Welcoming International AI Startups and Emerging Tech Companies

Alberta’s tech sector is maturing and investors are taking note. For the fifth consecutive year, the province experienced another record-breaking year for venture capital investment in 2022. Four Calgary-based tech companies: Benevity, Solium Capital (now Shareworks by Morgan Stanley), RS Energy Group (now Enverus Intelligence Research Inc.) and Parvus Therapeutics have reached unicorn status.

Alberta Innovates, Alberta Enterprise Corporation (AEC) and regional partners have joined forces to launch Start Alberta, a pan-provincial scaleup and growth accelerator program, as part of a broader vision to strengthen Alberta’s innovation ecosystem. Alberta is well-positioned to attract global tech firms to scale up their North American footprint while attracting investment into early-stage tech startups. Alberta is home to the second most private equity firms in the country and has policies and incentives that mirror the province’s entrepreneurial mindset.

Edmonton is one of three hubs at the core of the Government of Canada’s Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, designed to leverage and grow the country’s expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

The province’s AI ecosystem is supported by the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) which brings together academics and entrepreneurs to advance the adoption of AI. Amii has been critical to attracting the talent, innovation and capital needed to grow Edmonton into a global AI hub.

Alberta offers significant funding opportunities for AI technology development. AltaML in the GovLab.ai initiative, the province aims to use AI to enhance government operations and services, indicating a strong interest in both computational and social sciences.

Initiatives like AI-Better Health are focused on developing AI technology in healthcare in order to improve patient outcomes. The funding programs, including those under GovLab.ai and AI-Better Health, are designed to promote projects that can have a substantial societal and economic impact, encouraging the integration of AI in diverse fields such as healthcare, renewable energy, and supply chains.

Alberta offers substantial financial support to businesses and academic researchers towards the development of innovative technologies that span a broad spectrum of applications, including virtual reality, edge computing, and digital twin technologies, which are at the forefront of technology trends. The Spatial Technologies Applied Research & Training (START) Centre at Lethbridge College, funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation from 2021-2026, collaborates with Southern Alberta tech companies to develop extended reality (XR) solutions such as VR and AR technology to enhance business efficiency and provide students with experiential learning opportunities. Extended Reality (XR) technology worldwide market demand is projected to surge from $49.6B USD in 2023 to $519.5B USD by 2032, driven by technological advancements and widespread application adoption.

Innovation funding programs include:

• The International Technology Partnership Program is specifically designed to support Alberta businesses by providing up to $250,000 in funding to develop products or conduct pilot tests with international partners. 
• The NSERC Alliance – Alberta Innovates Advance Program offers funding to Alberta university researchers, and aims to advance discoveries and develop emerging technologies.
• The Strategic Networking and Development Program, offering up to $25,000 in funding, supports events that inspire innovation, creates collaboration, and drive progress among Alberta post-secondary and not-for-profit members focused on emerging technologies.
• The Digital Innovation in Clean Energy (DICE) program supports the development of digital technologies that create jobs, reduce energy sector emissions, and improve the efficiency of energy production.

Alberta has well-educated and growing skilled workforce, ready to tackle the challenges and opportunities presented in emerging technologies such as nanotech and quantum computing. Education programs specifically tailored to nanotechnology and quantum engineering are producing professionals poised to drive innovation forward. For instance, Summit NanoTech is innovating with nanotechnology in their denaLi™ Direct Lithium Extraction process, which dramatically reduces lithium extraction time from 18 months to a single day.

Alberta has initiated Quantum City, an ecosystem designed to accelerate quantum science and technology advancements. This collaborative effort, involving the University of Calgary, the Alberta government, and Mphasis, aims to transform the province into a thriving economic and scientific quantum hub. Quantum City is creating a talent pipeline and reinforcing Alberta’s importance in the global quantum computing sector.