York Region's ventureLAB, which offers innovative companies resources to get products to market faster, retain talent, raise capital and attract more customers, received a boost of $4.5 million from the federal government today.
Filomena Tassi, minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, joined by Mary Ng, minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade and Markham-Thornhill MP, announced the investment aimed at accelerating the pool of investment-ready semiconductor and hardware technology companies through access to specialized equipment and services, which will get Canadian-made products to market cheaper and faster, according to a ventureLAB news release.
“Today’s investment is helping innovators in the technology sector build on their potential, bring their products to market faster and scale up their operations. Our government is pleased to support tech companies and the organizations that support them, like ventureLAB, as they find modern solutions to modern problems while creating a more connected and globally competitive Canada,” Tassi said.
Over the past five years, FedDev Ontario has supported Markham-based ventureLAB to establish the Hardware Catalyst Initiative (HCI), a state-of-the-art lab and accelerator that is helping Canadian hardware and semiconductor-focused companies grow and scale up to become globally competitive.
The HCI lab is Canada’s only semiconductor and hardware lab and accelerator, supporting companies that produce the technology that is key to high-growth areas like artificial intelligence (AI), medtech and automobility. To date, HCI has supported more 65 businesses, created and maintained 400 jobs, and created or licensed 80 new intellectual property, the news release stated.
The new funding will support an extension and expansion of the activities developed since the creation of the HCI, the organization said.
It is expected to support 30 more companies, create and maintain more than 170 high-quality jobs, and lead to the commercialization of 25 new products.
“Our government is investing in a robust innovation co-ordinator right here in Markham, helping hardware technology companies grow to become global. With the expansion of the Hardware Catalyst Initiative, ventureLAB will continue to help more businesses scale up and bring their innovations around the world while creating good jobs here in Ontario,” said Ng.
“At ventureLAB we focus on advancing Canadian hardware and semiconductor-focused companies to compete at the forefront of the global economy. This new investment in our Hardware Catalyst Initiative by FedDev Ontario will have a tremendous impact on our ability to continue to grow and scale these great hardtech companies from Canada, while also building a stronger knowledge-based economy,” said Hugh Chow, chief executive officer of ventureLAB.
