Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions, the Rothesay, NB, maker of safety equipment for drones, says it has finished a $1.1 million federal testing contract with flying colours and is about to start pursuing a larger government sale.

The original deal was awarded in February by the Testing Stream of Innovative Solutions Canada, part of Science and Economic Development Canada. It included an option for

Halifax’s Planetary Technologies has won a US$1 million Milestone Award from the new US$100 million Carbon Removal XPRIZE.

The latest version of the XPRIZE, which is funded by the Elon Musk Foundation and will award its grand prize in 2025, has given the interim Milestone Award to 15 of the 1,133 businesses competing to develop and scale the best commercial applications for captured carbon

The federal government has announced $2.89 million of funding for innovation-related projects in Halifax and Cape Breton as part of its COVID-19 recovery package.

The money comes from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, via the federal government’s Jobs and Growth Fund and Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program, as well as from NRC-IRAP. The Jobs and Growth Fund gives

This Earth Day, we're recognizing a trio of Nova Scotian companies that are vying for the new US$100 million Carbon Removal XPRIZE, slated to be decided in 2025. Halifax’s Planetary Technologies and Reazent have both entered the competition as newcomers, and past winner CarbonCure Technologies is back for a second time.

Last year, Dartmouth-based CarbonCure was one of two companies to split the

Halifax medical device maker ABK Biomedical has begun human trials for its Eye90 microspheres — tiny, mildly radioactive glass spheres visible on x-rays and CT scans, which can be injected into patients and used to view the size and shape of cancerous tumours.

The trial is being conducted in a partnership with the research unit of New Zealand’s Auckland Hospital. It is designed to test both the

Halifax’s Snorble has raised US$10 million or C$12.3 million from a single investor, New Jersey-based GK Venture Partners, valuing the company at US$40 million or C$50.1 million.

The deal, which CEO Mike Rizkalla said in an interview is effectively Snorble’s Series A funding round, comes on the heels of a $2 million raise that closed in January. GK is Snorble’s second institutional investor

Moncton social venture The Farmers’ Truck nearly doubled its sales last year as pandemic-related economic woes increased food insecurity in some parts of the United States.

CEO Fredéric Laforge said in an interview that “food deserts,” which are regions where nutritious food is not readily available for purchase, have been exacerbated by inflation on the already small basket of goods available

Halifax startup hub Volta is looking for companies to participate in its next quarterly Pitch Competition.

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

Winning entrepreneurs receive a $500 Visa gift card and a one-hour

Norwegian oceantech company Resqunit A/S, which maintains an office in Halifax via subsidiary Resqunit Canada Inc., has announced a “breakthrough order” from Shippagan, New Brunswick-based Entreprises Shippagan — a major wholesaler for the aquaculture, fishing and broader marine industries.

The purchase order includes more than 30,000 units of Resqunit’s flagship product, a floatation device

St. John’s-based Celtx, which makes scriptwriting and project management software for the film and video game industries, has been acquired by media holding company Backlight in a buyout funded by growth equity firm PSG.

The deal is part of a quintet of acquisitions that mark Backlight’s first investments. Based in the Boston area, Backlight said in a press release it is backed by US$200 million