The first day back into my office brought that always cheerful Venturewire update right into ye ol Inbox. Doom. Gloom. Death. Destruction. Vermin. Pestilence.
And that was the good news.
On the other hand, the Ontario Centres of Excellence announced 8 funded entities. Here’s the snapshot from the press release.
C2C Link (Hamilton) – This McMaster University start-up makes optical crystal chips that efficiently convert laser light from one colour to another. The company’s technology is the only known method for producing commercially viable green and blue optical chips. Industry experts believe these chips will be the driving force behind a new generation of laser-based displays so advanced that they will even replace LCD-based TVs and monitors, due to better quality and greater energy efficiency.
Echologics Engineering (Toronto) – According to an International Water Supply Association study, 20 to 30 per cent of drinking water produced gets lost on the way to the tap. A December 2007 Sustainable Asset Management study estimated that total water lost in the US alone is 23 million m3 per day – roughly the equivalent of 9,200 Olympic-size swimming pools. Leaks are considered to be the major cause of this water loss. Echologics Engineering Inc. is developing and commercializing technology to reduce leaks in water distribution systems.
IPeak Networks (Kanata) – IPeak Networks has developed a solution for improving the performance of applications across wide area networks like the Internet. IPeak's technology dramatically reduces packet loss and boosts file delivery speed. The results include smooth and uninterrupted VOIP calls and video transmissions, and increased realism for online games. In December 2007, the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation voted IPeak one of Canada’s Top 10 technology companies.
Kneebone (Toronto) – Kneebone Inc. offers proprietary software and related services to corporate clients seeking to make their marketing more effective. Marketing performance measurement tools make it possible for clients to measure the impact of their marketing initiatives, helping them maximize the return on their marketing investments.
Nulogy (Toronto) – Nulogy Inc. develops supply-chain management software for logistics and contract manufacturing companies. Its flagship PackManager product provides real-time labour, production and inventory information, helping businesses operate more efficiently. Nulogy has received several accolades, including winning a 2008 Red Herring Award for being one of the most innovative and promising companies in Canada.
Regen Energy (Toronto) – A building’s 15-minute peak demand can account for 20 to 50 per cent of each month’s electricity bill. Regen has developed a wireless controller that automatically manages electrical peak demand levels for commercial heating and cooling applications, potentially reducing energy consumption at peak demand by up to 25 to 30 per cent. Historically, optimizing peak demand has only been an option for large commercial operations that could afford complex building automation systems. Regen controllers promise to bring better energy management to smaller organizations.
Skymeter (Toronto) – Skymeter Corporation is a Toronto-based company that provides vehicle-use information using a combination of in-vehicle sensors and a patented data processing system. Potential applications of its system (either available now or in development) include road-use charging, parking metering, location-based marketing and pay-as-you-drive insurance.
Sysomos (Toronto) – Sysomos Inc.’s patent-pending technology can monitor the entire social media space, including blogs, social networks, online forums and news sources. Customers use the company’s data analytics services to monitor how their products and brands are perceived online, and gauge customer reaction to ad campaigns and media coverage – all in real time.
6 of those puppies are right here in Toronto. So, put away your nuclear winter coat and wear a sweater instead. Things are getting funded..
Congrats to all the above companies and to John MacRitichie the director business development at OCE. You can learn more about OCE here.
Hi Rick, thanks for the mention! We are very pleased to be working with the Ministry and the IAF and are looking forward to great things as we move our Social Media Analytics Platform into the market.
Let me know if you'd be interested in seeing what we are doing! It is very different (far more robust) than any other similar solution and we have a rapidly growing client base to substantiate this.
Steve.
Posted by: Steve Dodd - Sysomos | January 06, 2009 at 16:38
Hi Rick, Thanks for the comments. We are really excited about the home grown support. Echologics is now exporting our products and services all over the world; Thames Water (London), Las Vegas, China, and closer to home just sold our technology to Cambridge after a competition with all the worlds leading vendors. I would also like to mention the role of MaRS along with OCE in the IAF. we have had a lot of support from them and can't say enough about the value of such an organisation in developing local start ups. Thanks, Marc
Posted by: Marc Bracken | January 11, 2009 at 09:21