The governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada last week announced almost $800,000 in financial support for four startups based in St. John’s.
The provincial Department of Industry, Energy and Technology said it would provide more than $535,000 in grants, while the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program, or IRAP, is contributing $246,075.
“This support is enabling us to build world class legal software that is like nothing else on the market,” said Dialog Enterprises CEO Scott Stevenson, whose company received about half the provincial money announced last week. “These new features allow law firms to provide more value to their clients for a lower cost, furthering our mission to make legal services more accessible and affordable.”
The statement from the provincial government said the province’s technology sector has grown to more than 160 companies and 4,000 employees and is expected to seek more than 2,000 employees over the next three years.
The four companies are:
Dialog Enterprises (which does business as Rally)
Dialog Enterprises received $265,000 from the province to further innovate and develop its Rally product, which helps corporate lawyers and their clients automate the writing of contracts. The platform allows lawyers to quickly prepare a questionnaire for their clients to produce the information needed for a contract.
The grants announced last week will allow the company to automatically draft, interpret and modify collections of corporate documents and legal data.
Last summer, Dialog raised $750,000 in equity financing from Venture NL (the fund managed by Pelorus Venture Capital), St. John’s-based Killick Capital, Halifax-based Concrete Ventures and Toronto-based Good News Ventures.
HYKE received a $102,460 provincial grant to help develop the second phase of its flagship HYKE platform, which analyzes consumers’ subconscious purchasing behavior. The company seeks to increase consumers’ buying power and replace coupons and loyalty point programs.
The company is the brainchild of CEO Sid Eskandari and his business partner Trung Trinh, both of whom hold PhDs from Memorial University.
AS Works received a $86,000 grant from the provincial government to incorporate artificial intelligence into its ducted fan unmanned aerial system, or UAS.
Led by CEO Armin Strobel, AS Works is developing a flying drone whose propellor resembles a fan inside a duct – hence the term “ducted fan”. The company says the ducted fan makes the device safer to handle than conventional drones, and its small size and docking station make it easily transportable.
The addition of AI functionality will allow the system to operate autonomously, while collecting and processing data. This improved technology will provide users, such as military, search and rescue, and first responders with increased situational awareness, assessment and mapping, said the statement.
The winner of the 2020 Mel Woodward Cup at MUN, NuCliq Biologics has now received a grant of $81,562 from the province to help develop its “Gut-Check” analysis kit.
This kit helps people analyze their gut microbiome, which comprises all the microbes such as bacteria, viruses and fungi present in their intestines. Led by CEO Nikitha Kendyala, NuCliq will provide a simplified gut health report with detailed information about personalized food and customized probiotic recommendations for customers and doctors.
