre-seed funding. Across Canada in 2024, levels fell 46 percent to $510 million and 39 percent to $99 million respectively, according to CVCA data.
“This is a national problem,” said Whytock, referring specifically to early-stage funding. “If you look at the CVCA report that came out six weeks ago, pre-seed funding has contracted nationally for three years in a row. Across the country, I would say that early-stage funding is almost at a crisis level.”
What’s needed in Atlantic Canada, he said, is more investors dedicated to early-stage financing. He called investing at this stage a “team sport”, stressing that having funders in the region writing term sheets attracts funders from other parts of the country.
He also applauded the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, which the CVCA named as the fifth-best pre-seed-stage VC fund in the country in 2024. It closed six pre-seed deals in 2024 worth a total of $2 million.
“Who’s doing something about it in Atlantic Canada?” asked Whytock. “I would say that NBIF is. NBIF has been listed as No. 5 in the country in terms of pre-seed investment. We need more of that.”
NS backs Neptune BioInnovation Centre with $5M
The new facility is said to be the largest such space in the country.
Part of the new biofermentation system at the Neptune BioInnvoation Centre
The Nova Scotian government on Tuesday said it would contribute $5 million to the new Neptune BioInnovation Centre in Dartmouth, a month after the federal government announced a grant of the same size for the biomanufacturing facility.
The Province said in a press release it hopes to help transform the 4,738-square-metre (51,000 square feet) facility into state-of-the-art wet and dry labs that will offer commercial-scale precision fermentation and spray drying capacity. Neptune aims to become a world-leading biofermentation location working in areas such as smart materials, bioplastics, functional foods, green chemicals, therapeutics and alternative proteins.
"This Neptune asset and planned expansion are a game-changer for the N.S. and Canadian biomanufacturing sector, building the largest capacity in Canada," said Beth Mason, Director of the Neptune BioInnovation Centre.
"This will ensure companies scale and build commercial plants here, generating a critical domestic green supply chain for Canadian manufacturers to compete here and in Europe.”
The new centre is a multi-user facility that is the first of its kind in Canada and one of three in the world, the press release said. It is projected to create more than 2,400 jobs, $175 million in salaries and $74 million in tax revenue, and contribute $334 million annually to the province’s gross domestic product.
Citing research from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Boston Consulting, the partners earlier said the global bioeconomy is projected to be worth US$7.7 trillion annually by 2030.
Until November, Mason was the CEO of the Verschuren Centre in Sydney, an innovation hub dedicated to supporting sustainable businesses. It is known for its fermentation facilities that allow companies to pilot new sustainable products.
NACO Summit Scheduled for Next Week in Ottawa
The 2025 summit will include sessions on cross-border relations.
The National Angel Capital Organization, which represents angel investors from across Canada, is gearing up to hold its annual summit, with economic resilience a theme in various sessions.
The conference, which is now sold out, will be held April 29-30 in Ottawa, and Entrevestor will be attending. Some of the many panels will include:
Canadian Shield: Fortifying Canada's Startup Investment Ecosystem Against Cross-Border Headwinds
Marcus Daniels, Founding Partner & CEO, Highline Beta
Keith Ippel, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Spring Activator
Émilie Boutros, , Managing Partner, TandemLaunch Inc.
Moderator: Randall Howard, General Partner, Adrenaline Fund
Cross-border collaboration and Innovation Ecosystems: Building a Resilient Economy
Sarah Antor, Founder & General Partner, Helena Capital
Robin Wood Sailer, Co-Founder & Partner, Le Labs
Moderator: Sonya Shorey, President and CEO, Invest Ottawa
Accelerating Canada’s Venture Ecosystem and Policy for Global Growth
Neil Desai, Chair of the Board of Directors, Solace Power
Benjamin Bergen, President, Canadian Council of Innovators
Moderator: Michael Curran, Publisher, Ottawa Business Journal
De-Risking Early Stage Innovation: The Role of Incubators, Accelerators, and Gap Funds
John Wilson, President & CEO, Innovate Calgary
Joel Semeniuk, Chief Strategy Officer, Communitech
Joelle Foster, President & CEO, North Forge
Moderator: Carollynn Schafer, Investor in Residence, Accelerate Okanagan/ GP OKGN WMAN
Purpose-Driven Innovation: Scaling Companies that Solve Big Problems
Shelley King, CEO & Co-Founder, Natural Products Canada
Mingyang Sun, President & COO, ApiSave
Bobbie Racette, Founder & CEO, Virtual Gurus
Moderator: Rob Kenedi, Founder & Host, Decelerator
Who Gets Funded and Why? Re-Imagining the Pipeline of Capital
Tabatha Bull, President & CEO, CCIB
Vicki Saunders, Founder, Coralus
Leading Canada's Innovation Economy: Aligning Tech Policy, Industry, and Trust
Daniel Tisch, CEO, Ontario Chamber of Commerce
Angela Mondou, President & CEO, TECHNATION
Moderator: Nicole Feriancek, Editor-in-Chief, Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Sun
Growth, Capital, and Global Ambition: The Future of Venture Investing in Canada
Matthew Leibowitz, Managing GP, Plaza Ventures
Rob Antoniades, Co-Founder & GP, Information Venture Partners
Moderator: Heather Scoffield, SVP of Strategy, Business Council of Canada
Mining M&A Roll-Ups: Lessons in Consolidation, Opportunity and Risk
Ian Colterjohn, Principal Private Equity, Resource Capital Funds
Braam Jonker, CFO, Cotec Holdings Corp.
Moderator: Allan Goodman, Partner, Goodmans LLP
The Power of Risk Capital in Driving Resilience
Sophie Forest, General Partner, Brightspark
Todd Finch, President & CEO, Canso Innovations Ltd
Audrey Ostiguy, Co-Founder & CEO, Brio
Lessons from the Trenches: Building an Angel Portfolio
Derrick Hunter, President and CEO, Bluesky Equities Ltd.
Backing Builders: Ambition, Innovation and the Future of Canada’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Mike Serbinis, Co-Founder & CEO, League
Moderator: Takara Small, Journalist
Catalysts for Growth: Big Ideas, Bold Investments, and Building Canada’s Future
Venture Studio vs. Venture Capital: Funding, Exiting, and Building Canada’s Innovation Ecosystem
Ray Sharma, Founder, Extreme Venture Partners
Daniel Wigdor, Professor, University of Toronto
Moderator: Neil Seeman, Publisher, Sutherland House Experts & Professor/ Senior Fellow, Massey College, IHPME, University of Toronto
Why Canada Struggles to Scale - And What We Can Do About It
Capital That Builds: Aligning Angel Investment with Real-World Economic Impact
Colin Mason, Emeritus Professor & Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of Glasgow
Pat Gouhin, CEO, Angel Capital Association
Moderator: Sandi Gilbert, CEO, InterGen
The Value of Liquidity – how different stage creates different opportunities
Andrew McLeod, CEO & Co-Founder, Certn
Jack Fraser, Partner, BDC
Why Life Sciences Remains the Most Investable and Impactful Asset Class
Maura Campbell, President and CEO, OBIO
Cedric Bisson, Partner, Teralys Capital
Frank Baylis, Chairman and Co-Founder, Baylis Medical Technologies
Moderator: Jacki Jenuth, Partner, Lumira
Cleantech Challenge Offers Grants up to $100K
The deadline to apply is May 1.
A new cleantech competition, the ECT-PEI: Clean Technology Challenge, has been established for entrepreneurs and researchers and offers a grant of up to $100,000, with up to four successful applicants being awarded the money.
Co-founded by Innovation PEI, the challenge is being administered by Net Zero Atlantic, and is open to applicants in the three maritime provinces. The grant is intended to support the research, development, and scale up of innovative solutions in:
Cleantech implementation in marine applications;
Cleantech implementation in agricultural applications;
Grid modernization;
Battery development and long-term energy storage;
And hydrogen as an alternative fuel.
Successful applicants will show a clear impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in one of the above groups, demonstrate viability of the product, and a positive economic impact for Prince Edward Island.
Net Zero Atlantic is available to answer questions up until April 25 (send email to info@netzeroatlantic.ca). All questions received about the program are updated to their FAQ page.
Foresight Canada organized the inaugural competition.
CarbonRun and pHathom Technologies have captured the top prizes for companies at the inaugural 2025 Atlantic Canada Cleantech Awards, organized by Foresight Canada.
The contest seeks to recognize ventures and ecosystem leaders that are advancing cleantech innovation and growth in the region.
B.C.-based Foresight Canada said the region's growing cleantech sector is well-positioned to increase efficiency and productivity of key industries and lead a more sustainable, economically prosperous future. It added that that In 2024, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency invested $72 million in 166 cleantech projects, anticipated to generate 100,000 new clean energy jobs in Atlantic Canada by mid-century.
“We’re capturing CO₂ right at the source and using natural ocean chemistry to lock it away safely for thousands of years. It’s high-integrity carbon removal, rooted in science, and it’s happening right here in Atlantic Canada,” said winner Kim Gilbert, CEO of pHathom Technologies.
pHathom is advancing a breakthrough carbon removal technology through its Accelerated Weathering of Limestone process, which uses seawater and limestone to capture biogenic CO₂ while helping to reduce ocean acidification. The company aims to launch a commercial demonstration by 2027, with the potential to remove gigatons of carbon and unlock substantial revenue opportunities.
Dartmouth-based CarbonRun's innovative river restoration method permanently removes CO₂ from the atmosphere and improves river health simultaneously. By adding limestone to rivers, they enhance natural carbon absorption and restore salmon habitats. The venture has commitments from large corporate buyers for its credits, and a robust pipeline of projects that are being developed.
Carbon to Sea is a nonprofit evaluating ocean alkalinity enhancement for CO2 removal at scale. Its work is aligned with key scientific bodies, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Carbon to Sea funds researchers to close knowledge gaps and build a responsible sector.
By expanding its smart grid, integrating renewable energy sources, and introducing innovative programs for energy efficiency and clean transportation, the city is paving the way toward a more sustainable future. Additionally, Summerside supports cleantech business growth through its Eco Park, a dedicated space that encourages clean economic development in the region.
Researchers at Dalhousie University are developing clean, carbon-free technologies that will facilitate the transition to a more sustainable future. Their work encompasses engineering and commercializing innovative breakthroughs, including clean fuels, chemicals and materials, and long-life batteries for electric mobility. Dalhousie is playing a role in advancing battery innovation through the establishment of Canada's first university-based battery prototyping and testing facility, set to open in fall 2025.
Spark NS Challenge Seeks Applicants
The annual contest offers funds and training to NS startups outside Halifax.
Innovators are being sought to take part in the Spark Nova Scotia competitions for rural and coastal high-potential, knowledge-based businesses.
The contest is run in three regions — Cape Breton, North, and Southwest — and offers winners up to $50,000 each. Each geographical region functions independently, with its own applicant pool and local judges. All applicants take advantage of the province-wide Spark Training Program, to hone their business skills and sharpen their final submissions.
Previous winners are not eligible to apply, but if applicants have a new business idea they are invited to apply again
The business, which collects and delivers laundry to homes and companies, will soon expand into new provinces.
Jayrell Diggs, Founder of SudDrop
Halifax basketball player Jayrell Diggs has won the Retail Prophet Innovation Award for his work at SudDrop, a venture which collects and delivers laundry.
The new award comes with a $2,500 prize and joins earlier awards Diggs has earned, including a big one from Futurpreneur, which netted him $10,000 for his business.
In an earlier interview with Entrevestor, Diggs said he will expand his laundry subscription service to Ontario this summer, with the hope of later growing across Canada.
It was the experience of trying to fit laundry into his hectic schedule that inspired Diggs, now a fourth-year commerce student at Saint Mary's University, to launch the business at the beginning of 2023.
“As a student athlete, managing school, training, and daily responsibilities left little time for laundry. I realized if I had this problem, others probably did too," Diggs, a six-foot guard from East Preston, N.S., told Entrevestor.
To date, his HRM-based service has been divided about 50/50 between residential and commercial customers. The margins are lower with residential clients but the approach has helped his young company grow.
"One commercial client is equal to about ten residential clients, so commercial clients are a lot more profitable, but residential clients allow us to grow through word of mouth and brand recognition," he said.
Soon, he will launch in Ottawa with commercial clients. A bar and grill eatery is already on board and then he plans to expand to apartment complexes. Once the company app is up and running, he will extend the service to residential clients.
Ontario-based Retail Prophet said its clients include Fortune 500 brands, national retail chains, manufacturers, leading global marketing agencies, trade associations and government. Retail Prophet Founder Doug Stephens is the author of several books and is a columnist for CBC Radio.
Energia Ventures Invites Community to Demo Day
The three-month accelerator is revealing its 12th cohort.
Fredericton-based Energia Ventures is inviting the innovation community to celebrate the latest five ventures to participate in its program for new, technology-focused companies.
Based at the University of New Brunswick’s J. Herbert Smith Centre for Technology Management and Entrepreneurship, Energia Ventures is a three-month intensive accelerator for entrepreneurs with an innovative business in the energy, smart grid, clean tech, and cybersecurity sectors. It offers mentorship, funding, and a network of industry mentors.
With two virtual cohorts per year, the program helps early-stage companies scale and prepare for rapid growth.
The five companies that will present are:
Axolotl Biosciences (British Columbia) Axolotl Biosciences is a women-run biotech startup focused on developing high-quality bioinks for 3D printing human tissue models. These models are used for research and drug discovery, providing researchers with an innovative way to create and test human tissues, while maintaining high cellular viability and promoting tissue maturation.
Build Smartr (British Columbia) Build Smartr is using prefab steel framing in the home building industry. Focused on residential construction, the company aims to showcase the benefits of steel framed homes while working toward expanding into commercial construction. Their approach aims to challenge traditional home-building methods with a sustainable, durable, and cost-effective solution.
CandidateHub (New Brunswick) CandidateHub is a recruitment marketing automation platform designed to engage and convert top-quality candidates. By nurturing talent through automated, hyper-personalized campaigns, CandidateHub helps companies reduce time-to-hire and enhance recruitment efficiency. The platform tracks candidate engagement and automates outreach, allowing companies to build robust talent pipelines.
Posthaste (New Brunswick) Posthaste is tackling email overwhelm and Slack anxiety by providing a single, action-focused inbox. Using automation and AI, Posthaste consolidates communications across multiple platforms, highlighting what requires immediate attention and enabling users to manage tasks efficiently.
URAI.AI (New Brunswick) URAI.AI is pioneering AI-native software agents to simplify the development, deployment, and scaling of AI-powered applications. By addressing challenges such as high development costs and fragmented workflows, URAI.AI offers businesses a secure, provider-agnostic platform to create next-gen AI applications. The platform integrates seamlessly with enterprise tools like Slack, Jira, and Salesforce, enhancing productivity and security.
The event will be held May 7 from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM at the Richard J. Currie Center in Long Hall at 15 Peter Kelly Drive in Fredericton.
Das Returns with New Product for Knowledge-based Firms
Gia is AI-enabled to assist with many tasks that have traditionally required teams.
Gia Co-Founder and CEO Tukan Das
Halifax-based Tukan Das is well known as a co-founder of marketing data vendor LeadSift. Now, he is behind Gia, which he calls the growth partner for professional services firms and agencies, and from which he hopes for a much bigger return.
“Since selling LeadSift in December 2021, I’ve had a chip on my shoulder that we did not dream big enough,” Das wrote on LinkedIn. “Don’t get me wrong -- we built a kick-ass product that served several hundred customers, with a successful exit. But end of the day it was a GREAT feature inside of a platform. And that’s exactly what ended up happening with LeadSift being bundled inside the IDG/Foundry data platform (the company that acquired us).
“Even before I knew what I wanted to build next, I had a clear goal of the scale and impact we aimed to have.”
Since April, 2023, Das has been dreaming big with Gia, an AI-driven solution aimed primarily at knowledge workers setting up on their own. Das’s initial customer discovery revealed that sole proprietors and small consulting firms lack the time and knowledge to grow their pipelines.
His solution offers clients AI agents that help with revenue pipelines, streamlining account management and building out networks. In an interview with Entrevestor, Das said there are multiple platforms that exist to assist people building businesses in different sectors.
“But anyone starting a knowledge-based consulting business has no place to go,” he said. “We want Gia to be that place.”
He believes his timing is ideal as AI tools are encouraging many to make the leap into self-employment.
“The AI era is going to usher tremendous change to knowledge workers,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “Resulting in a rapid rise in the number of folks quitting their (9-5) to start their own knowledge-based service business. (P.S. check the number of Fractional execs on LinkedIn or new AI Agencies) These businesses will all have an AI-first mentality -- allowing them to stay lean while replicating the benefits of scale of larger agencies/firms.
“Before we dismiss the market for selling to boutique agencies and consulting businesses -- realize these are all high cashflow and profitable businesses, that are operationally chaotic and struggle with maintaining their margins. And herein lies the opportunity -- offer something that streamlines their operation and help them grow their book of business without increasing human overhead, most will be receptive.”
Last week, Das began a beta launch with early customers. He said the beta has already signed paid clients.
Work on Gia is progressing fast, thanks to AI tools.
“The rate of coding, how fast it is iterated, has blown me away,” he said. “And the AI ecosystems … It used to take one engineer two weeks to build integration with third party systems ... AI tools do it out of the box in less than a day.”
He said his AI agent takes notes of his interactions and summarizes them, then adds any necessary actions to his to-do list. It also creates LinkedIn posts for him based on discussions and writes marketing content. He said that, in the past, small consulting firms have not been able to compete with the big players but his platform changes that.
Das said that that, to date, he has self-funded the business but will be raising money later this year. He said Gia now has a team of six -- three co-founders: Das, Sanjeevi Ramachandran, and Bailey Darling, and a full-stack developer and two AI engineers.
He stressed that second-time around, he is unashamedly ambitious. “As a second-time founder, I am aiming really big. I am swinging for the fences.”
Enactus National Competitors Named
Enactus Encourages Social and Environmental Innovation.
Following a regional contest in Halifax, 12 post-secondary student teams are going forward to the Enactus Canada National Exposition.
Enactus Canada is a charity that focuses on inspiring post-secondary students to initiate and operate socially and environmentally positive enterprises. Currently, more than 2,000 students at over 76 campuses across Canada are engaged in Enactus projects, the group has said.
Competitors from Atlantic Canadian universities include the following teams developing innovation-driven ideas:
Alaagi has created an environmentally friendly, renewable alternative to traditional plastic film packaging using seaweed. Alaagi has received letters of intent from large retailers and generated $15,000 in startup funding to develop a patentable product. (Saint Mary's University).
Square Roots and EmerAlt: Square Roots rescues cosmetically imperfect but edible produce from farmers, selling it at a 56 percent discount at 11 community locations. They recently hit a major milestone, diverting one million pounds of produce from waste. EmerAlt uses surplus potatoes to create a food-safe bioplastic alternative for single-use plastic cutlery. (Saint Mary's University).
Project Red Reach transforms ocean waste into life-saving technology by repurposing ghost gear to develop 3D-printed wristbands that provide real-time health tracking for seniors.(Memorial University of Newfoundland).
Spuds to Suds transforms unsellable potatoes into eco-friendly soap. For every bar sold, one is donated to a local food bank. (University of Prince Edward Island).
The Enactus Canada National Exposition will be held in Calgary in May. Winners will represent Canada at the Enactus World Cup in Bangkok in September.
Tribe AI Launchpad Accepting Applications
The program offers up to $50,000 in funding.
Halifax-based Tribe Network, the region’s support hub for BIPOC founders, is launching its AI Launchpad, a new accelerator program developed in partnership with Scale AI, Canada’s AI innovation supercluster.
This new initiative supports startups and SMEs creating applied AI solutions that have the potential to transform value chains across various industries, Tribe said in its newsletter.
Tribe said the program offers: up to $50,000 in non-dilutive funding; the chance to work directly with AI industry experts, investors, and experienced entrepreneurs; tailored business development guidance; access to the Scale AI ecosystem with industry partners, funding opportunities, and visibility in Canada’s AI sector; workshops, events, and networking opportunities.
The ideal candidates are:
Incorporated and operating in Canada;
An early-stage startup or SME;
Developing AI-driven solutions specifically targeting value chain transformation;
Able to provide evidence of problem and market validation;
And ready for screening and validation by Scale AI’s selection committee.
Applicants will be assessed and asked to pitch before the Scale AI Investment Committee.
The Picketa system allows instant analysis of crops and soils.
Picketa Co-Founder and CEO Xavier Hébert-Couturier,
Fredericton agtech company Picketa Systems will be piloting its technology on Ontario farms after winning the Next-Gen Nitrogen Challenge organized by Foresight Canada and the Ontario Soil Network.
The organizers announced Tuesday that Picketa had won the national competition, which offers the winner a chance to work with early adopters to encourage farmers and agri-businesses to use the young technology.
Picketa’s LENS platform uses pattern-matching AI to analyze crops' leaf structures to identify 13 nutrient concentrations, helping farmers use just the right amount of fertilizer. Unlike traditional lab testing, which can be slow and costly, the LENS enables instant results, the company has said, allowing growers to make timely, data-driven decisions.
