Tech Roundup
June 23, 2026

Headlines

• Wyvern has been selected for NASA's Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition program, becoming the first pre-Series A company to be awarded a contract. The program brings commercial Earth observation data to NASA researchers and the broader U.S. Earth science community. "Joining (CSDA) puts Wyvern's hyperspectral data alongside a select group of commercial providers trusted to support NASA's science," Wyvern posted.
• BetaKit profiled Myrna and Dean Bittner, co-founders of RUNWITHIT Synthetics, the Edmonton-based startup building synthetic environments to model potential futures for disaster response, climate resiliency, and health. The Bittners started their first groupware company, Bittco, out of their home near Elk Island Park in the 1990s, which caught the attention of a wealthy Australian engineer named Graham Dawson. His support gave them time to develop the intellectual property that now powers RWI.
• Vertical Impression has partnered with Adelaide to integrate its real-world out-of-home attention dataset — built from more than 9,000 elevator screens across North America — into Adelaide's media quality standard.
• Shani Gwin of wâsikan kisewâtisiwin won Startup Canada's Global Pop Up Pitch in Calgary on June 16. "I am shocked, elated and crying my head off," Gwin posted about winning the $15,000 prize for her AI-powered writing tool to help non-Indigenous people correct unconscious bias or racism against Indigenous people.
• GovLab has released its 2025–2026 Impact Report. The program, co-founded by AltaML, the Alberta government, and Mitacs, applies AI to public sector challenges. "The public sector stands at an inflection point," AltaML CEO Cory Janssen said in a post. "AI is no longer emerging. It is here, actively reshaping how public institutions serve citizens."
• Economics and AI are "twins separated at birth" — both modelling decision-making, utility, and uncertainty — Canada CIFAR AI Chair Kevin Leyton-Brown argued on a live episode of the Approximately Correct podcast from the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute.
• NAIT awarded honorary degrees to Catherine Vu, an IT entrepreneur and community builder, and Gord Winkel, a mechanical engineer who spent decades improving safety and innovation at Syncrude.
• Peter Keith, director of the eHUB Entrepreneurship Centre, shared insights with Cesar Rojas on building a startup in Edmonton, including his journey from the restaurant world to innovation and entrepreneurship. He covered why most companies aren't a good fit for venture capital, how to vet a co-founder, and what the city's key ecosystem players are.
• Alberta Innovates noted its investment of more than $14 million into commercialization infrastructure through the Ecosystem Development Partnership Program, adding that those investments generated nearly $48 million in additional investment from partners in the first quarter of 2026. Among the projects highlighted were Alberta CREATE at the University of Alberta, which is meant to help small and medium-sized businesses develop, build, and scale new hardware, and DEFENDS, which is meant to help businesses access specialized support to develop defence and dual-use technologies.
• Edmonton Unlimited has opened applications to host community events during Edmonton Startup Week in October. The organization is also accepting applications and nominations for Launch Party 17, the event's central showcase, and highlighted the progress that CARM&A Health has made since participating last year.
• Edmonton Unlimited welcomed delegates from across Canada for a study tour during the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference earlier this month, featuring a founder panel with entrepreneurs from Zylotex, Ultracoustics, and Aqtiva, who are participating in the Venture Pilots program.
• Edmonton Unlimited plans to help Edmonton innovators navigate the defence and dual-use technology sector, building on what MIT REAP Team Edmonton has learned, CEO Tom Viinikka said. MIT REAP Edmonton is planning its final town hall this summer.
• The Prairie Polytechnic Innovation Network Accelerating Commercialization for Local Ecosystems, of which NAIT is a member, will receive an additional $586,000 from Prairies Economic Development Canada, building on a previous commitment of nearly $900,000. The applied research network, known as P2INACLE, will support innovation in the mining and minerals sector.
• Angel investor Jesse Wiebe, who previously worked as community development lead for Startup TNT, was charged on May 17 with allegedly committing an indecent act while unlawfully entering a home in Saskatoon. The allegations have yet to be tested in court. Wiebe left Startup TNT in April.

Jobs and opportunities

• Future Fields is hiring a protein scientist.
• Jobber is hiring a front-end engineering manager.
• The Alberta government is hiring a digital architect and manager of digital transformation.

Happenings

Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:

• June 24: Community Coffee starting at 9am at Edmonton Unlimited
• June 24: Tech For Good Alliance Working Group starting at 4pm at Arcadia Brewing Co.
• June 24: AI Tinkerers Edmonton starting at 5:30pm at AltaML
• June 25: Building Global Relationships: Cultural Intelligence for Market Success starting at 10am online
• June 25: The Business of Branding: How Strong Brands Attract Better Clients starting at 11am online
• June 25: From Idea to Working Software — No Code, No Engineers, No Problem starting at 11am online
• June 25: MNP Workshop Series for Founders: Financial Planning and Forecasting starting at 12pm at Edmonton Unlimited
• June 25: How Snowflake Enables Real-World Data Workflows (+ Data For Good!) starting at 5:30pm at Singhmar Centre for Learning
• June 26: Protecting what you Build: IP and Strategy for Life Sciences Companies starting at 11am at Edmonton Unlimited
• June 26: BTF Summit 2.0: Leveraging AI to Accelerate Inclusive Innovation starting at 5pm at Citadel Theatre
• June 29: Marketing 101 with Chris Lerohl starting at 6pm at Edmonton Unlimited

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• July 8: Community Coffee at Edmonton Unlimited
• July 21-23: Innovation Zone at Edmonton EXPO Centre
• Aug. 1-4: BioRob 2026 at Edmonton Convention Centre

Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.