Cisco Systems Inc. has named Fredericton-based Eigen Innovations one of six finalists at the Innovation Grand Challenge, the pitching competition at the prestigious Internet of Things World Forum on Dec. 7 in Dubai.
Eigen has developed algorithms that allow machines to respond automatically to messages from sensors – a classic Internet of Things, or IoT, application. It is one of 3,000 companies from more than 100 countries that entered Cisco’s Innovation Grand Challenge and was named a semi-finalist in October. Eigen is the only Canadian finalist.
Top prize is US$150,000 (C$200,000) and VIP access to industry, investment and business experts, including Cisco’s Innovation Centers and Cisco Investments teams.
“To me, as the organizer of this Grand Challenge, these innovators are incredibly inspiring in how they combine sheer creativity with the technical skills of our digital era,” said Cisco’s Director of Innovation Strategy and Programs Alex Goryachev in a statement. “I can’t wait to get to know this year’s Super Six finalists in Dubai, where they will make their Shark Tank-like pitches in front of a live audience before the judges.”
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A graduate of the PropelICT tech accelerator, Eigen’s product, Intellexon, helps manufacturers improve production efficiency and reduce waste. The system uses algorithms developed under the guidance of researcher and co-founder Rickey Dubay at the University of New Brunswick.
Intellexon selects data from sensors and other sources in a customer’s plant and sends the relevant data to the cloud, where it is analyzed. Finally, it sends information back to the plant, where action is taken. All of this happens in real time, so the actions are precise.
In May, the company had five multinational clients, each in a separate industry: food processing, mining, automotive, pulp and paper and construction.
Eigen is working with partners, including Oregon’s FLIR Systems Inc., the world’s largest thermal camera and sensor maker, to further develop Intellexon to suit these customers’ needs.
"Being named one of the top six Internet of Things companies in the world by Cisco is tremendous recognition of our technology and how it helps manufacturers improve production efficiency," said Eigen’s CTO and Co-Founder Scott Everett in the statement. "We congratulate our fellow finalists and look forward to seeing them next month in Dubai."
In May, the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation invested, $250,000 in Eigen Innovations, and the company said that investment would be part of a far larger funding round. There has been no announcement since then, but the First Angel Network now lists Eigen among its portfolio companies.
Two other members of the New Brunswick industrial Internet of things community raised significant venture capital rounds recently. Moncton’s RtTech Software closed a $3 million round in February, and Fredericton’s Smart Skin Technologies landed $3.9 million in funding in late 2013.
