BC Tech 2025 by GLACIER MEDIA DIGITAL LIMITED PARTNERSHIP dba BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

BC TECH

TopIPMistakesTechCompanies Make and HowtoAvoidThem

Intellectualproperty(“IP”)can be atech company’smostvaluableasset, yetit canbeeasily overlooked in therush to commercialize an innovation.Early IP misstepscan easily escalate into costly disputes,lostrights, androadblockswhen scalinginternationally

Thegood news is that many IP issues areavoidable with abit of initialplanning andassistance from an IP professional This ar ticlehighlightsthree IP mistakes that we frequently seeand offerspractical stepstoaddressthembeforetheybecome expensivedistractions.

1. NotConductingTrademark Clearance Searches Before Usinga Trademark Companiesoften select atrademark, secure adomainname, andbegin marketingwithout checking forprior useofconfusingly similartrademarksby thirdpar ties.Doing so risksaninability to register thetrademark,infringement threats, wasted marketingspend,and an undesirablerebrand

Atrademark clearancesearchcan help findpotentially troublesomeregistered andunregisteredtrademarks, including business namesand online usesuchasin domain names, on social media, andon webpages. Athoroughreviewofthe search resultsbyanIPprofessional caninform thedecisiononwhether or nottoadopt apar ticulartrademark,thereby reducing theriskofcostlyconflicts. Conducting thesesearchesinkey marketsearly on can smooththe path forlater international growth

2. NotEnsuringthe CompanyOwnsAll IP

In theearly stages of astartup,key assets areoften createdbyfounders before acompany is incorporated.The first employees andindependent contractors mightalsomakecontributions to newIP before formal agreements areinplace. Without appropriatecontractual terms, ownershipofthe IP canremain(fullyor

disclosing atechnology cansignificantly limit theability to seek patent protection forsuchtechnology.

Confidentialityalsoplays akey role in thecontext of tradesecretprotection. Tradesecretprotectionisnot availableif atechnology hasbeenpublicly disclosed, anditlasts only as long as thetechnology remainsconfidential

partially)withfounders,independent contractors, andinsomecases employees, leavinggapsina company’sownership of itstechnology.These gaps cancomplicate IP filings andenforcement,and caneven jeopardize thecompany ’s ability to useits keyIP.

ClearIPagreements betweenthe companyand allindividuals that are engagedbythe companycan avoidthese problems.A contract auditwithanIP lawyer canhelpclarify whetherownership hasbeen properly transferredtothe company.

3. PrematurelyDisclosingTechnology

Confidentialityplays akey role in the contextofIP. Acommonproblem that we seeispremature disclosure of anew technology.Premature disclosure can significantly limitoreliminatethe options availablefor protection

ACanadianpatentcannotvalidly protect atechnology that hasbeendisclosed by theinventors more than oneyearbefore thedatethe patent applicationisfiled in Canada.A similarruleappliesinthe USA. Many jurisdictions, though, have an absolute prohibitiononvalidly protecting subjectmatterthathas been publicly disclosedbeforea patent applicationhas been filed.Inother words, prematurely

Consulting with an IP lawyer before disclosing your technology helps preser ve your optionsfor protecting your innovation

Anothercommonissuerelated to confidentiality is themisuseofnondisclosure agreements (“NDAs”).NDAsare frequently used by companiestokeepa technology confidential, butproblems canarise when teamsover- disclose under an NDA, or rely on astandard-form NDA in thewrong context. NDAs shouldbe used strategically, andcompanies should unde rstand thelimitsoftheir standardform NDAs.Whenappropriate,companies shouldhaveanIPlawyertailorNDAsto thespecific situation. Even underanNDA, disclosure shouldbelimited to only what is necessary,and on aneed-to-k nowbasis. NDAs arejustone layerofprotection, and work best when paired with employee training on identifyingand safeguarding confidentialinformation.

Conclusion

Many IP problems star tassmall oversights, andcorrectingthemearly is oftenfar easier than untanglingthemlater.For practicalguidanceonbuildinga stronger IP foundation,pleasereach out to me or a member of our team to discussa strategy tailored to your business.

James Nottingham, IntellectualPropertyLawyer

Innovators turn old extraction into high tech exploration

CHASING THE HEART OF A SUN Inside General Fusion’s bold bid to turn plasma and pistons into power 26 FROM RESET TO RESURGENCE

B.C. tech sector veterans see confidence and capital returning to form 29 BUILDING TALENT FROM WITHIN B.C. tech bets on local skills over imports

PUBLISHER: Lara Graham

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Tyler Orton

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BC: WHERE BOLD VISION BECOMES REALITY

By Jill Tipping, CEO,

Change has become a constant for BC’s technology sector — and so has progress. Amidst global disruption, leadership transitions, and shifting markets, BC’s tech economy continues to outperform. Today, it employs 271,000 British Columbians, with 80,000 more jobs expected to be created over the next five years. It’s growing three times faster than the rest of the economy, and those gains are spreading far beyond Vancouver into every region of the province. That momentum is remarkable. Sustaining it will depend on the choices we make about investment and talent and how we deliver competitiveness in a global market.

At BC Tech, we see this story unfold daily through our 1,000-plus member companies — startups testing their first products, scaleups expanding into global markets, and anchors reinvesting in local talent and innovation. Our member community reflects both the

strength of BC’s tech economy and the realities it must navigate: rising costs, global uncertainty, and a race for skilled people that shows no signs of slowing.

A MOMENT OF CHANGE

The past year has been one of transition — politically, economically, and globally. Federally the focus is clear – navigating trade tensions with the United States while strengthening Canada’s economy with a focus on strategic assets, including data and AI sovereignty, and an emphasis on procurement and inter-provincial trade. Provincially, the government has refocused its mandate on growing the economy, seizing investment opportunities, and strengthening public services. At the City of Vancouver, the Mayor’s Task Force on Vancouver Business Growth is focused on actionable steps to support growing industries.

Meanwhile, global trade disruptions and tariff uncertainty have reminded BC companies of the importance of diversification. Many are expanding into European and Asia-Pacific markets, leveraging Canada’s strong international reputation while pressing for better access to capital and markets closer to home. These shifts have underscored a simple truth: BC’s innovation economy is resilient, but it can’t be taken for granted.

BUILDING ON WHAT WORKS

Over the past decade, BC has shown that innovation and resilience go hand in hand. But staying ahead will require aligning our strengths with smart, predictable policy. That means creating an environment where investment and talent can thrive together.

Some of that alignment is already in motion — through expanded venture capital incentives, permanent digital media tax credits, and programs that support technology adoption across industries. But there’s still room to go further: encouraging capital to stay local, improving access to growth-stage funding, and using procurement to open doors for BC innovators to deliver solutions here at home.

Better data about our innovation economy would also help policymakers measure progress, identify gaps, and

plan for the next wave of opportunity.

THE PEOPLE POWERING GROWTH

The success of BC’s tech sector depends on people. Talent is a pressing challenge for nearly every industry in our network. The demand for skilled workers in engineering, design, and leadership continues to outpace supply — and that gap risks slowing the sector’s momentum.

To fill the 80,000 roles expected over the next five years, BC will need to think bigger about how it grows and retains talent. That includes expanding the number of tech-relevant post-secondary graduates by 10,000, double investment in short-course and re-skilling programs, and create incentives for Canadian talent abroad to return home.

Entrepreneurs need targeted supports to scale their companies sustainably. And we can’t grow talent without ensuring people can afford to stay here — which means continuing to invest in housing, childcare, education, and transit. The health of our communities and the health of our innovation economy are inseparable.

A SHARED PATH FORWARD

Technology is no longer confined to one sector — it’s woven into every part of BC’s economy. From clean energy and advanced manufacturing to digital health and sustainable resource management, technology is reshaping how we work, live, and build. BC Tech’s members are leading that transformation — not alone, but alongside partners in government, academia, and industry. Our role at BC Tech is to ensure that the voices of these innovators are heard — that policymakers understand what it takes to scale a company, attract investment, and create good jobs in BC. We can’t make decisions for government, but we can help shape the conversations that lead to smarter ones.

The strength of BC’s tech sector lies not just in innovation, but in collaboration — between startups and anchors, between government and industry, between vision and action. If we invest in people, build the right conditions to scale, and ensure that technology adoption reaches across the economy, BC won’t just keep pace - we’ll lead. 

BC Tech Association

Staking a claim on data

Jordan Scott (right), account director of data centre firm Cologix Inc., and Chris Heinrich, chief revenue officer. The Denver-based company has 45-plus data centres in North America.

CHUNG CHOW

BY JAMI MAKAN

SB.C. luring investors with secure infrastructure

ome Canadians may not like the cold weather up north, but data centre providers certainly do. That’s because data centres produce massive heat that needs to be cooled down.