Agriculture accounts for about 10 percent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, Foresight Canada said in a statement, with nitrous oxide, primarily from fertilizer use and soil management, a key concern. Accelerating the adoption of technologies that improve nutrient management is essential to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening food security, and positioning Canada as a leader in sustainable agriculture, said the press release.
"The Next-Gen Nitrogen Challenge is a chance for us to showcase how the LENS can improve outcomes by changing how fertility decisions are made in agriculture,” said Xavier Hébert-Couturier, CEO of Picketa Systems in the press release.
“With real-time nutrient data, we can help improve nitrogen use efficiency, reduce input costs, and support strong yields with some of the most forward-thinking farmers in Ontario."
Recently, Picketa announced the addition of canola to its LENS platform. Building on past success with potatoes and corn, Picketa is expanding its support of staple broadacre crops to meet the nutrient management needs of North America’s canola growers, the company said.
PayTic Closes US$4M Funding Extension
Build Ventures, Concrete Ventures and Island Capital joined the round.
CEO Imad Boumahdi founded PayTic in 2020 on the premise that most fintech solutions address the way end-users interact with financial companies. What he set out to do was to improve the efficiency of these companies in processing payments at the back end.
The company, which is based in Charlottetown and Casablanca, has a range of customers including banks, fintechs, and processors in such locations as Morocco, the U.K., Middle East, and North America.
“Backing PayTic from the start and continuing our support in the seed extension is a testament to our confidence in the team’s vision, execution, and ability to drive meaningful change in the industry,” said Build Ventures Partner Rob Barbara in a statement. “We believe PayTic is building something truly transformative, and we’re excited to be part of their continued growth.”
PayTic’s statement, released Monday, said the funding extension was led by the private equity firm AfricInvest through its Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, or CAIF. Other investors include Axian Group, and Mistral.
This round follows on from a $2.95 million funding round closed in May 2022, which Halifax-based Build Ventures led. Concrete Ventures and Island Capital Partners also participated in the earlier round.
Since then, PayTic has gained clients for its solution, which automates and modernizes day-to-day operations for financial institutions. The company says it enables scalability of payments and eliminates manual processes. Last summer, PayTic won the Accounting Tech of the Year award at the European Fintech Awards, a competition organized by trade publication FinTech Intel.
"This investment represents global recognition of the progress we are making," said Boumahdi in Monday’s statement. "It also brings more expertise to the table, which will help us shape PayTic's future together."
PayTic said it is now accelerating the future of payment reconciliation with the imminent launch of its innovative, no-code, and processor-agnostic module. Payment reconciliation is a process that matches transaction records (like bank statements and internal accounting records) to ensure accurate payments. PayTic calls its new product a leap forward that promises to dramatically reduce reconciliation times and complexity, delivering unparalleled agility for businesses in a rapidly evolving market.
With the new funding round, PayTic is gaining access to the network and experience of the Africinvest Group, which has been active for more than three decades in Africa's financial services sector. Through this investment, CAIF said it seeks to further drive financial inclusion in Africa by championing a startup that creates efficiencies within digital financial services.
“We were surprised when we discovered that payment reconciliation is a challenge not only for African companies but globally,” said CAIF Senior Manager Lavanya Anand in the statement. “The status quo is back-office teams using manual processes and Excel, which is inefficient especially as companies start to scale. Paytic has a global vision to address this issue, initially starting with software to automate card payments reconciliation and chargeback management.”
Applications Closing for Invest NS Trade Mission
Companies are invited to apply for Web Summit in Vancouver.
Invest Nova Scotia has extended the deadline for startups to apply to attend an upcoming conference on the other side of the country.
The new deadline is this Wednesday, April 9 at 5 pm.
Organizers say the three-day Web SUmmit will give thousands of international entrepreneurs, investors, partners etc. a chance to gather, learn and network in Vancouver from May 27 to 30.
The mission will support Nova Scotia-based startups by providing access to one of the world’s largest tech conferences, offering networking opportunities, investor access, and educational programming, the group said in a press release.
To attend the Web Summit, early-stage companies must:
· Have raised no more than US$1 million in funding;
· Be less than six years old;
· Have a live and launched product with a functioning website;
· Have their own unique software product or connected hardware device (consultancies, agencies, marketing firms, and public companies are ineligible);
· And be an independent company, not a subsidiary of a larger organization.
Invest Nova Scotia said it has 20 ALPHA passes for ventures that meet the requirements but, if necessary, it will consider accepting more mature startups, such as those that have raised between $1 million and $5 millionin funding. Any remaining tickets will be allocated to companies interested in attending as General Attendees.
Details and the application form can be found here.
Finalists Named for Atlantic Cleantech Awards
The finalists hail from each Atlantic Canadian province.
Foresight Canada has revealed its 2025 Atlantic Canada finalists for its cleantech awards. The contest seeks to recognize ventures and ecosystem leaders that are advancing innovation and growth in the region.
B.C.-based Foresight Canada is a cleantech innovation and adoption accelerator that works to connect public and private sectors to clean technologies.
The group already recognizes innovation in British Columbia and Alberta. It said cleantech innovation is growing in Atlantic Canada, with advancements in wind, tidal, solar, and ocean technologies.
“As industries across Atlantic Canada evolve, they are changing for good—creating sustainable solutions that benefit both the economy and the environment,” said Jeanette Jackson, the group’s CEO, in an earlier press release.
The 2025 winners will be announced at an in-person event on April 14 in Halifax.
The finalists are:
Adopter of the Year:
– Oxford Frozen Foods
– Groupe Savoie
– Lafarge Canada
– City of Summerside
– Fort Folly First Nation
Weevva launches in NL and aims to roll out nationally.
Matt Creese, Founder and CEO of Weevva
St. John’s-based Weevva, a rental tech platform that uses AI to assist landlords and tenants, has launched in Newfoundland and Labrador and aims to be across the country by the end of the year with the goal of going global in 2026.
Weevva’s AI provides independent landlords with tenant verification, fraud protection, lease management tools, and guidance. It offers tenants a free and secure way to find housing, eliminate rental scams, and access expert guidance, Founder and CEO Matt Creese told Entrevestor.
Creese said his own experiences as a renter and landlord made him realize that landlords receive many applications but lack the tools to identify the best tenants. Good rental candidates often lack a way to stand out in the crowds of applicants who can number in the hundreds.
Weevva tackles the issues by assessing potential tenants in areas such as credit score, income to rent ratio, and criminal behaviour. The system provides landlords with lists of the top ten applicants for their properties. The system can help create a lease, allow payment of rent, enable tenants to request repairs, and more. Weevva will also help to access government arbitration, if needed.
Creese said the current housing shortage means the vacancy rate is about 1 percent nationally. The shortage of rental accommodation is a problem in many developed countries, he said. And many adverts are fraudulent, posted by people seeking to steal deposits.
“Weevva exists because renting shouldn't be so hard. We're here to make it easier, fairer, and more human, for both landlords and tenants,” said Creese.
“Independent landlords need confidence in choosing the right tenant and in managing the entire lease relationship. At the same time, reliable tenants deserve a fair way to stand out and a rental experience that is transparent and secure."
Creese said his company has assembled a library of research so the product can meet the legal requirements of tenancy agreements in each Canadian jurisdiction.
Having been raised and having worked internationally, Creese has experience in strategy, operations, and growth, including in senior roles at Jaguar Land Rover, Openlane, and Lexus, he said.
He returned to Canada in 2019 and has been working on Weevva full-time since late 2023. He has a team of four developers; two full-time and two part-time. To date, he has bootstrapped the business. Now, having got the product to market, he said he is open to fundraising.
Creese said Weevva has no direct competitors because it is the only company offering a comprehensive, integrated service to both landlords and tenants.
Weevva is a member of TechNL and a Genesis Enterprise company. Weevva is also part of Propel’s current cohort. It is named for the African weaver bird, known for perfecting its nest and living in tight-knit communities.
Uresta Closes $3M Funding Round
The N.B. company is using the funds to launch in the U.S.
Shediac, NB-based Uresta, which makes a device to prevent bladder leakage, has closed a $3 million funding round, and is using the funds to launch its product in the United States.
The company said in a statement last week that BDC Capital led the round with a $1.5 million contribution. The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation said on social media it made a $500,000 follow-on investment in the round and other participants included the Women's Equity Lab Atlantic and angel investors.
"Bringing Uresta to the U.S. is about more than just launching a product – it's about offering women a real solution for bladder leaks,” Lauren Barker, CEO and Co-founder of Uresta, said in the statement. “For too long, bladder leaks have controlled the lives of women. Women have been told to tolerate it with absorbent products. Uresta is a simple, non-invasive solution that stops leaks and puts women back in control.”
Founded in 2004, Uresta has developed a product that has been clinically tested and referenced in a number of global medical journals. The clinical studies have shown that 97 percent of women saw a reduction in leaks when using Uresta.
The company said the product – which it describes as “a simple, reusable, and comfortable alternative to absorbent products and surgical interventions” – is now used by more than 30,000 women. NBIF said it has been scaling rapidly in Canada.
The U.S. launch coincided with a panel event in New York City, where leading experts in pelvic health discussed the urgent need for better solutions in women's health, said the company.
Burgesson Wins Emerging Leader Award
The Tribe CEO says the group in on track to close its $20M VC fund.
Tribe CEO and founder Alfred Burgesson
Alfred Burgesson has won the 2025 Emerging Leader Award from the Ottawa-based think tank Public Policy Forum.
In a profile announcing the award, the Founder and CEO of Halifax-based Tribe Network said that the organization is on track to raise $20 million for its first venture capital fund, the next big project for the organization. The group has found a lead investor who contributed $2 million and other investors are also signing up as limited partners.
Burgesson founded Tribe, an innovation hub that supports BIPOC entrepreneurs, four years ago and it currently has around 2,000 members and operates a community centre in downtown Halifax. The group offers grants of $500 to $5,000 as well as programing and mentorship. Around 60 percent of funding comes from governments, the rest from private sources, he said.
Tribe hopes its new VC fund will reach $10 million by September, with the remainder of the money coming early next year, said Burgesson. The fund will become functional this fall, he said.
“Two years ago, when we said we’re going to raise a $20 million venture fund, people in Atlantic Canada were [like], ‘Oh, that seems so much! Why don’t you start with $5 million?’ Some people laughed at us. ‘Who’s this kid? Does he really think he can do this?’” Burgesson said in an interview.
Burgesson intends that the venture fund make investments of up to $1 million. Tribe has developed a pipeline of viable entrepreneurs after holding events across the country, he told Public Policy Forum.
It’s well known that access to capital is particularly challenging for BIPOC founders and the current investment climate is tough for all but the most established companies. Data from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association shows East Coast startups raised just $23 million in the fourth quarter, one of the weakest performances in recent memory, while the annual total dropped for the third year in a row to $176 million.
All this makes the new fund especially valuable, especially if the enthusiasm for DEI initiatives declines, as seems likely.
“The pendulum has swung,” Burgesson said, referencing the new American government and the upcoming Canadian federal election.
“We have to be aware of what’s coming. But at the same time, I have so much faith in my team, my board, our vision, that I don’t see what we’re doing as a DEI initiative…it’s important to not think about DEI as a side project. DEI should be embedded in your organization as part of investing in excellence. All research shows that if you have [women], if you have racial diversity on your teams, you’re going to be more profitable in the business world.”
Stellar Futures Wins AI Pitch Contest
The company’s product is designed to improve coastal safety and emergency preparedness.
Technology company Stellar Futures, which is based in Nova Scotia and Texas, has won the Commercial AI Pitch Competition hosted by AWS and PREDICTif Solutions for its work in artificial intelligence and digital transformation.
The company's core product is StellarAlerts.AI, a coastal safety solution designed to enhance real-time public messaging, impact-based forecasting, and emergency preparedness.
The system leverages advanced AI and data analytics to provide timely, localized alerts that help communities mitigate risks and respond to coastal hazards, the company said in a press release.
“This win is a significant milestone for our company as we continue to push the boundaries of AI-driven solutions,” said company founder Gary Stairs.
The company has won a prize package valued at US$35,000, including US$25,000 in cash and US$10,000 in engineering support from PREDICTif Solutions, providing guidance in the development and implementation of AI solutions.
Founded in 2002 as Red Hot Learning, Stellar Futures has sold its products to over 600,000 online learners in 23 languages. Its clientele includes United Nations Peacekeeping, Mercedes-Benz Nordics, Mercedes Trucks Asia, Daimler AG, the LA Times, Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation, and the Children’s Hospital of LA, the company said.
Since March 2023, the company has been developing an economic development and digital transformation idea centered around Software as a Service. It has also progressed through several consecutive cohorts of the Propel ICT Accelerator.
Stellar is currently part of the inaugural Invest Nova Scotia Accelerate 2025-2026 cohort, receiving $40,000 in funding along with access to five months of specialized business and technical mentorship.
PREDICTif Solutions is a Houston-based AWS Advanced Consulting Partner specializing in business intelligence, data expertise, and AI/ML capabilities.
Ten Startups Selected for Accelerate
Participants are working in diverse areas, including cybersecurity and biotech.
The first cohort of Invest Nova Scotia Accelerate 2025-2026 has been selected. Now in its fifth year, Accelerate offers participating startups four months of business and technical training and $40,000 of funding.
The program is completely virtual and aimed at companies that have already established market opportunities for products based on science or engineering-related intellectual property and have completed or nearly completed a proof of concept or prototype.
The participants are:
BioLabMate Composite – Dr. Sarika Kumari, Sanjay Dubey – Sydney
Seaweed-based labware replacing single-use plastics in science and healthcare.
Elle, MD Biotechnologies – Jennifer Johnston – New Minas
Copper embedded, silicone vaginal ring to enable non-hormonal, user-controlled contraception.
KweeQ Technologies – Sochukwuma Aham-neze (Chuks), Aderemi Adelekan David (David) – Halifax
Secure platform protecting buyers and sellers online from fraud and scams.
LaunchPal – Jamie Davison – Halifax
Marketing platform that streamlines content creation, scheduling and analytics for brands.
Novabench – Nathan Lapierre – Halifax
Software that helps IT teams ensure reliable employee computers.
Pain Coach – Emily Johnston – Halifax
Digital health tools to personalize pain management after orthopedic surgery.
Petite Riviere Farming Company – Gregg Curwin – Conquerall Mills
Plant-based health compounds as a Food-as-Medicine solution to reduce cancer and chronic inflammation.
Ranchflow AI – Rahul Sharma – Halifax
Cattle monitoring to prevent farm losses through real-time AI-driven insights.
Stellar Futures – Gary Stairs, Gayle Grin – Blue Rocks
Platform to enhance community resilience using climate intelligence, digital twinning, GIS, and early warnings.
XO Technology – John Wang – Halifax
A wearable device to monitor seniors' health metrics to provide personalized care.
VidCruiter Donates Computers to Youth Clubs
The donation is intended to help local youth succeed.
Moncton-based recruitment software company VidCruiter has given $20,000 worth of computers to the BGC Clubs (Boys and Girls Clubs) in Dieppe, Moncton, and Riverview, as well as $10,000 worth of computers to Youth Impact Jeunesse Moncton.
The donations are helping to bridge the digital divide, providing underprivileged youth with the tools they need for education, skill development, and career opportunities, the group said in a statement.
“Our goal is to support the next generation by ensuring they have access to the technology they need to thrive,” the company said.
VidCruiter started in 2009 by producing a tool that recruiters could use to conduct interviews online to streamline the hiring process. Over the years it has added such features as an applicant-tracking system and applications that help to simplify workflow for recruiters.
Mulli Swing Wins UNB Pitch Competition
Safe Mail was the top entrant in the Ideas Category.
Mulli Swing Solutions, which helps golfers improve their swings, captured the top prize in the Growth Category last week at the University of New Brunswick’s RBC Student Pitch Competition.
The Fredericton-based company has developed sensors that attach to the grip of a golf club, producing data that helps golfers and their coaches analyse the player’s grip and swing. Its co-founders are Brycen Munroe, Alex Khoshbakhtian, Matthew Ryan, and Ethan Belliveau.
“Currently in the advanced prototyping stage, we are actively refining the product to bring it to market while exploring applications for other sports like tennis and hockey,” said the Mulli team in a statement.
The Ideas category was won by Safe Mail, founded by Zachary Taylor. Safe Mail is a proactive phishing and marketing scam prevention service.
The other prize winners – all of whom were from UNB, unless noted – were:
Ideas Category
Second Place: Purely PEI
Lika Kramarchuk, Erika Marcel, Diya Lalit Bubna, University of PEI
Purely PEI wants to make treats using species (and maybe potentially even plants) that are invasive to Canada but are good for dogs. It would provide extra health benefits for pets and help the planet.
Third Place: Zinger Golf
Nick St Pierre
Zinger Golf hopes to transform golf ball recovery by using advanced technology to efficiently retrieve, refurbish, and resell lost golf balls.
Innovation Award: SmartSteer Solutions
Adam Derrah, Lucas Wilson, Matt Mills, Ethan Drost
SmartSteer Solutions aims to revolutionize the traditional zero-turn lawnmower by creating controllable front caster wheels while also maintaining the popular traditional lap bar controls.
Impact Award: Binovate
Richard Naing
Binovate is working on a modular recycling assistance that can be retrofitted on to existing open-top recycling bins. The product includes a camera that uses computer vision and AI to detect the object and a screen to tell people in which compartment it should be emptied.
Growth Category
Second Place: Flomaru
Ali Shaverdi, University of Waterloo
Flomaru is an open marketplace platform for global flower delivery, connecting consumers, florists, and suppliers across borders.
Third Prize and Communication Award: DeepREM Labs
Alex Tree
DeepREM’s mission is to help enhance users’ quality of life by providing a system to actively improve their sleep.
Social Innovation Award: Peptok
Uche Babatope, Solomon Danquah, Gabriel Olabanji
Peptok is working on a mentoring platform that connects retired seniors to young professionals. It helps retired professionals remain socially engaged, thus reducing their risk of social isolation, while providing mentorship to young professionals.
Technical Innovation Award: SMARTXL.io
Founders: Geetesh More, Long Tran Hong Nguyen
SMARTXL.io is working on an innovative SMART data accelerator. It boosts performance and cuts down power consumption while using minimal hardware resources.
New Bio Facility To Open in Dartmouth
ACOA announces $5M grant for Neptune BioInnovation
Backed by a $5 million federal grant, a new 51,000-square-foot bioinnovation hub is opening in Dartmouth to offer badly needed lab and bio-manufacturing facilities to a range of customers.
The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency last week issued a press release unveiling the grant to Neptune BioInnovation Inc., a new non-profit that will oversea the facility. Neptune will take over an existing building in the city, transforming it into a multi-user facility that the government says will be unique in Canada.
“This incredible example of shared investment is critical to de-risk and commercialize a multitude of cutting-edge Canadian technologies, building an essential green supply chain for Canadian manufacturing, targeting sustainable domestic economic growth while advancing climate-change solutions for our domestic industries,” said Dr. Beth Mason, who will be the Director of the new Neptune BioInnovation Centre.
The government said the new complex will help Canada to compete globally, strengthen domestic supply chains, and foster biotechnology advancements across critical sectors. Citing research from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Boston Consulting, it said the global bioeconomy is projected to be worth US$7.7 trillion annually by 2030.
The Neptune BioInnovation Centre will be headquartered in an under-used building on a 12.3-acre lot in Dartmouth. It will offer leasable wet and dry lab space, warehouse and office spaces, and commercial-scale precision fermentation, contract manufacturing operations and spray drying capacity.
It will provide shared industrial space, contract manufacturing, spray drying, and precision fermentation in quantities of up to 100,000 litres, enabling companies to scale locally instead of leaving Canada. The opening of the facility should help to address the shortfall of wet labs in the Halifax area, which life sciences companies often say inhibits growth in the local bio-industry.
The government said in the press release the centre will help companies that are creating: new materials to displace petrochemicals; innovative therapeutics for better health; functional food ingredients with reduced resource demand; green chemical solutions; and biodegradable plastics and materials.
As well as managing the facility, the non-profit Neptune BioInnovation Inc. is responsible for the contract manufacturing operation, customer service, and attracting national and international clientele.
A statement from Invest Nova Scotia said the new facility would boost biomanufacturing capacity and foster collaboration between academia, industry, and government. “For companies in life sciences, biotech, cleantech, and ocean industries, Nova Scotia just became an even more compelling place to innovate and grow,” it said.
Until November, Mason had been the CEO of the Verschuren Centre in Sydney, an innovation hub dedicated to supporting sustainable businesses. It is known for its fermentation facilities that allow companies to pilot new sustainable products. Mason was one of the driving forces behind Cape Breton’s AscendBio program, which helped companies develop in the Sydney area with access to the Verschuren facilities.
AgroGene wins $50K Investment from NBIF
The Innovation Foundation plans to resurrect the Breakthru brand.
Breakthru is returning to New Brunswick.
As it awarded a $50,000 investment at the Breakthru Accelerating Cleantech pitching event on Tuesday, the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation unveiled its plans to resurrect the Breakthru brand, whose name was once given to its flagship competition.
