Tech Roundup
March 24, 2026
Smart Access has raised $12 million in Series A funding from Bay Area investors Lobby Capital, Aspenwood Ventures, and Coelius Capital. The company, co-founded by Tim Regnier and John White, sells a digital platform that helps large distribution operations optimize training, safety programs, adherence to standard operating procedures, and other workforce management functions. It was started in Edmonton in 2015, but now lists its operating base as San Francisco.
Accelerate Fund, whose Accelerate Fund II was among the company's earlier investors, posted congratulations on the raise, noting it will help Smart Access scale deployments across North America. Prairies Economic Development Canada also contributed $250,000 to help Smart Access grow in 2022.
Regnier, who is the company's CEO, thanked "the early believers who chose to build with us before anything was certain" in a post sharing the announcement. "What began with (two) people writing the first lines of code has grown into a team of 35 and counting," he wrote. "Along the way, we've had the privilege of working with operators who run some of the most demanding distribution environments and push us every day to make execution easier to understand and improve."
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Headlines
- Edmonton Unlimited has unveiled the first participants in its Venture Pilots: Built World Tech program, including RoBIM Technologies, which is working with Honomobo to use robotics to build trusses. A celebration on March 18 drew more than 200 ecosystem members, including former mayor Amarjeet Sohi and councillors Keren Tang and Reed Clarke.
- Antigoni Studios has launched what it describes as Canada's first femtech venture studio, supporting early-stage femtech innovators through non-dilutive funding, investor connections, and a membership-based community. The studio was co-founded by Riya Ganguly and Kate Ellis.
- Applications are open until March 30 for Startup TNT's spring investment summit in Edmonton. Selected companies will be announced on April 7, before pitching on April 16.
- Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation has launched a newsletter called Innovation Translated, designed to help the life sciences community navigate the journey from lab discovery to market, covering topics from regulatory strategy to clinical manufacturing.
- Among the projects to receive funding from a $20-million federal investment in genomics and biotech are a joint project between the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary aimed at improving treatment decisions in thyroid cancer, as well as a U of A project that aims to measure chemical exposures through blood tests.
- Edmonton Unlimited is hosting an information session on March 24 for its Student Founders summer program at the eHUB Entrepreneurship Centre. The program offers weekly workshops, coaching, and a demo day.
- The University of Alberta's Alberta School of Business and the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business have partnered with Creative Destruction Lab - Rockies to give MBA students the opportunity to work directly with startup founders. Applications for the course are open until April 2.
- French Bread Gaming co-founder Ethan Horkulak joined the Good Game YEG podcast to discuss the esports organization's growth from nine-person brackets to events drawing more than 200 attendees.
- The Settle Down podcast, co-hosted by Shani Gwin of pipikwan pêhtâkwan and wâsikan kisewâtisiwin, explored Indigenous-led AI and how Indigenous women are shaping the technology, from moderating online racism to protecting cultural data and languages.
- Kate Compton, a generative AI expert and artist, joined the Approximately Correct podcast from the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute to talk about creativity, technology, and social connection. Compton argued that what matters most about creativity is not whether AI can replicate it, but the social connection it fosters.
- Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish argued that drone strikes on Amazon Web Services data centres in the Middle East validate Alberta's pitch as a destination for sovereign computing infrastructure, pointing to the province's energy resources, cold climate, and political stability.
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Jobs and opportunities
- The Alberta government is hiring a digital architect in the Ministry of Technology and Innovation.
- Jobber is hiring a product support specialist.
Happenings
Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:
- March 24: Coffee with the Chamber starting at 8:30am at Don Wheaton Family YWCA
- March 24: Selling to the City Information Sessions starting at 1pm online
- March 25: GitHub Copilot Dev Days starting at 4:30pm at Enterprise Square
- March 25: Edmonton Data Society - Apache Airflow & Modern Data Engineering starting at 5:30pm at Singhmar Centre for Learning
- March 26: UofA Entrepreneurial Law Clinic Pop-Up: Free Student Legal Support starting at 12pm at Edmonton Research Park
- March 26: Why Entrepreneurs Stay Stuck (And How to Move Forward) starting at 12pm online
- March 26: CrimeTech: How Tech is Solving Crimes in Alberta starting at 4:30pm at 9910
- March 29: Fit For Tech starting at 9:45am at Black Tusk Athletics
- March 31: SR&ED for Startups starting at 10am online
And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:
- April 15: Community Coffee Takeover: "Place Brand & Innovation: examining the intersection of brand and business" starting at 9am at Edmonton Unlimited
- April 21-23: Canadian Hydrogen Convention at Edmonton Convention Centre
- May 3-5: Alberta Aerospace & Defence Summit starting at Edmonton Convention Centre
Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.
This roundup was sponsored by Edmonton Unlimited.
Now is the time for us, Edmonton's innovators, and our city. Headquartered in Alberta's capital city, Edmonton Unlimited harnesses the power of possibility and brings the very best of Edmonton to the world.