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- 🏙️ No more staying up until 2:00 a.m.
🏙️ No more staying up until 2:00 a.m.
Our first thoughts on Collision conference, plus meet the top 25 startups picked by New Ventures BC. This is your Sunday Briefing.
Kate Wilson
July 02, 2023
Collision Conference, known as the “Olympics of tech” with more than 40,000 attendees, wrapped on Thursday in Toronto. And what a week. Vancouverites turned up in force for the event — more than 700 West Coasters made it out to the B.C. Future of Innovation Party — and a big roster of locals (including yours truly) spoke across a slate of packed out stages. A fistful of Vancouverites held it down on the main stage, including VTJ’s William Johnson, the Cofounders Hub’s Tanis Jorge, Frontier Collective’s Kassandra Linklater, and conference MC Casey Lau, each representing the city’s importance in an international arena.
Honestly, I haven’t quite recovered yet (did anyone else get manage to get to bed before 2:00 a.m. every night?) But watch this space for our official thoughts on the event when our writers have finally slept.
Now onto today’s briefing. It’s 1,156 words: a four-minute read.
-Kate, @KateWilsonSays
P.S. Beat those post-Collision blues by meeting us and your tech community for our weekly Vancouver Tech Morning Coffee on Tuesday, 8:00 a.m. ‘til 10:00 a.m. at the Coffee Bar (10 Water Street, Gastown).
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From wastewater treatment and period care to aircraft bookings and smart strollers, it’s a stunning selection of startups.
Organizations including Vancouver’s entrepreneurship@UBC, SFU VentureLab, and New Ventures BC have formed an alliance to scale up local companies.
We’re officially halfway through the year. Here are the 10 headlines you've missed that you need to know.
The company, which is now the 2023 Microsoft Financial Services Global Partner of the Year, is the first Canadian outfit to be given the accolade.
One Vancouver-based outfit made the squad in Google’s new class of cloud-native startups in the U.S. and Canada. Read our top members’ briefing now. Members only.
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🤝 Funding and deals
ImagineAR entered into a binding letter of intent with New York’s 4Front Development that sees 4Front acquire a minority share of its subsidiary, FameDays, to support 4Front’s new immersive technology centre.
Infinitii AI, an environmental monitoring firm, announced a $1.472 million record sales contract for five years with an unnamed large Canadian municipality.
British Columbia Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association received a $3.9 million grant to attract talent through the use of virtual reality and simulator technologies that place jobseekers in snow plows and heavy equipment.
For all the local funding news, become a Vancouver Tech Journal member »
Helping innovators and changemakers tell their stories
Switchboard Public Relations – an Earnscliffe Strategies company works with some of the most progressive and innovative teams in the tech sector.
Tech leaders know their products and services are brilliant, but sometimes need help explaining why they matter and how they will create positive change. Switchboard communicates game-changing ideas to target audiences in a way that’s accessible and exciting.
Is your team on a mission to disrupt the status quo? See how the country’s top tech PR firm can help you.
🗞️ In other news
Loba was featured on the New York Times’ list of the year’s best pill boxes.
BTQ Technologies received approval by the US Patent and Trademark Office related to quantum-safe encryption technology, which is a win for Vancouver’s global startup ecosystem ranking.
Trulioo, an identity verification company, has experienced 586 percent growth adoption of its Know Your Business verification services since 2020 in the United States.
Loop Energy, a cleantech outfit, had its fuel cell system for a hydrogen electric bus platform selected by Polish electric bus manufacturer ARP E-Vehicles.
The British Columbia Securities Commission asks the public for information about Shop Your Own Mortgage/My Mortgage Auction.
For all local news and our daily coverage, become a Vancouver Tech Journal member »
Thanks for celebrating Clean Transportation Month!
Invest Vancouver’s Clean Transportation Month is over, but the commitment to fostering a thriving "green economy" continues all year. The focus remains on supporting the development and adoption of transformative solutions that create a greener and more prosperous future. Sign up for Invest Vancouver’s newsletter for all of the latest updates.
💼 Take your career to the next level
There are hundreds of other Vancouver tech businesses searching for talent, including SunTracker Technology, Montra Interactive, The BC Public Service, UrbanLogiq, The Coaches Site, and Ari.
Check out who else is hiring on our Vancouver Tech Job Board »
Growing your team? Post a job with us »
Have BCIT Computing students help with your IT challenges
Do you need a tech solution, automation tool, or prototype? BCIT’s Industry Sponsored Student Projects program puts students to work on your software and IT projects. Next submission deadline is August 1 – learn more!
💡 Ideas and insights
Traction podcast featured Matt Oppenheimer, co-founder and CEO at Remitly, in a discussion about how he took the company from zero to 4.2 million customers and a multi-billion dollar IPO.
Geordie Rose, founder and CEO of Sanctuary AI, was interviewed by BNN Bloomberg: This robot is an example of Canadian innovation leading the world
Dan Gamble, founder and CEO of DGPR, writes in Forbes: Pride should be year-round.
Njoki Mbũrũ — Web3 facilitator, writer, and consultant — shares what she’s reading and watching to learn about decentralization in Web3.
Ali Adab, chief content officer at SoleSavy, writes in Rolling Stone: Creators could rule the Fortune 500 in the next decade
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👋 Before you go…
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