“Whenever you go to places that have colder weather, it becomes more efficient to basically cool down the electronics,” says Mohammad Shahrad, assistant professor with the University of British Columbia’s department of electrical and computer engineering.

This “power usage effectiveness” helps make B.C. an attractive destination for the fast-growing data centre industry, alongside greater data sovereignty and sustainable hydroelectric power, he says.

“Based on electricity maps data, in B.C. we are around six times greener in terms of carbon intensity compared to Alberta.”

But B.C. politicians may need to do a better job attracting data centres, because data centres have strategic importance and can bring billions in investment to the province, Shahrad says. Large data centres can cost as much as $10 billion, he says.

“It appears that more often than not, they think of data centres as huge investments that don’t create jobs,” Shahrad says.

Given the trajectory of U.S.-Canada relations and today’s ubiquity of digital services and AI, “it’s important to invest in this area and have more capability in B.C. in case things get shut down,” he says.

“We don’t want to be having our regular day-to-day activities be fully halted.”

There are particular concerns around data stored in the U.S. or in Canadian facilities owned by American companies. That’s because U.S. authorities may legally be able access data beyond their jurisdiction, contrasting with robust privacy legislation in B.C. and Canada, Shahrad says.

There are also community concerns around water consumption and zoning, he says, citing an example of one Alberta project being halted for these reasons. However, some data centres now use “closed circuit water cooling” to minimize their impact on utilities, Shahrad says.

“These are aspects where clear regulation and setting clear expectations can help,” he says.

With some traditional hubs such as the Virginia area running into power constraints, B.C. can seize the moment, Shahrad says.

“A lot of big actors are going to new locations ... and I think this might be a moment to basically take advantage of, specifically in the context of sovereignty concerns, and basically make sure that B.C. is positioned well for data centre builders and data centre operators,” he says.

Evolution of data centres

Data centres, which quietly connect the digital world, are emerging as a darling of commercial real estate in B.C. and beyond.

Although the data centre industry has complex needs and high barriers to entry, experts say it’s only just blooming, and that the industry will grow exponentially with the development and adoption of artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other technologies.

Data centres, initially developed by financial institutions and others to house critical data, offer five key services to a wide range of customers: Space, power, cooling, security and interconnection. Companies used to operate “switch rooms” or “telco rooms” in-house before outsourcing that work.

“It’s really exciting that data centres have now come into the mainstream a bit more,” says Jordan Scott, account director with Denver-based Cologix, which operates five data centres in and around Vancouver.

“For a while there, it felt like we were kind of just operating behind a curtain or behind the shadows.”

Scott, who is based in Vancouver, says data centres can be thought of as airports. They are the hubs where all the activity happens—where data is processed, transmitted and stored.

“In the airports, it’s a multi-tenant environment. Many, many customers come into our facilities and they co-locate their IT infrastructure within our walls,” he says.

Data centres are buildings for powering and cooling racks of servers and connecting them with fibre-optic and network cabling. Customers generally bring their own equipment, such as servers, switches, cabling, cabinets and power distribution units (PDUs).

Today’s data centres are expected to provide adequate physical space to host client equipment, sufficient electrical power, liquid cooling to create an ideal environment for running equipment, physical security and interconnection with the outside world.

Cologix’s 45-plus data centres in North America operate on a lease model. In addition to certain onetime costs, customers pay monthly lease rates for the square footage they occupy and their power usage, and can choose a two-, five- or 10-year term.

Although real estate is scarce and expensive in Greater Vancouver, urban hubs are needed for proximity to clients, electrical power and connectivity.

“None of our customers are going to want to drive six hours to the middle of nowhere if they have to reboot a server,” Scott says.

Data centres must co-ordinate with utilities and telecommunications companies to access power and fibre networks, and the barriers to entry are significant due to the amount of time and capital involved.

“You can’t just set up shop overnight,” Scott says.

AI boosts demand for data centres

“Data centres are ultimately real estate businesses,” says Marc Mondesir, Canadian managing director with California-based Equinix, Inc., which bills itself as the world’s largest data-centre company with 470,000-plus physical interconnections available to clients.

“We are really in the business of providing space and power for our customers, so that they can house the computer equipment that’s required to power the internet.”

Mondesir says his industry is positioned for massive growth as AI, cloud and other technologies—which ultimately runs on computers that in turn run within data centres—evolve.

“What’s at the core of all this infrastructure is the

The server room of the “VAN3” data centre at 2828 Natal Street in Vancouver operated by Denver-based Cologix. • COLOGIX INC.

network. The network is at the core of the internet. The network is at the core of AI. The network is at the core of large language models,” he says.

An AI prompt currently requires 10-15 times more computing power compared to a keyword search, Mondesir says. This places extra demands on the grid, one reason for BC Hydro’s moratorium on Bitcoin mining announced in December 2022.

Crypto volatility aside, Mondesir says there is considerable room for long-term growth in the sector.

“Data centres account for less than one per cent of electricity consumption in this country,” he says.

“The U.S. hovers in that three- to four-per-cent mark— these numbers change constantly—and then you’ve got China that’s reported to consume even more electricity than that, so [Canada is] sort of skimming the surface.”

By concentrating providers and equipment under one roof, data centres can unlock synergies for complex computing tasks that require low latency and high security. “The closer that these network nodes are

to one another, the better they perform and the more securely they perform,” he says.

As demand for energy grows, so do concerns about the environment. Mondesir says Equinix data centres use 100-per-cent renewable energy and that the company aims to be carbon-neutral by 2030. He also says heat from hardware can be repurposed.

“The Olympic pool in Paris was heated by Equinix data centres,” he says.

Operators face challenges

Wholesale colocation data centres are seen as desirable because infrastructure funds are able to deploy large chunks of capital into real estate assets that produce stable income, says Scott Harper, Toronto-based vice-president with CBRE Limited.

But operating a data centre is no walk in the park, as it brings legal risk, and the technical complexities of data centres make the market difficult to penetrate.

“If there is a problem in a data centre and your client needs an operating platform 24-7 and you cause there

Mohammad Shahrad, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at UBC, says B.C.’s cooler climate, renewable hydro power and focus on data sovereignty makes the province an attractive destination for large-scale data centres. • CHUNG CHOW

to be some type of interruption in that service, the penalties that you’re going to pay for each minute that you’re down are substantial,” he says. “It’s like the difference between owning a retirement home as a real estate play and then owning and operating a hospital that operates 24-7. It’s just much more technical, and you’re having to buy equipment that’s very expensive and back up the data centre twice.”

The hardest thing for an operator right now is aligning a facility to the power supply on a client’s timeline, says Dave Cervantes, CBRE’s Montrealbased executive vice-president.

There is exponential demand for built data-centre space and large quantities of power, he says. The challenge for an operator is getting that space to market with a scarcity of utility power on the grid and significant capital costs to develop the data centre around that power.

Despite these logistical challenges, demand is only beginning to grow, Cervantes says.

“We are continuing to develop at a very, very accelerated pace,” he says.

According to Scott, there are now more eyes and ears focused on the data centre industry in B.C. and elsewhere.

“There’s a ton of investment flowing into this space right now,” he says. “I think it’s really just the beginning of data centres and everything that’s going to be possible.” 

THERE’S A TON OF INVESTMENT

FLOWING INTO THIS SPACE RIGHT NOW. I

THINK IT’S REALLY JUST THE BEGINNING

OF DATA CENTRES AND EVERYTHING THAT’S GOING TO BE POSSIBLE.

Jordan Scott Account director, Cologix

Smart mines, B.C. brains

Innovators turn old extraction into high-tech exploration

BY JOHN KURUCZ

MMachine learning models that assist in road maintenance; artificial intelligence used to comb voluminous data sets; or even the ability to take X-rays or CAT scans of the Earth.

achine learning models that assist in road maintenance; artificial intelligence used to comb voluminous data sets; or even the ability to take X-rays or CAT scans of the Earth.

The days of simply digging a hole and hoping for the best are over, where resource extraction practices dating back hundreds of years are being replaced by 21st century intuition, electrification and automation. All of it is being employed in mining operations across the province and all of it is being powered by B.C. brains in tech, AI, analytics and more.

“Global demand for critical minerals is surging, driven by the need for energy resilience, rapid expansion of AI infrastructure and geopolitical imperatives around security of supply,” Agnew says. Companies across B.C. are adapting to those shifts.

All of it is being employed in mining operations across the province and all of it is being powered by B.C. brains in tech, AI, analytics and more.

Take Richmond’s Ideon Technologies as a prime example. Just 15 years out from its inception, it’s a made-in-B.C. success story like few others: born and incubated through UBC’s TRIUMF research centre, now based in Richmond and working on projects across North America and Australia.

