Tech Roundup
March 31, 2026
Wyvern, the University of Alberta, and the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (Cando) will share $6 million from the federal government's Defence Industrial Strategy. Nearly half will go to Wyvern for its new hyperspectral ship identification product. Canada needs sovereign access to maritime monitoring intelligence, said Wyvern CEO Christopher Robson. "Canada has the longest coastline in the world, vast forests, and Arctic sovereignty obligations," Robson wrote. "Space-based observation is how we keep track of it all."
The U of A will receive $3 million to establish the Dual-use Ecosystem for Future Engineering, National Defence and Sovereignty (DEFENDS), a commercialization and integration centre for businesses in the Prairies to design and test defence and dual-use products. "The Edmonton region already has the research, the expertise — and, in many cases, the existing products," said Aminah Robinson Fayek, vice-president of research at the U of A. "This first investment in DEFENDS will enable us to start building the infrastructure and pathways to support companies as they expand into defence, space and aerospace applications." The remainder of the funding, about $150,000, will go to Cando, which is based at Enoch Cree Nation, to develop and deliver the Indigenous Supply Chain Program pilot. The project aims to empower Indigenous communities, businesses, and organizations to participate in the national defence ecosystem.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on March 26 that Canada has achieved NATO's target of 2% defence spending ahead of schedule, and the investments continue. PrairiesCan is hosting a webinar on what Canada's defence industrial strategy means for Prairie businesses on April 2. And Alberta Aviation, Aerospace & Defence has launched a pitch competition, with expressions of interest due by April 6. Meanwhile, representatives from the Edmonton Region Defence Alliance were in Calgary from March 24 to 26 for DEFSEC West to showcase Edmonton's potential in the defence and dual-use ecosystem. Edmonton city council passed a motion on March 18 formally directing city manager Eddie Robar to coordinate the city's efforts to support the alliance.
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Headlines
- Losing the Community Safety and Wellness Accelerator, which helped companies focus on public good, investment, and scale is a "big loss," says one successful grad of the defunct program. "Seeing how there was a really focused support in the community safety and wellness space was such a vote of confidence for us," said Lana Cuthbertson, co-founder and CEO of Areto Labs and one of the entrepreneurs from the CSW's first cohort. "(We felt) validation in hearing there was a real market need for what we were doing — and on top of that, a societal need — from these significant voices in the landscape."
- Four companies that were acquired in 2025 were honoured at the second annual YEG Acquisition Party on March 26. "This is more than just an award — it's a reminder that the journey from idea to acquisition is never walked alone," wrote Amit Anand, founder of ez enRoute, which was acquired by Zonar Systems last fall. "It's built on community, resilience, late nights, pivots, and the belief that what we're building here in Alberta can compete on any stage." The other honorees were ElectionBuddy, IronSight, and PanTHERA CryoSolutions.
- Aurora Hydrogen has secured a $3-million investment from Hamburg-based Oldendorff Overseas Investments to advance its microwave methane pyrolysis technology for marine applications.
- RNARevive has joined Batch 2 of Plug and Play's Lifetech accelerator in Indianapolis. The company develops self-amplifying RNA therapies for age-related diseases, with a focus on bone health.
- Startup TNT has announced the top six agri-food finalists for its 2026 Spring Investment Summit, powered by Farm Credit Canada, with the companies pitching live at Platform Calgary on April 8.
- Northern Alberta FPV is a drone racing league in Edmonton that brings together enthusiasts for an immersive, high-adrenaline activity that also raises money for charities. Racers George Wenzel and Martin Vendrame spoke to CBC's Radio Active about drone-racig and a CBC mini-documentary about their club.
- Nominees for the 35th annual Emerald Awards, presented by the Alberta Emerald Foundation, include Diesel Tech Industries for addressing emissions from heavy-duty vehicles; Applied Research at NAIT for microplastics research in Alberta's rivers; and Dow for a project that integrates agricultural plastic waste into polymer-modified asphalt.
- Sam Jenkins, managing partner and co-founder of Punchcard Systems, spoke to Digital Journal about the consequences of organizations adopting AI without redesigning how work is done. "AI doesn't reduce work by default," he said. "It reduces work when you redesign how work happens. If AI is just making our teams busier, that means we didn't adopt AI. It means we adopted another piece of software." Jenkins is among the 2026 honorees named to a list of Canada's Workplace Health Leaders.
- Mike McCready, associate dean of NAIT's School of Media and Information Technology, has been named founding president of the Alberta chapter of the Applied AI Association. "This is a chance to connect the strong AI momentum already happening across our province and link it to a global network," McCready said.
- Michelle Frechette and collaborators launched the Social Impact Innovation Hub, a new initiative that aims to use shared resources and proximity to empower social-impact organizations to accelerate each other.
- The University of Alberta has launched Roots and Relations, an online micro-credential program in Indigenous entrepreneurship grounded in the Medicine Wheel. The program covers relevance, reciprocity, responsibility, and resilience as core tenets.
- The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute has facilitated a series of AI opportunity workshops in the Northwest Territories in partnership with Prosper NWT. The workshops helped local businesses identify where AI can deliver value and develop practical AI strategies.
- The Alberta government is exploring legislation to crack down on deepfakes and AI-generated misinformation, eyeing new protective guardrails as the technology becomes more convincing. Sam Jenkins of Punchcard Systems spoke to CBC Edmonton's Radio Active about the proposed new legislation and the risks and opportunities posed by AI.
Jobs and opportunities
- Edmonton Unlimited is hiring a strategic industry liaison for defence and dual-use technologies to help connect defence sector needs with Edmonton-area startups and SMEs.
- Edmonton Unlimited is seeking two new board directors. Applications close April 7.
- The Alberta government is accepting expressions of interest to join a trade mission to Asia Tech X Singapore, Asia's largest annual technology event, running from May 20 to 22.
- The Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network has launched a $9-million open competition to support agricultural innovation, with a focus on bridging the gap between new AgTech IP and commercial adoption. Funded through the federal government's Strategic Response Fund, the competition accepts applications in areas including automation and robotics, data-driven decision tools, and smart farm platforms, with rolling submission deadlines through October 2026.
Happenings
Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:
- March 31: SR&ED for Startups starting at 10am online
- March 31: Energy Affordability Workshop starting at 11am at Westmount Community Hall
- March 31: Intellectual Property for Startups starting at 5pm at University of Alberta ICE Engineering Incubator
- April 1: ASTech Awards Information/Office Hours Sessions starting at 1:30pm online
- April 2: Protecting Your Intellectual Property on Social Media starting at 12pm online
- April 2: Energy Affordability Workshop starting at 6:30pm at West Jasper Sherwood Community Hall
And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:
- April 15: Place Brand & Innovation: examining the intersection of brand and business at Edmonton Unlimited
- April 21-23: Canadian Hydrogen Convention at Edmonton Convention Centre
- April 23: Deep Energy Retrofits and MURB Electrification online
Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.
This roundup was sponsored by Edmonton Unlimited.
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