There's big money in Edmonton

Welcome to this week's Sunday Briefing. In this issue, read about $12.4 million in funding for healthtech innovations, plus 11 other stories you may have missed. Have a great day. We'll see you again on Wednesday.

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Alberta Innovates invests $12.4 million in healthtech

Alberta Innovates announced recipients for funding through its Accelerating Innovations into Care (AICE)-Concepts and LevMax-Health programs last week. Both programs are intended to support Alberta’s health research and innovation ecosystem and handed out $6.3 million and $6.1 million in funding, respectively.

“Creating innovation in the health system requires support at all levels, from the earliest stages right through to those that are commercially viable,” said Laura Kilcrease, CEO, Alberta Innovates. "When innovators like those in the AICE-Concepts and LevMax-Health programs succeed, we achieve better patient outcomes and a stronger economy.”

One such innovator is Dr. Abhilash Hareendranathan, from the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta and now a recipient of an Accelerating Innovations into Care (AICE)-Concepts award.

Dr. Hareendranathan is looking at using Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) to determine injuries in the upper body. The method is faster, safer, and provides immediate information for clinicians. The challenge is that conventional POCUS requires significant training time and expertise to interpret the results. Dr. Hareendranathan has developed an artificial intelligence tool to aid with that. The Ultrasound Arm Injury Detection (US-AID) allows healthcare providers to collect high-quality scans that provide accurate results to treat upper-body injuries.

Dr. Hareendranathan was one of 10 applicants who were successful in this year’s competition.

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🤝 Funding, Deals, and Partnerships

• As crypto market bounces back, Balance reachieves $2 billion in assets under custody. Balance relocated its headquarters from Toronto to Calgary at the end of January. Betakit

• Four Canadian companies selected to Comcast SportsTech Accelerator. Calgary-based customer engagement platforms StellarAlgo is one of the Canadian startups in the 10-company accelerator program. Betakit

• Provincial officials say Edmonton tripled venture capital investment in 2023. The provincial government says Alberta’s tech sector continues its strong momentum, with Edmonton seeing its strongest growth ever, proof that Alberta remains a hot tech market. RD News Now

• Prairie companies named to SVG Ventures|THRIVE Academy. This year's participants come from across Canada, Bulgaria, Hungary, and the United States. Strathmore Now

📰 Need To Know

• Combining teaching tech and social justice issues. Calgary junior high school students are learning valuable computer science and coding skills through Indigenous music. CTV News

• Calgary Chamber of Commerce calls for growth and investments to alleviate labour shortage in Alta. To ensure long-term competitiveness, the Chamber encourages the government to invest in Alberta’s existing and emerging industries. Canadian Manufacturing

• Growing up: food tech farm to fork. Fusing with technology to become agri-tech or ag-tech, the sector has embraced innovation to not only increase efficiency and productivity but also pave the way for sustainable farming practices. Alberta Innovates

• Opinion: Alberta is in a low-carbon investment race — let’s compete and win. With the upcoming provincial budget, Alberta has an opportunity to send a signal to the world that we are committed to becoming a diversified energy powerhouse. Calgary Herald

• Calgary VP’s team keeps customers connected on Rogers’ growing network. Carole Santerre may not be a household name for Rogers’ millions of customers. Calgary Economic Development

• Game Con Canada to make its home in Edmonton for the next 3 years. The international gaming expo will give Edmontonians a closer look at the immersive world of gaming. CTV News

• Alberta gives cold shoulder to wind and solar industry, as the rest of the world is clamouring for more. Province will lift ban on new projects this week and begin introducing new rules. CBC News