Ideon’s REVEAL platform combines the power of cosmic-ray muons—subatomic particles created by supernova explosions in space—with advanced geophysical sensing technologies, multi-physics data integration and AI-powered services.

Hudbay’s Copper Mountain mine near Princeton has the first North American overhead electric trolley assist system powered by electricity from BC Hydro, which replaced diesel haul-trucks. It’s twice as fast as the diesel trucks and reduces diesel consumption by approximately a tonne of CO2 emissions—approximately 400 litres of diesel per hour. Copper Mountain also recently commissioned the world’s largest electric hydraulic excavator, which stands almost 10 metres tall.

At Teck’s Highland Valley Copper operation, automation and machine learning models are using real-time information from flotation processes in copper recovery.

It generates high-resolution, high-velocity, 3D models of the Earth’s subsurface, enabling mining companies to identify, map, characterize, monitor and extract ore bodies faster, more efficiently and with greater confidence.

At Teck’s Highland Valley Copper operation, automation and machine learning models are using real-time information from flotation processes in copper recovery.

Elk Valley Resources’ Fording River operation, owned by parent company Glencore Canada, uses machine learning models to track real-time truck speed and location to quickly identify road maintenance required and to optimize haul truck performance.

Picture the process as employing two-dimensional X-rays or three-dimensional CAT scans of the Earth to create geological maps for mining and exploration companies. The results are faster targeting, shorter development timelines, reduced operational risk and a smaller environmental footprint.

“The main competitor we have is drilling, which is 150-year-old technology and is basically biopsying the Earth,” explains Ideon CEO and co-founder Gary Agnew. “We’ve got precious minerals that we’re endowed with and our job is to extract them in the most low-impact way that we can. That’s really where our technology can help mining companies.”

“B.C. is an internationally recognized hub of innovative clean tech and mining companies using technology to reduce emissions and to improve overall operational performance,” says Tim McEwan, senior vice-president of the Mining Association of B.C. “Several B.C. mines are also early adopters of AI and big data, using machine learning, autonomous vehicle technology and predictive analytics at mine sites.”

What these sum parts provincially mean on a national and international scale cannot be understated.

The momentum behind the company is such that some of the world’s largest mining companies— HP, Glencore, Freeport, Moran and Rio Tinto—are working with Ideon on projects spanning the globe.

What these sum parts provincially mean on a national and international scale cannot be understated.

Canada currently produces about 60 minerals, with the value of the nation’s mineral production exceeding $70 billion in 2023.

The country is home to almost half of the world’s publicly listed mining and mineral exploration companies, with a presence in more than 100 countries. The combined market capitalization is listed at $520 billion.

The momentum behind the company is such that some of the world’s largest mining companies— HP, Glencore, Freeport, Moran and Rio Tinto—are working with Ideon on projects spanning the globe.

Ideon signed a five-year enterprise agreement with Rio Tinto this past October, a deal that represents the first global-scale adoption of the REVEAL platform by a Tier 1 mining company.

On the world stage, Canada is the international leader in potash production and ranks among the top five global producers of diamonds, gemstones, gold, indium, niobium, platinum group metals, titanium concentrate and uranium. Canada is also the world’s fourth-largest producer of primary aluminum.

Gary Agnew, CEO and co-founder of Richmond-based Ideon Technologies, discussed how A.I. and advanced sensing tools are modernizing mining and reducing environmental impact. • ROB KRUYT

With minerals such as lithium and graphite, demand could increase by as much as 4,000 per cent according to federal projections.

Canada holds some of the largest known reserves and resources of rare earth metals globally, estimated at more than 15.2 million tonnes of rare earth oxide in 2023. Russia, China and the U.S. are considered inside of the top-10 producers globally, and while Canada isn’t, consider the comparables: Russia’s war with Ukraine; allegations of Chinese spying on Canadian government networks and U.S. President Donald Trump’s penchant for tariffs and retaliatory economic measures.

Against that backdrop of value, need and reputational concern is where Steve de Jong sees Canada’s sweet spot.

“I don’t think we lean into this enough as a country. Everybody likes to deal with Canada because we’re Canadians—and we just happen to have a very heavy mineral endowment,” says the B.C. tech executive.

“There’s a certain level of embedded trust that when it comes from a Canadian operation, it’s going to be mined in the most sustainable way possible.”

GLOBAL DEMAND FOR CRITICAL MINERALS IS SURGING, DRIVEN BY THE NEED FOR ENERGY RESILIENCE, RAPID EXPANSION OF AI INFRASTRUCTURE AND GEOPOLITICAL IMPERATIVES AROUND SECURITY OF SUPPLY.

Gary Agnew, CEO, Ideon Technologies

Gary Agnew is CEO of Ideon Technologies. His Richmond-based firm’s REVEAL platform uses cosmic-ray sensing and AI to map the Earth’s subsurface more efficiently. • ROB KRUYT

De Jong is the CEO of VRIFY, a Vancouver-based firm that assists mining operations with its two main platforms known as DORA and Viz. The former is the world’s only AI-assisted mineral discovery platform and leverages the largest proprietary exploration dataset and mineral-system-specific AI models to help teams discover, prioritize and validate targets.

Viz transforms technical data into clear, interactive presentations that build confidence with stakeholders and investors.

De Jong says moving the industry forward can be done via a singular change that would massively benefit startups and junior firms in particular, through the expansion of flow-through funding benefits.

Flow-through shares are the product of a tax policy that provides seed capital to mining companies, thereby funding their efforts to explore for valuable resources. Those who purchase the shares receive a 100 per cent tax deduction.

The Liberal election platform floated the idea of expanding the program to the startup ecosystem: companies in AI, quantum computing, biotech and

advanced manufacturing.

No movement has since happened on that proposal.

“It’s an opportunity for the Canadian tech ecosystem to get access to something that doesn’t exist elsewhere and it really incentivizes Canadian investors to invest back in Canada,” de Jong says.

When asked for an assessment of the new Carney government or the performance of the provincial NDP, de Jong defers his opinion and instead underscores the need for parties of all stripes to nurture a climate of assurance.

Mining and mineral exploration are heavily reliant on external capital, which in turn, is reliant on risk profile.

Certainty and stability will always trump world liveability rankings, fluffy PR campaigns, or government glad-handing.

“No investor actually relies on any of that stuff – they just make a call on whether or not you are actually a good jurisdiction for their capital or not,” de Jong says.

“The reality is we’re always competing with every other jurisdiction on the planet for that capital and we need to take that into consideration.”.

Steve de Jong, CEO of Vancouver-based VRIFY, highlighted the role of AI-assisted platforms in accelerating mineral discovery and improving stakeholder confidence. • SUBMITTED

Chasing the Heart of a Sun

Inside General Fusion's bold bid to turn plasma and pistons into power

BY STEFAN LABB

Under the din of an industrial alarm, dozens of engineers stare at their screens, braced for the unexpected.

“Ready to fire!” shouts the lead operator. “Firing!”

A powerful discharge of electricity sends a muffled clap across the control room. On the other side of a protective wall of shipping containers, a donutshaped ring of super-heated plasma flickers to life.

A few minutes later, data from inside a new fusion test reactor pours into several computer terminals.

“Every time we do this, we learn a little bit more,” says Mike Donaldson, senior vice-president of technology development at General Fusion.

In early 2025, General Fusion claimed it hit a major milestone when it turned on its new LM26 test reactor in a warehouse near Vancouver International Airport.

The half-scale reactor forms the precursor of a machine that one day could power 150,000 homes.

Despite some problems securing investment, the B.C. company says it has grown to become a contender in the race to make the world’s first fusion power plant.

Bottling the power of a star

Largely fuelled by seawater, fusion promises a nearly unlimited clean source of electricity without climate-warming gases, nuclear waste or the threat of a runaway reaction.

Unlike nuclear fission, which releases energy by splitting atoms, fusion is achieved by smashing atomic particles together in the same way energy is made in a star. Inside our sun, an immense gravitational field crushes super-heated hydrogen atoms together, producing helium and massive amounts of heat and energy in the process.

Without the gravity of a star, however, scientists on Earth have spent decades struggling to recreate those same conditions.

Some—like the massive multi-national ITER tokamak fusion reactor set to be completed in France in 2033—have turned to powerful magnets to both crush and insulate plasma as it heats up to 200 million degrees Celsius.

Others have relied on high-energy lasers to quickly zap hydrogen plasma to extreme temperatures. In December 2022, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California fired the world’s most energetic laser at a centimetre-long gold cylinder, instantly vaporizing it.

Inside, a diamond fuel-capsule filled with deuterium and tritium imploded, forcing the hydrogen isotopes into each other with such force they combined to create helium.

For the first time, scientists reached “ignition”—and for a brief moment, the fusion reaction produced twice the energy needed to fire the laser.