The pitching competition winner, which received a $50,000 investment from NBIF, was AgroGene Solutions, which was founded by four researchers at Universite de Moncton and provides monitoring services for beekeepers. Last year, AgroGene CEO Pascale Michaud was recognized as an innovator to watch at the InnovateNB event.
AgroGene’s other co-founders are Nicolas Pichaud, Luc Boudreau, and Gilles Robichaud.
In the pitching event on Tuesday, it was competing against: OceanAM, whose cofounders are Dr. Mohsen Mohammadi, Foroozan Forooghi. Mohsen Keshavarzan; Binovate, Richard Naing; and Decarb Technologies David Leonardo Sanchez.
Following the event, NBIF Chief Executive Jeff White said the organization aims to provide more support for early-stage startups in the province by resurrecting the Breakthru brand.
Before the pandemic, Breakthru was the foundation’s highest-profile event, and a true passion project of then-CEO Calvin Milbury. It used to be held every second year and award hundreds of thousands of dollars to the top three startups, which had all gone through months of preparation and mentorship. Since 2019, there were several smaller-scale events with the Breakthru name and now NBIF wants to bring the events back in some shape or form. Details are not known yet.
CoLab Secures $5.6M for AI Project
Hebron and Hibernia are backing the development of ReviewAI
St. John’s-based CoLab Software has received $5.6 million in funding from two offshore oil projects to help develop its new artificial intelligence and machine learning tool.
The company, whose software supports collaborative 3D design and review, held an event in St. John’s on Wednesday to announce the funding from the Hibernia and Hebron Projects. This cash infusion will fund about 60,000 hours of local software development to expedite the creation of CoLab’s new product – ReviewAI.
ReviewAI uses AI and machine learning to accelerate product development and improve quality. It is already being used by enterprise customers and boasts a strong pipeline of potential customers, said the company.
“This project and the associated funding is an exciting opportunity for CoLab to partner with a forward-looking customer to build capabilities that the industry has never seen before,” said CoLab Co-Founder and CEO Adam Keating in a statement. “In 2025, with support from this project, we will be developing and launching several new capabilities, including a predictive review system that can automatically identify potential design issues. This will not only accelerate design reviews, but also increase their effectiveness by allowing engineers to focus on high impact problems and opportunities.”
CoLab has become a star of Newfoundland’s IT community since Keating co-founded the business with CTO Jeremy Andrews in 2017. It has since announced a US$17 million Series A funding round following its stint in the Y Combinator accelerator in Silicon Valley. In 2024, CoLab closed a US$21 million, or C$28.6 million, Series B funding round led by New York’s Insight Partners. The company said at the time it would use the money for a commercialization push and “big swings” on AI.
The funding from Hibernia and Hebron announced Wednesday is not an equity investment in CoLab. Keating said in an email that part of the funding will be used to accelerate research and development, and the rest is for development of the software.
Last August, CoLab held a Design Engagement Summit to showcase ReviewAI for the first time, and outlined a 24-month development process that targeted a completion of the project by 2026.
The company reached the development agreement with Hebron (an oil production project operated by ExxonMobil Canada Properties) and Hibernia (operated by Hibernia Management and Development Company). Since these parties’ contribution was finalized, CoLab has hired 17 new full-time staff at its headquarters.
Hebron’s engineering service contractor, Aker Solutions, implemented the CoLab solution with 125 users last year and completed over 2,900 design reviews.
“CoLab has improved multi-disciplinary collaboration, visibility and traceability across all our review processes,” said Scott Humber, the Senior Manager for Digitalization with Aker.
“Tighter feedback loops and automated tracking have improved internal review times and cut external reviews from weeks to days—or less—while enhancing visibility and reducing project costs.”
CoLab has since secured another Fortune 50 partnership and said that more than 60 leadership teams from Fortune 1000 companies are evaluating ReviewAI.
CoLab said the funding from Hebron and Hibernia – which includes software subscriptions from the two organizations – has allowed CoLab to accelerate new technology development in four areas:
● Machine learning algorithms. which can automatically identify similar design files;
● Generative AI to surface lessons learned or highlights from past reviews;
● New ways to view, interrogate and analyze 3D engineering data;
● And enterprise security, data protection and compliance controls.
The initial project includes support from Energy Research & Innovation Newfoundland & Labrador.
Nicholas Maccallum, Research & Development Manager with ExxonMobil Canada, said that Hebron and Hibernia “see this project as building foundational capabilities in artificial intelligence and software development in Newfoundland and Labrador. … It is advancing the global reach of a local software company to provide a competitive market solution for collaborative design workflows.”
Six Startups, Sandpiper Land ACOA Funding
The recipients of loans and grants include Lab4 and SimplyCast.
Seven groups in the innovation community have received about $1.3 million from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to hire staff, streamline operations, increase production and reach new markets, ACOA said in a press release.
Among the recipients, most of whom are based in Dartmouth, are the following innovation-driven companies:
Lab4 specializes in critical mineral processing and engineering. It is receiving a loan of $500,000 to expand its pilot facility dedicated to the commercialization of its ARC technology that is able to process complex feed sources, one of which Is lithium-ion batteries. The project will support facility upgrades, acquisition of advanced machinery, and hiring skilled professionals to accelerate the company’s entry into the global market. By recovering over 99 percent of materials without the use of toxic chemicals, Lab 4 directly addresses global supply chain challenges while contributing to environmental sustainability.
SimplyCast is a global leader in self-serve, interactive IT marketing platforms, and is receiving a $450,000 loan to grow its Smart City, Smart Healthcare and Smart Government divisions. This project will support new highly-skilled jobs and marketing implementation to drive platform adoption in global markets. The company is also receiving a $50,000 grant to hire an executive director to manage and grow its Smart Government division, which aims to bring its technology to the public service sector.
Rising Tide BioAcoustics is an acoustic technology company in the oceans sector, and is receiving a $101,250 loan to test and demonstrate its Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) system. The system cancels underwater noise produced by docked and seagoing vessels, lessening sound pollution and its environmental impact on marine life. The project includes customer engagement, business development and strategic planning to maximize growth opportunities.
Aurea Technologies is receiving a $50,000 grant to hire an electrical engineer to enhance the capabilities of the Shine 2.0 turbine, a portable wind turbine for powering handheld devices. The engineer will find ways to reduce production costs and design a custom power station adaptor. The project will help the company scale up production of its flagship product to meet increased demand for renewable energy solutions across a variety of sectors.
Sandpiper Ventures is Atlantic Canada’s only venture capital fund led by women, investing primarily in Atlantic Canadian women-owned technology companies operating across various sectors. The company is receiving a $45,725 grant to hire expertise to support the attraction of new angel investment into the region. This will increase access to capital for women founders leading to new business growth, job creation and regional economic benefits.
Eosense designs and manufactures advanced environmental gas monitoring devices for measuring greenhouse gas emissions. It is receiving a $22,500 grant to hire a marketing expert to develop a marketing and implementation strategy for domestic and international growth. This will support Eosense in achieving ambitious revenue growth targets, while enhancing customer acquisition and retention.
EcoMarine Technologies is receiving a $50,000 grant to engage business development expertise to support the launch of its product in Southeast Asia. The project will support the commercialization of its subsea marine Remote Operated Vehicle-based (ROV) solutions for underwater maintenance and biofouling management on vessel hulls.
Disclosure: The CEO of Aurea Technologies is the daughter of the founders of Entrevestor.
Emergence Lands $2.6M in ACOA Funding
The funding will support the Emergence 4.0 program.
The PEI BioAlliance is the private sector-led non-profit that is responsible for developing and coordinating strategy for the Island's bioscience cluster. In 2014, the organization launced Emergence, which provides specialized business incubation and acceleration services to bioscience companies across the region.
The new investment will help Emergence support the formation and growth of regional bioscience companies, ACOA said in a press release.
“The bioscience sector in Atlantic Canada is growing rapidly, and Emergence is proud to support the innovative companies and entrepreneurs driving this momentum,” said Jason Cleaversmith, Executive Director, Incubation and Infrastructure at PEI BioAlliance.
“This investment enables us to expand our mentorship programs, strengthen commercialization support, and help emerging companies access the capital and expertise they need to grow and succeed.”
Cleaversmith, who came to Charlottetown after several business development roles in the U.K. biotech industry, joined Emergence in 2021.
Since July 2022, Emergence has helped more than 82 bioscience companies with mentorship, investment support, and commercialization services. In this same period, Emergence programming has helped participating companies raise more than $150 million in capital, enabling them to achieve over $250 million in sales revenue, the group said.
With New Capital, Remsoft Buys Lim Geomatics
The Fredericton tech company has raised outside capital for the first time.
Fredericton-based Remsoft has secured a strategic investment from an American private equity fund, which is funding its acquisition of Ottawa-based Lim Geomatics, a forestry software innovator.
The New Brunswick company, which uses data analytics to aid forestry companies, said in a statement last week that it took on the investment from Banneker Partners, a San Francisco PE firm specializing in enterprise software.
The same statement said some of the capital was used to acquire Lim Geomatics, a 19-year-old company that develops geospatial software for the forestry sector.
Though the financial details of neither transaction were revealed, the two deals add up to a transformative phase for one of Atlantic Canada’s most venerable tech companies. It’s the first time in Remsoft’s 33-year history that it has taken on outside capital, and Lim Geomatics has made national lists for the fastest-growing companies in the country.
“The forestry sector is accustomed to disruption—from shifting regulations to changing market dynamics. Success comes from adaptability, efficiency, and informed decisions,” said Remsoft Co-Founder and CEO Andrea Feunekes in a statement.
“Our cloud-enabled platform integrates data with optimization, spatial intelligence, and AI to drive greater value for customers. With Banneker’s support and the acquisition of Lim Geomatics, we can innovate faster and deliver the most advanced analytical tools to the industry.”
Founded in 1992 by Andrea and Ugo Feunekes, Remsoft has developed software that uses predictive analytics for the entire forestry supply chain. In bringing on investment from Banneker, it is partnering with a private equity fund that targets companies with revenues ranging from $10 million to $100 million.
Remsoft said the investment strengthens its ability to scale, accelerate innovation, and deliver solutions that help forestry organizations improve profitability and enhance sustainability.
“We’re excited to support Remsoft’s growth as it scales its technology and innovates to enhance efficiency, strengthen sustainability, and drive meaningful impact across the industry,” said Steven Ballantyne, Operating Partner at Banneker.
The statement also said the Fredericton company has bought Lim Geomatics to expand the Remsoft platform with geospatial intelligence and forest machine telematics capabilities that deepen insights into forest operations.
Founded in 2006 by Dr. Kevin Lim, the acquired company has developed geospatial software that helps forestry companies with their planning, management and harvest operations. There’s no public record of Lim ever receiving investment, but it was named to The Globe and Mail’s list of the 500 fastest-growing companies in Canada in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
“Remsoft and Lim Geomatics share a passion for advancing forestry through technology innovation that addresses real-world challenges,” said Lim in the statement. “Together, we are developing a modern and modular platform that harnesses data and analytics to ensure that every stakeholder—from landowners and forest product companies to public stewards and timberland investors—can navigate today’s challenges and unlock future opportunities.”
Dragons’ Den Coming to Planet Hatch
The CBC show sees founders pitch their ideas to investors.
Fredericton entrepreneurship hub Planet Hatch is hosting Dragons’ Den and inviting founders to apply to pitch.
Dragons’ Den is a running popular show on CBC where founders pitch their businesses to seasoned entrepreneurs and investors in the hope of winning funds, mentorship and connections.
Dragons’ Den producers are hosting in-person auditions in select cities for the next season of the show and Planet Hatch is a hosting location, the startup hub said in a press release.
Startups and entrepreneurs can attend Planet Hatch on Crowther Lane on March 26 and pitch their business ideas and products for a chance to enter the Dragons’ Den.
The first step is to apply on the Dragons’ Den website.
Energia Ventures Marks 12th Cohort
The three-month accelerator is designed for startups in the energy, smart grid, clean tech, and cybersecurity sectors.
Fredericton-based Energia Ventures has announced the latest five ventures to participate in its program for innovative companies working in fields that include biotechnology, construction, recruitment, and AI.
Based at the University of New Brunswick’s J. Herbert Smith Centre for Technology Management and Entrepreneurship, Energia Ventures is a three-month intensive accelerator for entrepreneurs with an innovative business in the energy, smart grid, clean tech, and cybersecurity sectors. It offers mentorship, funding, and a network of industry mentors.
With two virtual cohorts per year, the program helps early-stage companies scale and prepare for rapid growth.
The participants this time are:
Axolotl Biosciences (British Columbia) Axolotl Biosciences is a women-run biotech startup focused on developing high-quality bioinks for 3D printing human tissue models. These models are used for research and drug discovery, providing researchers with an innovative way to create and test human tissues, while maintaining high cellular viability and promoting tissue maturation.
Build Smartr (British Columbia) Build Smartr is using prefab steel framing in the home building industry. Focused on residential construction, the company aims to showcase the benefits of steel framed homes while working toward expanding into commercial construction. Their approach aims to challenge traditional home-building methods with a sustainable, durable, and cost-effective solution.
CandidateHub (New Brunswick) CandidateHub is a recruitment marketing automation platform designed to engage and convert top-quality candidates. By nurturing talent through automated, hyper-personalized campaigns, CandidateHub helps companies reduce time-to-hire and enhance recruitment efficiency. The platform tracks candidate engagement and automates outreach, allowing companies to build robust talent pipelines.
Posthaste (New Brunswick) Posthaste is tackling email overwhelm and Slack anxiety by providing a single, action-focused inbox. Using automation and AI, Posthaste consolidates communications across multiple platforms, highlighting what requires immediate attention and enabling users to manage tasks efficiently.
URAI.AI (New Brunswick) URAI.AI is pioneering AI-native software agents to simplify the development, deployment, and scaling of AI-powered applications. By addressing challenges such as high development costs and fragmented workflows, URAI.AI offers businesses a secure, provider-agnostic platform to create next-gen AI applications. The platform integrates seamlessly with enterprise tools like Slack, Jira, and Salesforce, enhancing productivity and security.
Picketa Adds Canola to its LENS Platform
Work with the new crop begins with a pilot with Cargill.
Picketa Systems CEO Xavier Hébert-Couturier
Fredericton agtech company Picketa Systems has announced the addition of canola to its LENS (Leaf Evaluated Nutrient System) platform. Building on past success with potatoes and corn, Picketa is expanding its support of staple broadacre crops to meet the nutrient management needs of North America’s canola growers, the company said in a press release.
Due to variable field conditions, suboptimal fertilization is common in oilseed and grain crops, especially with macronutrients like nitrogen, the company said. This results in yield losses in the case of insufficient nutrient supply or increased costs in the case of overfertilization.
Picketa’s LENS platform uses pattern-matching AI from leaf structures to identify 13 nutrient concentrations. Unlike traditional lab testing, which can be slow and costly, the LENS enables instant results, the company said, allowing growers to make timely, data-driven decisions.
“We see Picketa’s LENS as a key tool for ourselves and any producer who wants to fine-tune fertility in season to maximize yield from every acre of canola,” said Scott Horner, Chief Commercial Officer at HyTech Seed Productions.
Initially developed for use with potatoes on a family farm in Saint-André, New Brunswick, the LENS is now deployed across Canada and a dozen states in the U.S. Corn was added in 2024.
The journey to include canola began in November 2023, when Picketa’s team partnered with HyTech to collect essential data in Chile. Through collaborations and field trials across North and South America, the team gathered lab-validated samples to calibrate the LENS for canola, ensuring accurate nutrient readings tailored to the crop’s specific requirements, the company said.
Picketa is now confident its process can be replicated on an increasing number of crops. The aim is to cover every major crop type and make the LENS the standard for tissue analysis.
The company is partnering with Cargill, a leader in agriculture and food production, to pilot the LENS technology in a key Cargill location in Camrose, Alberta.
“This pilot will help us better understand how real-time nutrient analysis can support our growers in making data-backed decisions throughout the season.” said Glenn Houser, Crop Inputs Leader for Cargill’s Ag and Trading business in Canada.
Tenera Care Closes $7.4M Round
The round was led by Build Ventures and Export Development Canada.
The company, whose system uses wearable devices to track the movements of seniors in residential care homes, said the round includes $2.1 million in bridge funding to finalize product development and $5.3 million to support a Canadian and U.S. growth plan.
Tenera’s Real Time Location Service, or RTLS, helps long term care homes keep track of their residents, staff and assets with the goal of improving safety and operations. The system, which is used by homes across North America, analyzes data to improve workflow, care, and business outcomes, said the company.
“The Long Term Care space, particularly those facilities focused on complex care and memory care environments, need the Tenera Care solution,” said Rob Barbara, general partner at Build Ventures. “It is a practical, pragmatic and affordable platform that improves resident health and safety while also creating happier and more satisfied employees. That kind of win-win solution will make Tenera Care very attractive to operators across North America.”
Tenara, which announced a $750,000 raise in 2021, said that the funders in the current round included some returning investors.
Said Tenera CEO Stephen Fitzgerald: “The Long Term Care market needs innovative solutions to protect residents and better support staff. This funding advances Tenera Care’s industry-leading location tracking and fall detection while fueling strategic growth. We are already seeing strong interest in both the Canadian and United States markets.”
Tenera Care said in a statement that residents can use its system to call for assistance from anywhere, and it identifies situations where they may need help and automatically calls for them. The system also identifies trends in resident mobility, socialization and other factors.
Three years ago, Tenera launched a pilot program with Halifax-based retirement home company Shannex, which owns assisted living facilities throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario. Today, Shannex is a strategic partner of the company.
“At Shannex, we have seen firsthand the benefits of the Tenera Care platform to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents,” said Jason Shannon, president of Shannex. “This location-based technology empowers our managers with data-driven insights and improves the performance and job satisfaction of our staff.”
Tribe Offers Tariff Supports
The regional group has published a list of useful organizations.
Halifax-based Tribe Network, the region’s support hub for BIPOC founders, is offering advice for founders to help them navigate U.S. President Trump’s new tariffs.
“With the latest developments surrounding U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports, we understand that many businesses are facing uncertainty,” Tribe said in its recent newsletter.
“As you navigate these changes, we want to ensure you’re aware of the resources and support available to help you adapt and stay competitive.”
Subramanian is also involved with student VC fund Venture Grade.
Shrilakshmi (Shri) Subramanian
Shrilakshmi (Shri) Subramanian has joined the team at startup hub Volta as Growth Coach based in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
Subramanian brings over 17 years of experience across the AI and emerging technologies space to her new role, the group said in a statement.
She is also the general partner at Venture Grade, the VC fund at Saint Mary's University in Halifax. Volta said she brings a founder-first mindset, expertise in driving growth, and a genuine passion for Cape Breton startups into a growing AI community.
“I feel grateful for the opportunity to do what I cherish the most - empowering entrepreneurs and startups to turn their vision into tangible success,” Subramanian said.
ACOA Supports Freshr Technologies
The loan will help Freshr expand and improve operations.
Freshr Technologies develops and manufactures a naturally derived antibacterial coating that can be applied on fully compostable food packaging film. It extends shelf life by 15 to 30 percent by inhibiting bacteria growth, reducing chemical spoilage and minimizing water loss, ACOA said in a press release.
Wasted food results in an estimated $2.6 trillion in annual economic losses worldwide and produces 10 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions, the group said.
“Freshr Technologies is at the forefront of developing sustainable active packaging solutions that extend the shelf life of fresh proteins, starting with seafood,” said Mina Mekhail, CEO and Founder of Freshr Technologies.
“Given Atlantic Canada’s status as a hub for some of North America’s largest seafood companies, relocating to Nova Scotia in 2020 was a natural choice. We are grateful for ACOA’s financial support, which will enable us to scale our innovative technology to meet growing demand both within Atlantic Canada and worldwide.”
The funding will help the company renovate its facility to accommodate upgrades, such as the installation of a new water filtration system and a HEPA air filter, ACOA said. Freshr will also procure specialized quality assurance equipment, including a mechanical tensile tester which assesses material for strength and stretch and a surface profilometer which tests surface roughness.
The company will hire a local engineer to design and operate a new manufacturing line, and engage experts to obtain Safe Quality Food certification. These improvements will help Freshr meet and grow demand for its proprietary technology, FreshrPack, which extends the shelf life of fresh proteins.
NPC backs Chinova Bioworks, ALT-PRO Advantage
The two regional companies are among seven to receive funding.
The funding is intended to help the companies address key challenges in their go-to-market journey, the group said.
“NPC’s contribution to these companies is an investment in a stronger Canada,” said Shelley King, CEO of Natural Products Canada. “The work we do to develop and de-risk these opportunities ensures Canada can meet the demand for innovative, bio-based solutions that address global challenges such as climate change, food security, and chronic health issues.”
The two regional companies are:
ALT-PRO Advantage
Project Budget: $188,600
NPC Contribution: $75,000
ALT-PRO Advantage is creating pet food with alternative proteins and allergen-free formulas. Their proprietary microalgae ingredient is a natural, sustainable source of essential nutrients, reducing reliance on synthetic additives while enhancing pet health and environmental sustainability.
