The Atlantic Canadian startup community set records for new companies, employment, and funding in 2019, but also experienced a worrying downturn in smaller financing deals.

Those are the highlights of our 2019 Atlantic Canada Startup Data report, which we’re releasing today. Click here to see the highlights and receive a full copy.

Though high-growth companies in the region raised a record

Halifax-based Clean Catch Baits, which plans to have its environmentally friendly fishing lures on the market next spring, has won $23,000 in the first AquaHacking Challenge held in Atlantic Canada.

The company, which formed at Saint Mary’s University last year, was one of 26 teams from across Atlantic Canada to enter the competition. It was awarded $2,000 in June when it was named one of five

St. John’s-based Prospre, whose app helps people plan nutritious meals, has won Propel’s Startup Summer Showdown, claiming the grand prize of $10,000 and in-kind services.

The company, which received the $15,000 second prize in Memorial University’s Woodward Cup competition earlier this year, has released an app that helps health-conscious people plan nutritious meals and snacks.

In winning the

Halifax-based sportstech company Kinduct has exited.

The company announced today it has been sold to mCube, a Silicon Valley company that produces the world’s smallest sensors, for an undisclosed price. Kinduct, whose platform provides customized health data to athletes and sports teams, will retain its headquarters in Halifax and is planning further growth with a greater focus on healthcare.

Metamaterial Inc. has agreed to merge with an American company that will provide it with a listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange and at least US$10 million (C$13.3 million) in new financing.

The Dartmouth company, which makes products from manmade substances that alter light, said Monday it has signed a letter of intent to merge with Plano, Texas-based oil and gas producer Torchlight Energy

Canada’s Ocean Supercluster and several First Nations community partners have launched a new program to help Indigenous workers find job placements in the ocean economy.

The Supercluster on Monday announced the launch of the Indigenous Career Pivot Project, an initiative that will cost more than $740,000, of which $550,000 is funded by the Ocean Supercluster.

The pilot project will allow about

A 4,000-square-metre indoor vertical farm operated by Nova Scotia and Ontario-based GoodLeaf Farms is now fully operational in Guelph, Ontario.

The farm is fully automated and equipped to grow microgreens and baby greens 365 days a year without the use of pesticides, herbicides or fungicides and with reduced water consumption, the company said in a statement. 

“Our growing system mimics the

Though the pandemic has made REDspace’s 20th year a strange time, CEO Mike Johnston believes his company is well positioned to thrive as the economy improves.

The Bedford, NS, software development company, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last week, builds flexible platforms for global enterprises, with special strength in video platforms. In the past few years, it’s experienced strong

There are just a few days left to sign up for the virtual presentation of our 2019 Atlantic Canada Startup Data report, which will take place at noon on Thursday.

We've teamed up with Volta for this presentation. We had been planning to do an in-person event at Volta and have it live-streamed, but now we've opted to just go for a virtual event. It's free, and you can register here.

Researchers engaged in IT, life sciences, cleantech, oceantech, and other technologies are invited to apply to Innovacorp’s Early Stage Commercialization Fund, which provides up to $50,000 per project for post-secondary researchers to move their research to market.

Eligible applicants include Nova Scotia university and college faculty members, as well as staff and clinicians in