At the time, then-U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm described the breakthrough—also known as “scientific break-even”—as “one of the most impressive scientific feats of the 21st century.

In February 2025, the team successfully repeated the experiment a sixth time.

Richard Town, who leads the U.S. fusion program, said their successful ignitions are isolated to

experiments, and shouldn’t be confused with a scalable fusion reactor that could one day be deployed in a power plant.

“It wasn’t designed to be a commercial power plant,” said Town. “It was designed to understand the physics of what’s going on in a fusion reaction.”

Early fusion prototypes designed with power plant in mind

From the beginning, Michel Laberge had other plans. Originally from Quebec, the physicist completed a PhD at the University of British Columbia investigating laser-powered fusion. But he soon became disenchanted with its potential.

To reach and maintain fusion temperatures, most scientists had either turned to quickly heating up plasma with lasers or insulating reactors with a blanket of super-magnets. Neither method, according to Laberge, could easily be scaled up into a commercial power plant.

About 25 years ago, he rented out a garage at an old service station on Bowen Island and set to work building a mechanical alternative.

Early test reactors looked like oversized stainless steel bowling balls wrapped in explosives. Laberge lined an inner fuel chamber with polycarbonate to absorb the shock wave. When the scientist detonated the devices in a field, the metal casing quickly imploded, crushing the fuel inside.

The first tests were discouraging.

Much of the plasma escaped. But after some adjustments (Laberge swapped out explosives for a sphere of high-powered pistons), the magnetic field started to get bigger and the plasma denser.

Later experiments released even more energy, evidence that collapsing a wall of metal around plasma could trigger a fusion reaction.

The Canadian government began investing in the company, and since 2019, has poured $69 million into General Fusion. The federal dollars have helped attract almost $500 million in private capital. By early 2025, that was enough to expand its workforce to 120 employees and advance a series of prototypes, including the world’s most powerful fusion plasma injector.

New test reactor aims to prove company’s tech works

General Fusion’s latest two-metre-wide test reactor was completed in February 2025 in a Richmond warehouse.

From a distance, LM26 might easily be confused with the business end of a rocket or satellite getting prepped for launch. Thick black electric cables snake out across the floor.

Stacks of converted shipping containers surround the machine, each containing batteries and capacitors designed to deliver up to a gigawatt of power—nearly enough to send Marty McFly and a time-travelling DeLorean into the future.

Back in the control room, the red outline of a donutshaped ring of plasma fills one engineer’s screen.

“If we can get that donut to hold in its heat well enough, we can compress it using pistons rather

CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

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Company of the Year GROWTH

Presented in partnership with Electronic Arts

Up to 50% of the seeds planted in our greenhouses will never go on to become mature, yielding plants, due to issues like low germination or vigour, plant abnormalities, or seedborne disease. Insporos technology analyzes each individual seed using our proprietary hardware to gather unique data and processing this data with AI to find defective or diseased seeds and sort them out before planting. This conserves these valuable resources and improves efficiency in our greenhouses by allowing growers to focus their time and energy on growing quality, healthy plants.

Wildfires are increasing in frequency, size, and severity—fueled by climate change, land-use patterns, and strained firefighting resources. Today’s response systems are reactive, human-dependent, and limited by visibility, pilot safety, and slow response times. This results in massive losses: lives, homes, critical infrastructure, air quality, biodiversity, and billions of dollars in economic damage each year. What sets Fireswarm apart is that we are not selling drones—we’re delivering a drone agnostic mission-ready wildfire intelligence platform that saves time, money, and lives.

Glüxkind is revolutionizing early parenthood through intelligent technology that empowers, supports, and evolves with modern families. Our flagship product, the Rosa Smart Stroller, is an AI-powered parenting companion that goes way beyond the traditional. With features like adaptive push and brake assist, auto-rocking, built-in white noise and stories, real-time GPS tracking, and app-enabled personalization, Glüxkind supports new parents throughout their daily journeys.

Presented in partnership with Osler

Company of the Year GROWTH

Presented in partnership with Osler

Winner

Hypercharge Networks is a leading provider of smart electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions for residential and commercial buildings, fleet operations, and other rapidly growing sectors. Driven by its mission to accelerate EV adoption and enable the shift towards a carbon neutral economy, Hypercharge is committed to offering seamless, simple solutions including industry-leading hardware, innovative and integrated software, and comprehensive services, backed by a robust network of public and private charging stations.

Arya is a modern, AI-powered EMR platform built by physicians, for physicians. Designed to streamline clinical workflows and eliminate after-hours charting, Arya helps healthcare providers across Canada save time, reduce burnout, and focus on what matters most—patient care. Arya is redefining what an EMR should be.

eMonster Solutions Ltd. is a Vancouverbased IT consulting firm driving digital transformation since 2017. We deliver custom web and software development, ERP/CRM systems, and digital marketing solutions. As a certified Shopify Partner with alliances with Google, Meta, and AWS, we’ve earned national and global recognition—ranked #34 on Forbes Canada’s Best Startup Employers 2024, named one of Clutch’s Top 100 Fastest-Growing Companies Worldwide in 2025, and awarded by Techbehemoths as a winner in SEO, Custom Software Development, and UX/ UI Design. Trusted by 700+ clients across Canada, we excel in providing scalable, high-impact solutions.

Roomvu offers AI-powered solutions designed for real estate, mortgage, finance, and insurance professionals. The platform automatically creates localized, branded content, including daily social media videos, and auto-posts them across Social Media channels, email newsletters, blogs and websites. It integrates email marketing and AI-driven calls to nurture leads and schedule appointments, enabling professionals to attract clients and close deals faster. Roomvu's technology revolutionizes MarTech Solutions, allowing clients to build a strong local presence with minimal effort, and provides continuous support, ensuring clients are never overwhelmed by digital marketing.

Company of the Year SCALE

Presented in partnership with Clio

Winner

Hiive is the leading managed liquidity provider for private companies and their shareholders. Hiive offers the first centralized platform designed to meet the unique needs of issuers, institutions, sophisticated investors, and employee shareholders for facilitating primary and secondary trading in private companies. With more than $2Bn traded annually, Hiive empowers leading private companies to manage liquidity, raise discretionary capital, and gain market insight.

Boast is revolutionizing how innovative companies access R&D tax credits through a unique platform that integrates AI technology with technical and tax expertise. Since 2011, we've helped over 1,000 companies unlock more than $600 million in innovation funding while dramatically reducing the time and complexity traditionally associated with claiming R&D tax credits. Our platform seamlessly integrates with existing business systems to identify, document, and maximize eligible credits, while our QuickFund program provides advance access to expected refunds.

Winner

As a trusted partner in the innovation ecosystem, Boast empowers businesses to reinvest in their growth and technological advancement.

Company of the Year STARTUP

Company of the Year GROWTH

Presented in partnership with Electronic Arts

Hydreight Technologies is a BC-based healthtech company building one of the largest mobile medical networks in the U.S. In just five years, Hydreight has scaled from $400K to nearly $24M in annual revenue and now supports providers across all 50 states. Its proprietary platform powers direct-to-consumer telehealth, enabling licensed professionals to deliver IV therapy, weight loss, wellness, and diagnostic services on demand. Backed by over 2,500 nurses, 100+ doctors, and a 503B pharmacy network, Hydreight was ranked #9 on Deloitte Canada’s Fast 50 and #56 in North America—cementing its place as a leader in digital health innovation.

Winner

Traction Rec is a leading provider of technology solutions for nonprofit community centers and parks and recreation organizations. Utilizing the Salesforce platform, Traction Rec is a purpose-built solution that empowers community organizations to efficiently manage memberships, programs, social services, financial operations and more. With a focus on innovation and community impact, Traction Rec continues to be a key player in driving the digital transformation. Traction Rec has been recognized as a Salesforce ISV Partner of the Year, Canada’s Top Growing Companies by Globe and named as one of Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 growing companies in Canada.

Company of the Year

ANCHOR

Presented in partnership with Blakes

Winner

Presented in partnership with Osler

organizations through strategy, design, engineering, data, and marketing services. We’ve partnered with leading companies like Kraft Heinz, NFL, NBA, Lululemon, Moderna, and Dropbox to drive lasting business impact. As a high-growth company with a people-first culture, we bring a grounded, forward-thinking approach to complex challenges - making us a trusted partner for change agents and a proud anchor of BC’s thriving tech ecosystem.

Founded in 2008 in Vancouver, Hootsuite exists to unlock the value of your social media relationships. With over 200,000 paying customers globally, including more than 800 of the Fortune 1000, Hootsuite empowers organizations to manage, measure, and optimize their social media presence. The platform offers comprehensive solutions for social media marketing, customer care, social commerce, and social intelligence, integrating with major networks like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and YouTube. Hootsuite's commitment to innovation and inclusivity has solidified its position as a trusted partner for businesses worldwide.

verify more than 14,000 ID documents and 700 million business entities while checking against more than 6,000 watchlists. Combining its stateof-the-art technology with expert verification knowledge across diverse markets, Trulioo enables the highest verification assurance levels, optimizing onboarding costs and fostering trust and security in the global digital economy.