Chinova Bioworks
Project Budget: $1,046,106
NPC Contribution: $350,000
Chinova has developed a natural antimicrobial ingredient from cranberries to help extend the shelf life of food and beverages. The capital will support activities to scale the product to attain regulatory approvals and distribute commercial samples to prospective customers.
The other recipients are: BioSun Products; Black & Blue Foods; Henri Nutrition; Magna Engineering; and Tersa Earth Innovations.
NPC has now contributed a total to $10.6 million to 88 bio-based and natural products ventures, the group said.
SimplyCast, Pico Public Cloud Sign MOU
The deal will help the multi-channel marketing company develop new markets.
Dartmouth’s SimplyCast, whose platform helps companies to consolidate and automate their marketing efforts and communications, has signed an MOU with Pico Public Cloud, a technology provider in Bangladesh.
The collaboration provides organizations in Bangladesh with cloud solutions and services while ensuring that practices are culturally relevant and compliant, SimplyCast said in a statement. And, in light of the economic uncertainties affecting the American and Canadian markets, it also represents an opportunity for SimplyCast to broaden its international footprint.
Founded by CEO Saeed El-Darahali in 2009, SimplyCast’s technology helps customers automate tasks ranging from sending text message alerts, to tracking how visitors interact with a website, to generating and managing online forms.
The business has clients in 150 countries, with clients in sectors as diverse as construction, government and utilities. On the East Coast, SimplyCast has worked with Dalhousie University, the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia and Credit Union Atlantic, among others.
“As part of my visit to the country, we were excited to see the momentum of the people of Bangladesh and the strong need for digital transformation across all sectors,” said El-Darahali.
The Pico Cloud platform offers solutions across Service Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, and Enterprise Asset Management.
Aeon Blue Eyes $10M Seed Round
The eFuel startup is finding the environment for raising capital favourable.
Aeon Blue CEO Lark Meadows and CTO Deóis Ua Cearnaigh
Aeon Blue, the Cape Breton green fuel and carbon capture startup, is halfway through its bridge round, and is planning a seed round with the goal of becoming fully operational by 2027.
Based in Sydney River, Aeon Blue specializes in the production of sustainable eFuels by harnessing wind energy and seawater. The company’s technology and processes aim to integrate hydrogen production with carbon capture technology, using wind energy, seawater, and atmospheric carbon dioxide to create cost-efficient eFuel.
The venture recently raised $195,000 in equity funding from the Cape Breton Capital Group and is now halfway through its bridge raise of about $750,000. The company plans to complete the bridge round in the next few months then raise a $10 million seed round that will be dedicated to building a pilot reactor.
The company is run by CEO Lark Meadows and her brother Chief Technology Officer Deóis Ua Cearnaigh. They founded Aeon Blue in the U.S. in 2018.
Meadows was previously the CEO of a Los Angeles non-profit that advocated for gender rights where she oversaw a staff of 25 and hundreds of volunteers. She also worked as a project developer and produced over 100 events, stage and film productions.
Meadows, who is living on the east coast of the continent for the first time, said she is finding the environment for raising money favourable and that her experience in the film world is beneficial as each movie is like a small startup, requiring project development and relationship building. While the assets are different, the tight budgeting for these projects demands creativity, collaboration, and meticulous planning to pull off.
“So far this year it’s very positive,” Meadows told Entrevestor. “We have found that Nova Scotia especially is extremely progressive and has a pretty big commitment to becoming net zero by 2050…Investors really want to support climate technology companies that will help meet these goals.”
The upcoming seed round is intended to pay for the company’s pilot reactor which will be validated at the Verschuren Centre, she said.
The company has designed a saltwater electrolyzer that integrates both hydrogen production and direct air capture. That means it can produce a synthetic fuel that can replace gasoline, diesel or other products while capturing carbon dioxide and storing it underground. With some fuels, the process can capture six times as much CO2 as the eFuel produces when it burns, the company has said.
Aeon Blue believes it can compete on cost because its saltwater electrolyzer is “100 percent interruptible.” The system operates off wind or solar energy, but it only needs to run when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. That means its facility will not need expensive batteries to store energy from these intermittent sources, thus reducing production costs.
Meadows said there is a great deal of demand for eFuels, especially in sectors that need liquid fuels such as the aviation industry. She said Aeon Blue’s technology is able to generate incremental revenues. For example, they are aiming for US$3 million (C$4.3 million) this year in carbon credit sales.
Their range of offerings, from natural gas to rocket fuel, will help bolster the economics of the company as it handles the notorious difficulties of scaling, Meadows said.
“We can produce any kind of fuel the buyer wants,” she said, adding that the venture’s initial focus will be on producing natural gas for the local market and aviation fuel.
Currently, the company has just three employees: Meadows, her brother Deóis Ua Cearnaigh, and Chief Administrative Officer Lori Bowen, who has also worked in the film industry.
Raising Capital in a Tough Environment
Three companies discuss their recent successes in raising capital.
Retellio Co-Founders Brent Pretty and Andrea King
Amid a funding landscape that has seen equity funding become increasingly scarce, some founders are continuing to find ways to raise capital.
Three founders spoke with Entrevestor about their experiences raising investment, with all three reporting that advance preparation and strategic planning have proven crucial to the process.
Retellio’s founding team includes two alumni of Newfoundland’s first unicorn. TheraPBios reimagined its product line before raising. And Rise spent much of last year re-evaluating its offerings in pursuit of profitability.
“The last 12 months have been pretty game-changing for us,” said Rise CEO Matt Daigle of his company, which sells green environmentally-friendly building materials. “We’ve become really obsessed with profitability.
“When you’re growing an online store, there’s this old notion that it’s about bringing in as many people as possible. But after a while of doing that, we realized that we really need to focus on the quality of our orders.”
All three companies have been raising money amid challenging market conditions for the innovation sector. Macro-economic problems like high interest rates, inflated valuations and the threat of tariffs from the United States continue to plague startups across Canada. Compounding the issues are funding woes unique to the Atlantic Canadian ecosystem.
Data from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association shows East Coast startups raised an anemic $23 million in the fourth quarter, one of their weakest performances in recent memory, while the annual total dropped for the third year in a row to $176 million.
Key VC shops like Concrete Ventures and Build Ventures are tapped out on their existing funds and are not investing in new companies. Others are known to Entrevestor to be at or near capacity. And Atlantic Canada continues to lack a pan-regional angel network.
Despite these headwinds, here are three companies that have had funding success:
Retellio Co-Founders Andrea King and Brent Pretty have created AI-based software that can monitor other companies’ sales calls and package key feedback from their clients into podcasts for decision-makers and employees.
King said in a recent interview the prior experience she and Pretty bring to business offered them a crucial leg-up in putting together their latest, $1.3 million funding package.
Both are alumni of cybersecurity unicorn Verafin, which was sold to Nasdaq for a remarkable US$2.75 billion in 2021, making it one of the most valuable companies in Newfoundland history. Pretty was Verafin’s lead product manager for AI workflow automation. King was head of customer marketing, training and onboarding for Verafin and went on to lead Nasdaq’s media and government relations team.
“I think we had it probably easier than other startups, simply because Brent and I both worked at Verafin,” said King of the duo’s pedigree. “We’re also both a bit older, so we’ve got the experience going into Retellio.”
The duo’s raise was also underpinned by a pivot from an earlier business model focused on AI agents. In January of this year, the company launched its new product to what King described as a positive reception, with double-digit numbers of customers signing on in short order.
“We’re focused on finding product market fit, and once we see that traction take hold, we’ll pour gas on the fire and start spending more to get more users,” she said of Retellio’s current focus on capital efficiency.
TheraPBios PHARMA, which is likewise meeting with success in its angel fundraising efforts, is also approaching investors on the basis of a successful pivot as founders Abdullah Kirumira and Glyn Davies prepare to seek a larger tranche of VC funding.
Chief operating officer Glyn Davies said in an interview that TheraPBios has spent the last year pivoting to a different product format with the aim of making the business more scalable, and consequently, more venture-backable.
TheraPBios originally sold a “ready-to-drink” probiotic liquid intended to double as a replacement for a range of about 30 dietary supplements. And while that offering is still available to buyers, it came with downsides.
As Kirumira and Davies looked to expand the business into Ontario last year, they discovered the liquid formulation of TheraPBios was difficult to transport compared to the powdered or capsule-based supplements it was competing with. Not only was it heavier, but crucially, it required refrigeration.
That also meant Bioteem40, as they call their product, was competing for very limited refrigeration space in supplement and health food retailers. And because the consumers who usually bought supplements were unfamiliar with the “ready-to-drink” liquid format, many were hesitant to try it or unsure how to incorporate it into their routines.
So, Kirumira and Davies pivoted to focus their efforts on a second product that would offer the same health benefits as their first, but in a more conventional powdered form. The new formulation also has the benefit of a longer shelf life, allowing retailers to buy inventory knowing they can stock it for as long as they need to in order to sell through.
Just under a year after raising a $600,000 round of angel investment, TheraPBios is set to close another, smaller angel deal underpinned by the success of its powdered formulas. In total, TheraPBios will have raised more than $1 million.
“By closing this second angel round, we’ll give ourselves four or five months to really check off some milestones,” Davies said. “That includes successful distribution in Ontario, opening up doors in the U.S. market and pushing some of our product out west.
“Having checked off those milestones should raise the value of our company — to where we don’t have to part with as many of our shares to get the money we need to expand.”
Davies added the reason they have raised a second round of angel funding, largely from existing strategic investors, is to ensure that when the company does seek institutional capital, they are well-positioned to make the most of the opportunities they find.
Raising too much money at lower valuations means fewer shares to sell later at higher values. So to protect existing investors and maximize the benefits of an eventual VC raise, he and Kirumira are aiming to first prove out the value of the business with robust sales numbers and strong growth.
“We want to make sure that our company is in a position where we’re not parting with too many shares at too low a price to keep it fair to our shareholders,” said Davies.
“Because when we look to continuously scale through three, four, five rounds of investment, each of those should come with a higher valuation so that everyone is not diluting their shares.”
Rise, the Fredericton B-Corp that runs an e-commerce platform for sustainable home renovation materials, took similar care to lay the groundwork for its current raise by focusing on improving its profitability. Sales were already strong, CEO Matt Daigle said in an interview, but there was room to improve the company’s margins and general operating efficiency.
“It’s very regimented,” he said. “On a weekly basis, we analyze every single one of our orders. … We go through each order individually, and we figure out what the true net margin of that sale was, including any advertising costs that we would have incurred.
“That allows us to eliminate ad spend for products that aren’t necessarily profitable and allows us to redirect our attention to products that are.”
Rise sells more than 12,000 products in its online storefront to buyers throughout North America, with every supplier relationship governed by a different agreement. Over the summer, Daigle and his three-person team sifted through each of those products and evaluated the net margin they were making off it.
In some cases, offerings with large sizes or bulky form-factors could be profitably shipped to some locations, but not others. Daigle cited the example of a water heater that could only be feasibly sold to buyers east of Virginia
Now, Rise is building on that groundwork by raising $1 million, with more than half currently committed from a mix of new and returning backers.
That raise, Daigle added, has also hinged significantly on New Brunswick’s Small Business Investor Tax Credit, highlighting the role government policy can play in attracting investors. Until the end of this month, backers who sign on to Rise’s funding round can receive a personal income tax credit worth up to 50 per cent of their investment.
“In my mind, that’s what brought the funds in that we’ve received to date, said Daigle of the tax credit, adding that every backer of Rise’s latest round is based in New Brunswick. “If I compare it to other years, I’d say we’ve had a lot more yeses than nos.
“Although I would say the pool hasn’t necessarily gotten any bigger. We are still in a very small province.”
Even with the tax credit to sweeten the deal, though, as with Retellio and TheraPBios, investors’ confidence in Rise’s leadership has also proven to be a key factor in Rise’s investment round.
“Oftentimes, it’s about who likes the team,” he said. “Do they believe in the company, where it’s going, the traction and the momentum?”
PEI’s New Tech Hub Seeks Founders
Charlottetown’s tech hub sits on the site of the former LaunchpadPEI.
Chris Gallant, Executive Director of the PEI IT Alliance
The Foundry, the new innovation space on Charlottetown’s Great George Street, is seeking founder-members, especially those aiming at international markets, its new director told Entrevestor.
The Foundry seeks to foster innovation and community by enabling water cooler collisions and the rapid exploration and rejection or development of ideas.
“We are looking for founders striving for exports beyond the Atlantic region,” said Chris Gallant, Executive Director of the PEI IT Alliance and the person heading up the new incubator space.
“Participants need a new technology or a new product or service built around technology with a focus on global export,” said Gallant, who is also a co-founder of Iron Fox Games.
Run by the PEI IT Alliance with funds provided by the province and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, The Foundry is supporting the delivery of programming and mentorship services for the province’s tech industry.
Gallant said there are currently an estimated 3,000 technology professionals working in the island’s IT industry.
The Foundry offers a physical space for interaction. PEIDevs, the local group for developers, now hold their monthly meetups out of The Foundry, he said.
“It’s a place for tech workers to gather, get help, fail fast, and recombine,” said Gallant.
Coaching at The Foundry is based on a 90-day plan. Ideally, Gallant said, participant-clients are at the mid-validation or post-validation stage, approaching revenue, and solving real problems.
The PEI IT Alliance was established in 2022 and currently supports a membership of 908, including 89 organizations, along with startups, professionals, remote workers, and students.
Membership of both the IT Alliance and The Foundry is expanding, Gallant said.
“Some of our members are startup founders and others are remote workers for big technology companies,” he said.
“We have held events to get people in technology and on the periphery aware of what we are doing… I'm talking to a lot of prospective founders and coaching them through taking the plunge (into entrepreneurship).”
Gallant said The Foundry aims to avoid duplicating the work of other support organizations, and founders may be referred to other groups if programs offered elsewhere seem more appropriate.
“2025 is the year we figure out what we are good at and what differentiates us,” he said.
UNB Seeks Pitch Contest Applicants
The deadline to apply for the elevator pitch competition is Monday.
The competition is open to any full-time university student with an interest in driving technological or social innovation to better the world, the group said. Individuals or teams of up to four can apply.
The entry must include an executive summary of up to 500 words, outlining the business proposal.
The finalists for the competition – which presents winners with cash prizes – will have three minutes to pitch their idea to a panel of judges.
You can apply here. The deadline is Monday, March 3.
PEI Bio Sector Revenues Rise 84% in 5 Years
The PEI BioAlliance annual economic review shows continued progress.
Revenues by private companies in the Prince Edward Island bioscience cluster logged in at $612 million in 2023, marking an increase of 84 percent since 2018, said the PEI BioAlliance in a statement.
The umbrella organization for the bioindustries on the Island releases data on the cluster’s economic performance each year. The most recent study of 50 bioscience sector companies based on 2023 business performance shows the sector continues to make progress.
“Through the aligned efforts of business, academia, research, and government partners, the P.E.I. bioscience cluster has surpassed 2025 growth targets and is well on its way to becoming a billion-dollar industry by 2030,” said the BioAlliance in a statement.
Some of the findings in the report include:
Exports of manufactured products, including pharmaceutical ingredients, diagnostics, vaccines, and natural health products for human, animal, and fish health, were $460 million.
Investment attraction topped $38 million.
Capital expenditures were $111 million
Payroll rose to $115 million, with an average annual salary of $79,300, which the statement said makes the cluster the highest-paying private sector employer in the province.
The bioscience sector currently employs 2,200 people.
The sector paid $106 million in federal, provincial and local taxes in 2023, almost doubling in five years.
“In these times of economic uncertainty, it is rewarding to see our sector continue to grow as a key pillar of P.E.I.’s economy,” said Charmaine Noonan, Board Chair, PEI BioAlliance and Senior Director, Merck Animal Health PEI. “We firmly believe that the world will continue to need the specialized health products and services that our highly sophisticated companies are producing.”
The BioAlliance highlighted two recent corporate transactions that demonstrated the progress being made in its sector. In February 2024, Merck Animal Health acquired Elanco Animal Health’s aqua business for US$1.3 billion in cash with PEI fish vaccine manufacturing assets a key part of the transaction. Last September, Agilent Technologies completed its acquisition of biopharmaceutical manufacturer BIOVECTRA for US$925 million.
The BioAlliance also said steps are being taken to overcome two hurdles the sector now faces: the tight market for skilled personnel and the shortage of specialized R&D and manufacturing facilities. The federal and provincial governments recently broke ground on the new $50 million BioAccelerator in Charlottetown.
This 62,000-square-foot multi-function facility will provide lab and manufacturing facilities and services to research organizations and businesses. It will complement such facilities as BIOVECTRA’s mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility, the Canadian Alliance for Skills and Training in Life Sciences training facility, and the Bioscience Manufacturing Incubator.
“The sector’s economic success means positive benefits for Islanders through high-paying jobs and increased government revenues,” said BioAlliance CEO Rory Francis, who will retire this year. “These revenues enable government investments in housing, health care, education, roads, climate change mitigation, and many other programs and services important to Islanders. We’re pleased to continue to contribute to the future prosperity of PEI.”
PEI Unveils New Tech Hub
Charlottetown’s hub will assist tech entrepreneurs across sectors.
The Foundry, which is run by the PEI IT Alliance, will support the delivery of essential programming and mentorship services for the province’s tech industry, ACOA said in a statement.
The new space on Great George Street offers state-of-the-art facilities and resources to its members as well as workshops and networking opportunities to connect entrepreneurs with industry leaders, investors, and potential partners, the group said.
“With this investment, we can connect more entrepreneurs to the resources and networks they need to grow. The Foundry is central to this vision, serving as a hub for collaboration, innovation, and growth in PEI’s overall economy,” said Chris Gallant, Executive Director of the PEI IT Alliance.
The PEI IT Alliance was established in 2022 and now supports a membership of 908, including 89 organizations, along with startups, professionals, remote workers, and students.
NB’s ConnexionWorks, CBDCs Land ACOA Funding
The money supports entrepreneurs and rural innovation
The ConnexionWorks funds allow the non-profit to offer its Premier Entrepreneurship Program over the next two years, providing early-stage entrepreneurs from Greater Saint John with the training, resources, and networking needed to launch their businesses, ACOA said in a statement.
The CBDC funds are part of the $12.6 million allocated to support the 41 CBDCs in Atlantic Canada that encourage mainly rural development, the economic development agency said..
CBDCs are independent non-profit organizations that offer programs and services to support community economic development and the growth of small businesses. They are led by volunteer boards of directors representing communities.
“The contribution from ACOA to the CBDC New Brunswick network directly supports our rural economies, and has benefited small businesses greatly in their development, growth and expansion,” said Scott Tidd, the Executive Director of the NB Association of CBDCs.
Cape Breton Capital Backs Aeon Blue
The Sydney River company aims to open its first eFuel facility in 2027.
Aeon Blue CEO Lark Meadows and CTO Deóis Ua Cearnaigh
Aeon Blue Inc., the Cape Breton green fuel and carbon capture startup, has raised $195,000 in equity funding from the Cape Breton Capital Group to help the company establish its first facility in 2027.
Based in Sydney River, Aeon Blue specializes in the production of sustainable eFuels by harnessing wind energy and seawater. The company’s technology and processes aim to integrate hydrogen production with carbon capture technology, using wind energy, seawater, and atmospheric carbon dioxide to create cost-efficient eFuel.
"Cape Breton Capital Group is more than just an investor in Aeon Blue; they are a true catalyst for climate tech growth in Nova Scotia,” said Aeon Blue CEO Lark Meadows in a statement. “Their deep understanding of the local ecosystem and strategic guidance is helping us transform our vision of sustainable fuels and carbon removal into reality. They're the kind of partners who go above and beyond to ensure lasting impact in the community."
Meadows and her brother Deóis Ua Cearnaigh founded Aeon Blue in the U.S. in 2018 with the goal of producing a cost-competitive eFuel. Meadows had previously been the CEO of a Los Angeles non-profit that advocated for gender rights. Cearnaigh, the company’s Chief Technology Officer, has studied renewable fuel science over three decades at such institutions as Yale University and Texas Tech.
They moved their company to Cape Breton to capitalize on the abundant wind and seawater resources, and met members of the Cape Breton Capital Group through the Verschuren Centre in Sydney.
Aeon Blue, a graduate of the Plug and Play accelerator, has designed a saltwater electrolyzer that integrates both hydrogen production and direct air capture. That means it can produce a synthetic fuel that can replace gasoline, diesel or other products while capturing carbon dioxide and storing it underground. With some fuels, the process can capture six times as much CO2 as the eFuel produces when it burns, says the company.
As detailed in an article in Forbes in 2020, Aeon Blue believes it can compete on cost because its saltwater electrolyzer is “100 percent interruptible.” The system operates off wind or solar energy, but it only needs to run when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. That means its facility will not need expensive batteries to store energy from these intermittent sources, thus reducing production costs.
The company has said on social media that it is pre-selling Geologically Stored Carbon (GSC) credits for the facility, which should be operational in 2027. It added the facility will remove 6,800 tonnes of CO2 annually, storing it safely for more than 1,000 years, and create local jobs with priority hiring for Mi'kmaq First Nations.
