Impact Stories

The effects of climate change and rapidly increasing operational costs threaten the livelihood of farmers and the stability of our food supply chains. Verge Ag is on a mission to help farmers effectively plan their growing season, reduce in-field decision making, and combat agricultural GHG emissions that make up 12% of Canada’s total emissions.

While Morocco produces two thirds of the wheat its population consumes, the country typically relies on Ukraine exports for the balance. Supply chain disruptions, combined with climate change, means more information is needed to improve yields and reduce risk. EarthDaily Analytics is producing large-scale geospatial images and visual overlays of annual earth observation data to analyze this changing crop terrain.

Canada proudly recognized as a global leader in sustainably produced forest products. Investment in digital technologies helps our world-class Canadian companies such as Mosaic Forest Management and Canfor strengthen their global competitiveness and turn sustainability leadership and leading ESG performance into a long-term growth advantage.

i-Open’s primary focus is on agriculture and climate change. The company is putting BC on the map by building a network of technology, business and government partnerships that catalyzes collaborative agritech innovation and the development of world-class technologies for food security.

Working in a “technology meets plant science” company has required Jessica to augment her knowledge of agriculture with computer science. Learning to communicate at a technical level was key to Jessica’s ability to move AVA Technologies' innovation forward. In July 2021, she applied for the Athena Digital Leaders program and was accepted into the three-month SFU Data Fellowship course.

The demand from the local community during COVID-19, combined with the rising farm to table movement, made it the ideal time for Winners Farms to bring locally grown beef products to market. But to be successful, Rebecca needed to adopt a digital strategy that would help the farm maintain connection with people in the community and be “future-ready”.

Frailty is an important indicator of whether someone is strong enough to undergo surgery, and how they will recover. XCO is currently supporting a 200-patient study with a Canadian kidney transplant clinic to develop standardized frailty assessment protocols as part of their kidney transplant patient qualification process.

DirectFood.store is a digital marketplace platform that was built to strengthen the local food supply chain, provide the digital infrastructure small businesses need to survive and support the growing “shop local” movement.

The Emergency Food Distribution Network, led by FoodMesh, is powered by a platform that matches surplus food to organizations that need it most.

A collective experience of more than 200 years in biometrics, combined with a “Made in Canada” quality, makes Invixium the go-to brand for high- quality access control, workforce management and workplace wellness solutions.

Through genomics, Terramera is working to combat leaf rust, a devastating fungal disease that attacks small grains such as wheat, a crop that Canada exports in vast quantities.

When the volume of online orders for groceries and pharmacy spiked during COVID, Feeding our Frontlines ensured food security for millions of Canadians.

Combining tele-dermatology, tele-pathology imaging and AI models on real-life clinical data, to create algorithms for skin cancer clinical decision support and medical education.

One out of every four grandparents who are in a long-term care facility are susceptible to ending up with a bed sore that may never go away. Telewound Care Canada provides a remote model for wound care to treat our most vulnerable patients - from the rural hospital to the home.

The XrAI chest x-ray tool is being deployed across Canada to reduce radiology bottlenecks and speed up the identification of COVID-19 pneumonia in emergency rooms and rural hospitals.

Terramera is reducing synthetic pesticide use with its Actigate™ technology, using computational chemistry, machine learning, and artificial intelligence innovations to predict new virus strains, and predesigning medicines and therapies to prevent future pandemics.

BioConnect deployed the first touch-free screening surveys and thermal imaging technology in Canada.

As a growing company, HelpSeeker practices action on reconciliation, equity, diversity, inclusion and sovereignty.

The DirectFood.store platform has given the chance for local farmers and producers, such as Ravens Brewing Company and the Bannock Queen, to digitally transform their business and sell to new markets previously beyond their reach.

Expanding the capabilities of telework technology – currently limited to video and audio interactions – to make physical interactions​ possible.

In a few short months, Starling Minds’ digital mental health platform was developed and deployed to more than 30,000 healthcare workers in B.C.’s Fraser Health Authority and 200,000 educators, principals and vice-principals across Canada.

To win the fight against COVID, solutions that can help Canada and the rest of the world respond to ongoing challenges of the pandemic are urgently needed. COVID Cloud, recently renamed Viral AI, is helping researchers around the globe to understand the genetic footprint of the evolving virus, better manage these variants and save lives.

How digital technology is opening doors for Tyson Smith and other Kootenay residents.

W Venture provided the entrepreneurial skills and support that Yamila Franco and Paige Whitehead needed to create the world's first earth-friendly glow stick.

BCIT Executive Director Kory Wilson sees the HyperTalent project as a way to expose more Indigenous youth to the tech sector through 12 internship positions with leading technology companies.

The Design for Startups program has provided Colby May the opportunity to design an ocean data platform prototype.

The Canadian Tech Talent Accelerator program provides underrepresented people access to first-rate training through NPower Canada’s Junior IT Analyst Program and the new Junior Data Analyst Program.

Athena Pathways works to help more Canadian women see the potential of the tech sector for their future career and how a tech career aligns with their skills and interests.

Augmented reality tools have the potential to make manual maintenance processes such as aircraft inspections and repairs safer, less costly and much more efficient.

A combination of satellite technology, behavioural analytics and immersive visualization are being used to protect marine ecosystems and combat illegal fishing.

A cloud-based repository of earth satellite information, environmental models and sensor data helps economic development be balanced with environmental protection.

A network of intelligent sensors are now collecting real-time data to predictively analyze the quantity and quality of Canada's precious freshwater supplies such as the Columbia Basin.

COVID-19 has delayed cancer tissue biopsies for thousands of patients such as Carla Van Wyck-Macdonald. But new ctDNA testing methods are putting us back on track and helping us save lives.

Handheld ultrasound devices are making it easier to treat citizens in remote or rural communities for heart conditions, pre-natal risks and identifying lungs compromised by COVID-19.