Company

of the Year

AMBITION

Presented in partnership with EDC

Winner

Company of the Year SCALE

Presented in partnership with Clio

Svante is a purpose-driven, leading carbon capture and removal solutions provider. The Vancouver, Canada-based company manufactures nanoengineered filters and modular rotary contactor machines that capture and remove CO2 from industrial emissions and the air in an environmentally responsible manner. Svante is on the 2025 Global Cleantech 100 and was inducted into the Global CleanTech 100 Hall of Fame. The company has also been named as an XPRIZE Foundation XB100 –World’s Top 100 Private Deep Tech Companies and was ranked second among private companies in the Corporate Knights’ Future 50 Fastest Growing Sustainable (Private) Companies.

Apply Digital is a global transformation partner founded in Vancouver in 2016, with headquarters proudly based in the city. Our 750+ experts across North America, Latin America, Europe and India help modernize

Trulioo is the world’s identity platform, trusted by leading companies for their verification and fraud prevention needs. Offering business and person verification across the globe, Trulioo covers 195 countries and can

Building Bloc is launching the most advanced manufacturing microfactory system on the market for on-demand production of medical devices and healthcare consumables. We’ve operationalized our first prototype and are moving into commercial builds, backed by extensive market sounding, partner engagements, and a deep team. It’s an intelligent microfactory, a self-contained semi-automated platform, that rapidly creates a wide range of polymer and metal products. We can integrate with supply chains and sustain supply chains, for remote healthcare operations, disaster response, post-conflict recovery, and large-scale national supply chain sovereignty. We support healthcare delivery, wherever care is needed.

Winner

Company of the Year STARTUP

Presented in partnership with Electronic Arts

PBC Solutions (PBCS) has established itself as a leader in health benefits services since its incorporation in August 2022. The company provides health benefits management with a focus on large payor systems, including claims adjudication and payment, service transformation, contact centre, analytics, and information security. We are committed to becoming a People First organization and an Employer of Choice. Our efforts resulted in PBC Solutions being chosen as one of BC’s Top Employers— in less than three years from its inception.

Winner

Company of the Year GROWTH

SenseNet delivers ultra-early wildfire detection, prediction, and management tools that protect communities, critical infrastructure, assets and nature for private enterprises and public authorities. Our platform is the most comprehensive in the world—with more than 25 patents—and integrates diverse data sources including ground sensors, cameras, satellite imagery, historical weather data, and infrastructure maps. This integration provides unparalleled, real-time insights that use AI to empower proactive wildfire monitoring, management, and decision-making. Moreover, our scalable solution serves a broad range of market segments: Federal, Provincial, and Municipal governments; Urban Fire Departments; Utilities; Power Transmission; Railways; Forestry; Mining; Oil & Gas; and, Developers.

Gamechanger ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE

Presented in partnership with KPMG

munications, through to intelligent archiving, superior data connectors, and AI-enabled surveillance, Global Relay’s integrated compliance solutions enable regulated organizations to meet collaboration, privacy, and security requirements.

Presented in partnership with Osler

As a proven pioneer in the field of welding automation, Novarc Technologies is a fullstack AI robotics company specializing in the design and manufacturing of automated welding solutions for challenging welding applications. Novarc’s Spool Welding Robot (SWR) is recognized by customers globally for its impact in the fabrication industry. Just launched this year, NovAI Autonomy is a groundbreaking AI-powered adaptive welding system that enables robots to see, think, and adapt like an expert welder, without operator intervention. By using machine vision and real-time adjustments, NovAI eliminates the need for prescanning and robotic reprogramming, opening up new markets for welding automation.

analysis, and secure, rigorously tested AI analytics. Supported by prominent investors including Yaletown Partners, the BC Tech Fund, leading BC-based angel investors, and strategic partners across Canada and the U.S., ThoughtExchange responsibly leverages AI to amplify human intelligence, swiftly delivering community-driven solutions, reducing polarization, and enabling leaders to decisively address critical challenges.

Company of the Year SCALE

Presented in partnership with Clio

Meton.ai, an AI-powered decision intelligence platform created by Unlockland transforms property development by reducing months of complex analysis into minutes. Our technology integrates four specialized AI agents to analyze zoning regulations, generate code-compliant designs, provide precise ROI projections, and optimize approval probabilities. By addressing critical inefficiencies in the property development process, we help accelerate housing supply and improve affordability. With our platform, developers can evaluate properties 10,000x faster, discover 27% more density on average, and make data-driven decisions with unprecedented confidence. Based in Vancouver, our 100% made-in-Canada solution serves professional developers, investors, homeowners, and realtors.

Gamechanger DEAL OF THE YEAR Winner Winner

Global Relay is a leading provider of endto-end compliance solutions for the global financial sector and other highly regulated industries. Founded in 1999, Global Relay delivers services to over 20,000 customers in 90 countries, including 22 of the top 25 banks. From the Global Relay App for compliant com -

Founded and headquartered in British Columbia, ThoughtExchange provides the world’s most advanced AI-powered engagement platform—trusted by over 1,000 organizations across North America, primarily within K–12 education and civic sectors. ThoughtExchange uniquely integrates patented collective intelligence methodologies ("Exchanges"), adaptive qualitative surveys, sophisticated quantitative

Clio, the global leader in legal technology, helps law firms manage their practice, streamline operations, and enhance client experiences. Trusted by legal professionals worldwide, Clio offers a comprehensive platform for client intake, case management, billing, and payments—empowering firms of all sizes to work efficiently and profitably. With a commitment to innovation, security, and accessibility, Clio continues to set the standard for how legal professionals leverage technology to deliver better legal services. Recognized for its industry leadership, Clio is shaping the future of legal practice.

Winner

mpany of the Year STARTUP

Presented in partnership with Electronic Arts

Aspect Biosystems is a biotechnology company pioneering the development of bioprinted tissue therapeutics to transform how we treat some of the most elusive diseases. Aspect’s bioprinted tissue therapeutics are designed to replace, repair, or supplement biological function inside the body. They are created by applying its full-stack tissue therapeutic platform, which integrates proprietary AI-powered bioprinting technology, computational design tools, therapeutic cells, and advanced biomaterials. Aspect is currently focused on developing cell-based therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders, including both proprietary programs as well as strategically partnered programs, including a collaboration with Novo Nordisk focused on diabetes and obesity.

Winner

Company of the Year GROWTH

Presented in partnership with Osler

Focusing on innovation and customer success, Spare’s AI-driven platform is transforming the way cities move. Spare’s core offering spans paratransit (transportation services for individuals with disabilities) and microtransit (flexible, on-demand public transportation). Spare’s platform unlocks digital transformation, workflow automation, and operational efficiency in the form of lower ride costs for citizens and mobility operators.

equity. Our company values come from Anishinaabe Seven Sacred Teachings and they also guide our core tool Niiwin, a platform designed to empower Indigenous Peoples to take control of their own stories and data.

Kobalt.io develops cybersecurity programs for small and medium-sized businesses to help them maximize their growth potential. We’re an experienced team of cyber security professionals and developers determined to make a dent. Our experience, combined with a fresh mindset, allows us to see the challenges in current cybersecurity approaches and seek out innovative ways to address them. We are a proud member of the Queer Tech Network and are certified in Canada as a Great Place to Work.

Copperleaf is a leading AI-powered Asset Investment Planning (AIP) solution, helping organizations make faster, smarter, and more confident decisions. It offers a comprehensive framework for comparing investments against financial metrics, risk targets, and non-financial goals. Built on ISO 55000 standards, Copperleaf ensures reliability and consistency in investment planning. Users can get started quickly with pre-built industry value models, streamlining the decision-making process. Its advanced optimization engine helps identify the highest-value decisions while respecting key constraints, making strategic planning more efficient. Additionally, the platform enables organizations to explore various scenarios to enhance their planning capabilities.

Founded in 2002, Zafin provides SaaS core modernization and transformation solutions offering an integrated platform and capabilities that simplify operations and enable increased revenue, profitability, and enhanced customer experiences for top banks worldwide. Zafin’s platform enables business users to work collaboratively to design and manage pricing, products, and packages, while technologists streamline core banking systems. With Zafin, banks accelerate time to market for new products and offers while lowering the cost of change and achieving tangible business and risk outcomes. The Zafin platform increases business agility while enabling personalized pricing and dynamic responses to evolving customer and market needs.