In December, Aeon Blue said it had passed the preliminary assessments of Puro.Earth, a Helsinki-based platform for promoting carbon-negative facilities (That is, they capture more CO2 than they produce.). The company is now listed on the Puro.Earth site as a future facility.
Enactus Regionals Coming to Halifax
Teams will present social impact projects in diverse categories.
Enactus Canada is a charity providing programs focused on inspiring post-secondary students to initiate and operate socially and environmentally positive enterprises. Currently, more than 2,000 students at over 76 campuses across Canada are engaged in Enactus projects, the group said in a statement.
This week, the competing teams will represent regional post-secondary schools and will present social impact projects in these Impact Challenge categories:
Environmental Sustainability Challenge: Tackling climate change through the concept of circularity while teaching and empowering others to do the same.
Youth Empowerment Challenge: Addressing the needs, barriers, and opportunities facing youth, as it relates to education, learning skills, and lifelong success.
Innovation and Impact Challenge, powered by Enactus Alumni: Developing social impact enterprises to address real-world problems.
Entrepreneurship Challenge: Teaching entrepreneurship skills to empower aspiring and existing entrepreneurs.
Some Halifax team projects include:
NSCC Ivany Campus – “Sewing for Change” supports women in underserved communities in the North End by providing reusable menstrual products.
Dalhousie University – A collaboration with Bide Awhile Animal Shelter, creating biodegradable cat litter made from recycled newspaper.
Teams will present to judges from local businesses and other leaders and compete for funding to further their projects as well as a spot to represent Atlantic Canada at the National Exposition in Calgary in May.
Mayor Andy Fillmore and Enactus Saint Mary’s University Alumnus, Corey Mattie, co-founder of Balsam, will welcome the teams at the opening ceremony on Thurs., Feb 27 from 5 to6 pm at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront.
Virtual Hallway Partners with IWK Health Genetics
Genetics is Moving Fast. Medicine Needs to Catch Up, the partners say.
Halifax-based physicians’ network Virtual Hallway and IWK Health Genetics have joined forces to boost genetic health education among healthcare providers and improve access to specialized genetic services.
The partnership is part of a 12-month commercialization project at IWK through national innovation group CAN Health Network. The partners have developed interactive digital education modules for clinicians to enhance their knowledge and streamline patient care, the partners said in a statement.
New genetics technology has boosted its use in healthcare, but as referrals from community and non-genetic specialist healthcare providers outpace capacity, patients are experiencing increasing wait times to access genetic testing, the partners said.
Educating physicians will help make patient care more efficient and reduce avoidable referrals to medical genetics services.
“Genetic testing has the power to transform patient care, but only if clinicians have the knowledge and support to use it effectively,” said physician Jacob Cookey, Co-founder and Medical Education Lead of Virtual Hallway.
“This partnership with IWK and CAN Health improves genetic health literacy and empowers providers to make informed decisions—aligning with our vision at Virtual Hallway to connect clinicians to the collective wisdom of every other clinician to improve patient care.”
The new education modules are developed by IWK Health and delivered through Virtual Hallway’s platform. The partners said the new collaboration aims to improve the system by:
Making genetic knowledge mainstream, not niche. Frontline providers can confidently order and interpret tests, instead of waiting for specialist referrals..
Allowing shorter wait times and faster care. More healthcare professionals with genetic expertise means fewer delays in diagnosis and treatment.
Healthcare systems scaling smarter. Digital education and streamlined workflows increase access without adding strain to overburdened genetic counselors and specialists.
Virtual Hallway was founded in 2019 after its three psychiatrist founders found they were struggling to schedule and document the phone consults they were performing. They saw that patients were waiting too long for specialist consultations and that these delays were leading to more chronic and disabling conditions.
The company now allows healthcare providers in various provinces to schedule consultations with specialists and streamline communication and record-keeping.
Healthcare providers, health leaders and innovators interested in the new partnership can find more information here.
Event Hub Launched by Startup Atlantic
The network partners are inviting input from users.
Events for Atlantic Canada’s startup community are now being listed on an events calendar created by Startup Atlantic, a network of startup groups and accelerators.
The Startup Atlantic Event Hub is a one-stop shop for all startup events happening across the region, the group said. The calendar lists networking opportunities, pitch competitions, industry workshops and more.
Startup Atlantic said users can find events that match their goals, connect with fellow entrepreneurs and investors, and never miss an opportunity to grow their business.
Founders are invited to check out upcoming events here.
The group also asks users to disclose the best startup event they have attended in the comments section.
Atlantic Canada Raised $176M in VC in 2024
The CVCA data showed strength in Newfoundland and Labrador.
On Wednesday, the organization known as the CVCA released its VC data for 2024 showing the funding for the four East Coast provinces fell 15 percent from the previous year. The one bright spot for the region was that Newfoundland and Labrador booked $81 million in VC funding on nine investment rounds.
Nova Scotia was a close second with $79 million on 18 deals. New Brunswick booked $15 million on 15 deals, and Prince Edward Island logged a single VC investment worth $1 million.
Source: CVCA
“Atlantic Canada saw a decline in total investment, with every province except Newfoundland and Labrador experiencing a reduction of half of the levels observed in 2023,” said the CVCA in the report. “Newfoundland and Labrador was the standout, with investment nearly tripling from 2023, reaching $81M across nine deals, mirroring the levels set in 2021.”
The financing deals on The Rock were led by St. John’s-based CoLab Software’s $28 million funding round and a raise of $11 million by Mysa Smart Thermostats.
The Atlantic Canadian VC total for the fourth quarter was $23 million. By province, this broke down as two deals worth $12 million in Newfoundland and Labrador; three deals worth $10 million in Nova Scotia, and three deals worth $1 million in New Brunswick.
The CVCA figures, published in 2024 Venture Capital Market Overview, include only year-to-date totals, not quarterly numbers. Entrevestor has calculated the funding raised in the fourth quarter by subtracting the CVCA’s third-quarter figures. The totals do not generally include angel funding.
Though the 2024 total is weak by the standards of recent years, it’s worth remembering that there has been a strong flow of investment capital into the innovation sector in the first half of the decade. In spite of the pandemic and recent high interest rates, Atlantic Canadian startups in 2020-2024 raised $950 million in venture capital, an average of $190 million a year.
For the years 2015-18, the average VC total for the region was about $107 million. (We excluded the year 2019 because it was distorted by the huge $515 funding round by St. John’s-based Verafin, an undisclosed portion of which was debt.)
The Atlantic Canadian VC funding in 2024 took place against a backdrop of relatively strong investment for the country as a whole. The CVCA said Canadian innovation-driven companies received total investment of $7.9 billion across 592 deals, which it described as “a solid performance”. The overall funding total for 2024 was in between the $6.9 billion total of 2023 and $10 billion in 2022.
“There’s no question that capital is available for later-stage companies, and we continue to see investors backing more mature companies and proven Canadian innovators,” said Association CEO Kim Furlong in a statement. “However, we are seeing ongoing constraints at the pre-seed and seed stages. This decrease is significant for future rounds of financing, ensuring a healthy pipeline of early-stage companies is critical to long-term ecosystem strength.”
Kraken Robotics’ Karl Kenny Mourned
Kraken announces the death of founder and former CEO Karl Kenny.
Kraken Robotics Founder Karl Kenny
St. John’s-based Kraken Robotics has announced the loss of its founder and former CEO Karl Kenny on February 11, at the age of 64.
Kenny founded Kraken in 2012 and was instrumental in building the company into a significant player in subsea robotics over his 10-year tenure, before retiring in December 2022.
“An ideas man and a builder, Karl’s energy was as relentless as his passion to compete against the bigger industry players,” said Greg Reid, president and CEO of Kraken, in a statement.
“He was an incredible force that drove Kraken to success. On behalf of the board of directors, management, and employees, he will be sorely missed.”
Kenny grew up in a small fishing village in Newfoundland with a deep connection to the sea. Over his 45-year career in the marine technology industry, he led the development of a wide range of advanced marine technologies and products in Canada, the United States, and Europe, the company said.
He spent time as a maritime surface officer with the Canadian Navy and was always involved in high technology. In the 1980s, he was a part of the Microsoft mouse project team and in the 1990s he formed Telepix, a leader in photo e-commerce solutions.
He co-founded Marport Deep Sea Technologies in July 2003 and served as its president and CEO until December 2011. In 2012, he founded Kraken to commercialize compact, lower-cost synthetic aperture sonar technology for unmanned systems.
“Karl’s strategic vision and entrepreneurial spirit enabled Kraken, a small startup out of Newfoundland, to punch well above our weight and become recognized world-wide for our high-resolution synthetic aperture sonar technology,” said David Shea, Executive Vice-President and CTO of Kraken.
Kraken has now grown into a publicly listed company with a market cap of $637 million. The company reported its revenue for the first nine months of 2024 was $63.2 million, an increase of 52 percent over the same period in 2023. In the autumn, Kraken completed an equity financing worth $51.7 million.
TLT East Aims To Close Fund Feb. 28
The $1M-$3M fund is seeking investors who want to back East Coast innovation.
A new Atlantic Canadian investment group is hoping to close its first fund this month, and make its first investment at about the same time.
TLT East Ventures is the brainchild of Michael Brown, a New Brunswick-born investment banker whose career has included a stint as a mentor with TechStars in New York. He is now working on an initial fund of between $1 million and $3 million to provide pre-seed financing to Atlantic Canadian companies.
“I’d really like to shift the narrative and say we have to invest in local innovation, doubling down, even tripling down, on Atlantic Canada,” said Brown in an interview. “We’re working on building a diversified portfolio across 10 to 20 companies. . . . I want to create another Clearwater Seafood, another Secunda Marine, and create the jobs of tomorrow.”
Brown, who divides his time between New Brunswick and Toronto, said he has received commitments worth $1.5 million, though not all of them are cast in stone. He is looking for more investors willing and able to put up a minimum of $50,000 each.
New Brunswick investors are eligible for the province’s Small Business Investor Tax Credit, which offers a tax credit worth 50 percent of commitments of up to $250,000. The fund is looking for investors from around the region, though only New Brunswick residents can receive the tax credit. It also has a “crowdfunding exemption”, which means it could attract investors from other parts of Canada. [Interested investors can contact Brown here.]
TLT East will target companies across Atlantic Canada in a range of sectors. It drew up a list of about 100 startups, and narrowed it down to 35 that it considers worthy investment targets. It is continuing to narrow the list further, and has already identified its first investment target.
Brown – who should not be confused with LongShot Capital Partner Michael Brown, the former CEO of Halifax-based Swept Janitorial Software – is already discussing plans for his second fund. He hopes his second fund will raise $50 million and target companies needing Series A and B rounds rather than pre-seed.
The TLT East leadership team features a who’s who of New Brunswick innovation talent, including: Gerry Pond, Co-Founder of East Valley Ventures; Marc Savoie, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at East Valley Ventures; Kathryn Lockhart, CEO of Propel ICT; Adrienne Oldford, Executive Director of The McKenna Institute; and Dr. Hanif Chatur, Co-Founder of eVisitNB.
When asked why he didn’t just work within the existing structure of Saint John-based East Valley Ventures, Brown said EVV is a group of angels who decide individually whether to back each company under consideration. A fund, however, has more power to support companies, and founders only have to deal with a single investor.
With a background in investment banking, Brown stands out from other investors in that he advocates so strongly for exits through public listings rather than corporate takeovers. In discussing startups, it doesn’t take long for him to bring up initial public offerings, or reverse takeovers by publicly listed shell companies. He prefers that model to founders selling their companies to larger corporations.
His reasons are twofold: first, a public listing gives a company the flexibility to raise more capital as it becomes a large corporation; and second, the economic benefits to Atlantic Canada are maximized when corporate headquarters remain in the region.
“I’m biased toward public companies – I’m an investment banker,” he said. “It’s up to the founders, but a few that I’ve talked to have expressed a keen interest. If we can take even one or two public, it’s a good exit. It’s also a good way for the headquarters to be in Atlantic Canada. We need to focus on the longevity of value that comes from the headquarters remaining in Atlantic Canada.”
SudDrop Expanding to Ontario
The Halifax venture collects, cleans, folds, and delivers laundry.
SudDrop CEO Jayrell Diggs
Halifax basketball player Jayrell Diggs is partnering with courier companies and laundromats to grow his SudDrop laundry service into new provinces.
The student athlete is expanding his laundry subscription service to Ontario this summer, with the hope of later growing across Canada.
SudDrop collects dirty laundry from homes and businesses. It was the experience of trying to fit laundry into his hectic schedule that inspired Diggs, now a fourth-year commerce student at Saint Mary's University, to launch the business at the beginning of 2023.
“As a student athlete, managing school, training, and daily responsibilities left little time for laundry. I realized if I had this problem, others probably did too," Diggs, a six-foot guard from East Preston, N.S., told Entrevestor.
To date, his HRM-based service has been divided about 50/50 between residential and commercial customers. The margins are lower with residential clients but the approach has helped his young company grow.
"One commercial client is equal to about ten residential clients, so commercial clients are a lot more profitable, but residential clients allow us to grow through word of mouth and brand recognition," he said.
Soon, he will launch in Ottawa with commercial clients. A bar and grill eatery is already on board and then he plans to expand to apartment complexes. Once the company app is up and running, he will extend the service to residential clients.
He said there are competing companies in Ottawa but their presence means the public is already accustomed to paying for laundry pick-up. He hopes to differentiate himself by offering a rapid and personalized service with laundry cleaning available by the bag or pound.
"We focus on speed and convenience while making sure each client gets the best possible service,” he said. “Our flexible pricing and fast turnaround set us apart."
All being well, he hopes to add Toronto, Etobicoke, Mississauga, and the Niagara region before expanding westwards.
At this stage, Diggs is running the business alone with the help of laundromat and courier partners and freelance staff. He is not yet raising money although he may soon offer a friends and family round in order to fund expansion.
Recently, he won a national Futurpreneur award and plans to use the $10,000 prize to pay for marketing.
"This award is a huge step forward for SudDrop,” he said. “It allows us to invest in marketing, reach more customers, and grow our presence as we expand into new markets."
We Need More Surveys for Better Data
Our recent post showed the community is at a juncture, and needs timely information.
We had some requests to flesh out the findings about the number of startups with more information on funding and other metrics. Our response is simple: we need more startup CEOs filling in our survey so we can assess the funding, revenue and employment situation more completely. Just click on this image and you're 10 questions away from completing it.
We’re at a critical juncture in the startup community, and the more information we have from companies, the better our analysis will be. Huge thanks to the roughly 100 founders who have submitted their forms, but we need more.
These survey responses are the foundation of our Atlantic Canada Startup Data report, which will be available free for everyone in May or June. Decision-makers read our report, so it’s vital that we get an accurate picture of how many companies are in the community.
We know CEOs are busy, so we keep our survey as short as possible. All the answers are 100-percent confidential, and you can skip any question you’re uncomfortable with.
We’re pushing hard this month to get as many survey responses as possible, and have been contacting people directly. Please take just a few minutes to complete the survey so that all members of the ecosystem will understand the dynamics at work in our community.
Ocean Startup Project Launches L2M Cohort
The group is expanding its activities to further growth in the blue sector.
The fifth cohort of Ocean Startup Project’s Lab2Market Oceans/Validate program has begun work with 21 new teams that aim to tackle challenges in the blue economy.
The eight-week program, hosted by Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador, is designed to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset among postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and faculty.
By providing expert-led training, mentorship, and strategic guidance, the program empowers teams of researchers to reimagine their ocean research concepts and uncover potential commercialization pathways, the group said in a press release.
Participants receive a $15,000 stipend for the program, which is part of the national Lab2Market network.
"Since launching in 2020, we have supported 96 early-stage research teams, helping them explore pathways to transform their innovations into real-world impact,” said Paula Mendonça, Executive Director of the Ocean Startup Project, which aims to drive innovation nationally across the ocean economy.
“Importantly, we have also seen a remarkable increase in gender diversity, with participation from individuals identifying as women rising from 11 percent in 2020 to an average of 27 percent over five years…"
This year’s recruitment process attracted 51 applications from 12 post-secondary institutions, the group said. As a result, 21 teams from four universities across four provinces – British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador – have been selected. This time, many of the top applicants came from Newfoundland.
Mendonça,said the group is currently expanding its activities. Last November, the group hosted its first Ocean Startup Activator on PEI, in partnership with UPEI's Catherine Callbeck Centre for Entrepreneurship and PEIBA. (PEI BioAlliance).
The event introduced the blue economy to individuals who might not have otherwise been aware of its potential, Mendonça said. The group is now planning to host its second Ocean Startup Activator in Newfoundland and Labrador next month, in partnership with Genesis and others. The activators will later be expanded across the country.
“They are a key part of our strategy to inspire and empower the next generation of ocean innovators,” she said.
Here are the members of the latest cohort:
Steel Catenary Riser Tracking – AI-powered AUV for real-time monitoring of underwater risers, Memorial University
Wave Smart – Smart energy management system for efficient electric boat navigation, Memorial University
AquaVision AI – AI-driven biofouling detection for reduced maintenance costs, Memorial University
KelpAI – AI and satellite monitoring for kelp forest conservation, Memorial University
Land to Sea – A Bioalliance for a Sea of Hope - Tackling hydrocarbon contamination in marine environments, York University
Multi-Omics AI – AI-driven detection and mitigation of harmful plankton blooms, Memorial University
Subseaify – 3D visualization and localization of underwater assets, Memorial University
Marine Bioindustries Ltd. – Sustainable cell-based seafood alternatives, Memorial University
AdaptMe – AI-driven ice management training for seafarers, Memorial University
Chainfare – Blockchain-based security for maritime transactions, Memorial University
WaveMoveCharge Solutions – Wave-powered charging and propulsion for electric boats, Memorial University
AquaFishSense – AI-powered fish mapping for sustainable fisheries, Memorial University
Underwater Electric Drones – Advanced DC-DC converter for extended drone operation, Memorial University
iMech Solutions – AI-driven material testing for faster, sustainable innovation, York University
Bio-Stat-Green Consulting – Eco-friendly patio umbrella made from microalgae, York University
SOLIDS – Smart maritime communication for seamless connectivity, University of Victoria
PoseidonPulse – Real-time water quality monitoring for aquaculture and communities, University of Victoria
TriSource Power Solutions – Hybrid renewable energy converter for remote power supply, Memorial University
MicroTrap – 3D-printed microfiber filter to reduce ocean pollution, University of Alberta
WaveLink Power – High-efficiency wave energy conversion technology, Memorial University
SolarSail – Weather-resistant dual-axis solar tracking for ships, Memorial University
Have we Reached Peak Startup in Atlantic Canada?
Entrevestor's initial data shows startup numbers declined in 2024.
There’s a troubling metric we’re discovering as we work on our next Atlantic Canada Startup Data report. For the first time, the startup community appears to be shrinking. As of right now, we have 732 innovation-driven companies in the Entrevestor Databank, a drop of 11 percent from a year ago.
These are only preliminary numbers and we hope to hear about more new companies from their founders or the organizations that support them. But we’d have to find 84 stealth companies to reach the 816 we reported in our last report, and that doesn’t seem likely.
The prospect of a shrinking startup community raises a lot of uncomfortable questions. First, have we reached “peak startup” in Atlantic Canada, and will we ever break the 1,000-startup mark? We should ask why numbers are declining, especially at a time when the region has such a deep network of business accelerators and incubators. Will the declining numbers affect funding and programming for startups? And finally, can this trend be reversed?
We’re not going to answer all those questions in this column, but we can present the preliminary numbers.
In our last Atlantic Canada Startup Data report, we found that 816 startups were operating at the end of 2023. We admit there are always going to be stealth companies we don’t know about, but this was the number of companies we identified. It was a piddly 1 percent increase over the previous year.
In the years after our first startup data report in 2014, the number of startups in our databank increased by about 15 percent each year. Then the pandemic hit and the growth slowed, almost stagnating in 2023.
In 2024, we removed 192 companies from the databank, driven mainly by a record 133 failures. That was about 1.3 percent more than the 117 failures we booked in 2023. We also removed 29 companies because they’re now service companies, and 20 others because they left the region.
Meanwhile, we found 96 new companies in 2024, the first time in at least seven years that we found fewer than 100 new companies. We’re a bit more selective than we used to be – for example, we don’t list every team that competes in the entry-level Pitch and Pick competitions at Genesis in St. John’s. (Despite this, St. John’s was home to almost one-third of the new companies we found.) Overall, we’ve been on the lookout for new ventures.
(The total number of companies was also affected by a healthy number of exits in 2024, and companies that emerged from stealth mode after operating silently for a number of years.)
We admit that we’re missing some new companies – we always do – but we’re hearing from other people within support organizations that they’re noticing “pipeline challenges”.
The reasons are not easily addressed. The number of international students – many of whom form companies – has fallen due to changing immigration policies by the federal government. The Atlantic Universities Association recently reported a decline of about 11.4 percent in international student enrollment in the region, representing a loss of almost 3,000 students.
Compounding the problems are rising living costs and a troublesome housing market. Most young people with technical and/or business skills are naturally going to forgo the lousy pay and perennial risks of startup life in favour of a steady paycheque.
