As part of a Tech Week organized by the Prince Edward Island IT Alliance, the province announced that five PEI companies, which are working to utilize technological developments in artificial intelligence to spur industry innovation, have received seed capital via the Ignition Fund.
“Tech is no longer only a sector; it is what the rest of the economy runs on,” said Ron Myers, the PEI IT Alliance’s interim CEO. “Almost every business on this Island has integrated technology solutions into their operations, from farms to fisheries to advanced manufacturing firms, and the companies building those tools are where new GDP comes from.”
The most recent recipients are:
- Boardwalk Inc. (Dylan Cooper): will work on Lightning Quote, a compliance verification software that aims to leverage AI to improve the estimating process for lightning protection systems
- Trailflow Systems Inc. (Japneet Pal Singh Kalkat, chief executive officer): will work on an agent-first logistics operating system for North American carriers and hybrid carrier-brokers, with autonomous agents ingesting emails and rate confirmations
- Pentacore (Paakow Wobil, Clinton Aghedo, Chrysler Hewlett, and Promise Ojo): will work on WilowAI, an AI-powered personal study environment that includes an interactive AI tutor
- Eidetic Design (Parto Omidi and Soroush Izadan): will offer specification assets such as Revit families, SketchUp models, renderings, and datasheets for building products
- BuriedCandy Entertainment Inc. (Phil MacNevin): will work on “The Calling,” an anime-style video game that features popular video streamers as playable characters
Congratulating these recipients, Myers said, “AI is changing how companies can compete, and these five are proof PEI founders are not waiting for permission.”
“No matter what industry you are in, you need innovation to grow,” added Jenn Redmond, PEI minister of economic development, trade, and AI. “What our Island tech companies are doing is showing that PEI can come up with real, impactful technology solutions to help improve business operations.”
“Receiving the Ignition Fund will help Trailflow turn early customer feedback into a stronger product for trucking companies across North America,” Kalkat said. “It will help us improve AI agents that handle repetitive office work, from reading load documents to organizing paperwork and preparing invoices, while helping us reach more customers and grow export revenue from Prince Edward Island.”
Through the competitive process that occurs twice a year, each recipient may receive a maximum of $25,000 in seed capital.
More on Ignition Fund
According to the Prince Edward Island Department of Economic Development, Trade, and Artificial Intelligence, within the past 12 years, Innovation PEI has provided 115 startups with almost $2.9 million in total funding for the development and adaptation of ideas into real market solutions.
“Innovation PEI is an important partner to us, Island entrepreneurs, and our sector,” Myers said in the news release.
The expectation is for the Ignition Fund to open for applications later this fall.
“The Ignition Fund can be an important catalyst for any entrepreneur’s journey, and our government is proud to provide this much-needed capital to get entrepreneurs and their ideas to market,” Redmond said.
Other artificial intelligence news
Here are some other news stories revolving around AI.
On July 23, the federal government called for feedback on improving AI transparency in accordance with Canada’s “AI for All” national strategy.
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce applauded the establishment of the federal government’s “AI for All” national strategy, which was announced on June 4.
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