Gamechanger COMPANY CULTURE

Presented in partnership with Vancity

Spare’s mission is to unlock the potential of mobility for everyone. With a strong presence in North America, Europe, and Asia, Spare is the leading provider of demand response transit software. It empowers transit agencies worldwide to deliver efficient, flexible, and responsive transportation services.

For over twenty years Animikii Indigenous Technology has built digital solutions with Indigenous communities, putting people before profit. As an Indigenous-owned B Corp we collaborate with organizations to implement technology in culturally informed, respectful ways. We recognize that technology by itself is not a solution to the pressing issues we face, rather it must be guided by a system of values that promote mutual understanding and

Company of the Year

Traction Rec is a leading provider of technology solutions for nonprofit community centers and parks and recreation organizations. Utilizing the Salesforce platform, Traction Rec is a purpose-built solution that empowers community organizations to efficiently manage memberships, programs, social services, financial operations and more. With a focus on innovation and community impact, Traction Rec continues to be a key player in driving the digital transformation. Traction Rec has been recognized as a Salesforce ISV Partner of the Year, Canada’s Top Growing Companies by Globe and Mail, and named as one of Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 growing companies in Canada.

Gamechanger INDUSTRY INNOVATION

Presented in partnership with Innovate BC

ThisFish Inc. is a market leader in software and artificial intelligence for the seafood industry. ThisFish’s Tally software is a smart manufacturing and supply chain platform

Presented in partnership with Clio

Winner

Company of the Year STARTUP

Presented in partnership with Electronic Arts

that enables seafood processors to automate and digitize their production, quality control, traceability and inventory workflows using tablet computers and IoT devices in real-time. TallyVision is an AI-enabled smart camera for automated visual inspection in seafood processing. ThisFish Inc. won Innovate BC’s Aquaculture Innovation Award and Thrive Canada’s Agritech Startup Award. The company currently has customers in 13 countries on three continents.

Company of the Year GROWTH

Presented in partnership with Osler

Intiveo’s patient engagement software allows dental practices to automate, tailor and report on key points in the patient journey so they can create positive experiences that build trust. Founded in 2010, Intiveo proudly released its first product to its first paying customer in 2012. That same year, the company opened its main office in downtown Vancouver, BC. In 2015, Intiveo released its first commercial product, and by 2023 the company had achieved a key milestone of $10 million in ARR. In early 2025, it was announced that Intiveo was chosen as one of Canada’s Top 100 Small and Medium Employers.

SimplyAsk.ai is a Vancouver-based technology company specializing in AI-powered automation products and services for both SMBs and enterprises. With over 10 years of automation and consulting experience with customers like TELUS, Rogers, the City of Vancouver, and more, SimplyAsk.ai enables organizations to become faster and more intelligent by optimizing their business operations through technologies like AI automation. SimplyAsk. ai’s offerings include Symphona, the ultimate no-code, AI-powered suite of automation tools designed to make optimizing business operations smarter, easier, and cheaper for both SMBs and enterprises. SimplyAsk.ai also provides enterprise AI consulting services, including custom software projects, data migration, QA, and more.

DORA, the world’s only AI-Assisted Mineral Discovery Platform. DORA puts the power of AI into the hands of geoscientists, enabling them to find what others can’t. Backed by a $12.5M Series B raise and trusted by hundreds of clients, VRIFY delivers results, including new discoveries and increased valuations for companies like Southern Cross Gold and RUA GOLD. We’re pioneering a new category and accelerating exploration with the industry’s most advanced AI and largest proprietary dataset.

Gamechanger CLIMATE LEADERSHIP

Presented in partnership with MDA Space

Winner

zero emission technologies use a Corvus Energy system. In addition to developing industry-leading energy storage solutions, working with Toyota, Corvus Energy developed one of the industry’s most advanced marine fuel cell systems. Both technologies contribute to emissions reduction, fuel savings, and improved energy efficiency, benefiting ocean environments and coastal communities around the world.

Company of the Year SCALE

Presented in partnership with Clio

VRIFY proves that AI in mineral exploration doesn’t have to be a black box. Building on our successful visualization tool, we launched

Daanaa, founded by UBC PhDs, is a leader in power electronics and semiconductors, accelerating the clean energy transition with its proprietary Power Transaction Unit (PTU) technology. This next-generation power conversion module enables OEMs in solar, energy storage, automotive, and data centers to build highly efficient, streamlined systems while reducing engineering complexity. The PTU eliminates multiple conversion steps, reducing energy losses, heat generation, and bulky components. Its programmability allows real-time optimization, creating adaptive systems that enhance efficiency and reliability. By driving innovation in power conversion, Daanaa is powering a cleaner, more resilient future and positioning BC as a global cleantech leader.

Corvus Energy, proudly founded in BC, Canada in 2009, is the leading provider of energy storage systems (ESS) for maritime, offshore and port applications. With over 1300 projects and the most marine battery system installations worldwide, more than 50% of the world’s maritime vessels with battery-hybrid and

pH7 Technologies is a cleantech company based in Vancouver, BC, developing a proprietary closed-loop process to extract critical and precious metals in a more sustainable and economical way. Using a combination of organic, inorganic, and electrochemical methods, our process enables the recovery of high-value metals—including Platinum Group Metals (PGMs), gold, copper, nickel, and cobalt—from challenging sources such as mine tailings, low-grade ores, waste rock, and endof-life materials. Unlike traditional extraction methods, pH7’s process produces no toxic emissions or wastewater and significantly reduces energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, including a 99.9% reduction in SOx, NOx, and CO₂.

Winner

Company of the Year STARTUP

HALL OF FAME BC Innovators

Presented in partnership with Electronic Arts

Company of the Year GROWTH

Presented in partnership with Osler

The BC Innovators Hall of Fame recognizes the key role of innovation to BC’s economy and the leaders that have left a legacy on this province, enriching our technology and innovation ecosystem and building a stronger BC economy.

Up to 50% of the seeds planted in our greenhouses will never go on to become mature, yielding plants, due to issues like low germi nation or vigour, plant abnormalities, or seedborne disease. Insporos technology analyzes each individual seed using our proprietary hardware to gather unique data and process ing this data with AI to find defective or dis eased seeds and sort them out before planting. This conserves these valuable resources and improves efficiency in our greenhouses by allowing growers to focus their time and energy on growing quality, healthy plants.

Wildfires are increasing in frequency, size, and severity—fueled by climate change, land-use patterns, and strained firefighting resources. Today’s response systems are reactive, hu man-dependent, and limited by visibility, pilot safety, and slow response times. This results in massive losses: lives, homes, critical infra structure, air quality, biodiversity, and billions of dollars in economic damage each year. What sets apart is that we are not selling drones—we’re delivering a drone agnostic mission-ready wildfire intelligence platform that saves time, money, and lives.

OUR INDUCTEES FOR 2025 ARE:

Hypercharge Networks is a leading provider of smart electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions for residential and commercial buildings, fleet operations, and other rapidly growing sectors. Driven by its mission to accelerate EV adoption and enable the shift towards a carbon neutral economy, Hypercharge is com mitted to offering seamless, simple solutions including industry-leading hardware, innovative and integrated software, and comprehensive services, backed by a robust network of public and private charging stations.

PREVIOUS INDUCTEES:

Company of the Year SCALE

Arya is a modern, AI-powered EMR platform built by physicians, for physicians. Designed to streamline clinical workflows and elimi nate after-hours charting, Arya helps health care providers across Canada save time, re duce burnout, and focus on what matters most—patient care. Arya is redefining what an EMR should be.

Glüxkind is revolutionizing early parenthood through intelligent technology that empowers, supports, and evolves with modern families. Our flagship product, the Rosa Smart Stroll er, is an AI-powered parenting companion that goes way beyond the traditional. With features like adaptive push and brake assist, auto-rocking, built-in white noise and stories, real-time GPS tracking, and app-enabled personalization, Glüxkind supports new parents throughout their daily journeys.

eMonster Solutions Ltd based IT consulting firm driving digital transformation since 2017. We deliver custom web and software development, ERP/CRM systems, and digital marketing solutions. As a certified Shopify Partner with alliances with Google, Meta, and AWS, we’ve earned national and global recog nition—ranked #34 on Forbes Canada’s Best Startup Employers 2024, named one of Clutch’s Top 100 Fastest-Growing Com panies Worldwide in 2025, and awarded by Techbehemoths as a winner in SEO, Custom Software Development, and UX/ UI Design. Trusted by 700+ clients across Canada, we excel in providing scalable, high-impact solutions.