The numbers are not encouraging, but there are two things to remember. First, these are preliminary figures. We hope to find more companies in the coming month or so and the decline may not seem as stark. And finally, the quality of companies is more important than the number of companies. Last week we reported that Halifax-based medtech company Sound Blade raised US$16.5 million (C$23.8 million) in only its second year of operation. There are still good companies launching, just not enough of them.
* * *
This article should demonstrate the importance of Entrevestor's research. We've already begun discussing it with the organizations that support our data reports, and will continue to do so as our work progresses. It is helping to shape policy.
But we need the help of startup founders and CEOs. If you head an innovation-driven company in Atlantic Canada, please take two minutes to complete our 10-question survey. It's 100 percent confidential, and you can skip questions you don't like.
You can find the survey by clicking on this image:
Greenshoots Submissions Live
Successful applicants receive up to $40,000 in non-repayable, non-dilutive funding.
Invest Nova Scotia and partners are seeking early-stage agri-technology and bioeconomy companies to apply for GreenShoots programming.
GreenShoots is for companies in the agriculture, agri-food, bioeconomy, clean technology, and related sectors and is offered by Invest NS, the Greenspring Bioinnovation Hub and Bioenterprise Canada.
Successful applicants will receive up to $40,000 in non-repayable, non-dilutive funding, as well as business guidance from professionals, the group said in a press release.
The support is intended to help grow the export potential of companies, manage projected impacts of climate change, and generate economic impact in rural areas.
Eligibility Requirements:
Applicants must be a start-up registered and based in Nova Scotia with a new, knowledge-based product.
Applicants must have identified a large market pain and established a company around a customer-validated problem.
Applicants must be the majority owner(s) (51 per cent or more) of the startup and plan to work full-time with the business.
Applicants must have less than $1 million in cumulative sales.
Companies that have raised more than $25,000 in equity investment from Invest Nova Scotia are ineligible. Stacking Invest Nova Scotia and other government funding programs is subject to review and approval by the judging panel.
Previous GreenShoots recipients are eligible to apply again if they have new milestones that demonstrate traction towards investability.
The deadline to apply is Friday, February 28, 2025, by 5:00 pm AT.
Applicants are asked to complete the application form available on the Invest Nova Scotia website, and submit it online.
If this is your first time applying to a program with Invest Nova Scotia, please contact Grant Ruffinengo to request your customer number. The number is needed to submit online. Applicants also need payroll and revenue information (if applicable) to submit.
Contact agritech@investnovascotia.ca.
MIMOSA Breaks into U.S. Healthcare System
CEO Cross says barriers to procurement are slowing adoption of its technology in Canada.
Karen Cross with MIMOSA Pro
The technology created by Halifax medtech startup MIMOSA Diagnostics has been acknowledged as an assessment tool by U.S. Medicare and Medicaid providers, allowing the company to scale south of the border.
In November of last year, U.S. Medicare and Medicaid accepted the portable imaging solution the MIMOSA Pro as a tool to be used in assessing patients prior to the use of skin substitutes in diabetic foot and venous leg ulcer treatment. This means every time a clinician takes and uses the images from the MIMOSA Pro, they can be reimbursed.
“We’re a young Canadian company and we have changed U.S. healthcare policy,” co-founder and plastic surgeon Karen Cross told Entrevestor in an interview.
Cross is currently in the U.S. every week meeting customers, giving presentations, and showcasing at trade shows. She has also been appointed to an advocacy group for policy, payment, and coverage of medicare covered products. She said clinicians are calling the MIMOSA Pro a game-changer that helps them make decisions at point-of-care, and praising the customer support offered by the company.
MIMOSA was founded eight years ago by Cross and General Leung, an imaging scientist at the University of Toronto. They entered the market by applying their FDA cleared technology to streamlining point-of-care wound assessments such as diabetic foot ulcers, bedsores, and similar wounds via a process called tissue oximetry, which essentially uses light to assess tissue health.
Now, the technology is also being used to assess skin and tissue prior to wounds developing. Cross said the MIMOSA Pro can assess a patient’s circulation, and the technology is useful in people of all ages, with modern unhealthy lifestyles making it increasingly valuable. She said large numbers of people are developing diabetes, obesity, and chronic diseases.
“We are a very unhealthy world right now,” Cross said. “Even in developing countries, we are seeing an increase in chronic disease at rates that are unprecedented. The adoption of a western lifestyle in these countries has led to increases in diabetes and heart disease which puts patients at greater risk of limb circulation problems.”
Cross said chronic illness-related wounds are “a tsunami” impacting around one-quarter of families globally yet most people don’t know anything about wounds or skin injuries. She said the MIMOSA technology allows patients to see and understand their own medical images in real-time, becoming active members in their own care. This makes them more likely to return for future treatments.
“The images make them more likely to come back for their therapy because they understand why the therapy is helping them,” she said. “They are involved and can see the benefit. It increases their belief and commitment to heal.”
Cross said the company is currently raising money -- she declined to say how much -- and is open to approaches from investors. The money is required to double the company’s staff from the current 28 within 12 months in order to manage increasing market demand.
She said that in the past, the company has raised capital from groups such as Kindling Venture Partners, a California company, Vancouver’s Spring Impact Capital, Halifax’s Tidal Ventures and Toronto-based organizations: Archerwill, Delrina and Raspberry Investment Corporation.
Cross said that if the Americans do add a 25 percent tariff to Canadian imports, investor confidence may be impacted but she has no plans to move manufacturing to the U.S. In fact, she is confident of raising money in the U.S. where she says investors understand the sector.
“In Canada, pharma and digital companies have more options and VC firms that are interested in the sector,” she said. “Medical devices have more limited opportunities for investment and consequently investment tends to come south of the border where there are more opportunities.”
She said the company’s current U.S. investors have confidence MIMOSA can navigate the situation as it relates to new trade policies.
“Tariffs may change how and where we hire,” she said. “We are watching closely the evolving situation. We are working with other medtech companies and advocacy groups to ensure we obtain the best outcome.
“Running a startup company is simply a series of problems you are constantly solving. Making strategic and tactical decisions is important -- eliminate the noise and focus on the north star. We lost our entire supply chain during Covid, had to build a brand-new MIMOSA device just as we received our regulatory clearance and had to start all over again. This company is resilient thanks to our bright and agile team.”
Cross said the company’s rapid growth in the U.S. is in contrast to its growth in Canada, which has been slower to adopt the MIMOSA technology.
“Barriers to procurement make it hard to sell into Canada,” she said. “It’s unfortunate because we are a Canadian company, I am a Canadian surgeon. We want to help here too.”
VCIC Contest Now National
The Canadian VCIC contest is very competitive.
SMU business professor Ellen Farrell
The competition that trains student venture capitalists in real world situations is going national with student entrepreneurs from across the country arriving to pitch their businesses to young venture capitalists in Halifax.
Until now, the regional Venture Capital Investment Competition, now in its eighth year, has only featured entrepreneurs from the Atlantic region. This year, the 12 teams of young venture capitalists will also assess founders from Ontario, B.C., and the Prairies.
The contest is the creation of the Kenan-Flagler Business School at University of North Carolina. Under their umbrella, contests are held around the world.
The Canadian version is run by the Venture Capital program at the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University. This year’s geographical expansion comes at the request of student judges, who hail from across the country.
For both founders and young venture capitalists, the contest is a unique and challenging experience, said business professor Ellen Farrell in an interview.
SMU became home to Canada’s VCIC in 2018. "For entrepreneurs, the contest is about gaining visibility, exposure and experience,” Farrell said.
“There is not another contest like this in Canada. All Canadian VC students compete in Halifax. SMU students compete in New England. The Canadian contest is very, very competitive. There have even been challenges in the past.”
This year's undergraduate students will assess three founders, and post-graduate teams will assess three more, with half the founders coming from across Canada, and half from the Atlantic region.
Farrell said student venture capitalists are given slide decks provided by the founders, and the teams then have just 36 hours to evaluate the founders, conduct due diligence, and create term sheets for the founder they select for a mock investment.
“It’s a lot of time pressure to conduct due diligence and write term sheets – a very technical process -- In that time frame,” she said. “On the day of the event, the student venture capitalists can’t talk to anyone beyond their team.”
Saint Mary’s students have had a lot of success in making venture capital investments, exits, and placing in the competition through their experience with their own VC fund, Venture Grade: Student Venture Capital Fund.
Founded in 2016, Venture Grade is a VC fund raised and managed by graduate and undergraduate students at the university. The fund is connected to Silicon Valley’s C100 group, Boston’s Canadian Entrepreneurs in New England, and local VC funds like Invest Nova Scotia, Build Ventures, Concrete Ventures,Tidal, NBIF, and Island Capital Partners, Farrell said.
Among the companies SMU students have invested in are regional ventures such as Aurea’s Shine, Ashored, Bright Breaks, and they have had a 2X exit for a 26 percent return on Trip Ninja.
The students also invested $12,500 in Halifax-based KorrAI, a mineral exploration and mining technology company that provides a Data as a Service platform through which geological spectral and surficial data is collected and assembled into layers to form a digital map product.
This year’s VCIC competition, which now consumes 21 rooms at the university, will be held February 21 at Saint Mary’s.
We Need Your Help!
If you're an East Coast startup CEO, please take three minutes to complete our survey.
We really need CEOs and founders to take a few minutes and complete our 100% confidential survey.
We’re now beginning to analyze the data that we’ve been collecting, but we need a lot more surveys to finish the job. We can’t emphasize this enough: policymakers rely on our research to design programs – programs that help you! -- so it’s important that we get as many submissions as possible.
While we want responses from companies of all shapes and sizes, we really need to hear from companies that have raised angel or early-stage financing. We’re trying to get a handle on founders’ experiences in raising capital in the current environment.
Many thanks to all the CEOs who have completed our survey. Several other Atlantic Canadian startup leaders have told us they’ve been meaning to get around to it. Please fill it in today or this weekend.
You can find the survey here:
Each year, Entrevestor publishes the Atlantic Canada Startup Data report to give founders, investors and policy-makers the clearest picture possible of what is happening in Atlantic Canada’s innovation economy. Decision-makers read our report, so it’s vital that we get an accurate picture of how many companies are in the community.
One important note: We need innovation-driven companies based in Atlantic Canada. We can’t include consultancies or Central Canadian companies in our databank.
While we hope all startup leaders will fill in the survey, we also hope people in BAIs will encourage the companies they work with to do so. It’s not good for anyone if we under-report how many companies are in the startup community.
We know CEOs are busy, so we keep our survey as short as possible. All the answers are 100-percent confidential, and you can skip any question you’re uncomfortable with.
We’re pushing hard to get as many survey responses as possible, and have begun contacting people directly. Please take just a few minutes to complete the survey so that all members of the ecosystem will understand the dynamics at work in our community.
Applications Open for 2 Dal Programs
Collide Launch and L2M Launch are 12-week summer accelerators.
Dalhousie University has announced that two programs for entrepreneurial-minded students, researchers and faculty from across Canada are now open for applications.
Collide Launch and Lab2Market Launch 2025 are looking for applicants who believe their research and/or ideas may be the cornerstone of a budding business, the Halifax university said in a social media post.
Collide Launch is a 12-week summer accelerator that aims to transform startup ideas into viable businesses with guidance from support staff and industry experts. Candidates for this program should be undergraduates, graduates, faculty and certificate students who have completed at least 30 customer discovery interviews.
Lab2Market Launch is also a 12-week program, and it aims to help early-stage student and research teams turn their research into scalable ventures. This program targets graduate students, PhDs, post-docs and faculty with at least 50 customer discovery interviews.
Both programs run from June to September, and each will accept 10 teams. These teams will receive up to $10,000 each in milestone payments. Applications for both programs are due March 2.
Find out more information here on Collide Launch and apply here for Lab2Market Launch.
econext Seeks Solutions for Remote Clean Energy in NL
Remote clean energy infrastructure is particularly challenging in NL's harsh conditions.
Canadian innovators are asked to present technical solutions that lower maintenance costs while boosting the reliability and performance of remote clean energy infrastructure in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The new innovation challenge is launched by econext, a non-profit that works to boost clean growth in NL, and BC-based Foresight Canada, a cleantech innovation and adoption accelerator. The focus is remote clean energy infrastructure, including wind turbines, transmission lines, storage systems, and small- and large-scale generation facilities.
In a press release, the partners said solutions should address key challenges specific to the region, including:
Harsh Weather Conditions: Strong winds, freezing temperatures, and storm risks;
Remote Locations: Limited accessibility and high logistical costs;
Connectivity Limitations: Gaps in cellular and internet coverage;
Legacy Systems: Compatibility with existing infrastructure and technology;
And cybersecurity Risks: Protecting critical infrastructure from digital threats.
Much of NL’s clean energy infrastructure is located in remote, harsh environments where routine maintenance can be both costly and logistically complex. Reducing these operational costs is essential to improving the economic viability of clean energy projects.
The social media management company was named Business of the Year.
Dash Social, the social media management company formerly known as Dash Hudson, was named the Business of the Year at the Halifax Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 Halifax Business Awards on Monday.
We believe it’s the first time a venture-backed startup has won the top corporate prize at the annual awards.
The company, founded by CEO Thomas Rankin and CTO Tomek Niewiarowski in 2023, has grown to become an international leader in monitoring and managing social media. Backed by such investors as Build Ventures and Invest Nova Scotia, the company offers a social media management platform that helps enterprise clients to create top-of-the-line content.
Other startups that were honoured at the Business Awards included NovaResp Technologies, which was named the Innovative Business of the Year. Led by Founder and CEO Hamed Hanafi, 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.
Solid State Pharma, whose technology converts liquid medicines into solids so they can be used in pills, was named the Export Business of the Year. The company, which was also nominated for the award in 2022, is led by Founder and President Mahmoud Mirmehrabi.
Time is Right to Boost Student Retention, Says Founder
Lunisity's CEO said Canadian universities must store Canadian data on Canadian soil.
Girish Verma
With universities facing lower international student enrolments and drop-out rates sky-high, now is a good time to launch a business that focuses on student retention, said Newfoundland-based Founder Girish Verma.
Verma has started Lunisity Software to provide technical infrastructure to Student Life Teams in Canadian Universities. His Engage software facilitates the collection of data on student involvement in extra-curricular programming and events.
The idea is to improve the workflows of Student Life teams, which Verma describes as the driving force behind any university's retention and student engagement outside the classroom.
“Student Life Teams are busy drowning in Excel sheets and old tools. It’s a whole mess, and they’re tired of it,” said the third-year computer science student at Memorial University in an interview.
The need is real, Verma said, with one-third of university students currently dropping out, leading to the loss of millions of dollars in tuition revenue. The main reasons students leave are academic, financial and issues around community.
Verma said his Engage infrastructure cuts down the event management, analytics and reporting processes from weeks to seconds, easily allowing staff to analyze the impact of programming and activities on a student's academic and personal life.
He said two competing companies in the U.S. are providing American universities with the kind of software he is developing, but data protection rules mean Canadian universities must store Canadian data on Canadian soil. To his knowledge, Waterloo University in Ontario is the only Canadian organization to have spent significant money on the issue.
A pilot at Memorial is going well, and he is planning to have his Engage software in three Canadian universities by the fall. It’s possible his software might be sellable in Europe and other domains as many countries are in a similar situation to Canada, he said.
He is currently working alone and bootstrapping. So far, he has received $8,000 in grants and awards from NCE (Networks of Centres of Excellence) and the St. John's innovation hub Genesis, and he is hopeful of gaining $100,000 in grants and awards by the end of the year. He hopes more successful pilots will enable him to go on to raise venture capital.
He said that with the Federal Government cutting the number of international students allowed into Canada, retention is especially important.
“Retention is revenue for universities,” he said. “It is the driving force for any university.”
Life Sciences NS Gains Provincial Funding
The industry association aims to boost life sciences companies, staff, salaries, and sector GDP over five years.
The province of Nova Scotia is providing new funding to Life Sciences Nova Scotia, the industry association that supports life sciences companies. The $1.4 million contribution through the province’s Community Economic Development Fund will support the association’s work in helping companies, and create opportunities for professionals to develop their skills, the group said in a press release.
The life sciences sector encompasses natural sciences and includes pharmaceuticals, natural health products, animal health, medical technologies, digital health and more.
“This CEDF funding is a game-changer for life sciences companies in our province. It reflects the growing recognition of Nova Scotia's potential as a hub for biotech innovation,” said Gabrielle Masone, CEO of Coloursmith., a company which is developing advanced optical filters for contact lenses and eyeglasses,
“For startups like Coloursmith, early-stage funding is crucial in turning groundbreaking ideas into market-ready solutions," Masone said. "It's not just about the financial support; it's about fostering an ecosystem where innovative companies can thrive and contribute to Nova Scotia's economic growth.”
Life Sciences NS aims to increase the number of life sciences companies and employees, average salaries, and sector GDP over the next five years. The provincial funding will help provide access to accelerators and incubators, as well as support regional entrepreneurship and connections with Nova Scotia Health, the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub, and the agri-food industry, the group said.
Island Abbey Agrees to US$20M+ Sale
The buyer, TopGum, will retain employees and management on PEI.
Island Abbey Nutritionals, the maker of Honibe honey-based gummies and lozenges, has agreed to be acquired by TopGum Gummiceuticals for US$20 million (C$29.1 million) plus future considerations.
Charlottetown-based Island Abbey has been a cornerstone of the life sciences community on P.E.I. since its founding in 2004 by entrepreneur John Rowe. The company developed a way to transform honey, with all its nutritional benefits, into a hard form and market it as candy and a healthy lozenge. Its additive-free Honibe products are sold through such retail chains as Sobeys, Loblaws and Whole Foods Market.
TopGum, an Israeli-based maker of functional gummy supplements, posted the announcement Thursday in U.S. trade papers, including Nutraceuticals World, saying the parties expected to close the deal in the first quarter of 2025. It said the buyer would pay US$20 million plus an earnout based on Island Abbey’s 2025 results.
“Island Abbey Nutritionals’ success has been built on a winning combination of unique technology, commitment to global market and sales development, and visionary leadership,” said PEI BioAlliance CEO Rory Francis in an email. “This will be amplified under TopGum’s growth strategy and we welcome them to the BioAlliance cluster community.”
The TopGum announcement said Island Abbey will maintain its operational independence, and its 95 employees will remain in place. Island Abbey CEO Dean Williams will continue to lead the P.E.I. company and will join TopGum’s executive leadership team.
“This acquisition reflects our success in advancing supplement solutions across Canada and the U.S. The combination of these two entities is poised to redefine the gummy supplement market.” said Williams in the statement.
With a focus on R&D and operations, Island Abbey occupies a 65,000-square-foot facility in Charlottetown, in which tens of millions of dollars were recently invested. The statement says the company has advanced manufacturing technologies such as starchless depositing, center-fill capabilities, and automated bottling and packaging lines. It has Health Canada certification.
The transaction is expected to raise TopGum’s annual revenue run-rate (an annualized revenue projection based on current sales figures) above US$100 million. TopGum said it will establish an integrated supply chain with production, bottling, and warehousing capabilities across two continents, to better meet global demand for differentiated gummy supplements.
“Island Abbey brings a unique combination of strategic customers, advanced technologies, and a professional, experienced team,” said Eyal Shohat, CEO of TopGum. “Together with TopGum’s longstanding expertise, this partnership opens new horizons for innovation and growth.”
Leslie Magee is New Chair at NBIF
Magee is Principal of Maytree developments and Executive-in-Residence at East Valley Ventures.
Magee first joined NBIF’s Board of Directors in 2020, and her appointment as Chair builds on the governance and leadership NBIF has established over the past 20+ years in fostering innovation and support for New Brunswick tech companies, the group said in a statement.
As Chair, Magee will lead the Board’s renewed focus on direct and indirect equity investments and an expanded mandate that includes provincial start-up business acceleration and incubation strategies, the group said.
"It is a privilege to be part of the leadership team for such an important organization that plays a crucial role in fostering innovation and driving economic growth for New Brunswick,” said Magee.
As Principal of Maytree Developments and Executive-in-Residence with Saint John-based East Valley Ventures, Magee has experience in community, real estate, and economic development.
The group thanked former Chair Cathy Simpson for her exceptional leadership and service during a pivotal period of growth and transition for NBIF.
Sound Blade Closes US$16.5M Series A Round
The Halifax company's tech uses ultrasound waves to cut tissue.
In only its second year of existence, Halifax-based medtech company Sound Blade Medical has closed a US$16.5 million (C$23.8 million) Series A funding round, which will help fund development and clinical trials of its product.
Sound Blade is developing an “advanced handheld histotripsy technology”, which uses sonic energy to cut tissue. The hand-held device will use highly focused ultrasound beams to cut specific tissue with what is described as “world-leading precision”.
"We're thrilled to have the support of such forward-thinking investors who share our vision for the future of Sound Blade and our technology," said Sound Blade Co-Founder and CEO Jeremy Brown in a statement Wednesday. "This funding enables us to rapidly advance our technology, expand our team and accelerate regulatory approvals to quickly bring our therapy to patients in need."
