Alberta tech companies receive $21M in federal funding

The federal government has awarded close to $21 million to 16 Alberta tech companies in an effort to help entrepreneurs overcome the challenges of commercializing their products and ideas.

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The federal government has awarded close to $21 million to 16 Alberta tech companies to help entrepreneurs overcome the challenges of commercializing their products and ideas.

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The funding — the majority of which will go to Calgary companies, though one Airdrie company and four Edmonton companies were also selected — comes from the Western Innovation Initiative, a federal program aimed at addressing “the changing nature of the economy” and positioning Canada as an innovation leader. The companies selected work in areas including clean technology, health and life sciences, digital technologies and value-added manufacturing, and will receive grants ranging from $250,417 to $2,773,000.

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“Today’s recipients are breaking barriers,” Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi said in Calgary on Wednesday. “I am excited to see such a variety of ideas coming from forward-looking Canadian innovators.”

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Nashir Samanani, CEO of QuirkLogic Inc., which will receive a $1.5-million grant, said his company will use the funds to speed up the commercialization of its technology in the U.S., a key market. QuirkLogic, which is located in Calgary and has nearly 50 employees, has created a real-time digital writing solution that can be used in place of old-fashioned whiteboards.

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Samanani said Calgary’s technology industry is still relatively small, and companies struggle to recruit talent and capital.

“Most companies tend to die before they commercialize, so that’s the gap we need to address. This (the federal funding program) is aimed at just the right spot,” he said. “If we had an ecosystem that was much broader and much wider and could support all these companies coming up, then government support may not be required. But in a vacuum, you need some stimulus to accelerate that a little bit.”

Other Calgary companies selected for funding include Aimsio Inc., ATTAbotics, Enersoft Inc., FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd., Kent Imaging Inc., Nanalysis Corp., P.K. Sound Corp., Recover Energy Services Inc., Userful Corp. and Veerum Inc.

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