Presented in partnership with

Hiive is the leading managed liquidity provid er for private companies and their sharehold ers. Hiive offers the first centralized platform designed to meet the unique needs of issuers, institutions, sophisticated investors, and employee shareholders for facilitating primary and secondary trading in private companies. With more than $2Bn traded annually, Hiive empowers leading private companies to manage liquidity, raise discretionary capital, and gain market insight.

is revolutionizing how innovative companies access R&D tax credits through a unique platform that integrates AI technology with technical and tax expertise. Since 2011, we've helped over 1,000 companies unlock more than $600 million in innovation funding while dramatically reducing the time and complexity traditionally associated with claiming R&D tax credits. Our platform seamlessly integrates with existing business systems to identify, document, and maximize eligible credits, while our QuickFund program provides advance access to expected refunds.

Winner

Greg Aasen

Mark Betteridge Judy Bishop

Greg Caws Randy Garg

Christy Wyatt

Jeﬀ Booth

Michael Brown Kathy Butler Ward Chaplin

David Demers Klaus Deering

Norman Durieux

Allen & Connie Eaves

Gordon English Haig Farris

Andrew Harries Roy Henderson Judi Hess Ryan Holmes

Moe Kermani

Hugh Kay

Paul Lee

Julia Levy John Macdonald Gordon MacFarlane Greg Malpass

Amos Michelson

Jack Newton

Josh Nilson

Greg Peet

Shahrzad Rafati Firoz Rasul

Jonathan Rhone Don Rix

Geordie

Shannon Rogers Roy

Laurie Schultz

Norm Francis

Don Mattrick

Warren Roy

John Seminerio

Gerri Sinclair

Keith Spencer

Ken Spencer

Jim Spilsbury

Morgan Sturdy David Sutcliﬀe

Tejani Bill Thompson

Ralph Turfus

James Topham

Mossadiq Umedaly Ray Walia

Boris Wertz Alan Winter

FUSION

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

than using, like, the world’s biggest laser,” said Donaldson.

Those tests started in the spring of 2025. Once a week, engineers sought to crush the fusion fuel inside a metal chamber.

Temperatures are expected to ramp up from the current four million degrees Celsius to 100 million degrees by 2026.

By 2027, the new half-size reactor will serve as a test machine to prove whether the company’s design can release more energy than it consumes.

The company has experienced a series of ups and downs throughout 2025. In May, the company laid off more than a quarter of its employees and slowed experiments due to a US$125-million funding shortfall.

And in August, it announced US$22 million in new financing, enabling it to hire back some staff and fund its immediate goal of getting its LM26 test reactor to 10 million degrees Celsius.

As experiments ramp up, the next step will be to swap out the solid metal cans inside the LM26 reactor with a liquid metal chamber designed to solve three engineering problems.

Unlike the current test reactor, a bubble of liquid lithium can be crushed multiple times without being replaced. That’s a critical feature if a power plant is to continuously produce power, says Laberge.

The liquid metal chamber is also designed to shield the machine from high-energy particles produced by fusion. The result, claims the company, is a power plant that can operate for decades.

Then there’s the question of fuel. Deuterium isotopes can be extracted from seawater. But tritium, a second isotope used in the fusion machine, is not found in nature, making it a scarce and therefore expensive fuel.

General Fusion’s liquid lithium core is designed to solve that problem by producing an indefinite supply of its own tritium.

“We can actually make more tritium than we burn,” Laberge said.

If LM26’s tests are successful—and the company finds a way to secure enough investments to continue—General Fusion claims it will need another seven years to scale up the machine into a working power plant.

Where in the world that fusion plant would be built remains an open question, although the B.C. company has a standing offer from the United Kingdom to build an intermediate machine in partnership with the country’s atomic energy agency.

“We have a way of doing fusion that would make a great power plant,” said Donaldson. “What we have to show next is that the fusion actually works.”

General Fusion uses a sphere of pistons similar to those found in a car engine to drive the fusion process.

• STEFAN LABBÉ

The race to fusion accelerates

General Fusion is among a handful of startups promising to move from experiments into realworld power plants. It has some stiff competition, especially amid a cooling investment climate and uncertainty from U.S. President Donald Trump’s multiple rounds of tariffs that together have roiled global capital markets, and caused many investors to avoid taking the same risks they otherwise would a few years ago.

Spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Commonwealth Fusion Systems has raised US$2 billion in capital—more than any other fusion startup—as of early 2025.

The company has a nearly identical timeline to General Fusion: It aims to prove its magnetic fusion technology works by 2027, with plans to build a working power plant in the U.S. state of Virginia by 2033.

And across the border in Seattle, Helion Energy says that by 2028, it will start generating electricity for Microsoft by firing two rings of plasma at each other. It’s not clear if any of the aggressive timelines to commercialize fusion are realistic.

Over the past several decades, fusion’s proponents have claimed the technology was poised to revolutionize global energy, only to face further delays.

From his office in Livermore, Calif., Town said he believes fusion will one day become commercially viable, but that scientists remain in “discovery mode” with a lot more work still to be done.

While the U.S. lab is largely focused on research to advance national security, scientists working there are keenly aware that its success in 2022 could eventually help reshape the future of sustainable energy.

Consider this moment as the Wright Brothers’ first flight, said Town. They proved aviation was possible, but it wasn’t until years later that people regularly boarded aircraft to cross oceans and continents.

If fusion can be turned into a commercial reality, Town said it will democratize energy in the same way flight reshaped the way people travel. That, he added, would be good for everyone.

“You get to this point where we don’t have to worry so much about climate change,” he said. “It’s not really if, it’s when.” 

General Fusion engineers analyze data after firing a shot of plasma through the company’s new LM26 fusion test reactor. • SUBMITTED

From RESET to RESURGENCE

B.C. tech sector veterans see confidence and capital returning to form

BY JOHN KURUCZ

Fire and brimstone has seemingly dominated tech talk in some circles in recent years.

As recently as last year, adjectives like “cleansing” and “fire sales” may have come up in discussions among industry insiders. Comparisons were made to the dot-com bust or the market collapse of 2008.

In 2021, inflated valuations and unsustainable growth fuelled by a tech sector bubble left many technology companies bloated.

A year later, technology stocks began to plunge as inflation, rising interest rates and recession jitters sent investors into safer havens. Technology companies were forced to resort to massive layoffs.

After reaching out to a number of players in the startup and venture capital (VC) spaces to get a pulse check for 2025, the consensus seems to suggest that the peaks and valleys of even last year have begun to normalize. The artificial intelligence boom is leading that resurgence by leaps and bounds, but gains and confidence are returning in data analytics, robotics and the life sciences, among others.

“That cleansing, I think, is pretty much done, and 2024 and early 2025 took care of it,” says Brent Holliday, CEO of Garibaldi Capital Advisors. “From a macro-economic perspective, the impact of tariffs and everything else has kind of washed through enough for the tech industry to know that there’s less uncertainty.”

Holliday takes into account three main factors to gauge where the winds are blowing: innovation, capital and access to talent. A region-wide lack of capital is today’s sore spot.

In his role with Garibaldi, Holliday’s bread and butter is interfacing with buyers of technology firms and growth equity investors who are looking to invest in technology companies.

They want to put their money in the less risky, scalable businesses and that drove the price up for hugely successful companies, because everybody was after them.

“It’s a simple supply-and-demand problem,” Holliday says. “And yet, good companies that maybe weren’t growing at 50 per cent and were just slightly profitable

were getting completely ignored because everybody was chasing those other deals.”

Holliday suggests 2025 started well but that confidence was significantly upended due to uncertainty south of the border. Buyers are extremely risk averse, and diligence is taking longer as they go back to their boards or investment committees. Holliday says minor details that could have been fixed easily in past scenarios are now becoming anchors of apprehension, ultimately leaving deals in a holding pattern at best, or eroding confidence altogether at worst.

“That’s not helpful, but I see lots of interest in making these later-stage investments in the tech companies in Canada,” Holliday says. “What I’m seeing in the

Brent Holliday, CEO of Garibaldi Capital Advisors, sees renewed investor confidence returning to B.C.’s tech sector. • SUBMITTED

markets in the later half of 2025 is that many think that they have figured [U.S. President Donald Trump] out.”

For Ray Walia, figuring out where the head—and the heart—stand with respect to our southern neighbours is perhaps the single biggest factor for attracting venture capital; for learning applicable, on-thejob skills; or to simply expand one’s personal and professional networks.

Whatever misgivings one may have about the current state of American affairs, the sheer numbers across the board in the U.S. can’t be ignored.

“Silicon Valley is back on fire because there’s so much activity happening and it comes down to density,” Walia says. “There are more funds, more people to interact with, more people looking for deals in the U.S. than there are in Canada.”

Walia co-founded and is CEO of Launch Academy, one of Western Canada’s leading tech incubators. His company has incubated more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from more than 100 countries. Three hundred of them have reached seed and Series A funding, raising more than $2.5 billion dollars. He breaks down investors across four spheres, with the paying customer being the first and best. From there, there are early and later-stage VCs, angel investors and then friends and family.