Brown was also a Co-Founder of Halifax-based Daxsonics, which also works with ultrasound technologies. (Check out the article on Daxsonics that we published on Jan. 29, 2015, exactly 10 years before Brown’s second company announced its landmark funding deal.)
Growing out of research at Dalhousie University, Daxsonics provides technical expertise and engineering support for emerging applications in advanced ultrasound technologies. Sound Blade combines Daxsonics’ imaging technology within a handheld device that uses a highly focused ultrasound beam to form “cavitation bubbles” in tissue. Eventually the bubbles collapse, and this liquefies the tissue.
Brown said at an event in Halifax early last year that fat tissue liquefies faster than muscle and other denser tissues and the goal has been to find a frequency of ultrasound radiation capable of dissolving fat while leaving muscle intact.
While more testing is needed, Brown said he hopes the tool will be used to remove fat from the tongues of sleep apnea sufferers and improve their breathing. This would be a safer alternative to surgery.
The company foresees a range of applications for the technology but last year was considering sleep apnea treatment as its beachhead market.
As well as being non-invasive, the Sound Blade procedure does not produce heat, and this non-thermal aspect may lead to better immune and healing responses, said the company.
"Sound Blade's handheld histotripsy has truly disruptive potential,” said Amzak Health Partner Tony Natale, MD. “We're combining a highly accomplished founding team with an investor syndicate that has built many successful medtech companies to unlock the full promise of this platform."
UNB Student Pitch Deadline Looms
The contest is open to any full-time student or team of up to four.
Student founders are invited to pitch at the upcoming RBC pitching contest at University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. The one-day, in-person event invites students to pitch their ideas for new products and services to judges from the business world.
The competition is open to any full-time university student (undergraduate or graduate) with an interest in driving technological or social innovation. Entries may be submitted by individuals or by groups of up to four, and the deadline is March 3. Students will be evaluated on the innovation of the idea, its real-world feasibility, and the quality of their pitches.
The event is organized by the J Herbert Smith Centre in collaboration with RBC, and will be held on March 19 at the Wu Conference Centre on the University of New Brunswick Fredericton campus.
The application deadline is March 3, with finalists being announced on March 10.
To learn more, click here. For further help, contact Amanda Neilson at amanda.neilson@unb.ca
BMO Apex Startup Challenge Winners Announced
The two-day event saw student teams from Canadian universities compete in Fredericton.
Twenty-four teams from University of New Brunswick and other Canadian post-secondary institutions competed for up to $30,000 in cash awards earlier this month.
The BMO Apex Startup Challenge was held Jan. 23 and 24 at the University of New Brunswick and at startup hub Planet Hatch. The contest allows competitors to engage in training workshops and networking opportunities with judges, potential investors, and future employers.
The winners are:
Undergraduate Track:
3rd Place, $2,000, CM Marine Safety Equipment – St. Francis Xavier University
2nd Place, $4,000, OSA - One Stop Apparel – St. Francis Xavier University
1st Place, $8,000, Halpie Technologies Inc. -- Université Laval
Graduate Track:
3rd Place, $2,000, Mulli Swing Solutions -- University of New Brunswick
2nd Place, $4,000, TissueTinker -- McGill University
1st Place, $8,000, FastFindAI – University of Ottawa
Business Planning & Entrepreneurship Award
Suplanta – University of New Brunswick
Entrepreneurial Powerhouse Award
FastFindAi – University of Ottawa
McInnes Cooper Legal Services Package
Mulli Swing Solutions – University of New Brunswick
Social Enterprise Award
Collectives Transport – Mount Allison University
Cleantech Award
Binovate – University of New Brunswick
Rising Star Award
Sentinel - University of New Brunswick
Startup Innovation Award
Binovate - University of New Brunswick
Elevator Pitch
3rd Place - $250, Mazdak Fertilizer -- University of New Brunswick
2nd Place - $500, FastFindAi – University of Ottawa
1st Place - $1,000, CM Marine Safety Equipment – St. Francis Xavier University
Viewer’s Choice Best Elevator Pitch - $250
FastFindAi – University of Ottawa
Granville Biomedical Closes Pre-Seed Round
The company began by 3D printing vaginal simulation products.
Granville Biomedical CEO Christine Goudie
Six years and one pandemic after it launched, St. John’s-based Granville Biomedical has secured its first round of equity investment and is setting its sights on a second raise before too long.
While more than half a decade of bootstrapping will test the entrepreneurial mettle of any founder, the good news is that Granville is now selling its Venus pelvic health education model throughout 24 countries, with seven international distributors. And the company is planning to launch three new products this year, after which it hopes to raise its first “official” round of funding.
“We have just raised our first round from private investors,” said Co-Founder and CEO Christine Goudie in an interview, adding the pre-seed round was oversubscribed. “We probably should have done it a long time ago but we’re happy with how things have turned out.”
Goudie and Crystal Northcott started the company in 2019 by 3D printing vaginal simulation products that allow healthcare workers to learn about injuries caused by childbirth, disease and genital mutilation. In 2021, it launched Venus, which is now finding buyers not only in emerging economies but with such internationally known institutions as the National Health Service in the U.K., the University of Birmingham, and the University of California San Francisco.
Getting to this happy spot has not been easy for the Granville team. When the pandemic broke out, Canada suffered a critical shortage of medical supplies and needed to produce them domestically. Granville Biomedical answered the call, designing and manufacturing the Granville Swab, which was used in COVID-19 tests. After the pandemic, the Canadian government opted instead for low-cost products made in Asia, leaving the businesses that helped out during the crisis with unsold inventory, Goudie said.
As the company progressed, it needed capital and Goudie borrowed money on behalf of Granville. Eventually, the debts mounted to a total of about $150,000. It was a “crushing burden” and she set out to pay down the debt as sales of the Venus product grew.
“I doubled down on me and I doubled down on the company,” said Goudie. “It focused me, even more than when things got really crazy during COVID. It was a very slow burn, but we got there.”
A few months ago, Goudie was able to post a photo online with a sign saying the debt had all been paid off – a post that had unforeseen benefits. A group of female impact investors saw it, and began to take an interest in Granville Biomedical and its commitment to women’s health.
They came in as investors. Goudie won’t say how much was raised, only that it was a pre-seed round and a few more backers may still come in to the round.
“We plan to follow up with an official fundraising round in the coming months,” said Goudie. “We are seeking additional impact investors who align with our mission to advance women’s health education around the world.” (Interested investors can contact the company via LinkedIn, she said.)
The company’s staff of four is now preparing to launch three new products in 2025, all of which will be used to educate medical staff as well as patients:
Iris, a pessary demonstration model;
Astra, an IUD procedural training model;
And Celeste, a cervical pathology visualization model.
Looking back on the past six years, Goudie said the ups and downs have allowed her team to understand their market and get to know their customers.
“I would not have changed a thing with how we did it,” she said. “It was frustrating, but it gave us the time to get to know our clients. Sometimes, funding lets you progress more quickly, but that can mean you don’t get your processes where you should.”
Join the Movement: Fill in our Survey!
Many thanks to the founders who have completed our short, confidential survey.
Many thanks to all the CEOs who have completed our survey, and a gentle reminder to other Atlantic Canadian startup leaders to please take a few minutes to answer our 10-question form.
We’ve had a great response to our campaign for more intelligence about our sector. We’re not even into February yet and already we’ve got enough responses to look into emerging trends for our coming report.
But of course, we need more. So if you’ve been meaning to get around to filling in our survey, please do it now. We’ve heard from so many people who have it on their to do list, and it’s best if we all just get it done ASAP.
You can find the survey here:
Each year, Entrevestor publishes the Atlantic Canada Startup Data report to give founders, investors and policy-makers the clearest picture possible of what is happening in Atlantic Canada’s innovation economy. Decision-makers read our report, so it’s vital that we get an accurate picture of how many companies are in the community.
One important note: We need innovation-driven companies based in Atlantic Canada. We can’t include consultancies or Central Canadian companies in our databank.
While we hope all startup leaders will fill in the survey, we also hope people in BAIs will encourage the companies they work with to do so. It’s not good for anyone if we under-report how many companies are in the startup community.
We know CEOs are busy, so we keep our survey as short as possible. All the answers are 100-percent confidential, and you can skip any question you’re uncomfortable with.
We’re pushing hard this month to get as many survey responses as possible, and have begun contacting people directly. Please take just a few minutes to complete the survey so that all members of the ecosystem will understand the dynamics at work in our community.
Ignite Gains ACOA Funding and Launches MERGE
The program connects startups with municipal innovation opportunities.
MERGE has been set up by the Fredericton area economic development agency IGNITE and Planet Hatch to connect startups with municipalities within the Capital Region of New Brunswick to identify opportunities for mutually beneficial collaboration. The aim is to create a business ecosystem that supports both community and business growth.
Startups that participate will receive mentorship, business support, and project funding of up to $25,000. MERGE will accommodate a cohort of five participants for one year. Startups and municipalities will work together to address the identified issues, with ongoing support from the program.
“By merging municipal insight with entrepreneurial expertise, MERGE aims to generate meaningful, sustainable outcomes that benefit the community as a whole, enhancing economic growth and providing opportunity for our startups,” said Andrew Lockhart, Director of Entrepreneurial & Economic Growth at Ignite in a press release.
The first phase of the program is already implemented. Municipalities have submitted Expressions of Interest outlining key issues in their communities that they wish to address.
Five projects have been selected and Ignite will soon issue a Request for Proposals to startups. Over the next few months, the municipalities will be matched with startups to initiate their projects.
Throughout the cohort period, municipalities will have access to Planet Hatch’s full range of programming and support services.
Student Pitch Contest Seeking Applicants
Contestants at The Arena have opportunity to win $10,000.
The pitching contest brings together 64 student entrepreneurs from across Canada to battle for the title of Top Innovator and a grand prize of $10,000. The runner-up wins $5,000, and third and fourth-place winners each receive $1,000.
The Arena is modelled after America’s NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) March Madness college basketball championship. The 64 selected entrepreneurs compete head-to-head in brackets from March 3 to April 1.
Students are coached throughout the month, preparing them for their month-long battle. Each match-up is treated as its own competition where pitches and judges’ determinations happen live. All matches are online and live-streamed.
“The Arena is an intense competition, and the entrepreneurial spirit of these students is contagious,” said Michael Sanderson, Director of the Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre in a press release. “You see the dreams of these future entrepreneurs start to come alive.”
To qualify, participants must be current undergraduate, graduate, or PhD students or recent alumni (within one year of graduation) from a recognized post-secondary institution in Canada. They must also own or part-own a business idea that has not generated more than $10,000 in annual revenue and has not received more than $10,000 through external support or investment (through investors or other competitions).
The competition will be live-streamed on the centre’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages. SMU faculty are welcome to participate as judges.
Students must apply by February 9. Contact Fatima Zohora, fatima.zohora@smu.ca, for information.
Please Complete Our Survey
There's no time like the present to answer our 10 simple questions.
January is winding down and we’re asking startup CEOs who haven’t filled in our short, confidential survey to please do so soon.
We understand how busy everyone is so we hate to keep asking. But we also hear from a lot of founders that they appreciate our data report and promise to fill in the survey . . . soon.
So we’re sure there are lots of founders who mean to get to it, but haven’t quite found the time yet.
If you’re a CEO, please take a few minutes now to complete the Entrevestor survey, which you can find by clicking on this image:
Each year, Entrevestor publishes the Atlantic Canada Startup Data report to give founders, investors and policy-makers the clearest picture possible of what is happening in Atlantic Canada’s innovation economy. Decision-makers read our report, so it’s vital that we get an accurate picture of how many companies are in the community.
While we hope all startup leaders will fill in the survey, we also hope people in BAIs will encourage the companies they work with to do so. It’s not good for anyone if we under-report how many companies are in the startup community.
We know CEOs are busy, so we keep our survey as short as possible. All the answers are 100-percent confidential, and you can skip any question you’re uncomfortable with.
We’re pushing hard this month to get as many survey responses as possible, and have begin contacting people directly. Please take just a few minutes to complete the survey so that all members of the ecosystem will understand the dynamics at work in our community.
BoeingTo Contribute $10.3M to Solace
The expenditure will help the NL company to double its workforce within four years.
Boeing, one of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers, has committed $10.3 million to help Mount Pearl, NL-based Solace Power to expand its capacity for making wireless charging products.
The Seattle-based manufacturing giant released a statement on Thursday saying that Solace Power, a leader in high-performance wireless power technology, will use the money to establish a surface mount technology production facility in Newfoundland and Labrador.
SMT is a means for applying electronic components directly on to the surface of printed circuit boards for use in commercial markets. This technology can be used not just in the aerospace and defence sector, but also in two of Solace’s other principal markets, telecommunications and automotive industries. The funding will allow Solace to hire about 60 people in the next three to four years, doubling its workforce.
“It’s a huge milestone for us,” said Solace Chief Operating Officer Colin Ryan in an interview. “The technology, in the first 10 years or so of the company, was in pure R&D mode, solving problems that had never been tackled before.
“Really, it’s just in the last three years or so that the technology has been ready to go into volume production. Now this [the Boeing deal] is a true milestone for us and a tipping point where that young company becomes a true scale-up.”
Boeing is not taking an equity investment in Boeing under the deal. Rather, it is committing money to Solace’s expansion under the federal government’s Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy, known as ITB. Under that policy, when the Canadian government makes a sizeable purchase from a foreign company (usually in defence spending), that company must commit to make a commensurate expenditure within Canada.
The project with Solace is part of Boeing’s ITB commitment springing from the government’s 2023 selection of Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon to fulfill its long-range multi-mission aircraft role. Boeing has already spent $2 billion in ITB projects relating to that contract.
Since starting at the Genesis Centre at Memorial University in 2007, Solace has grown into a global leader in delivering wireless electronic charging on an industrial level. It now holds 34 families of patents (meaning the patents for one piece of technology issued in several countries), and five of these families were issued in the last three or four months. About half the company’s operations are dedicated to research and development.
Ryan would not comment directly on the company’s revenues, except to say that revenue growth in 2024 was “quite good and it’s projected to be extremely good in 2025 and onward.”
Said Neil Chaulk, Solace Power’s CEO: “Boeing’s investment ignites a new era of growth, enabling Solace Power to gain access to markets and customers worldwide while benefitting local communities. Boeing and Solace Power have a shared commitment to customer-centric innovation.”
Bright Breaks Content Taken Up by Air Canada
The programs are designed to alleviate the stress of flying.
Halifax-based Bright Breaks, a provider of workplace wellness solutions, has announced that its short breaks will be featured on the Air Canada in-flight entertainment system starting February 1.
The announcement allows the startup to bring its blend of mindfulness, yoga, and stretching to airline passengers.
"Our team has meticulously crafted content specifically designed for the unique challenges of air travel, helping passengers relax, stretch, and improve their overall well-being during their journey," said David Howe, Bright Breaks CEO, in a press release.
The company’s seven-minute programs are designed to lessen the stress of air travel, the company said, from easing flight anxiety to alleviating the physical discomfort of prolonged sitting.
"We understand that stress can set in well before takeoff, so our Bright Breaks curated content offers a perfect solution to help passengers ease their anxieties, manage stress, and create a more positive journey from departure to arrival,” said Jim Chung, Air Canada’s Chief Medical Officer.
Bright Breaks said its programs are tailored to the in-flight environment, and each pose and exercise can be safely and effectively performed within the confines of an airplane seat.
With studios in Halifax and Vancouver, Bright Breaks delivers live and on-demand wellness content to businesses across North America. In 2023, it closed a $2.5M funding round led by Build Ventures and including Concrete Ventures and Invest Nova Scotia. This followed a $1.45M round in 2022.
Bright was initially known as Cribcut, a venture that sold haircuts in work places. Its business model was disrupted when the pandemic hit. Howe and his team pivoted, and began selling online exercise and wellness classes that employees could watch during work breaks, whether in the office or at home.
The company said its approach to workplace wellness is rooted in scientific research. Staffs that use its services can access more than 300 live breaks per week and an extensive on-demand library, automating the scheduling of seven-minute wellness breaks directly into employees’ calendars using AI.
BIBLIOnomics Secures Scale AI Funding
The Halifax startup met its sales goals in 2024 and is targeting 10X growth in 2025.
BIBLIOnomics Founder and CEO Alex Liot
BIBLIOnomics, the Halifax startup that helps clients develop relationships with gifts of books, is one of the first companies in the country to land $35,000 in funding from the federal Scale AI program.
The boost from the federal government’s program that supports artificial intelligence enterprises comes as BIBLIOnomics met its 2024 sales targets and is projecting 10X growth for 2025. And it’s doing all this without having raised any equity investment.
Having bootstrapped for a few years, the company is now gaining traction by targeting the wealth management industry, helping them to build relationships with wealthy clients through gifts of books. It recorded $25,000 in revenue in 2024 with local early adopters, and is now planning a national campaign it hopes will bring in $250,000 this year.
“It’s important to understand that BIBLIOnomics is the love child of a weird career path,” said Founder and CEO Alex Liot in an interview. “I’m a different kind of founder, doing different things in a different way. You think I should raise – I’m not going to. You don’t think I should offer market exclusivity – I will. The thing is, I’m crushing it.”
Liot is a veteran of the media and publishing industries. He sold newspaper ads for 15 years, then spent five years marketing books. He came to appreciate that books – printed editions that people hang on to for years, maybe generations – have a cherished place in people’s hearts. He also learned that book publishing is in serious jeopardy and he set out to help book sales, especially in Canada.
One advantage he found with books is that they have robust sets of metadata – that is, the data that describes the product, like the location, the genre, the author. It meant that AI could be used to search the metadata to find books that people would love. That focus on AI earned BIBLIOnomics a leg up in the Scale AI program.
The company, which operates out of Volta, finally settled on a business model called BIBLIOgifting, and believes the perfect market for its product is wealth management.
Here’s how it works:
Let’s say you’re a financial adviser hoping to attract or retain wealthy clients -- and to stand out from the legions of competitors with the same ambition. After meeting clients, you present them with a personalized card and a small box as a gift.
Inside the box is a list of 12 books, and the client can choose one as a gift. (BIBLIOnomics uses AI to go through databanks of 21,000 books to come up with a selection of 20 books. Then the wealth manager and BIBLIOnomics work together to narrow the list to 12 books.) Once the client chooses a book online, it’s delivered to them.
This is state-of-the-art relationship-building, says Liot, because the recipient will remember the gift in a special way, partly because they chose it. What’s more, the wealth manager has gained insights into the client’s character and interests, which will help in developing a long-term relationship.
One strength of BIBLIOgifting is it uses wonderful content from Canadian books, but it does not have to develop the content itself, said Liot.
“I am absolutely swimming – swimming! – in quality content, a thousand feet deep,” said Liot. “It is the exact articulation of why I think we are sitting on a gold mine.”
His company so far has not raised equity investment, in part because the market for investment has been weak in recent years. Liot has kept costs low, and devoted all his time to product development and sales, rather than courting investors. He’s open to raising capital should he meet his sales goals for 2025.
“We would likely benefit greatly from having capital at our most extraordinary growth trajectory,” said Liot. “The point is we want it to be our choice. We have mapped out a path that does not require a raise.
“Ironically it wasn’t my choice originally – it was forced upon me. It happened that I launched BIBLIOnomics in the same period when they doubled interest rates and VC collapsed. But it was fortuitous because I am a sales-driven founder.”
Propel Unveils Winter Cohort
The virtual accelerator has welcomed 13 companies to its Validation program.
Regional virtual accelerator Propel has announced 13 companies taking part in its winter Validation cohort.
Validation is the first step on the Propel path, allowing participants to validate business ideas with customers using lean startup methodology. Generally, the course is for pre-revenue companies or those making less than $1,000 monthly.
“This is among our largest Validation cohorts to date,” said Propel CEO Kathryn Lockhart in a press release.
“These innovators are tackling some of the most pressing challenges across industries—from sustainable energy and healthcare to education and AI—with groundbreaking solutions that have the potential to make a global impact.”
Throughout the year, Propel offers programming and coaching for pre-revenue and revenue generating companies. The group’s dedicated virtual coaching allows founders to access coaching, content, and mentors from around the world without the time and expense of traveling.
Hydro Kars offers conversion kits for medium and heavy-duty trucks to transition from diesel to hydrogen fuel (98% hydrogen/2% diesel) while maintaining the option to revert to 100% diesel.
Triumva empowers hospital managers with real-time data and intuitive dashboards via its Hospital5.0 platform, enhancing decision-making, patient care, and operational efficiency.
Dockit offers a customer engagement app for the boating community, enhancing communication between marinas and customers while fostering loyalty and revenue growth.
Alaagi develops biodegradable bioplastics from seaweed to replace traditional plastics, promoting sustainability and reducing environmental impact.
TRICOAST Education (Founders Dr. Robert Laurie and Dr. Anne Laurie, New Brunswick)
TRICOAST provides assessment tools and resources to support children with developmental language disorders, helping them reach their full potential.
Absinno (Founders Emmanuel Ahiafor, Murad Huseynli, Joel Ducram, Michael Ogbuachi and Farhad Amiri, New Brunswick)
Absinno's AI-powered brainstorming platform enhances creativity with AI facilitation and provides teams with effective brainstorming templates.
