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Canadian Tech in 100 Words

 

General Energy Recovery Goes for Gold at Global Awards in Texas

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General Energy Recovery has been named a finalist at the Gulf Energy Information Excellence Awards, placing it alongside some of the world’s top energy solution providers. The technology company is focused on Canada’s energy transition, offering solutions for heavy-oil recovery that can increase oil production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

As the only startup to be shortlisted in the Best Enhanced Oil Recovery Technology category, General Recovery is competing with industry giants like CNPC, Halliburton, and Saudi Aramco. With a slogan of “Recover More, Emit Less,” the company leverages patented technology to help oil producers achieve the balance of increasing oil recovery, reducing emissions, and performing financially.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on CleanEnergy.ca.

Freshly Funded Biotech Startup Launches from Stealth to Address Kidney Disease

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Vancouver-based RNA medicines company Borealis Biosciences has emerged from stealth with $150 million in financing from investors Versant Ventures and Novartis to combat kidney disease remain. The company builds upon the success Chinook Therapeutics, which Versant founded in 2019 before Novartis acquired it last year.

Borealis’ 25-person team has worked at the forefront of kidney research and RNA therapeutics for more than a decade, cultivating “an ideal environment for an exceptional founding team to continue to pioneer renal science and drug discovery,” according to Fiona Marshall, president of biomedical research at Novartis. Borealis’ research site is based in Vancouver at the 23,000-square-foot operating site formerly leased by Chinook. 

Want to know more? Check out the source code on Techcouver.

Committing to ‘Responsible’ Technology, TELUS Joins AI Safety Institute Consortium

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TELUS has joined more than 280 stakeholders participating in an initiative to support the development of trustworthy and safe artificial intelligence. Established by the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology in February, the U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium brings together AI creators and users, academics, government, and industry researchers.

“Our involvement in the U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium underscores our commitment to responsible AI, ensuring that AI is developed and deployed in a trustworthy, ethical manner that is safe and benefits everyone,” stated Pam Snively, Chief Data and Trust Officer at TELUS. “We look forward to collaborating with other industry leaders, academics, and organizations.”

Want to know more? Check out the source code here.

Spellbook Launches First Full-Fledged AI Agent for Legal Work

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Spellbook, the creators of AI tools for lawyers, announced the launch of Spellbook Associate, the first AI agent designed specifically for legal work. This groundbreaking tool allows AI to perform tasks traditionally handled by junior associates, enhancing efficiency within legal teams.

Unlike chat-based AI, Spellbook Associate can plan, execute, and adapt to complete complex assignments like drafting financing documents or reviewing large sets of legal files. The tool empowers small and medium-sized law firms to compete with larger firms by reducing time spent on routine tasks, enabling lawyers to focus on higher-value activities. Early access is now available.

Want to know more? Check out the source code here.

Montreal AI Startup Emerges from Stealth with $11M Seed Round and Plans to Expand

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‍Montreal’s Reliant AI has launched out of stealth with $11 million in seed funding through a round co-led by Tola Capital and Inovia Capital. Founders Karl Moritz Hermann, Marc Bellemare, and Richard Schlegel are passionate about how generative AI can solve information challenges to reduce repetitive mental labor and accelerate decision making for enterprises.

The company says it is initially targeting the biopharma industry and that it will use the funding to hire engineering talent to expand its technology investment and footprints in North America. Reliant’s first product, Reliant Tabular, is an AI workbench that helps life science analysts find evidence for their decisions through automated systematic reviews, asset scans, and a customizable data platform. 

Want to know more? Check out the source code here.

Canada’s E3 Deepens Collaboration with Pure Lithium as Pair Advance Battery Tech

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Calgary’s E3 Lithium is partnering with Pure Lithium, a Boston-based vertically integrated lithium metal battery technology company, to advance the design of a lithium metal anode and battery pilot plant in Alberta. Under a joint development agreement, the two firms will complete a preliminary economic assessment of a commercial lithium metal battery facility.

E3 announced earlier that a lithium metal battery had been made by Pure Lithium from E3 lithium concentrate. At that time, the two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to complete further testing and validation work. The firms have been collaborating to produce lithium metal cells that have higher energy density than today’s lithium-ion batteries and do not contain nickel, cobalt, or graphite.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on Calgary.tech.

IBG Designs Targets Affordable Housing with Tech-Forward Building Blueprints

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Innovation Building Group aims to make it faster and cheaper to build homes for Canadians by combining decades of construction experience with the latest advancements in building technology. The B.C. building designer has launched IBG Designs, an online platform that provides ready designs for multi-tenant buildings that smaller communities and organizations can use to address local housing supply challenges.

“We are sharing our hard-earned knowledge to empower smaller communities and organizations to unlock the housing potential in their own backyards,” stated Rod Nadeaud founder of IBG. “Local builders and organizations can now pursue projects they might not have thought were possible.”

Want to know more? Check out the source code on Techcouver.

Canadian Fintech Aims for ‘Substantial Impact’ with Reveal of Latest Partnership

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London, Ontario’s interVal has announced a partnership with Boston’s FusionIQ, a move which aims to transform wealth-tech by providing financial advisors with new tools to boost growth for their clients. InterVal’s software offers automated insights for wealth management firms, financial institutions, and accounting firms. Meanwhile, FusionIQ’s all-in-one cloud-native platform provides a personalized user experience that connects investors, advisors, and firms within a single digital workflow.

“We are thrilled to partner with FusionIQ, the leading cloud-native wealth management platform with advanced modules tailored for advisors and investors,” stated Trevor Greenway, CEO of interVal. “Together with FusionIQ, we are ready to make a substantial impact.”

Want to know more? Check out the source code on Fintech.ca.

SkipTheDishes, Just Eat Lay Off 800 Workers in Canada

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SkipTheDishes and its European parent company, Just Eat Takeaway.com, are laying off 800 workers in Canada as part of a restructuring effort. Paul Burns, CEO of SkipTheDishes, announced that 700 Canada-based employees from Just Eat will be cut, along with 100 employees from Winnipeg-based SkipTheDishes.

The layoffs come as Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway.com pulls out of markets like France and New Zealand and considers selling its Chicago-based subsidiary Grubhub. Despite this, the company began a €150-million share buyback in July. SkipTheDishes, founded in Saskatoon, was acquired by Just Eat in 2016 for $110 million.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on The Logic.

Canadian Fintech Expands Investment Offerings with Latest Launch

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Vancouver-based financial technology firm addy is introducing a credit opportunity onto its digital investment platform for the first time. Addy says it is “committed to expanding investment opportunities that cater to various investor preferences and risk profiles” and posits that credit investments provide an alternative avenue for those seeking returns with lower average risk than equity by offering predictable cash flow through regular interest payments.

Investing in a debt property means investors provide financing for a real estate project in the form of a loan; investors “become lenders rather than equity investors, earning interest on their investment as the borrower repays the loan,” the company says.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on Fintech.ca.