When an economy experiences uncertainty like what’s being seen domestically, the friends and family are inevitably out. When VCs see downturns, risk tolerance and confidence can wane.

Again, with the numbers.

YES, WE WANT TO BE CANADIAN AND YES, WE WANT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY TO STAY IN CANADA. BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOU SHOULD IGNORE THE FACT THAT THE BEST CHANCE OF GETTING FUNDED IS LOOKING DOWN SOUTH RIGHT NOW.

Ray Walia CEO, Launch Academy

“The time and energy that you put in and try to raise money in the U.S. is exponentially less compared to the time and energy that you would have to do in Canada, because you have fewer people to talk to,” Walia says. “Yes, we want to be Canadian and yes, we want intellectual property to stay in Canada. But that doesn’t mean that you should ignore the fact that the best chance of getting funded is looking down south right now.”

And while chasing money stateside is one thing, chasing affordability down south is a different conversation altogether. BC Tech Association CEO Jill Tipping suggests it’s a fallacy that tech talent could—or should—pursue careers in the U.S. to avoid Vancouver’s affordability crisis.

“There isn’t a single thriving, amazing, ambitious tech ecosystem in the world that has a low cost of living,” Tipping says.

“It’s challenging and it would be nice to have a low cost of living because that would give us a comparative advantage.”

Where we need a re-think is around taxation. Tipping says Canadian tax policies may have made sense in a previous iteration of globalization and free trade, but the current system isn’t competitive enough for people to choose to be entrepreneurs or make venture-type investments nationally.

She points to the U.K. and Australia in particular, where more favourable capital gains tax regimes encourage people to make investments in tech, to be a business owner, or to start and grow a business.

“There is fierce competition for talent and there’s a need to actually build up national champions and not assume that your companies can sell without barriers

into the States and other huge markets,” Tipping says.

“We’ve got our issues, but they’re so much milder than what one might face anywhere else in the world. This is our century, this is our opportunity to shine.” 

Jill Tipping, CEO of the BC Tech Association, argues affordability myths miss the point: “There isn’t a single thriving, amazing, ambitious tech ecosystem in the world that has a low cost of living.” • SUBMITTED

Ray Walia, co-founder and CEO of Launch Academy, says the U.S. still remains the go-to for capital despite recent gains for B.C. tech companies.

SUBMITTED

Building Talent From Within

B.C. tech bets on local skills over imports

at Robert Half Canada.

BY DAISY XIONG

Despite turbulence south of the border, B.C.’s tech sector is holding its own, with less of an eye on foreign relocations and more focus on cultivating homegrown talent in the age of artificial intelligence.

Sluggish job growth in B.C.’s tech sector—1.2 per cent in 2023 followed by a 0.3 per cent decline in 2024— along with layoffs at major firms, has eased hiring pressure. But attracting top global talent remains challenging, says Nathan Wawruck, vice-president

“You might get a few extra people coming to Canada, but the reality is, for highly skilled people, they’ll probably still make more in the U.S., even with extra fees and extra paperwork,” says Wawruck, referring to Washington’s surprising introduction of a $100,000 fee for that country’s H-1B visas earlier this year.

The U.S. tech sector relies on the H-1B program to bring highly skilled foreign workers.

The higher fee leave startups and medium-sized companies in the U.S. at a hiring disadvantage compared with larger competitors who can afford to

Kiersten Enemark, director of B.C. affairs at the Council of Canadian Innovators, urges the B.C. government to cut red tape to help attract global tech talent. • CHUNG CHOW

eat the higher costs.

But the higher fee has left some to wonder if B.C. looks like a more enticing destination to hire foreign tech talent to work out of satellite offices.

There are stumbling blocks, though.

Vancouver tech workers earned an average of $102,479 in 2024, according to research from The Dais think tank at Toronto Metropolitan University. Their U.S. counterparts earned $147,865 in May of that same year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The high costs of living, especially for housing, have made B.C. even less attractive for global talent, Wawruck adds. A 2025 report from Chapman University named Vancouver the third most unaffordable housing market in the world.

“Our number one challenge in B.C. is to attract people here. The math just doesn’t always add up,” Wawruck says.

Red tape is also adding to the challenges in attracting talent, according to Kiersten Enemark, director of B.C. affairs at the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), a not-for-profit representing more than 175 of Canada’s fastest-growing technology companies.

B.C. is one of the few provinces that requires a separate license for recruiters for international talent. While the application process is straightforward, some are experiencing processing delays of more than three months.

“These delays are resulting in the loss of highly skilled talent to other provinces and countries,” says Enemark, who is urging the province to expedite license processing or exempt it for recruiting workers hired through the federal government’s Global Talent Stream.

CCI is also calling on Ottawa to introduce an Innovation Patent Box—a tax incentive offering reduced rates on profits derived from intellectual property—to encourage domestic innovation. And the organization recommends Ottawa reintroduce the 2023 policy that fast-tracked H-1B visa holders for Canadian work permits.

“The federal government should be monitoring the H-1B situation very closely. It could be good news for Canada. However, we have to be strategic about it,” says Enemark.

B.C. is one of three provinces that experienced a net job loss in its technology industry, with 249 fewer jobs in 2024 compared with 2023, according to a recent report published by CompTIA, a U.S.-based trade association for the IT industry, titled State of the Tech Workforce Canada.

“It’s disappointing that they lost jobs, but it’s not a big surprise,” says Stephanie Hollingshead, CEO of TAP Network, the human resources association for B.C.’s tech sector.

Last year was a tough time for the technology industry in B.C., with widespread workforce reductions that continued from 2023. Contributing factors included a post-pandemic correction, economic uncertainty driven by higher interest rates and U.S. tariff threats, and shifts in investment priority from growth to profits, according to Hollingshead.

“We also saw less venture capital coming into the province last year,” she says. Hollingshead says reductions are ongoing in the tech

THE REALITY IS, FOR HIGHLY SKILLED PEOPLE, THEY’LL PROBABLY STILL MAKE MORE IN THE U.S., EVEN WITH EXTRA FEES AND EXTRA PAPERWORK.

Nathan Wawruck Vice-president, Robert Half Canada

industry, especially in the creative tech sector, which boomed during the pandemic. But she adds recent layoffs are smaller than last year’s.

Companies began the year conservatively, delaying spending and limiting hiring to critical roles, as they monitored the May federal election and U.S. tariffs, Hollingshead says. Although digital services are exempt, tariffs are affecting many tech companies’ clients.

Still, Hollingshead says she is encouraged to see more hiring in the province in the last few months.

“We’re seeing HR jobs showing up, which is a sign of hiring when they’re hiring for HR folks,” she says.

Ilya Brotzky, CEO of tech recruitment firm VanHack, says the market is slowly moving back toward prepandemic levels.

“I think it’s a more stable economy. … Interest rates have been decreasing in Canada and not going up in the U.S,” he says.

“And also, a lot of the AI boom has been causing companies to invest in R&D [research and development] and to build new products.”

Adaptability a key skill in AI era

With limited success attracting talent from abroad, many B.C. tech firms are focusing on hiring and upskilling local workers, especially in AI.

Clio, a Burnaby-based legal technology firm, says B.C. employees have accounted for almost 40 per cent of their Canadian hires since the beginning of the year.

“While the tech landscape is certainly competitive, we see B.C. as a rich and thriving hub for talent,” says Marina Harris, chief people officer at Clio, in a statement.

“Rather than focusing on external challenges, our strategy is to cultivate a workplace that attracts and, more importantly, retains top talent.”

As demand for AI adoption ramps up, Clio has focused on building AI fluency for all employees and evaluates candidates’ “AI competency” during the hiring process, according to Harris.

This ranges from evaluating candidates’ proficiency with third-party AI tools to their ability to develop AI strategy, or reimagining workflows to maximize the

impact of AI, depending on the role.

“However, the most critical attribute we hire for is a growth mindset,” says Harris.

“This innate curiosity and eagerness to learn is what truly equips our team to embrace new technologies and stay ahead of the curve.”

Clio also invests in professional development and workplace culture to retain top talent, she adds.

As tech job demand grows—with Canadian employers projecting an average of 13 per cent headcount growth in 2026, according to a recent survey from TAP Network—Wawruck says competition for tech

talent will intensify.

In addition to AI, talent who specialize in areas such as cloud computing, machine learning and cybersecurity are in higher demand, and they often look for more than just competitive compensation, he adds.

“Flexibility is still something that people really look for. If a local employer is trying to figure out how to stay competitive, that’s a big one for sure,” says Wawruck.

“And then there’s other things like offering training budgets, especially for technical people.”

Stephanie Hollingshead, CEO of TAP Network, expects tech industry employment in B.C. to grow in 2025 compared with 2024. • ROB KRUYT