Ignite Labs, the Nova Scotia Innovation Hub and BioNB are teaming up to host START[2020], an Atlantic Canadian sustainable innovation pitch competition that will award $25,000 to the winning entrant.

The new program was announced this week by: Ignite Labs, which operates innovation incubators in rural Nova Scotia; The Nova Scotia Innovation Hub, a group dedicated to sustainable energy; and BioNB

St. John’s-based Cyno, whose online platform helps physiotherapists work with patients, has signed a service agreement with ecommerce giant Shopify to provide ergonomic services to corporations.

Cyno issued a press release Monday announcing the deal with Shopify, the Ottawa-based company that offers ecommerce services to more than 1 million businesses in more than 175 countries.

Together, they

Our Job of the Week column today features a pair of openings at Halifax-based Rimot, which is looking for a Chief Operating Officer and an AI Data Developer.

Rimot helps companies or organizations to monitor their private wireless communications systems in remote locations. Its RimotRF solution constantly collects information about the transmitter and site, combining it with weather data to give

Outcast Foods, a Halifax company that makes nutritional ingredients and supplements out of food that would otherwise be thrown out, has raised $3 million in financing.

The company formerly known as Beyond Food issued a press release Thursday announcing the financing round, which follows a $1 million angel round early in 2019. The lead investors in the latest round include: The Cosine Group, a

Now that we’re through the year-end festivities and returning to work, let’s look at what we can expect from Atlantic Canadian startups in the 21st year of the 21st century.

Here are three things we’re watching in the coming year.

Funding

Funding in 2019 was both fantastic and, well, weird, and it would be nice if financing was a bit more conventional this year. It was fantastic because

Halifax-based Bloxo Inc., which aims to improve access to recreational sports, has partnered with Sports Nova Scotia’s reSPORT initiative and will launch the full version of its mobile app this winter.

Within a single application, Bloxo will allow facility managers to post open time slots, for sports organizers to book those slots and bring in other players, who can join and pay for a game. For

Our final post of 2019 is a simple wish: We hope all our readers have a fantastic holiday and prosperous New Year. 

We're taking the holidays off, and we've now posted for the last time until Jan. 2 (unless something epic happens next week and we feel we have to report on it).

Each year at this time, we post this photo of our official Entrevestor Christmas Tree ornament, which our daughter Cat

It seems obvious there is only one story for a 2019 year-end wrap-up for the Atlantic Canadian startup community.

It’s Verafin.

In September, the St. John’s company whose software helps financial institutions combat fraud and money laundering announced that it had raised $515 million in equity and debt financing. It was the largest venture capital deal ever by a Canadian company.

Yes, we could

For Jenilee Paul of St. Mary’s First Nation, her role as a course instructor at PLATO can help other Indigenous people see a path for growth in the IT sector.

“It’s kind of like being a role model. You’re setting that path so the people in the courses afterward can come into it and know that they can move up the ladder and take on more courses, more skill sets or leadership roles,” she said.

Halifax-based Kinduct Technologies has signed a contract with the Nova Scotia Health Authority that will allow the roll-out of a new program to improve the treatment of orthopedic patients in the province.

The contract nails down the details of an agreement announced in April, when the NSHA teamed up with Kinduct, Montreal-based Emovi Inc., and Halifax’s OrthoMX to reveal a new suite of digital