ventureLAB announces first cohort of its Hardware Catalyst Initiative companies
Summary
The eight successful applicants, which have to be located in Southern Ontario (or be willing to establish a long-term presence), were founded within the five years preceding their applications, have had less than $5 million in revenue in the last 12 months, and have met criteria around their product plans, will receive a series of benefits including: • 24/7 access to a 1500 square foot hardware lab with state-of-the-art specialized equipment, such as high-speed spectrum analyzer and high-speed oscilloscope, as well as prototyping, production services, and Electronic Design Automation (EDA) toolsets • Access to highly experienced hardware and silicon development experts, as well as supply chain management, product environmental compliance, and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) compliance experts • Dedicated advisory team to work with the company to define business milestones and to support them with resource navigation, introductions, and putting a growth plan in place • Specialized supports and guidance around: intellectual property (IP) protection, market development, purchase and supply contracts • Access to Market Intelligence and premium reports from top-tier research firms • Free workspace (up to 2 spots per team) at ventureLAB The initiative launched in June 2019 with $5 million in funding from Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). Since then, six founding industry partners – AMD, Synopsys, Microart Services Inc., ReMap, Bereskin & Parr, and MNP – have committed up to $8 million in resources, expertise, and mentorship for the cohort. “So I think, for Canada, if I bring it back home, we have this immense amount of talent, and rigour and expertise and really historic pioneering examples in this country of really being able to deliver systems, but primarily we have a deep silicon and semiconductor base here. And so we’re very excited to see our partners reinvest in the sector.” The eight companies in the inaugural cohort are: • Bionic-i — A hardware biotechnology company focused on augmenting vision and combating blindness with a surgically implantable device that can treat and monitor an “orphan” genetic disease, as well as rejuvenate cataract surgical patients by eliminating their need for reading glasses • Ekidna Sensing — Will provide a rapid and critical testing solution for licensed producers in the global cannabis industry • Humantec Inc. | Menopod — Manufactures the ‘Menopod’, a handheld electronic cooling device for women suffering from hot flashes during menopause • Micromensio — A semiconductor company developing a unique biosensing technology to provide transformative solutions for healthcare, the environment, and industry • TARTAN AI — A hardware company optimizing machine learning to offer processing elements and transparent memory compression technologies to reduce the computation, storage, and communication needed when executing machine learning models on silicon. “When this started three years ago, it was a big vision to really rebuild and put this ecosystem from a silicon and semiconductor and hardware perspective back on the map,” Chee noted.