Volta Labs has announced the 16 companies that will pitch for a chance to win $25,000 in investment at the second Volta Cohort Pitch Event on May 16.

As many as five companies will receive $25,000 in investment, mentorship and resources. The Halifax startup house launched the pitching event late last year to help provide promising startups with initial funding. Five companies received funding at the first event.

“When we launched Volta Cohort, the goal was to accelerate the growth and success of startups in Atlantic Canada,” said Volta CEO Jesse Rodgers in a statement. “It’s been exciting to watch the current Cohort companies progress. The program proves that, when given the opportunity and resources, founders can fast-track growth and increase their likelihood of success from right here in Atlantic Canada.”

The second pitching competition will take place May 16 at 5:30 at the Kenneth C. Rowe Hall at Pier 21. Tickets are available here.

Volta received 58 submissions for the event. Applicants were narrowed down to a shortlist of 25 companies and 16 were selected to pitch – one more than the initially planned 15 finalists. As well as finalists from the Halifax area, two are from Cape Breton and one is from St. John’s. In a sign of how the Halifax startup community is moving, one quarter of the companies are in the OceanTech sphere. 

The selected companies are:

Talem Health Analytics, Sydney – Talem Health Analytics is a healthcare technology company that uses machine learning to predict outcomes in musculoskeletal rehabilitation, providing financial and rehabilitation insights for private sector insurance.

Hydrotroniks, Chéticamp – Hydrotroniks is designing electric drives for commercial fishing vessels and leisure boats to provide those involved in the commercial fisheries, from harvesters, to processors, to consumers, with more sustainable economies and environments.

Grey Lit, Halifax – Grey Lit is a knowledge mobilization platform that increases access to grey literature by allowing members to publish and share their research while nearly instantaneously searching for and reviewing the research of their “True Peers” around the world.

Tranquility Online, Halifax – Tranquility Online is a Software-as-a-Service solution that uses the gold standard therapy approach for anxiety: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Quantum Link, Halifax – Quantum Link is developing an app to link community members with local providers of goods and services.

ColourSmith Labs Inc., Halifax – ColourSmith Labs is creating North America’s first direct-to-consumer contact lenses that restore a full spectrum of colour in red-green colour blind individuals.

Marine Footprint Solutions Inc., Halifax – Marine Footprint Solutions partners with existing clean tech firms to adapt their innovative emission reduction products for marine use.

Commlet Technologies, Sydney – Commlet Technologies uses GPS tracking bracelets and an innovative app to offer a user-friendly solution for real-time positioning tailored to the education and child care industries.

National Digital Solutions, Halifax – National Digital Solutions, described as the Kayak for the financial services industry, provides software solutions for the financial services industry and Independent financial advisers.

eOceans Research and Consulting Inc., Dartmouth – eOceans Research and Consulting Inc. aims to be the Fitbit/Strava for the more than 100 million passionate global ocean explorers, including divers, sailors, boaters, surfers, and fishers.

Knack, Halifax – Knack is on a mission to save retailers money by increasing new hire speed to proficiency, employee retention and overall employee performance by streamlining the employee on-boarding and training experience.

NovaSpectrum Analytics Inc., Dartmouth – NovaSpectrum is creating a suite of tools using vision-based platforms and machine learning with the goal of becoming a leader in real-time automated marine animal identification for commercial applications in aquaculture, seafood processing, marine resource management and research, and tourism.

UAV Control Tower, St. John’s – UAV Control Tower has developed a drone monitoring system used by air traffic controllers to approve, manage and record drone flights.

ExperienceFunding.ca, Halifax – ExperienceFunding.ca allows NGOs to fundraise through the power of the internet to reach a broader audience by providing them with an online platform to sell e-tickets for a raffle-based fundraising event.

Speakr, Halifax – Speakr develops digital tools that provide constructive feedback for verbal and non-verbal communication by allowing users to analyze data on their voice and body language and see how it compares to others (through data sets only, in a confidential fashion), to help pinpoint strengths and weaknesses and provide a means of training over time.

Neothermal Energy Storage Inc, Halifax – Neothermal Energy Storage is addressing the high cost of indoor heating with an innovative electric thermal storage heater for residential supplemental heating. This new appliance, best suited for oil and electrically heated homes, uses Time-of-Day electricity rates to lower heating costs by up to 50 percent.