Livera Labs (Founder Brenda Armstrong, Newfoundland and Labrador)
Livera Labs develops AI/ML solutions and wearable technology to help women navigate perimenopause and hormone health changes with personalized insights.
Study4AS (Refined Solutions Systems) (Founder Olubunmi Odeyinka, Newfoundland and Labrador)
Study4AS offers an AI-powered training platform for exam preparation, integrating learning, testing, and cohort-focused collaboration for enhanced productivity.
Green Atmosphere Farms (Founder Asja Dillet, Nova Scotia)
Green Atmosphere Farms operates a vertical aeroponic farm producing fresh, pesticide-free leafy greens year-round for eco-conscious businesses.
MyTox (Founder Tara DiCostanzo, Nova Scotia)
MyTox leverages AI to monitor symptoms related to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), enabling early detection and improving patient outcomes.
NutraForge(Founders Jager Cooper and Garreth Kippenhuck, Newfoundland and Labrador)
NutraForge uses advanced nutrition intelligence to deliver personalized, actionable insights, revolutionizing health outcomes and decision-making in wellness.
HiVanya unifies team data to eliminate interruptions, simplify processes, and enable faster, clearer decision-making for product and engineering teams.
Wow Creators (Founders Cyndhi Nai-Omi and Carrasco Delgado, New Brunswick)
Wow Creators offers ‘Engineering for Kids’ programs for children aged 5 to 13, teaching technical and soft skills that prepare them for real-world challenges.
Boundless Discovery Signs Multi-Year Deal
The Halifax AI startup has inked a deal with Palantir of the U.S.
Halifax-based AI startup Boundless Discovery has partnered with American technology company Palantir Technologies to develop its flagship product on Palantir’s platform.
Boundless Discovery specializes in rapid modeling of complex situations using open-source information and artificial intelligence while Palantir focuses on artificial intelligence, data science, and machine learning software.
Current analyses on the Boundless Discovery website include pieces on Russia in West Africa, foreign interference in Canada, the 2024 Venezuelan Election, and the race for electric vehicle dominance.
The company provides clarity and an information advantage for organizations needing rapid and accurate understanding of the world, the venture said in a press release.
“We believe the best outcomes in the AI era will come from providing decision-makers with a highly navigable, detailed and verified AI-assisted knowledge base that unlocks the superpower that is human intuition and thinking,” said Peter Gale, Co-Founder and CEO.
With information growing exponentially across the internet and bias increasingly pervasive, only 16 percent of people believe they can confidently navigate the information landscape, the company said.
Boundless Discovery began by delivering a free newsletter providing analyses of global events. To test their concept without significant upfront investment, founders Gale and Will Stone used Palantir’s free Developer Tier. The approach earned them an invitation to DevCon1, Palantir’s developer conference in Palo Alto.
Reflecting on the partnership, Boundless CTO Will Stone said: "After working on Palantir’s platform and getting exposure to their people and culture, it quickly became clear that this partnership is what we needed to efficiently accelerate our product to the next level.”
UNB’s Axis Accelerator Gains ACOA Funding
The Saint John accelerator is now working with 13 companies.
With ACOA’s new funding of $248,211, the accelerator plans to boost its sales and other programs, as well as expand collaboration with regional ecosystem partners.
Launched as a pilot through the Faculty of Business in Saint John in early 2023, the accelerator currently has a portfolio of 13 companies and will welcome its third batch in September.
"It's exciting to work with growth and export-oriented founders, not only developing the culture of entrepreneurship at UNB and in the province, but across the region,” Matt George, Director of the Axis Accelerator, said in a statement.
The accelerator’s 12-month sales accelerator program offers entrepreneurs a comprehensive accelerator experience through two key activities: supporting founders in the design of a custom lead growth acquisition strategy; and supporting founders in the execution of that strategy in the field.
Following this, a select number of teams are invited into full-time residency in the Axis Accelerator space where they receive custom coaching and mentorship for an additional one to three years.
TheraPBios Opens $400K Round
The supplement-maker raised $600K from investors last year.
Having completed a $600,000 round of funding last year, Windsor, NS-based supplement-maker TheraPBios PHARMA is now launching a drive to raise a further $400,000 to finance its drive into the Ontario market.
The fundraising exercises are part of the company’s $2 million plan to place its Bioteem40supplements in stores across Canada and eventually, the U.S. The product has been approved by Health Canada, and the company is working toward Food and Drug Administration approval south of the border.
Bioteem40 tablets combine probiotics and nutritional supplements in a single pill, so consumers don’t have to keep many bottles of supplements to receive the nutritional benefits they need. Bioteem40 supplements contain prebiotic and probiotics to improve consumers’ ability to absorb the other beneficial substances by improving a person’s digestive health, the company said.
The product is now on sale throughout Atlantic Canada, and the five-member TheraPBios PHARMA team (which will soon grow by two people) is having a hard time meeting demand.
“We can’t produce enough of this powder,” said CEO Abdullah Kirumira in an interview. “We sell out every week, and $400,000 would allow us to enter Ontario. We’ve already lined up 300 outlets in Ontario interested in carrying the product. And if we launch in Ontario, then we will continue to grow the revenue of the company, which would help to finance further expansion.”
Kirumira and COO Glyn Davies began working on the technology behind the Bioteem40 product line in 2019, launching the company in 2021. Kirumira is a serial life sciences entrepreneur who previously founded diagnostic test-maker MedMira and Windsor, NS-based BioMedica Diagnostics, where Davies was a senior research scientist.
When the company began marketing its Bioteem40 supplements, it aimed to raise a total of $2 million of equity financing in three tranches to fund expansion. It budgeted for a $500,000 raise in 2024 to cover the costs of selling the product in Atlantic Canada. That tranche was oversubscribed, and TheraPBios ended up raising $600,000, all of it from investors in the Annapolis Valley.
Kirumira said he will campaign for investors in Halifax for the coming tranche, which he hopes to close in March or April.
“Last time, it only took us one month [to raise $600,000],” he said. “And the feedback I’m getting this time is, ‘Yes, you have a very good story.’”
He hopes the third tranche, worth $1 million, will close by the end of the year. He expects venture capital investors to be involved in that round.
A native of Uganda, Kirumira describes TheraPBios PHARMA as “a two-dimensional company” that produces a healthy product for consumers in rich countries like Canada and the U.S. but also hopes to help people in the developing world.
“With every product I sell in the developed world, I try to figure out a way to provide a similar product for the people of Africa, where I come from,” he said. “One of the ultimate goals we have is to link our technology and see if we can develop an affordable form of Bioteem to help young mothers and young children in the developing world, so they receive better nutrition and have better brain development.”
Ocean Supercluster Unveils Innovation Projects
Halifax's Marine Thinking will lead two projects with a total value of almost $5M.
MarineThinking execs Wenwen Pei, right, and Yuan Yao.
The two projects to be led by the Halifax company were part of a package of three new ocean innovation projects with a total value of more than $9 million unveiled by the Supercluster at an event at The Pier in Halifax on Thursday. The projects will be jointly funded by the cluster and partners.
The organization charged with developing new technology and an enhanced workforce for Canadian ocean industries said in a press release that the global ocean economy is expected to outpace the broader economy by 20 percent by 2030, and Canada’s ocean community aims to grow the country’s ocean economy by 5X to $220B by 2035.
Founded in 2018, MarineThinking has developed technology that helps both uncrewed and crewed vessels adopt autonomous capabilities. The company last year attended NATO’s new innovation accelerator DIANA operating out of Boston.
This project aims to deliver an AI-powered vessel automation toolkit, intended to transform existing vessels into smart vessels that have autopilot capabilities and improved operational efficiency.
Smart vessel applications will include enhanced catch monitoring capabilities through autonomous navigation and fishing route planning, and autonomous location detection of ghost gear in deep water, the group said.
This project is intended to increase the speed and accuracy of ship hull inspections and reduce the risks to diving crews.
The project is led by Marine Thinking, in partnership with Innvotek and Innovate U.K, both of London, England. With a total project value of $942,871, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster is investing $330,560.
The project will allow Marine Thinking to develop a Launch and Recovery System for Innvotek’s Amphibian Underwater Inspection in Lieu of Dry-docking (UWILD). The amphibian UWILD offers a safe, technology-driven, and cost-effective robotic solution for underwater inspections, the group said.
The UWILD can offer hull cleaning and inspections that cover large areas without fatigue, operating above and below the waterline, and able to access confined spaces that are difficult for divers, allowing pinpoint location of defects and giving more data to perform accurate predictive maintenance analysis.
$4.5M Forecast AI Project
Led by Victoria, BC-based MarineLabs, the project will support operational efficiencies, improve marine safety, and grow ocean AI technology using MarineLabs’ AI that allows hyper-localized, highly accurate weather forecasts for the marine industry. The group said that current publicly available forecasting models struggle to capture the precise topographic features influencing local wind and wave formation, hindering marine operations such as mariner working conditions and vessel port approaches.
It's intended that job creation in data science, software engineering, marine operations, manufacturing, and engineering design, combined with international market sales, will support recurring revenue. This project will directly support the creation and maintenance of more than 50 jobs and indirectly support the creation of 250 jobs, the group said.
Other partners include Go Deep International in Saint John, and LeeWay Marine in Dartmouth. With a total value of $4.5 million, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster is contributing $1.8 million.
Retellio Closes $1.3M VC Round
The company pivoted in the autumn and launched its new product in December.
Co-Founders Brent Pretty and Andrea King of Retellio
Retellio, the St. John’s company that uses AI to create personalized podcasts for the staff of large businesses, has closed a $1.3 million venture capital round, to help finance its scaling plans.
The company formerly known as Aucure was founded last year by two alumni of cybersecurity unicorn Verafin, Andrea King and Brent Pretty. They had originally planned to use AI agents (tools that can interact with their digital environment to perform tasks) to help business-to-business software companies gather customer feedback.
In the autumn, the company pivoted so it is now using the agents to monitor companies’ sales calls and cull the most relevant statements made by clients. It packages these statements into customized podcasts that employees of the company can listen to to gain a deeper understanding of what clients are saying.
“For us, our real motivation is that we’re aiming to own the 8:00 to 8:30 market for staff every morning,” said CEO Pretty in an interview. “When employees go on their morning commute, or their morning jog or go to the gym, we want them to listen to our podcast rather than [conventional podcasts].”
Pretty explained that the problem Retellio solves is that large companies have difficulty learning what customers are saying on sales calls. Even if the companies could learn what a vast number of customers are saying, they’d have no way of sharing it with their staff.
“These companies have hundreds, some of them thousands, of calls every day,” said Pretty. “There’s so much data that it’s actually impossible to listen to it all.”
What Retellio does is assign AI agents to listen to all of a company’s sales calls and use artificial intelligence to determine what the most important segments of each call are. Every member of the company’s staff can then choose what subjects they want to listen to and receive a customized podcast each day to learn what customers are saying.
Retellio, which now has five employees, pivoted to the new product in September, and launched it for a few beta users in December. When asked what the response has been, Pretty said the company is getting positive feedback from users.
He said the company’s goal for 2025 is to nail down its product-market fit and then to scale the company. He added the funding will give Retellio “a few years” of runway.
BMO Apex Startup Challenge Coming to Fredericton
Teams have just one minute to pitch their businesses.
Ecosystem members are invited to watch 24 teams from University of New Brunswick and other Canadian post-secondary institutions compete for up to $30,000 in cash awards later this month.
The events include:
The Elevator Pitch Competition & Networking Reception, in which all 24 teams will have one minute to pitch their businesses to the judging panel. Thursday January 23, 4:30pm-7:00pm, Planet Hatch, 50 Crowther Lane. Please RSVP by Jan. 20.
Apex Reception & Awards Ceremony where the winners of the contest will be revealed. Friday January 26, 4:00pm-5:30pm, Wu Conference Centre. Please RSVP by Jan. 20.
Nominations Open for Atlantic Canada Cleantech Awards
Foresight Canada already celebrates innovation in British Columbia and Alberta.
Applications are sought for Foresight Canada’s 2025 Cleantech Awards with organizers planning to recognize ventures and ecosystem leaders that are advancing innovation and growth in Atlantic Canada.
BC-based Foresight Canada is a cleantech innovation and adoption accelerator that works to connect public and private sectors to clean technologies, de-risking and simplifying the adoption of innovative solutions.
The group already celebrates innovation in British Columbia and Alberta. It said cleantech innovation is growing in Atlantic Canada, with advancements in wind, tidal, solar, and ocean technologies.
“As industries across Atlantic Canada evolve, they are changing for good—creating sustainable solutions that benefit both the economy and the environment,” said Jeanette Jackson, the group’s CEO, in a press release.
Since 2020, Foresight has supported around 39 ventures from Canada’s eastern provinces, the group said. These include:
Picketa Systems: Picketa has been named by SVG Ventures THRIVE as a 2024 Top 100 Global Innovator. The company has supported farms in 13 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces, demonstrating leadership in precision agriculture innovation. Gaia Refinery: Gaia Refinery is working to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It was recently selected as a participant in the Kiloton Fund pilot and partnered with Milkywire through their Climate Transformation Fund. They were also a 2023 Foresight 50 honouree.
Nominations are open in the following categories:
Venture of the Year - Startup: An emerging cleantech venture actively growing and already creating impact in their field.
Venture of the Year - Scaleup: A cleantech venture positioned to take a leadership role on the global innovation stage.
Adopter of the Year: A leading organization, company, or group adopting or championing sustainable practices in their industry.
Cleantech Supporter of the Year: An organization or individual championing the growth and development of cleantech through support of climate-focused entrepreneurs, programs, ecosystem development, thought leadership, and community building.
Funder of the Year : A funder, investor, government program, or VC championing a net zero economy by investing in cleantech ventures.
Our quick, confidential survey helps everyone understand the dynamics of the startup community.
We have an urgent need for young companies to complete our short, confidential survey so we can get an accurate picture of whether the Atlantic Canada startup community is growing or shrinking.
We’ve been working on our startup databank and have noticed a large number of failures for the second year in a row. What we haven’t found is a corresponding number of company launches – new companies coming in to replenish the stock of innovation-driven companies.
We’re making an extra effort to ask the founders or CEOs of young companies – those founded in 2022, 2023 or 2024 – to take five minutes to fill in our 10-question survey. It will let us know your company has launched, and provide a few more details for our analysis.
If you’re a CEO, please take a few minutes to complete the Entrevestor survey, which you can find by clicking on this image.
Each year, Entrevestor publishes the Atlantic Canada Startup Data report to give founders, investors and policy-makers the clearest picture possible of what is happening in Atlantic Canada’s innovation economy. Decision-makers read our report, so it’s vital that we get an accurate picture of how many companies are in the community.
While we hope all startup leaders will fill in the survey, we also hope people in BAIs will encourage the companies they work with to do so. It’s not good for anyone if we under-report how many companies are in the startup community.
We know CEOs are busy, and they’re pestered repeatedly to fill out forms, so we keep our survey as short as possible. All the answers are 100-percent confidential, and you can skip any question you’re uncomfortable with.
We’re pushing hard this month to get as many survey responses as possible, and have begin contacting people directly. Please take just a few minutes to complete the survey so that all members of the ecosystem will understand the dynamics at work in our community.
Aruna Revolution Inks Dragons’ Den Deal
The company is tackling a global environmental issue by creating compostable sanitary pads.
Aruna Revolution’s Rashmi Prakash and Gurleen Bajwa CBC’s Dragons’ Den. (Credit: CBC)
Dartmouth-based Aruna Revolution, a women-led company that makes compostable sanitary products from plants, last week raised money on the popular television show Dragons’ Den.
The Aruna team asked the Den’s investors for $250,000 for a 10 percent share in the business. After negotiations, Dragons Michele Romanow and Manjit Minhas partnered up and offered $300,000 for 25 percent of the company, which was accepted.
Aruna is tackling the environmental impacts of traditional hygiene products, which contribute to global waste, water pollution, and soil degradation, the company said in a press release.
In North America alone, 20 billion menstrual products and their packaging end up in landfills annually, the company said.
“Our mission is deeply rooted in inclusivity, sustainability, and innovation,” said CEO Rashmi Prakash.
“We are building a future where healthcare solutions not only reduce environmental harm but also foster equity and accessibility for all.”
Prakash, previously an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Biomedical Engineering, launched the company in 2020 with fellow UBC graduate Lanna Last.
“The (menstrual) products on the market don't meet our needs,” Prakash once told an audience of conference-goers. “They contain harmful chemicals that are known to cause cancer, and they last on this planet for over 500 years…"
By 2030, Aruna predicts that its products could prevent the release of as much carbon dioxide as nearly 2,000 trees would absorb over 10 years.
The company’s name, Aruna— symbolizing a new dawn—reflects a commitment to holistic solutions inspired by Indian traditions, the company said.
Its team includes staff from universities such as Dalhousie, Saint Mary's, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Manitoba.
Last year, Aruna participated in Accelerate, Invest NS’s program for pre-market startups that comes with $40,000 of funding.
The company is now looking at producing compostable tampons, panty liners, diapers and incontinence pads.
Spellbook Launches Playbooks
The product is specially designed for in-house lawyers at large corporations.
Spellbook CEO Scott Stevenson
Spellbook, the St. John’s maker of AI-driven tools for lawyers, has announced a new product for in-house counsels – the lawyers whose only client is the enterprise they work for.
This week, the company – which has raised more than $40 million in equity funding in the past two years – launched Playbooks, a product that uses artificial intelligence to reduce tedious tasks common to in-house lawyers.
In developing the product, the Spellbook team worked with about 160 in-house legal teams at major enterprises, and learned that they have sets of rules that must apply to all their documents, such as the thousands of non-disclosure agreements they work on each year. Playbooks can read a Word document and mark it up just as a lawyer would, saving countless hours of tedious work. the company said.
“We found that there was a big need for AI that was personalized and consistent,” said Spellbook Co-Founder and CEO Scott Stevenson in an interview, adding that the variability that works well for law firms isn’t quite right for in-house teams. “Playbooks gives them the consistency and customization they need.”
The product is already being used by the legal teams of such corporations as Nestlé, Crocs, Fender guitars, BDO Unibank, and WSP Global Consulting, the company said.
Stevenson said Spellbook was the first venture to develop an AI product that would draft and review legal documents like contracts for law firms. Since its founding in 2018, the company has raised tens of millions in venture capital and increased its staff to about 70. Its product is used by thousands of law firms.
Since the company began, the AI space has become fiercely competitive with new entrants and products appearing regularly. Stevenson said Spellbook keeps ahead of the competition with an iron-clad devotion to moving quickly to get products out.
“It requires absolutely radical speed,” said Stevenson. “And you need a particular culture, and we think about that a lot. How do you maintain the speed and how do you put your products out there first?”
That culture, Stevenson said, involves bringing in people who spend more time doing than talking. He said when the team is working on a product he gets involved in the development himself. Borrowing a line from Wayne Gretzky, he said the company prides itself in skating to where the puck is going rather than where it is.
“People are often in disbelief of what we do, and say, ‘Oh, the technology isn’t ready yet,’” he said. “We chop trees with a blunt axe today and pick up the chainsaw when it comes out. I think a lot of people today are spending too much time sharpening the axe.”
Vital Questions Facing East Coast Startups
We need founders and CEOs to complete our quick survey to answer these questions.
As we research our Atlantic Canada Startup Data Report, which we’ll publish in the spring, we think it’s more important than ever that startup founders or CEOs complete our short survey.
Why more important than ever? Because the startup community is at a crossroads and there are vital questions that need to be answered.
Each year, Entrevestor publishes the report to give founders, investors and policy-makers the clearest picture possible of what is happening in Atlantic Canada’s innovation economy. And to get that information we ask the startups to complete our 10-question survey. We know CEOs are busy, and they’re pestered repeatedly to fill out forms, so we keep our survey as short as possible.
If you’re a CEO, please take a few minutes to complete the Entrevestor survey, which you can find by clicking on this image.
Our report last year showed there were problems in the ecosystem, and we need to see if these problems are persisting. To do that, we need information from the companies themselves. Here are some questions we hope to answer:
Is the community shrinking?
In our last report, we reported on record failures, and our preliminary research this year shows more than 100 startups shut down in 2024. The big question is whether there are enough new companies to make up for the losses. We need new companies to fill in the survey.
Did angel and early-stage funding decline further?
This one’s really important. We really need to hear from companies that raised, say, less than $1 million, to determine if these companies are accessing capital. We also need to hear from companies that were unable to raise.
Are fewer people working for startups?
We saw a decline in employment last year, and we need to look into whether that is continuing.
Are the core companies still performing well?
The bright spot last year was that scaling and elite companies continued to grow strongly. We have to hear from these companies to get an update.
Is there real progress in diversity, equity and inclusion?
So far, our DEI monitor has shown a great performance among immigrants, and little success in growing the numbers of female, Black and Indigenous founders. It’s important that we continue to track these metrics.
We’re pushing hard this month to get as many survey responses as possible, and will begin contacting people directly today. Please take just a few minutes to complete the survey so that all members of the ecosystem will understand the dynamics at work in our community.
