Bonocle Enters Commercialization

St. John’s-based Bonocle is turning its attention to commercialization in the new year as it looks to bring its accessibility tool for interacting with smartphones and tablets via braille to market in North America and the Middle East.

Founded in 2016, the company has developed a handheld Bluetooth device with a thumbpad capable of representing the braille alphabet via a set of eight bumps that

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Shift Energy Signs Edge Computing Deal

Saint John-based Shift Energy, which uses machine learning to control energy use in large complexes, has announced an agreement to use U.K.-based edge computing specialist IOTech’s software in its products.

Shift Energy is a subsidiary of diversified technology company Mariner Partners. It uses machine learning to optimize the performance of HVAC — heating, ventilation and air conditioning —

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The Year in Innovation Stocks

While later-stage companies were the stars of Atlantic Canada’s private capital market last year, their publicly traded counterparts had a rockier 2023.

Of the six publicly traded startups that were operating in Atlantic Canada last January, two failed during the year and only two others, St. John’s-based Kraken Robotics and Halifax’s Sona Nanotech, managed to post a return for their

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Solace Power, Gentex Sign Deal

Solace Power, a Newfoundland and Labrador company that has developed a portfolio of wireless power technologies for commercial applications, has signed a partnership deal with Michigan-based automotive supply company Gentex, which is also investing in the business.

Founded in 2007 and helmed by CEO Neil Chaulk since 2021, Solace makes wireless power and data transfer technology for industries

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Research Funding Strong at $454M

Research funding flowing to Atlantic Canadian universities fell slightly in 2023 to $454.3 million, according to data from business intelligence and consulting company Research InfoSource, down from $468.2 million the year prior.

The funding tally includes any grant, contribution or contract an institution receives towards research from an outside source. And despite last year’s slight decrease,

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Genesis Seeks Evolution Applicants

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

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

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More Startups Appoint Female CEOs

With the Atlantic Canadian startup ecosystem expanding its support infrastructure for female founders and their participation in the innovation economy increasing, a related trend may be starting to emerge: that of more women taking on the chief executive role at existing companies.

At Entrevestor, we’re beginning to dive into the numbers on diversity, equity and inclusion for our annual Startup

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Meta Settles Class Actions

Halifax advanced materials-maker Meta Materials has agreed to settle two class action lawsuits from shareholders in the United States for a combined $3 million.

The suits, one federal and one in Nevada, alleged that Meta had misled investors about its rate of progress on business opportunities and failed to appropriately disclose the possibility of a Securities and Exchange Commission

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Trophi.ai Wins Provincial Funding

St. John’s-based Trophi.ai has received $548,000 of funding from the Newfoundland and Labrador government to help de-risk commercialization of its artificial intelligence-based coaching software for auto-racing simulators and other video games.

The company also recently received $200,000 from NRC-IRAP and in May it closed a $3.3 million seed round led by Halifax venture capital fund Build

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The Startup Stories We’ll Be Watching in ‘24

Increasing startup failures, a divided venture capital market, the rise of artificial intelligence and the shaky future of federal funding apparatus Sustainable Development Technology Canada are among the stories we will follow closely in 2024.

For the second year in a row, the outlook for Atlantic Canadian innovators remains challenging thanks to broader economic forces. Just as founders are

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