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

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.

The

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

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

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

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

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

Halifax-based Planetary Technologies has won an XFACTOR award worth $1 million in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal Competition. 

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

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,

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