Planetary offers a scalable, natural alternative to engineered carbon removal solutions by enhancing the ocean’s existing ability to absorb CO2. The ocean already absorbs 31% of global CO2 emissions, and by adding alkalinity, Planetary increases this capacity while neutralizing ocean acidity. The process, called Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE), stores carbon as stable salts within the marine ecosystem for thousands of years, making it a low-energy, cost-effective, durable solution. Early tests in controlled environments confirm successful CO2 removal, and ongoing open-ocean trials show no measurable negative impact on marine habitats.
ThinkLabs AI is a specialized AI development and deployment company focused on advanced engineering systems. With their flagship product, ThinkLabs Copilot, using proprietary physics-informed AI digital twins, ThinkLabs AI is well positioned to transform the way grids operate, rich of clean data and predictive power.
An additional five VCs from Vancouver, Toronto, and Montréal will receive portions of the $25 million commitment.
The Canadian government announced the second tranche of $25 million in VCCI funding to support underrepresented entrepreneurs, including women, Indigenous, Black, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities. This funding will benefit five venture capital firms, including Amplify Capital. Amplify Capital's managing partner, Kathryn Wortsman, highlighted that our focus remains on achieving strong financial returns alongside measurable impact.
ThinkLabs AI is developing a physics-informed digital twin model, supporting human operations by offering autonomous modeling and orchestration of the power grid. These insights enable power grid operators to connect power from renewable sources to the grid faster and more efficiently, alleviating grid connection queues.
ThinkLabs AI is a specialized AI development and deployment company focused on advanced engineering systems. With their flagship product, ThinkLabs Copilot, using proprietary physics-informed AI digital twins, ThinkLabs AI is well positioned to transform the way grids operate, rich of clean data and predictive power.
To catalyze industrial decarbonization, we must move away from energy-intensive manufacturing to more energy-efficient, low carbon footprint alternatives, such as bio-fermentation. Quebec-based BioIntelligence Technologies (BIT) provides solutions for reducing the carbon footprint in large-scale bio-manufacturing industries like chemical production, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and certain food applications. BIT's analytics can alleviate challenges in biomanufacturing by reducing production losses and increasing yields by 5-10% per batch. This improvement fosters the adoption of more sustainable manufacturing processes.
Venture capitalists have traditionally focused on high returns and calculated risks. However, in today’s evolving market landscape, there’s a significant shift towards a more purpose-driven approach. Relying solely on financial gains is no longer sufficient. The demand from consumers, governments, and communities for investments that also yield environmental and social returns is growing. This is particularly crucial given the current state of our planet and the challenges faced by health and education systems. Impact investing emerges as a paradigm shift, redefining the fundamental principles of investment for double bottom-line returns.
With a myriad of different concepts regularly used to describe the intersections between technology and society, it was not easy to pick one term for this report. Existing terms include tech for good, impact tech, social tech, cleantech, responsible tech, positive tech, transformative tech, humane tech, ICT for development, digital social innovation, factor-4 innovation, and more. Some relate to social good, others to sustainability. Some emphasize avoiding harm, others creating solutions. Yet others focus on specific sectors like civic tech, health tech, peace tech, and carbon tech. All of them have been used to describe projects featured in these pages.
InVivo AI, a Montreal-based startup using machine learning to improve the generation, screening, and optimization of new medications, has announced a pre-seed financing with MaRS Catalyst Fund, Real Ventures, Panache Ventures, and Brightspark Ventures, among others.
Inkblot Therapy, a Toronto-based startup that makes mental health services affordable, accessible and more effective, announced a seed-stage financing round with MaRS Catalyst Fund and Active Impact Fund.
ChallengeU, a Montreal-based online education platform that makes it easier for students to obtain their high school diploma without having to return to brick and mortar schools, announced a financing round of $2M with Real Ventures, MaRS Catalyst Fund and LaSalle International Inc.
When MaRS Catalyst Fund considered investing in Flosonics Medical, we immediately saw the potential in its technology. A smart bandage that can non-invasively monitor arterial blood flow in critically ill patients has a large addressable market among emergency facilities and – crucially for us – could save lives and improve health outcomes.
Richard Branson was in the limelight at the recent Canada2020 Conference in Ottawa. Once again, the topic of insufficient early stage venture funding was on the table, and discussions took place around how to close this gap.
ENERGY STORAGE NEWS | Hydrostor launches new Terra bulk energy storage system Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) company Hydrostor has introduced Hydrostor Terra — a long-duration bulk energy storage system that is expected to compete with new natural gas plants. By utilizing Terra, utilities and electricity system operators can look at issues such as reserve
