Dylana TwitteyOn October 17 at 4:30 p.m. at the Enterprise Square campus, the University of Alberta celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Innovation Fund. The most recent fund recipient, Wyvern, was also announced.
The Innovation Fund is a for-profit subsidiary of the U of A. It has provided funding to research-focused technology startups and companies in Alberta. So far five companies have received funding from the Innovation Fund; Areto Labs, PulseMedica, Nanostics Precision Health, RL Core Technologies, and Wyvern.
The Innovation Fund supports “Alberta’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Flanagan says
U of A President and Vice-chancellor Bill Flanagan spoke about the university’s “proud legacy of nurturing visionary thinkers.”
“What makes us unique at the U of A is our ability not only to develop great ideas, but to commercialize them and bring them to market.”
According to Flanagan, the Innovation Fund was created to “support Alberta’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and turn today’s innovative ideas into tomorrow’s transformational solutions.” In the past year he said the Innovation Fund has raised $7 million in donor support.
Flanagan announced the Innovation Fund’s investment in Wyvern. Wyvern is an Alberta-based aerospace company that sells hyper-spectral satellite images commercially.
“This is an investment that has global and local implications. [It] not only supports Wyvern’s global ambitions, but also strengthens Alberta’s position as a leading hub for technology and innovation.”
Wyvern partners with GovLab to develop a model to fight wildfires, Glubish says
Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish said the Government of Alberta is “really proud” to partner with the Innovation Fund.
“The fact is, some of the most revolutionary and interesting and exciting technologies that have come out of Alberta, have come out of our post-secondary institutions. We know that the U of A is one of the best, and I really believe that.”
Wyvern is now partnered with GovLab, the Government of Alberta’s artificial intelligence (AI) lab. According to Glubish, this partnership is intended to develop models to prevent, predict, and fight wildfires.
“This is going to save Alberta hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade. And it is going to save other jurisdictions around the world billions of dollars.”
Innovation Fund CEO highlights the fund’s investments
Sheetal Mehta, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Innovation Fund spoke next. Although the Innovation Fund and the university are separate entities, Mehta said the fund is “very entrenched with campus and with the university at many levels.”
“What we’re trying to do is create a funnel of opportunities so that we can get ready to fund companies in AI, health, energy, and agriculture. This allows us to be very much grassroots and on the ground.”
According to Mehta, “people, planet, and purpose” are the focus of the Innovation Fund. She highlighted the fund’s first four investments.
RL Core Technologies, which created software for wastewater plants, “is really leveraging machine learning for water sustainability,” Mehta said. She spoke about Nanostics Precision Health, which developed a minimally invasive prostate cancer test.
PulseMedica has created technology to screen and treat vitreoretinal disease, such as eye floaters. Lastly, she thanked Areto Labs for “leveraging AI to detect and moderate counteract online abuse, harassment, spam, and illegal streaming.”
Wyvern co-founder speaks about time as a student at the U of A
Callie Lissinna, co-founder of Wyvern, explained that the images her company sells “includes information about the chemical makeup of every pixel in the picture.” According to Lissinna, Wyvern is the highest resolution hyperspectral imagery available on the market.
“I think we’ve seen recent commercial success because businesses and governments really do need more detailed and up to date information to make decisions about their operations, resource management, [and] security.”
Lissinna and her co-founders met as undergraduates at the U of A, in a club called AlbertaSat. When Lissinna joined the club in 2015, AlbertaSat was preparing to build their first satellite, called the Ex-Alta One. According to Lissinna, this was the first satellite built in Alberta.
“In addition to getting that invaluable technical experience as a student at the U of A, the Ex-Alta One student project was also a magnet for people unafraid to attempt things that were seemingly impossible.”
Lissinna announced Wyvern’s $6 million USD strategic investment and said the company is “proud to have the U of A Innovation Fund participating in this round.” The purpose of this investment is to expand Wyvern’s global footprint and bolster United States (U.S.) market presence, she said.
